When the family SUV flips and Kimberlee is rushed to the hospital, Black Cat (Thumper) and his soul-mate are left behind. Black Cat loses all memory of his former life and the identity of the lovely feline companion by his side. “Call me Angel. I’m here to take care of you.” Her words set them on a long journey toward home, and life brings them face to face with episodes of joy and sorrow.
The two cats are taken in by John and his young daughter, Cindy, facing foreclosure of the family vineyard and emu farm. In addition, someone is playing increasingly dangerous pranks that threaten Cindy’s safety. Angel makes it her mission to help their new family. John’s prayers are answered in unexpected ways, but not until Angel puts her life at risk to protect the child, and Black Cat finds there are more important things in life than knowing your real name.
GUEST POST
Creating a Series - Thumper, the Cat in the Black Cat Mysteries
The novel: An author writes from her hearts and can’t help but inject many of her own ideas, humor, personality, fears or interests into her characters, particularly the protagonist. Though limited to the physical capabilities of a feline, Thumper, the cat in the Black Cat Mysteries, is best described as having human emotions, thoughts, ideas, and knowledge. With this in mind, Thumper, therefore, is much of me.
As a POV character in Black Cat’s Legacy, Thumper has waited at the lodge for someone to return to solve the cold case murder from 25 years ago. With the aid of his ancestors’ memories, he points out clues to help Kimberlee and her associates solve the mystery. Of course, someone stands in the way and creates chaos. Throw in a bit of romance and intrigue, a touch of espionage and a smidgen of fantasy and you have a real page turner.
The sequel: The author engages in a clever dance, writing a sequel to create what happens next. Assuming a mixed audience of fans from our first book and new readers starting with book two, we must give enough of what happened before to understand why this and that is happening in book two without spoiling book one.
Thumper plays a bigger POV role in the sequel, Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer. By meeting his soul-mate, Noe-Noe, a cream tabby with eyes the color or mustard and stripes the color of marigolds, he has opportunity for more POV scenes and humorous conversations. Set on a Texas horse ranch, Thumper must stop a killer bent on harming Grandmother, even though he doesn’t like her very much as she has her own wicked agenda.
The third in the series: The third novel in a series must tie up all the loose ends within the three books, leaving the reader contented with the conclusion. As authors, we must answer all the questions satisfactorily and yet leave just the hint of a possible future plot.
In the novel, Black Cat and the Accidental Angel Thumper and Noe-Noe are left behind following an MVA. Thumper suffers a head injury and memory loss. For whatever reason, Noe-Noe says, “Call me Angel. I’m here to take care of you,” refusing to share their previous life. What follows is a journey where Thumper, now called Black Cat in their new home on an Emu farm, experiences a spiritual journey of human emotions that include fear, loss, grief, shame, faith, jealousy, despair and joy as he learns, with the assist of divine intervention, that there are more important things than knowing your own name. (yes…there is an angel)
What’s next? In spite of my intention that my journeys with Black Cat are finished, one never knows what tomorrow brings. After all, as the muse for his character, he still lives within me, kicking and screaming to get out, wanting to share yet another adventure, even as I turn my attention to another series set during WWII.
About the author:
Elaine Faber is an active member of Sisters in Crime, Inspire Christian Writers and Cat Writers Association. Elaine lives in northern CA, with her tolerant husband and four house cats, including a tuxedo cat that looks a lot like Black Cat and three ferals that come to the back door night and morning looking for a hand-out! A portion of the proceeds from her Black Cat mysteries goes toward cat rescue organizations.
Elaine Faber is an active member of Sisters in Crime, Inspire Christian Writers and Cat Writers Association. Elaine lives in northern CA, with her tolerant husband and four house cats, including a tuxedo cat that looks a lot like Black Cat and three ferals that come to the back door night and morning looking for a hand-out! A portion of the proceeds from her Black Cat mysteries goes toward cat rescue organizations.
Elaine Faber’s short stories are published in magazines and multiple anthologies. She is an active member of Sisters in Crime, Inspire Christian Writers and Cat Writers Association.
Elaine is author of the Black Cat Mysteries involving Thumper, the cat who solves mysteries with the aid of his ancestor’s memories: Black Cat’s Legacy; Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer, and Black Cat and the Accidental Angel.
Elaine lives in Elk Grove with her husband of 51 years. (That’s a marriage of 51 years, not a husband of 51 years). They share their home with four house cats, the inspiration for her Black Cat Mysteries. A portion of the sales proceeds goes to animal rescue programs.
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2 comments:
Thanks for being part of this tour!
Appreciate being a part of the tour. thanks for hosting me on this website.
Elaine Faber
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