Greetings and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of really awesome writers share excerpts from their published works or works-in-progress.  I won’t be participating next week because I’ll be at the World Fantasy convention in San Antonio, TX.  I’ll be helping spread the word about an exciting new fantasy series, Labyrinth of Souls. Check it out if you enjoy dark fantasy, or stop by our table if you happen to be in San Antonio!

On to the snippet!  I’ve been sharing from a work-in-progress, which is always more exciting for me than a work that’s finished.  Prowl is a cozy gay shifter romance mystery (yup, all of that and more!).  My hero, Jacqui, is arguing with his inner cat about whether he should shift and go spy on the sexy new neighbor. I skipped ahead a little from last time.

***

It had been days since he’d changed, and the itchy, clawing creep of his inner cat wasn’t going to let him alone.

One hour.

As if.

Until midnight–at midnight, we turn into a furless pumpkin with work to do.

Jacqui dropped his hands, peeled off his shirt, tossed it in the laundry basket. His jeans (three hundred bucks at a boutique in New York) followed and soon he stood naked in the center of the room, doing his usual mental check.

Sliding door left open a crack. Key under the Buddha statue outside, just in case. Extra clothes hidden in the community tool shed, just in case. Jacqui only had to find himself stuck naked in public once to learn the lesson forever- always have extra clothes on hand and accessible.

***

As promised, here’s the blurb. This is a good example of what happens when you write a blurb by committee, possibly with wine and catnip involved.

Jacqui the Cat Mysteries, the cozy gay shifter romance mystery series the world has  been waiting for~

Jacqui Corleone is a fashion designer, a yoga-instructor and a concerned citizen who selflessly helps the police solve crimes. Oh, and he occasionally turns into a small wild cat. Probably due to a wizard’s curse or an evil government plot to create super warriors.

Or, he’s a cat cursed to turn into a human and only the bite of a sexy alpha lion will allow him to remain in his superior form of Cat.

Jacqui does not have a split personality, but sometimes his cat personality can get rather loud.

Loud? You’re loud.

Jacqui Corleone is a cat shifter who doesn’t know why or how he turns into a cat. He lives a solitary life in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. He’s not afraid of intimacy (yes, he is) but sensibly refrains from potentially awkward entanglements. Unfortunately, the sexy new deputy sheriff just moved in across the street and Jacqui’s vow not to get mixed up with island dudes is sorely challenged.

When the mysterious disappearance of three blue pots draws Jacqui to investigate, he’s drawn ever deeper into danger–and into the muscular but not too bulgy or veiny arms of deputy Wyatt West (you wish).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from bestselling author (she wishes) Alexis Duran. Coming as soon as Alexis gets her s**t together.

***

 

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com