Tag Archives: Jacqui the Cat

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Under The Covers

by

9

Welcome to my corner of Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide range of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.

I’m sharing from my Work-in-progress, Book 4 in the Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series. The working title is Wild. My dreams of publishing this book in September are dwindling on the vine, kind of like all those overripe tomatoes I don’t know what to do with. However, things are moving along and Jacqui is getting himself into bigger trouble than ever. (I knew I could rely on him.) Getting him out of trouble is what’s taking so long!

In this chapter, Jacqui has been contemplating the issues of being a cat in a human’s world, having an ordinary human boyfriend, and wondering if it’s time to move on. But enough thinking, it’s time to get moving and find some trouble.

***

Jacqui lifted one bare foot from the cold concrete and wriggled his toes. With September came the chill northern winds whipping down the Salish Sea, bringing in salty air from the harbor and a smoky smell from wood stoves burning all across the island.

Must shift.

Jacqui was excruciatingly careful about when and where and how long he turned into Cat these days.  He never appeared in daylight and kept to himself.  Wyatt, in his well-meaning way, had attempted to relocate Cat, or Satan, as Wyatt called him, to the “wilds” of San Juan Island’s southern shore area. Jacqui had found his way home in a day or two, but hadn’t let Wyatt, or anyone else, see him in his cat form since. The villagers were out to get him. To cage him and maybe even put him down.

Shift, explore the hood, check out the new cat, and be safely tucked under the covers before Wyatt notices we were gone.

***

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 (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical romantic fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

***

I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall and Matthias (DreamSpinners Press) are out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

***

Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

***

Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Jacqui Had Claws

by

10

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of writers from a wide range of genres share their stories in excerpts of ten sentences or less.

Things are getting serious around here; I’ve started calling my cats “Jacqui” by mistake. Maybe it’s time for a vacation? Nah, for me, writing is a vacation. It’s reality that’s hard.

I’ve been sharing from my WIP, Book 4 in the Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series, working title Wild. In this chapter, Jacqui is contemplating the difficulties of being a cat shifter in a human dominant world. In Jacqui’s universe, we ords (ordinary humans) have no clue that shifters really exist.

***

Shifting was a survival mechanism.  As Cat, Jacqui had claws. He could climb trees in just a few bounds. He was quick and lithe and one vicious little kick-ass predator.

As Jacqui he was also awesome, just not as—

Strong, fast, lethal, intelligent, handsome.

In the wee hours, in the moonlight, Jacqui barely had the will to argue with his cat self.

He took in a deep breath and said, “I am very bit as strong, lethal, intelligent and handsome—I’ll give you fast though.”

One advantage you have is that you can open cans. Let’s go home and make a tuna sandwich, to fortify us for tonight’s prowl.

***

Yes, but opposable thumbs would also be nice.

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 (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical romantic fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

***

I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall and Matthias (DreamSpinners Press) are out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

***

Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

***

Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Cat in a Man’s World

by

13

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of diverse writers from a wide range of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.

So it’s fall now, and it rained a little, and my writer soul says “aaaaaaaahhh”. Something about cooler weather, hot tea, not so much yard work, snugglier cats looking for warm laps, all makes for a happier writing environment. Speaking of snuggly cats, Jacqui is having some issues on that front.  I’m continuing to share from my WIP, working title Wild, Book 4 in the Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series. Jacqui’s doing an awful lot of thinking (might have to change that) but right now, he’s torn between the urge to roam and the urge to go back to bed and jump on his boyfriend Wyatt. You can read last week’s snippet here if you want to catch up.

***

Jacqui wanted to stay the night. He really did, and sometimes he managed it. He loved spooning with Wyatt and being disgustingly kissy-face with him, but too much love and tenderness did something to him, triggered a panic attack, made him want to turn on Wyatt and bite him all over.

Snuggle-phobic.

No, not snuggle-phobic, just…. sensible. I have sensible trust issues. Shifter issues. Cat in a man’s world issues.

And then there were the dreams; The Dog Men dreams. When the night terrors took hold and his impossible reality stabbed at him with its sharp-edged persistence, the urge to leap out of bed and shift was nearly unbearable.

***

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 (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical romantic fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

***

I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall and Matthias (DreamSpinners Press) are out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

***

Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

***

Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors~Roller Coaster Ride

by

12

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a group of diverse writers share excerpts from their work (published, soon-to-be-published, or fresh off the brain skillet) in snippets of ten sentences or less. It’s a smorgasbord of fun fiction (and sometimes nonfiction) and a great way to find your next favorite book.

I’m currently sharing from my WIP, working title Wild. This is book 4 in the Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series. In Chapter One, Jacqui is weighing the danger he might be in against the warm and squishy feelings he’s reluctantly developed for a certain deputy sheriff. He knows he should pack up and run, but…

***

He pulled the musty quilt he’d snagged tighter around his shoulders and tilted his head back to sniff the air. He didn’t even know what love was, to be honest. He’d never been afflicted with the ailment before. Not since he was a teenager anyway, and everyone knew what a hormone-induced hallucinatory roller coaster ride that kind of love was.  He forced his thoughts away from looming emotional insanity and analyzed the tangy scent teasing his nostrils.

New cat in the hood. We should check that out.

We should go back to bed.

One of the problems with having a boyfriend—and there were many—was that fleeing the warm and snuggly bed at night to go roam the streets as a cat was awkward behavior to explain away. Jacqui tended to make excuses to go home, insisting he was a light sleeper, that he needed to get up very early and work, that sometimes he lashed out and clawed his bed partners as he slept, which was true.

***

***

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 (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical romantic fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

***

I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall and Matthias (DreamSpinners Press) are out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

***

Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

***

Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ A Dangerous Addiction

by

8

Hello Everyone and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. I took last weekend off to go the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, and I am filled with Words, Story, Laughter and Smoke! We were lucky and none of our outdoor plays were cancelled. Thanks so much to the actors who made the show go on in less than ideal circumstances. We’re all in this together, we crazy people who love words and story so much.

Last time I shared I posted the first 10 lines from Wild, Book 4 in my Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series. Wild is still in first draft form, but Jacqui is anxious to be unleashed on the world once again, so what’s a writer to do? Share an excerpt and hope for the best. We left Jacqui in an agitated state, fretting about the return of the dog shifters who turned out to be not very nice people (or dogs). You can read it here. Full of bravado, he briefly thinks he wants to confront them and get it over with.

***

But not really.  What he really wanted to do was run away. He knew he should pack his meager belongings and flee from San Juan Island, change his name again, and find a deeper hole to hide in.

But he really didn’t want to do that either.

He liked Friday Harbor. He’d settled in, his business was doing well, and he was sick of hiding.

And boyfriend.

And boyfriend.  Wyatt, who right now was sprawled across his king-sized bed alone, whistling softly through his nose in that annoying but also cute way of his; The man had become a habit.  A dangerous, delicious, sexy addiction that Jacqui couldn’t get enough of.

***

Cat in a rare contemplative mood.

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 (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical romantic fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

***

I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall is out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

***

Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

***

Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Come and Get Me

by

16

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers share excerpts from their work in ten snippets or less, and readers get to hop around and read all sorts of fun stuff! Did I mention it’s free? It’s like channel surfing for book junkies.

So here I am, back to the world of Jacqui the Cat. I’m a little trepidatious about sharing from Book 4, which is still in a raw, rather lumpy state, but I’ve found sharing here is great motivation to clean, polish, and get that book out there! Working title Wild, Book 4 in the Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series, takes Jacqui deeper into the world of shifters, a world that does not match up to his romantic fantasies.

***

The Dog Men cometh.

Of that, Jacqui had no doubt. They would come with their fangs, their drool and their fleas, armed with tranquilizer guns and iron cat traps. The only question was when.

Jacqui shivered and stepped out onto Wyatt’s back patio. It was 3:30 a.m.  He couldn’t sleep. Didn’t want to sleep.  He wanted to shift and prowl the moon-drenched streets of Friday Harbor. He wanted to scour every yard for enemies, dig in gardens for buried threats, howl at the top of his lungs, Come and get me, Dogs.

***

As you might have guessed from the snippet, in Roam, Book 3, Jacqui had a little run in with some dog shifters. It didn’t go well, and he’s been a little uneasy ever since.

 

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 (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical romantic fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

***

I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall is out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

***

Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

***

Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!