I'd like to say I've been extremely busy writing and creating, but - let's face it - I've been catching up on Supernatural and tackling a few of the (many many many) home repair projects necessary to keep my house from collapsing in upon itself.
So, better late than never, I suppose?
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One of the most common responses I get after someone reads my book is how much they enjoyed Machs, the cat.
Machs was based on a real-life cat of mine, Max, who passed away many years ago. He was my dear friend and companion for 13 years before succumbing to medical ailments; I like to think he would have lived a great deal longer, had it not been for the tumors.
But, the life he did live was an interesting one. He came to my family in the dead of winter in upstate New York. His previous people abandoned him and moved away, leaving Max to fend for himself via the bird feeder hanging from the pines in our backyard. We got several feet of lake-effect snow one weekend, and couldn't bear to see him outside to freeze, so we let him in - much to the chagrin of our resident cat, Fred.
We were worried that two male cats would be an issue, territorially speaking, but it turns out that Max was more than happy to crown Fred as King so long as it meant a regular meal and a warm bed. After New York, we moved to Maine, and later to Virginia. He saw me through high school, my first job, marriage, and children - all the while with impeccable grooming habits. Nary a hair was out of place; he was one of the most beautiful cats I've ever seen (and he knew it, too).
And, unlike Machs in this series, he was a quiet fellow, whose voice never rose above a whisper; he had a raspy "meow" that rendered him nearly mute.
I suppose that, coupled with his shortened life, is what led me to imagine what he would be like if he were gifted with human speech. Our beloved Machs is capable of a myriad of languages spoken across the cosmos, due in part to his extraordinarily long life and ability to slip in and out of portals unnoticed...
I would elaborate, but spoilers, darling...
