Hello everyone! Today we have the lovely Chris T. Kat back to visit us once again. Chris is here to talk about her latest release, The Wolf and His Diva. She has also brought an exclusive excerpt just for us, as well as a copy to give away to one lucky reader. So please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Shifters I’ll (probably) Never Write About
Jay, thank you very much for having me. I’m here to talk about my new release, The Wolf and His Diva, a m/m shape-shifter romance which will be published by Dreamspinner Press on March 12th.
In The Wolf and His Diva, the two main characters, George and Billy, have the ability to shift not only into one, but two animals. Both of them can shift into foxes. George’s second form is a wolf, whereas Billy’s second form is a red squirrel.
As I pondered about the various possibilities in which animals my guys could change into, I suddenly realized there are certain animal-forms I’ll—most likely—never choose.
- Spiders. Yikes! Do I need to explain that? Right, I didn’t think so.
- Cockroaches, ants, bees—the whole insect world. While these animals would probably make fascinating shifters (think about the whole social structure in a bee hive)… no. If I had to write about all those many legs and buzzing sounds, I’d probably go insane.
- Snakes. I can’t fathom writing about one of my characters shifting into a snake. The different kinds of symbolism associated with snakes would complicate the plot (for example: snakes as symbols for evil or as symbols for fertility) although it’d probably be fun to write about a molting shifter…
- What about some larger animals like elephants, antelopes, or musk oxs? Also fascinating animals with very interesting family/herd structures but… I guess if the guys shift into an elephant that’s bound to generate some interest in the general public, right?
- Sharks. Since they’re not mammals, would I need to explain why they have lungs as humans but gills as a shark? Wouldn’t that particular shifter need to stay close to the sea? Hmm, sounds complicated to me.
Guess, I’ll stick to the furry and cute kind of shifters. 😉 So, what shifters couldn’t you fathom to read about?
Blurb
George Owens is comfortable with his life just the way it is. A wolf- and fox-shifter, George leads a reclusive lifestyle with his energetic and diva-ish mate Billy, a fox-and squirrel-shifter.
George has no desire to take over leadership of the pack, despite his father’s wishes. Edward Owens is feeling his age and wants to make sure the pack is in good hands should he not be able to win his next challenge. However, George is adamant that he wants no part of it.
But events rock George from his complacency, and he realizes he has to take a stand and fight for what he cares about. If he remains in the past and cannot change in order to do what he must, he risks losing everything he loves.
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4765
Exclusive Excerpt from Chapter Two
(George is in his wolf-form and Billy in his squirrel-form)
George carefully picked his way down the snow-covered slope. At one point, he slipped because the snow had hidden a patch of ice. Billy held on more tightly to his ears until George found his footing again. He climbed down the rest of the hill even more carefully, mindful of his precious passenger.
When they reached their house, he turned in the direction of the box with their clothes.
George, wait! Billy called. Maybe I can squeeze myself inside somehow? This way we could shovel snow later?
Last winter, Billy hadn’t known about his other form. He was a late bloomer—only discovered his ability as a teenager and had no one to guide him—and only found out about his second form a month ago. Not much time to come to terms with it.
You think you can do that? George asked dubiously. Everything is sealed, we made sure of that.
It’s worth a try. Carry me over to the door? There’s this small crack above the doorbell we never got around to fixing. Maybe I’m small enough to squeeze through.
George eyed the crack. He doubted Billy, even in his tiny form, could fit through. What if you get stuck?
My, aren’t we positive today.
Billy!
Come on, George, let me try! If it feels like I can’t get through, I’ll stop, Billy wheedled.
Promise?
Promise.
Okay, then. George sighed.
If Billy had set his mind on something, it was almost impossible to convince him to the contrary. Billy climbed up the front door and stuck his head into a little hole above the doorbell. His red fur stood out prominently against the white snow and dark wood of the house.
I think that’ll work, Billy said.
He stuck his head into the crack and wiggled inside. George held his breath when it seemed as if Billy couldn’t get any farther. His long tail moved from one side to the other until it suddenly vanished inside the crack. The thought of Billy getting stuck there sped George’s heart rate up.
The metal scraped from the inside as Billy pushed the bolt aside. The door opened and revealed Billy in all his human glory, a dazzling smile on his face. Come on in, dear.
George’s breath stuck in his throat, and he had to cough to clear it. Before he shifted, he said softly, Home is where the heart is, huh?
After he’d completed the shift, he stepped inside and hugged Billy close to him.
Billy pushed out of his embrace, rubbing his arms briskly. “You’re cold!”
George shook his head, then turned around to close the front door so Billy couldn’t see the grin on his face. “You’re not exactly warm either.”
“Neither is the house, which is why I’ll get dressed right this instant. You may cook dinner in the meantime,” Billy declared loftily.
Turning back, George studied Billy with raised eyebrows. “May I now?”
“Yes. I won, so you have to cook.”
“Would your majesty be okay with me dressing first too? Or would you rather have me freezing my balls off?”
A strand of auburn hair fell onto Billy’s forehead as he tilted his head to the side. “You’re sounding peeved, my dear. Didn’t the snow become you?”
“If you’re smart—and I know you are—you’ll run now,” George replied.
Billy widened his eyes in mock offense. “Isn’t it a bit late for that? I already let my mouth run off.”
Chuckling, he pivoted around and hurried toward their bedroom. Before Billy had a chance of reaching it, George caught up with him. He encircled Billy from behind, pressing his bare chest against Billy’s back.
“You’re still cold,” Billy complained in a whisper.
George ignored the comment and pulled Billy closer to his body until his crotch was firmly pressed against Billy’s ass. A shudder surged through Billy as he leaned back into the offered embrace.
After expelling a deep sigh, Billy said, “I might be inclined to cut the diva act if you’d take a bath with me. How does that sound?”
“You cutting the diva act? Awesome!” To take the sting out of his words, George brushed his lips along Billy’s jaw, eliciting another full-body shudder from him.
“All right, I get it. I might have overdone it. Slightly, I might add.”
“Don’t worry, babe, I know you’re not as fond of the snow and staying in our other forms for more than a few hours. Thank you for sticking with me in our den for a whole week.”
“No gooey stuff right now. Makes my eyes burn, and you know how I feel about that.”
Chris T. Kat
Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there’s any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.
Links:
- Blog: http://christikat.blogspot.com
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat
- GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisTKat
- Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q
Giveaway
Chris has brought a copy of A Wolf and His Diva to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Friday, March 14th at 11:59 pm EST.
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the interview and giveaway!
Good luck in the draw!
Thanks for the giveaway. Count me in.
Good luck, Kim!
Sounds great! Thanks for the excerpt and the chance to win!
Thank you, and good luck, Antonia.
I enjoy shifters other than wolves, so this is great! And sweet too. Winning is always good.
Susan, it’s definitely a sweet story. 🙂
I think I would prefer to stick to furry animals as shifters as well. But I love the thought of it not being just wolves or big cats, the idea of squirrel is very neat!
Allison, I had great fun writing about a squirrel-shifter. 🙂
Please count me in , Thank you.
Good luck!
Please put my name into the hat as well. Thanks
Good luck!
Chris: i couldn’t see most insects being shifters either, although i read the entire Tales of the Sazi series by CT Adams & Cathy Clamp. their snake & spider shifters tended to all be villains.
i’d love to read Chris’s new book! please add me to the pool
I haven’t read that series but now I’m curious. Thanks for mentioning it! Good luck, Kira!
Chris, this book just sounds like sweet fun. Adding yet another (I’m sure) personal thank you for NO spider shifters. LOL. I’m in. (Snakes are okay… but all those spider eyes… mmmmmmm) 😛
Chris, thanks a lot for stopping by. Sweet is definitely the right word for this story. 🙂
I really enjoyed your other books and have added this one to my list.
Debra, thank you very much. That’s lovely to hear. 🙂
I’ve read a few of those shifters! But for me, the spiders and insects are a definite no-go. Maybe somebody can pull it off, but I’m not sure I would dare to read it anyway. *shudders*
lol No worries, only furred shifters in this story! 😉
Sounds nice, I’d love to participate. Thank you!
Good luck, Serena!
I love the idea of a shapeshifter who has a squirrel form! The other forms listed as ‘no’s, I completely agree with.
Please count me in. Thank you.
Selina, I had a blast writing Billy in his squirrel-form. Good luck!
Sounds great. I’d love to win a copy.
Good luck, Rodney!
Count me in please, thank you!!!
Fingers crossed for you!
Please count me in. Thanks.
Best of luck, Karl!
The squirrel shifter sounds really cute!!! I wouldn’t like insects or snakes….. but I might like horses.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Oh, I’ve read a book about a horse-shifter and really liked it. Billy (the squirrel-shifter) is cute–even if he doesn’t admit it. 😉
Thanks for the excerpt and giveaway 🙂
Good luck!
Please count me in, thank you.
Good luck! 🙂
Sounds like it’ll be a fun book. Thank you for the excerpt and giveaway =)
I had great fun writing the story. 😀
I love the cover art!
blackasphodel(at)yahoo(dot)com
Me too! Me too! 🙂
I’m totally with you on avoiding bug shifters. 🙂 Please count me in. Thanks!
I’m glad I’m not the only one. lol
Please count me in. Thanks!
Good luck, Gigi!
This sounds acorable, count me in please!!!
I sure hope it is. 🙂
Actually, I’ve enjoyed some of the crazy shifters best! Maybe a praying mantis, or some other animal that eats/maims its mate after the act, might put me off…
But a praying mantis shifter would make a neat villain, right? 😉
I so want to read this book. Please. please include me. Thank you so much for the giveaway and the chance.
marsh10@netzero.com
Hey there! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
I’ve read the excerpt on DSP page and now this from chapter two… and I have to have this book!!!! thankd for the chance to win
I’m glad you liked what you’ve read so far, thank you!
Maybe a roach or a fly.