Maxie's a fan. No foolin' (well, uh, maybe)

Maxwell: Tomorrow's the big release for book 2 in the Sol Dissolution series, so I thought I'd show my support by posing next to the cover art.

(and trying to eat the eraser off her pencil, but I digress)

I'd give it two thumbs up, except, well...
A. No thumbs, and
2. I, uh, can't read.

(How'm I doing? Can I stop now? I think my chin muscles are cramping....)

Good job, dood.
 

***

Cats in Books!

Faraday: So the mom wrote another book, an' it has super-sleuth spy cats in it. An' the star of the book is patterned after me.

Allie: hrmpf. I hear his nickname is The Brat. *pointed look*

  
The Mom: True, true. But the other one's patterned after you, Allie. And she might be a tad, ahh, grumpy.
 

Allie: *hurt look* I...I...can't believe you'd—
Maxwell: Oh, stuff it, Allie. At least you made it in the book.

The Mom: Sorry, dood. I'll have to work on that one....

 ***

It's true. Beck — short for Bequerel — is patterned after Faraday, if on a rather large scale (the cats are about the size of a cougar. Did I mention this is science fiction?).
And the other cat in the story, Tobi, is patterned after Allie.

I'll have to work on finding just the right spot to showcase Maxwell's unique personality in future books. :-)

The book released last Thursday, and we're running a special, 4-day sale that began yesterday. Right now, you can pick up Sirius as an e-book on Amazon for just 2.99. And if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can read it for free!

In case you wondered, yes, authors do get paid when you borrow a book from KU. Instead of a percent of the purchase, Amazon tracks the number of pages you read in the book, and we get paid accordingly.

As for the cats in the book...here's an excerpt, from a chapter entitled "Catnapped":

  

CATNAPPED

STELLAR DATE: 07.04.3302 (Adjusted Gregorian)

LOCATION: ESS Avon Vale

REGION: Luminescent Space, Sirian Hegemony

   At that very moment, in Jason’s office, a sound alerted Tobi that she was no longer alone. However, a quick ping of the shipnet told her that Jason and Tobias were still in medical working on their guests, so it couldn’t be them.

   She cracked one eye open to see if she needed to sound an alarm, but shut it again when she scented the intruder's identity.

   It was The Brat.

   With a low growl, she rolled onto her side and ordered the holo's sunbeam off. Beck was not invited to share her sun puddle. He could order up his own, using a holo somewhere else—anywhere else, as far as she was concerned. 

   She heard the soft click of nails as he approached, and growled once again as he chirruped and stuck his wet nose in her face.

   <You awake? I got an idea. Wanna hear it?> 

   Small puffs of air tickled the tufts of fur around her ear. She shook her head in reflex and sent him another warning growl.

   <Beat it. I'm sleeping.>

   <You can sleep any old time,> he grumbled, nuzzling her once more and giving the side of her face a tentative lick. 

   That earned him a hiss and a sharp nip, which would have scored his ear if he hadn't quickly reared back. 

   <C'mon, Tobi. I wanna help Terrance, and I got an idea.>

   Huffing, she rolled over to face the platinum-furred cat, and pierced him with a glare. <This better be good. You interrupted an important nap.>

   Beck scrunched up his muzzle. <You think all naps are important.>

   Tobi yawned in his face, flashing two-centimeter-long incisors at him before closing them with a snap. Beck backed away and planted his butt on the deck, ducking his head and tilting it to one side as she sat up. 

   <Get to the point, Brat. You’re eating into my busy schedule.>

   Beck chuffed at that, but was apparently too fired up over his grand plan to counter her claim.

   <Terrance said no talking around the visitors,> he began.

   <Jason said to stay out of sight, too,> Tobi warned, but Beck just shrugged, as if that was open to interpretation.

   Which, Tobi considered, was true of just about everything, given that they were cats.

   Beck stood and began to pace. <So, the way I see it, if they think we can’t understand them, they might say some things in front of us.> He leapt up onto the desk and peered down at her. <Secret things. Things that can help us with our mission.>

   Tobi sat back and studied the Brat as he began to prowl across the top of the desk, tail lashing as he warmed to his topic.

    <I can listen in on their plans and then report back to Terrance,> he enthused. <And they’ll never suspect.>

   He stopped and looked down at her once more. His eyes gleamed with excitement, and Tobi began to feel the thrill of the hunt.

   Sensing success, he stepped forward—and lost his footing as he planted a paw on top of a pile of hyfilms.

   Backpedaling to regain his balance, his actions sent the sheets skidding to the deck, breaking the spell. Tobi shook herself, the moment broken.

   <Fine,> she sniffed, pinning his aqua eyes with a baleful glare from her own tawny ones. <Go play Super Spy. But don’t come crying to me if you get caught,> she tossed over her shoulder as she returned to her bed and turned on the holo of the sunbeam once more. <Wake me when you crack the case. Or don’t.>

   She heard a soft thump as Beck leapt down from the desk. He started in her direction, but she rolled toward the bulkhead, giving him her back.

   <Don’t get your tail caught in the door on your way out.>

* * * * *

Thanks for reading this excerpt. As you might imagine, cats will find their way into just about everything I write (gee, I wonder why!).


Sirius is book 5 in the Enfield Genesis series, and ends the first story arc.
There is more to come, though — much more!

* * *

Sad, sad news

Faraday: Did you hear, Maxie? Mommy's third book is publishing next week.
Maxwell: *sigh-h-h* Yup, dood. I heard.

Faraday: You know what that means, right? She's gonna start on BOOK FOUR now.

Book #4 in the Enfield Genesis series, available January 31, 2019

Faraday: Mommy's gonna be sitting in front of that computer screen even more, Maxie.

Maxwell: Dood. I hate to break it to you, but...yes.
And she'll bang away on that keyboard thing, too.

Faraday: And we're gonna hafta then beg her for wand toy play.
That's wrong, Maxie. On so many levels.

Allie: Boy, boys, boys. You're looking at this all wrong.

Allie: But I'm okay with that. I'll just go ahead and stake my claim now, while you two are bickering and complaining about it....

#girlcatsrule

***

We interrupt our daily cat for a book review

Faraday: I dunno why Mommy keeps sitting there, tippy-tapping on that keyboard, but she seems to think this week's speshul or something.
An' it has to do wif THIS.

Her latest book released yesterday and she's already working on the next one, an' the NEXT one, can you believe it?

If you like science fiction, you can pick it up on Amazon at this link here

That guy wif the glowy eyes looks skeery too.   (He is, kiddo. Very scary.)

Maxwell: Dood, that's because he's the book's nemesis.
Allie: Maxie, you need to put it in words he understands.  
*looks pointedly at Faraday*
That's the book's DOG.

Faraday: ohhhhhh.

Wait, did you just insult me, Allie?
Imma just go stand on Mommy's computer now and stare at her an' stuffs.

 Put a cat on the next cover Mommy! Like, nowz an' stuffs.

  You mean, like this?

The next book (sorry, Faraday didn't make the cut) is out November 1)

Faraday: YASSS! Now that's a book cover, Mommy. Handsome Space Kitty Superhero.

I'll be sure to take it up with the cover designer....

(Maybe not for book 3, though.... sorry kiddo)

Happy Release Day to our mom!

***