RELEASE DAY! The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods

It's here! It's here! The day has finally arrived! My third novel, the second book in the Chupacabra Trilogy, was officially released by Casperian Books today!

 The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods

To all of you who have followed along for the past 9 days leading up to this, reading the character interviews, and entering into the daily drawing to win a free book, THANK YOU! I sincerely appreciate your support and encouragement.

Congratulations to all the contest winners: Connie D, Bob S, Pat B, Jennifer K, Lori D, Phyllis G, Keith W, Julie N, and Henny H.  I hope you enjoy the story, whichever book you selected. And please consider writing an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other online bookseller websites, and recommending the book to your friends. Word of mouth from satisfied readers is a writer's most effective marketing tool! And please click on Bob's name to check out his blog post about The Un-Familiar---and then read on for more of Bob's great writing.

To wrap up this lead up to the books unveiling, I'll leave you with this: some of the lyrics, and a link to the video, of Demons by Imagine Dragons. I first heard this song while writing an early draft of The Un-Familiar and then, like now, it gave me chills. If ever a song completely captured the essence of a story, this one does for The Un-Familiar. I played it every morning to inspire and motivate me to write. If you've read the character interviews over the past 9 days and/or the first book in the trilogy, Ye Gods!, you'll have some idea of why the words are such a perfect fit. If not, have a listen, read the lyrics, and check back after you've read The Un-Familiar and let me know what you think--is this the perfect theme song for the story, or what?

Demons by Imagine Dragons

(lyrics from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/imaginedragons/demons.html)

When the days are cold

And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold

...

I wanna hide the truth

I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There’s nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

Don’t get too close

It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

Take a look and listen on YouTube: DEMONS by Imagine Dragons and tell me what you think. Does it give you goosebumps too? If not, it just might after you read The Un-Familiar!

Thank you all again for stopping by to read, entering the contest, and being the supportive, wonderful readers and friends you are!

Interview with the Chupacabra!

Here we are, only ONE DAY TO GO until the release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods, and one chance left to win your FREE copy of the book (or of my other two titles, Marina Melee or Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons.)

Congratulations to Wednesday's drawing winner, Julie N!

If you haven't won yet, be sure to give it one more go--head over to the Contact page on my website and send me a message to get your name in the hat.

 

Introducing The Star of the Story, the one, the only--

The Chupacabra!

 

Here we are, the day before the release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods, with our ninth and final character interview. Today, I'm talking with the character this all revolves around, the chupacabra, aka Chewy, formerly known as Muggle, and before that, Paco, and before that, Toby.  Or, as he's known in some circles, the dog-god of Mercy.

LMH: Welcome, Chewy! OMG, you are sooooo adorable!

Chewy: Yip, yip, yip!

The Chupacabra, aka Chewy, aka Muggle,
aka Paco, aka Toby, aka
the dog-god of Mercy.
 

LMH: Oh, and canine, too. Chewy, sit. Thank you. OK, can I speak to the god?
Chewy (in a play bow, growling): Grrrrrrr.

 

LMH: Chewy? Come on. This is an interview. I need to talk with the god. Can you let him speak?
Chewy: Arf! Arf-arf!

 

LMH: No, I didn't mean "speak" like that, I mean, can Mercy talk with us?
Chewy (runs around the room and grabs a tug-toy.)

 

LMH: Ok, I'll tug for a minute if you promise to settle down afterwards so I can talk with Mercy. Excuse me a moment, folks.

•  
•  

LMH: There. No lay down. Down. Good girl. Mercy? Are you there?
Mercy (with a heavy sigh; his answer comes not in words, but in images and thoughts in my mind): I am here.

 

LMH: Welcome back. It must be rewarding to know so many animals believe in you.
Mercy: I am sad that so many still need to believe in me.

 

LMH: True. So, let's talk about some of the positive things in your life. How about Rafi?

Mercy: Unlike most of your species, Rafi is a good, good man. He deserves mercy and love more than most. He deserves the Captain.

LMH: How about the others: Kiki, Senora Milagros, Carmen?

Mercy: Ah, I love them all. They are remarkable and their life stories are meant to converge. I ensure that happens--with a bang. To find out how, read The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. Now, I must rest. I will release Chewy. She is eager to play.

 

Confused? As the god said, read The Un-Familiar and you won't be! Available tomorrow, July 1, from Casperian Books, or pre-order now at Amazon.

Now go register HERE for your chance to win a copy!