Dear Reader who must surely appreciate a high concentration of cat-related content,

I have a (real) cat story for you. But first, a different (fictional) cat story.

Arcove's Bright Side is finished! The portrait of Roup on the cover was painted by the incredibly talented Iben Krutt, who also painted the covers for Lullaby and Distraction. Jeff McDowall added the lettering and helpful maps.

If you pre-ordered this book, you should have gotten a couple of emails from me with links. Likewise if you beta read it. If you didn't get those, let me know.

This is Book 4 in the Hunters Universe. It's much longer than the last two, at around 140,000 words. Here's what it's about:

Halvery has always been a bit of a curmudgeon. He’s been an alpha for most of his life and has never tolerated familiarity from underlings. As a result, he has few friends. Nevertheless, Halvery’s social circle has broadened recently, thanks to Roup’s relentless efforts. Now, he finds himself in the unsettling role of mentor to junior council members, teacher to ferryshaft foals, and a lot closer than he ever thought he’d get to Arcove.

Halvery isn’t sure what to make of all this, but he’s decided that the world needs more of Roup’s golden fur. He uses his new contacts and influence in pursuit of this goal, surprising everyone with his tenacity. Along the way, he gets to know Caraca, Lyndi, and even Nadine better than he expected.

Meanwhile, Roup is still trying to communicate with Dazzle. The situation in the Southern Mountains has deteriorated. Thistle’s cats are fighting for their lives with Sedaron’s ferryshaft, and Roup would still like to help.

Arcove isn’t about to let Roup have another solitary encounter with Thistle’s creasia. He has taken the situation into his own purview, much to Roup’s annoyance. When Thistle finally sends a desperate cry for help, Arcove and Roup have the most serious disagreement in their long partnership. They are still on poor terms when they take an expedition into the Southern Mountains in early spring.

However, the situation is more complicated than even Roup guessed. The thread of goodwill he created with Dazzle could save their lives or it could lure them into a deadly trap. Halvery suspects the latter, but he has no intention of letting them die alone. If Arcove and Roup are going to get themselves killed in the mountains, Halvery would rather go with them.

Note: This one is more of an action/adventure plot than Distraction, but it's still not for children.

You can buy the ebook here. Paper will be along in a few weeks and audio in a few months.

Reading order for the Hunters Universe is:

Hunters Unlucky
Lullaby
Distraction
Arcove's Bright Side
The nameless new thing I'm writing now on Patreon

All finished ebooks and audiobooks here.

What else is going on?

• In case you missed it last week, Book 1 of The Knight and the Necromancer is out in Chinese, and it's super cool. Details and cover art here.

• The audiobooks of Lullaby and Distraction are still up in my Patreon feed. I'll be taking Lullaby down soon, but as of this moment, you could listen to both of them at the $3 level.

• I am also still working on the first Sleipner book. If you want to follow along in real time (read the draft as I write it), you can do that at the $1 level on my Patreon.

• The Pirates of Wefrivain Books are still not correct on Audible. Specifically, books 3 and 4 have not been updated with the new material. If you want them as I intended them, please get them from me.

And now, for the moment you've been waiting for...a(nother) cat story

I was sitting in my office writing last week when I heard the softest of boioioioing sounds and something like a distant mew. My office is upstairs, but I have developed a 6th sense for when the boys have gotten themselves into trouble, so I came out in a hurry, ran downstairs, and out the back door onto the screened porch.

Sure enough, Mochi had climbed the screen (again) in spite of having softpaws on his front claws. Moreover, he'd reached the highest corner, from which he likes to jump to the small section of roof that is within the porch. And he'd gotten stuck. The claw-covers that are supposed to prevent him from climbing had gotten wedged in the screen at a spot on a level with the roof, some 10 or 12 feet off the ground. His weight had torn the top of the screen from the place where it was anchored.

Mochi hadn't quite panicked yet, but he was looking pretty worried. He was exploring his limited options, which included shoving himself through the hole, so that his weight rested uncomfortable on his stomach, or hanging by his trapped toe, which was worse. Meanwhile, his brother Taro was pacing nervously below, doubtless saying, "I told you so."

They both looked at me with expressions of relief when I appeared. Mochi allowed himself to slide down so that he was as low as possible, clearly expecting me to save him from his poor decisions. This was easier said than done. I jumped up on the cabinet underneath where he was hanging. No good. It wasn't high enough. I then stepped further up onto the slender shelf from which Mochi had been making his attempts upon the roof. That got me close enough to grab him by the scruff, but it was impossible to keep my balance while using my other hand to unhook his claw, which was still well above my head.

A minute or so of fiddling...and then the whole shelf gave way. Dear reader, I'm not sure why I don't have a broken foot. Or a broken head. Or a broken cat.

Somehow, I managed to land without stepping off the cabinet (a 4-foot drop onto concrete) or trapping my foot under the falling shelf or smashing Mochi against anything. He didn't even break his toe when it was pulled violent free of the screen. I ended up standing on the cabinet, swearing and hyperventilating, with my cat by the scruff in one hand. I delivered a rather harsh verbal critique of his behavior and then released him.

Here he is below, getting his zen back in the new herb box I planted.

Yours,
An author with cat-like landing abilities