You know, in doing these excerpts about Rayvin’s sweet cat, I have gained a new sensibility about the concept of book pets. These are the critters who live in our hearts and imaginations, even if we never get to nuzzle, cuddle, snuggle, rub, or cradle them in real life. Do book pets give the same impressions if they make it to the silver screen? Or are they more effective when left to wander the printed page?
Let’s enjoy one more concentrated dose of Samantha the Rescue Kitty in Wind and Shadow: Book One of the Talbot Trilogy…
Grant removed his heavy uniform belt and dropped it on the bed. He sat down heavily beside it, and leaned over slowly to unlace his boots. His feet were sore from all the walking he’d done. Making a mental note to get new cushioning insoles, he stripped off his socks and tossed them toward the laundry hamper. He held up his footwear to check for scuffs and dirt. “Great,” he muttered. “I hate polishing these things.”
Rayvin’s cat poked her head into his doorway and meowed.
“Hey, there, fuzz-ball!” He gave her a tired smile. “Why didn’t you come out earlier, so I could take you home? I know she’s been a bit worried.” She padded sinuously toward his outstretched fingers and sniffed delicately before bumping his hand. He obediently rubbed behind her ears. “Just let me get out of my uniform before you jump up and get cat hairs all over me,” he told her.
Her tail lifted in offence, she trotted a few paces away. Samantha watched critically while he disrobed, hanging his pants up to preserve the creases and looking over his shirt for stains before putting it on a hanger. “One more day before I have to wash that, maybe two,” Grant told her. She looked up at him solemnly. “I was really careful with my lunch. No mustard stains or anything.”
Samantha turned and licked herself.
“Is that a message that I need another shower?”
She ignored him, absorbed in her task.
“I guess it must be.”
He stripped off the white t-shirt that he usually wore under his uniform, and his underwear, throwing them both onto the socks in the hamper. Nude, he walked down the hall to the bathroom and started the water running…
The shower turned icy cold, jolting Grant out of his reverie. Cursing, he ripped the plastic curtain to one side. Samantha was perched on the toilet tank, her tail curling idly back and forth. She looked at him, her expression innocent, as the water bowl completed its cycle.
“You’re a brat,” Grant told her. She looked away. “Don’t think I don’t know what you just did. A dog wouldn’t do that. Maybe it’s time I got myself a nice, big, mutt.” The cat favoured him with a haughty stare before leaping down and stalking out the door.
Happy 10th Anniversary Month to Samantha, the Rescue Kitty!
Are you wondering whether Samantha actually gets back to Rayvin? And if so, how Grant manages it? Time to get a copy of Wind and Shadow for your summer reading! (If you’re like me, you may just want to get all four books in the series, actually…)
After being missing for a space of time, Samantha makes her way to someone she knows can help — even if that person is currently on her two-legged mother’s bad list…
His perspective should be clear and simple, but it was neither of those things. Grant pressed his lips together as he crumpled the aluminum can in his large, calloused hands. He did not need complications, not at this point in his life. Rayvin Woods had been a stupid crush when he was too young and inexperienced to know any better. He was an intelligent man with willpower, not a horny teenager with his brain in his pants. He would take care of Rayvin, and that would be that.
The rustling sounds came closer, and a small shadow detached itself from the rhododendrons. Slinking along the base of the deck, it paused in front of him and meowed piteously.
“Hey, there, kitty-cat,” Grant murmured, crouching down and offering his fingers. He slowly and carefully set the crushed can aside to avoid frightening the animal. It bumped and nuzzled his knuckles, moving close enough for him to see a glittering golden tag. Gently catching its collar, he lifted the fluffy black creature up and cradled it in his arms.
“Well, you furry beast, where did you come from? Let’s see your tag, hmm?” He stood up so the engraving would be visible in the little light remaining from the sun. “Samantha.” Rayvin’s cat.
Her face surfaced in his memory again… The cat bumped his chin, requesting caresses. Automatically, he rubbed behind her ears. The corner of his mouth lifted in response to the grateful purr she emitted.
“Well, you may be a rescue animal, Samantha,” he muttered, letting the whole weight of the animal settle into his chest. “But you seemed to have survived the wilds of Talbot.”
She curled and undulated in his arms, rolling to expose her belly. Either her cat was one of the dumbest creatures he’d ever met, or incredibly intelligent. She didn’t know him from Adam, and her mistress clearly despised him. Yet she was entirely relaxed, letting him have his fill of her softness. Unless the cat had some mysterious talents of her own, and he’d been bewitched into her service. Her paw batted his chin.
“You’re weird, cat. What do you think you are, a kitten again?” She lifted her chin as his thumb rubbed the delicate bone just under the softest fur. It was no wonder he hadn’t seen her in the bushes; there wasn’t a spot of white on her. She was the perfect witch’s cat…
Keeping a firm grip on Rayvin’s cat, he descending into the yard to pour sand and water on the fire from the buckets he always kept handy. Satisfied that the embers were dead, he and the feline headed inside. Neither of them noticed the larger shadow that detached itself from the bushes in the failing light, slithering unhurriedly toward the house.
He slid the door firmly shut behind him, setting the animal on the floor of the kitchen. He filled one bowl with water, and another with some leftover pike from the fridge. Stroking her head as she indulged herself in the treat — Grant supposed that it wasn’t often any house cat was given free-range fish — he contemplated changing into his uniform for maximum impact at the hospital. No, that might lead to questions from his superiors. Off-duty he was, and off-duty he would remain. He sighed, straightening up, and reached for his keys.
“I’m going to get your mom, cat,” he told her. “Be good. No parties, and don’t wait up.”
As he left the room, leather jacket in hand, the cat suddenly left off licking the fishy residue from the bowl, sitting up in full alert. An ear flicked toward the gathering darkness outside. She hissed, baring her teeth and arching her back, as a shadow drew itself up on the deck and blotted out the last of the greying light coming through the patio doors. Red eyes gleamed down at her. The sound of the motorcycle starting up in the drive was almost loud enough to obscure the vampire’s quiet laughter. Almost.
At least the rescue kitty was safe! And that’s all we really want for any animal, isn’t it?
One more Samantha Appreciation post to go, in honour of the 10th Anniversary of the release of Wind and Shadow… in the meantime, why not add to your summer reading list? Download or order your own copies of the Talbot Trilogy today!
Full disclosure: I’m sore and tired today, in part from attempting to mow my lawn yesterday, as well as the emotional heft of preparing for the passing of our little Guinea pig, Caramel. Unfortunately, due to the poor air quality outside (thanks, forest fires) and my own bad physical condition, I couldn’t get the guineas into the garden as I had wanted. But at least I had brought a bit of wildflowers indoors, and I think Caramel had a bit of a nibble. She was, at least, comfortable and surrounded by love when her journey ended this afternoon. So I am copying and pasting what I have already added to my author page on FB. Hope that’s okay.
Sometimes I post on here and then copy part of it to Facebook. Reverse Uno!
Day Three of Pride month, and Day Three of celebrating the release of Wind and Shadow: Book One of the Talbot Trilogy, back in June 2013.
The Talbot Trilogy is actually a series of four books, but I prefer Trilogy because it consists of three full-length novels with a prequel novella.
Three more fun facts:
One reviewer noted in the early years after release that it’s really an urban adventure series, which I hadn’t intended or expected when I started writing about good witches vs evil vampires in Northeastern Ontario.
Besides my love for horror, the undead, and the lore of magick and witchcraft, the Talbot Trilogy was also inspired by Nora Roberts and her tendency to produce romances in trilogy formats.
And finally, most of the locations in the main novels and prequel novella are based on actual places in Ontario, including (in no specific order) Pearson International Airport, the Temagami Fire Tower, Mount Cheminis, the Classic Theatre in downtown Cobalt, 8 Prospect Avenue in Cobalt (a building with a head frame and a mineshaft within it, currently housing White Mountain Publications), 7 Prospect Avenue in Cobalt (a commercial property that has changed hands since 2013), Silverland Cemetery on King Street between Cobalt and North Cobalt, the bandshell at Haileybury Harbour Place, Temiskaming Hospital, Devil’s Rock, and the Grant Mansion in Haileybury. And, of course, the abandoned mine tunnels that honeycomb beneath the streets and residences of Cobalt, itself.
Why would I weave the battles between positive and malevolent forces among these real places, yet fictionalize them?
I wanted some freedom or poetic license to play with locations, but I also wanted to showcase a community that is special to me. It was a bit of a hope, too, that if my books became popular, it might help bring more tourism to Cobalt. 🙂 And there is also the general writing advice to develop a story around the familiar and known. Plus, there is so much potential for supernatural beings in a place filled with deep hiding spots, high cliffs, and beautiful old buildings!
It’s not a trope that we see very often, I think. In fact, in considering this topic, I was hard-pressed to come up with more than the following examples of movies involving editors of any kind as characters: The Proposal (2009), Never Been Kissed (1999), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), Julie & Julia (2009), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and any of the Spider-Man movies involving J. Jonah Jameson.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists 70 titles involving book editors — yet only eight tagged with generic ‘editors’ as a keyword (none of them being Spider-Man?!?) — and I only really remember having watched one other on that list, The Holiday (2006).
I’m tempted to perform a deeper analysis, theorizing that literary editors (fiction and non) rarely appear as protagonists in narratives. I get the feeling that when they do appear as more than background or supporting characters, unless they’re involved in a life crisis, threatened by other-worldly or malevolent forces, or it’s a romance.
Note to self: still need to watch 1408(2007).
Is it just me, or does literature and the media tend to paint the idea of being an editor as something that is … not exciting? As being valued support and/or controlling member of a writing team who tends to stay at the edges of the action, around whom flurries of activity revolve and to whom submissions are made for approval or denial?
I can see how that impression might exist. After all, the task of editing itself tends to be quite anchored, seeing as it involves (at minimum) poring over a document or footage of some kind to check for errors and fix mistakes. It’s not necessarily physical, unless an erasable, possibly magnetic board and removable notes are involved. Possibly a standing desk. And unless the editor is embedded within or leading a departmental team, the role is often shown to be fairly solitary and isolated by its very nature.
How many editor characters have been written and directed as being jaded, straight-laced, and even cruel in their decision-making and professional interactions? Alternatively, some have been developed as quirky, eccentric, overly kind, and eager to experience more, especially those characters who desire to make the leap from editor to writer, or assistant to full editing duties in service of producing excellent books and stories for the world.
How many of us can say we actually personally know a professional editor who can give us an accurate inside look at their lived individual experiences? Are the fictional editors of movies and literature in any way realistic depictions of the profession? Whether the characters are primary or secondary, what do they get right about the job and life of an editor, generally speaking? Is it even possible to generalize what it’s like to be an editor? Or are they idealizations based on the lived experiences of writers themselves?
In turn, how might the portrayals of editors in the various industries requiring them — newspapers, magazine, academic, and book publishers, manufacturing companies requiring production of clean internal documents, publicity firms, journals, etc. — have an impact on the growth and development of the field in the real world?
For example, what proportion of working editors today are BIPOC (AKA people of the global majority)? How many are women, or members of the LGBQT2S+ community? If the representation is indeed lacking of editor characters with these personal, cultural, ethnic, and/or spiritual backgrounds, as I suspect it is, then that’s deserving of attention. And so should be the development of editor characters who are whole, complex individuals rather than the stereotypes and caricatures that we may be accustomed to seeing in pages and on the silver screen.
I remember having a moment, back in teachers’ college, when a fellow student told me that they’d registered for the Teachers Writing Lives elective course, for the educator candidates who aspired to become authors while also in the classroom. I wished I’d taken the course at the time, and I kind of still do. From a basic Google search, it looks like similar courses exist today.
Because if we want to examine and then counter the negative patterns and impressions caused by the most common examples of fictional editors in books and movies, what better way than to pull from our own experiences, fellow editors of real-life Earth? And in so doing, use the narratives we both invent and recall as a means of deep reflection on our practices, our work-life balances, our incorporation of healthy lifestyle habits, our short- and long-term career goals, and a distinctly vital element, our networking.
Oh, that’s one other thing that I just realized is common to among the editor characters that I am aware of in books and films: they are, overwhelmingly, already successful in their professions. Where are the stories of aspiring, struggling, novice, and apprentice editors, other than Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal? Do we need more of those to help inspire the current and future generations who are drawn to correcting words and images, helping documents to shine?
Darned right, we do.
Editing is not an easy task, by any means. It can be as challenging as it is rewarding. One editor alone is lending their strength to a writer’s efforts in communicating their message; a team of editors working with solo or collective, collaborative writers are powerful entities, indeed. But we rarely see them, hidden away in offices and behind desks and boards and computer screens as they tend be.
And in this new era of ChatGPT and AI voicing, the role of the editor in polishing manuscripts is still significant. I don’t know about you, but when a congenial computer voice misreads or mispronounces something in an audiobook or a video, I’m willing to bet it’s because there was an uncaught or uncorrected error in the spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation that the artificial intelligence took literally. And it drives me up the wall. But again, maybe that’s just me.
Cheers, fellow editors. I see you, and I salute you.
When I get my business plan done, I think I’m going to make myself a hoodie emblazoned with EDITOR. Just because I can. And editors are awesome, no matter how they’re portrayed in fiction.
Thanks for reading! And please, feel free to tell me your favourite or most memorable experiences with editing or editors in the comments below. Change names to protect the innocent as needed, of course.
While I work on building my editing service, I am also determined to get back to the stories that want me to write them. It’s on my daily to-do list, permanently.
And yet…
It used to be, ten years ago, that I would stay up super late after the kids were in bed, and power through until 1 or even 2 am, letting the story take me where it wanted to go. I called this, “off-roading”.
What I remember from that experience was that once I got over the hump of the first few chapters — or even through some interesting scenes, written non-linearly — and understood the characters and their conflict more, the rest would begin to flow.
So that is what I need to get back to.
I noticed this blog post on LinkedIn the other day, written by April Davila: “Writer’s Block? Maybe You’re Writing in the Wrong Format” (https://www.janefriedman.com/writers-block-maybe-youre-writing-in-the-wrong-format/), and it reminded me of that past experience — the moment when I got stuck, and emailed a scene to a friend to ask for feedback, and with her help, realized I was writing in the wrong format.
It’s very frustrating to want to do a certain plot line or character development, but have the words refuse to cooperate.
Even more so when, as Writing Coach April says, “Maybe you’re not writing what you think you’re writing.”
There are two WIPs I have for which this observation applies: the creepy haunted dollhouse epistolary novel, and the haunted museum / mining town paranormal romance.
With the first, I have a binder filled with most of a manuscript, but it has been sitting and gathering dust for several years in part because the story wasn’t going where I had envisioned, and in part because I showed it to the wrong beta reader (mental note: read that blog post I bookmarked on beta readers…) I had an outline for the epistolary, lots of ideas on how things might or did happen, but it wants to do and be something else. Should I show it to another beta reader, in its current unfinished form, in the renewed hope of encouragement? Or start over?
With the second, I published the first chapter already as an incentive for myself: I wanted it to become something like a serial, release the next chapter every month until it was done, but that proved less feasible than I thought, given my new daily challenges. But I still want to explore and write it — there may even be a way to connect the paranormal romance to the epistolary.
If I reconsider the format of each, as Writing Coach April suggests, would that help me to get back some momentum?
It sounds like a worthy experiment, at the very least.
It is always an absolute delight for me to read a new novel by my wonderful friend from across the pond, the indomitable Jenny Twist, and A Gift For Murder: A Tommy Ross Mystery was no exception. In fact, I think this possibly her best work to date.
I was so fortunate to be granted an advance look at this stellar murder-mystery, and I simply could not put it down. While weaving a carefully considered trail of clues from discovery through investigation, and building an ensemble of relatable, empathetic characters anyone might enjoy meeting in a pub for a pint one day, Ms. Twist treats the reader to an intimate glimpse of the Oxford and Cambridge communities in the mid-1990s. With its balanced narrative encompassing the characters’ personal stories, professional lives, and the search for a mysterious killer, A Gift for Murder promises to be the perfect summer read for fans of Sherlock, Hot Fuzz, Castle, and Brooklyn 99.
Synopsis: Joshua found the girl shivering in the stream, clutching a severed hand. Horrific as that was, it was not the worst thing. The worst thing was the nightmares. The monster was coming. It was coming through the corn. Every night it came closer. And it was coming to kill. For PC Tommy Ross this was his first murder case. And he had no idea how to solve it. How do you find a killer when you can’t even find the body?
My Review: Once again, the brilliant Jenny Twist has created a piece that showcases her incredible skills of plot and character development. Drawing on her experiences in Oxford and Cambridge, and her particular talent for slow-building horror, A Gift for Murder leaves no detail overlooked. I was simply floored by this novel and the mystery within — it was a compelling, fast-paced, delightful yet dark read of lifelike characters and their poignant stories. For each of the characters in the ensemble of protagonists, Twist communicates a real sense of “There, but for the Grace of God, go I”. A Gift for Murder pulled me in and kept me guessing, right to the thrilling end.
A Gift for Murder: A Tommy Ross Mystery is now available through all Amazon sites.
Kate Elliot was warned not to stay alone in the Dark Lake North Museum after sunset. But she had a deadline to meet, and she knew ghosts weren’t real. So who — or what — is she encountering when the lights go out?
“‘Even a big tough firefighter?’ I teased, tugging at the fasteners on his coat. ‘Even a big tough fireman,’ he emphasized, kissing me.”
Kate’s Encounter is the exciting, chilling opening chapter in The Dark Lake Chronicles, a modern ghost story / urban fantasy / paranormal romance connecting to the steamy, highly praised Talbot Trilogy.
On a personal note . . . after a couple of emotional, difficult days, it feel so great to have put some refreshed, spicy, spooky words into the world again.
Next up will be drafting, revising, editing, and self-publishing Chapter Two: Coming for Kate, as well as continuing to promote the Talbot Trilogy — some of my favourite characters will be joining Kate from that series as her experiences get scarier. And . . . erm . . . hotter. <<insert smiling devil face>>
Once upon a time, I wrote a short story for the Spellbound 2011 anthology. It was called “Telltale Signs”, and was the tale of young assistant curator Kate Elliott encountering the supernatural in the Dark Lake North Museum.
Spellbound 2011 ceased publication in 2017. Kate and her wonderful boyfriend Harley have been waiting patiently in my files ever since.
Now their story is taking on new life — or an afterlife — with a fresh title, some tweaks to the narrative, and a few other revisions to really round it out and connect it firmly to the adventures of Rayvin, Grant, Charlotte, Pike, Marcy, and Siobhan, only an hour and a half south in Talbot during the events of Crystal and Wand.
Updates on this renewed short read will be posted soon!
She’d put on Charlotte’s golden ankh before leaving the house, the better not to lose it again, but whatever power it had held seemed to fade. It tinkled impotently against her silver pentacle as the vampire swept her in a circle and dipped her into a graceful arc over his leg.
“You are so beautiful,” he cooed, his lips close to her ear. When he spoke in complete sentences, his accent was more pronounced, though she couldn’t place it beyond something Eastern European. She tilted her head back, trying to escape the smell of his breath. “Andrea will be so pleased you came to visit. We have much in common, you know, you and I. We can reach into the mind of another . . . touch the energy pulsing in a body . . . we’re very special.”
Her heart was racing. He chuckled, moving his fingers to feel her pulse. Her arm twitched in response. The vampire ran his fingers, the nails filed now, along her skin. “I don’t need to feel, my darling. I can hear the rush of your blood quite clearly. But I enjoy the pleasures of the skin.” She felt cold lips on the sensitive skin inside her elbow and cried out, weakly.
Rayvin was dizzy, falling. Her legs wouldn’t support her.
He lowered her to the floor, gently, and ran his hand down her body. “Yes,” he whispered, his mouth close to her neck. “Andrea will be most pleased. Jason, too.”
He left her side, and suddenly the room was brilliant with light, hurting her eyes.
Author’s note: Inthis scene, our heroine Rayvin has arrived at the home of her best friend, Andrea, deeply worried about her welfare after some frighting visions — only to discover an unexpected houseguest. The character of the ruthless, malevolent, sexy vampire Malcolm de Sade was inspired by the performance of Goran Visnjicin Practical Magic (1998) and Richard Roxburgh in Van Helsing (2004).
Wind and Shadow: Book One of the Talbot Trilogy is available in print-on-demand, pdf, or as an e-book through these and other retailers:
Tori L. Ridgewood 