Feline Companions and Loss

I am owned by cats. I currently have three, two older males and a younger female. While there are times their demand for attention is trying, like when I'm on deadline and editing a manuscript, I have to remind myself their time in my life is brief.

I've already said goodbye to three cats when their time came. Each of them are missed but life moves forward even with their loss. I will soon face the same again with my older boys, one of which his kidney's are failing and the other although healthy, is pretty much deaf and eventually, his health will fail. He's almost eighteen.

I was further reminded of this over the weekend when I visited friends. They have a cat who has mouth cancer and they have already scheduled a day off to take her to their vet and offer the final kindness. They are spending the last two days saying their goodbyes and absolutely spoiling her. They also recently lost one of their other feline companions.

I two, suffered cat losses a year and half apart. I know what they are going through and the mourning they have ahead of them. My two girls are missed, but they live on, at least in spirit, in my book Winter Awakening.

'God's Gift' - Sneak peak

I recently re-read my next to be published novel, 'God's Gift'. It's a very good story about three siblings who find themselves on the last colonization ship to leave Earth before a super volcano erupts. Once they reach their new home they discover not is all as was expected, not to mention an intelligent feline race who first words to the human settlers is, 'God told us you were coming, tell us about His son."

The shocked reaction of the those who first contact the felines and the following events pushes apart the colony, forcing everyone to make a hard decision about what the true future of the colony is or isn't.

Due out hopefully in 2013 from WolfSinger Publications, it is an indirect prequel to my current novel 'Winter Awakening' and a fun spring board into more adventures that will be written in the Five Systems and Borders universe.




Chapter 1

Why does it always rain at funerals like on the holos? Lawrence wondered as he watched the dark cherry casket slowly lowered into the rain soaked ground.  Lightening flashed overhead followed by crackling deafening thunder.  He saw his sister flinch at the noise and he reached over to gently touch her shoulder.  Susanna gave him a grateful smile as tears ran down her pale face.    

Not for the first time, he wondered how God could have been so cruel and taken away the only man who had understood his brilliant sister.  Gary Gates had loved her and been willing to marry her despite all the traveling her career demanded.  Unfortunately, the two had met while she’d been working in London and the rest of the family had not gotten a chance to get to know him very well.

Water dripped over the edge of the black umbrella he held.  Larry shook it glad, because of the damp chill, he’d insisted on wearing his woolen uniform rather than the rented dark suit his mother had tried to convince him was better.  

“Do not mourn as unbelievers do,” the pastor began.

At least this preacher didn’t do the usual ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ speech.   Larry guessed the man must be from a list provided by the funeral home since he didn’t know him from their regular church.

“Rather remember that we have hope, while others do not,”