Happy June to everyone! It feels like the world jumped from April to June for me, mostly because all of my spring writing plans were derailed in April, when I lost one of my cats unexpectedly, leaving me grief-stricken and without the mental capacity to focus on a story featuring matchmaking cats of the goddesses. For about a month after, every time I tried to work on Her Purrfect Familiar, I would end up crying.
Eventually, when the book was finally ready for release, everything was derailed again when I received notification that my book had been pulled from most retailers due to "declined material" and an audits rights issue. It took days to get everything straightened out (no one knew why it had happened in the first place, so I'm guessing the book ran afoul of a bot).
In any case, by the time they reactivated everything, my release date had passed, resulting in the loss of preorders pretty much everywhere but Amazon. To all those readers whose preorders were canceled, I am so sorry.
The good news is that Jo and Annika's story, Her Purrfect Familiar, is finally live everywhere it should be.
More so than any other book in this series, Her Purrfect Familiar was quite difficult to write, not just because of the loss of Drusilla, but also due to the complicated timeline that spans the length of 3+ books in the series. It was quite the challenge! However, it was also a lot of fun to write, as every matchmaking cat story is.
I try to infuse every book in this series with the joy cats bring me and the love I have for all of them. In this book, though, it is my love for Drusilla specifically, and the pain I feel at her loss, that inspired me.
As always, I hope the story brings you joy and makes you laugh and that it highlights the hope and power of love and companionship, whether it be with another human being or the animal(s) you've opened your homes and hearts to.
Wishing each of you the very best summer possible. May your days be filled with sunshine, the joy of companionship, and of course, wonderful books.
