Monday, March 3, 2014

Just Another Manic Monday! Welcome Chris T. Kat - The Wolf and His Diva




Michelle, thank you very much for having me. I'm here to talk about my new release, The Wolf and His Diva, a m/m shape-shifter romance which will be released on March 12th. But first I'll answer some of your questions. :)




What inspired you to start writing?

I wrote as a kid and young teenager, but dropped this hobby because other things became more important. When I picked it up again, it was due to my love for fanfiction and a certain TV show (House MD). Since I, rather desperately, wanted to read a story in which Wilson was a shape-shifter, and I couldn't find anything like that, I decided to write my first story. Well, and then I never stopped. ;-)



How long have you been writing?

I started out as a fanfiction writer about six years ago. For a while I wrote strictly in one fandom, then stretched my wings and tried a couple of other fandoms. I enjoyed writing fanfiction very much, but I realized early on that I’d probably switch to original fiction at some point. I really wanted to create my own characters, with their own background and obstacles to overcome, so… here I am. Since 2011 I only write original fiction.



What comes first, the plot or characters?
That really depends on the story. Sometimes a character appears out of nowhere and I just know I want to write a story about him. Sometimes it's a certain plot idea and the characters develop out of that idea, but mostly it's a combination of both. I'm often inspired by images or single words. The plot and the characters are intertwined for me, although at first it's only one character that I really know and his love interest follows as soon as the plot becomes clearer to me.



Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell us about?

I always like to talk about what I'm currently working on. ;-) At the moment I'm wrapping up my first science fiction story. Honestly, if I'd known I'd have such a blast writing a sci-fi story, I'd have done so a long time ago. Of course that story features aliens, as well as a snarky main character who falls head over heels in love even though he doesn't want to—not at all. There's lots of suspense and action involved, and as soon as I'm done with the first novel, I'll start on the second.



Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

Yes, I do most of the time. I usually listen to soundtracks. The last few weeks, I’ve mostly listened to the soundtrack of “The Hobbit” and the soundtracks to Star Trek VIII and IX. They help me to get in the right mood for writing.



Do you write in multiple genres or just one? If just one, do you ever consider straying outside your genre?

I write m/m, but I might try m/f or m/m/m in the future. Within my chosen genre, I write pretty much everything: contemporary, mystery, paranormal (shape-shifters—my favorite genre so far), light BDSM and now even science fiction. I love that I can write in a lot of subgenres because I like to explore different worlds, the way characters react and find love.



What was the scariest moment of your life?

When my, at that time, two-year old son was diagnosed with mononucleosis and the doctor admitted him to the hospital. After the examination, the docs advised me to pray because either his body would win the battle or not. They could only reduce the fever. I'm still having nightmares about this occasionally. We stayed in the hospital for one week, and that was honestly the worst week of my life because my son didn't react at all. Only when his fever spiked over 104 did he cry. I seriously thought we would lose him. He won that battle and is now a healthy kid that loves to talk and talk and did I mention talk? ;-)



What is a talent you wish you had, but don't?

I really wish I could draw, and I admire anyone who is capable of creating wonderful pictures. For a time I tried my hand at drawing, these are some of the results:





I decided that I better keep writing and cross stitching. ;-)



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Blurb:

George Owens is comfortable with his life just the way it is. A wolf- and fox-shifter, George leads a reclusive lifestyle with his energetic and diva-ish mate Billy, a fox-and squirrel-shifter.


George has no desire to take over leadership of the pack, despite his father’s wishes. Edward Owens is feeling his age and wants to make sure the pack is in good hands should he not be able to win his next challenge. However, George is adamant that he wants no part of it.


But events rock George from his complacency, and he realizes he has to take a stand and fight for what he cares about. If he remains in the past and cannot change in order to do what he must, he risks losing everything he loves.




Excerpt:

Billy pushed George’s face away and stepped aside. For a moment, George watched him nose the ground and paw at the snowflakes sticking to his snout. George sighed inwardly before turning his gaze back to their house, gauging how long it would take them to clear a path until they could open the front door.


Paytime! Billy squalled.


George jerked his head around, but before he could do anything, Billy had already tackled him to the ground. He oomphed but played along, relieved Billy obviously wasn’t too put out by the prospect of snow shoveling.


They tussled in the snow, enjoying their time together. When Billy’s playful bites became too much for George, he shook him off easily.


It’s not fair that you always win! Billy complained.


But I’m the big bad red fox!


Uh, big bad red fox? You got something wrong there. Isn’t it the big bad wolf?


George growled in response and shifted into his other animal form—a large, dark-gray wolf. It always amused him to see Billy’s reaction—a surprised yelp and a jump backward.


This time Billy’s yelp turned into a helpless gasp. George blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. For whatever reason, shifting from one animal to another played havoc with his eyesight. When he finally had a clear view again, he stared ahead, trying to understand what was happening.


Billy scrabbled for purchase on the frozen ground, his eyes wide in fear. Nothing he did stopped him from sliding down the slope of the hill faster and faster. George gasped when Billy gave up the fight against gravity, curled himself into a tight ball and shot down the steep hillside.



Chris T. Kat

Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there's any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.



Links:
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q