Walking with cats

Oh, the whims of cats! Last week as I cut through my neighbor's property on my morning walk, his cat, Boots, who hangs out at my barn most of the time, decided to join me. He didn't tag along just for the first 100 yards; he stuck it out the entire way. I cut it short when we reached the county road, maybe a half mile. He did not want to go anywhere near it, which is an excellent decision on his part and I hope he never changes his mind. So, we strolled back again, stopping often to let him catch up, bonk my hand or my ankle, and purr. Then we would continue, with him all but lost in the grass, occasionally voicing a plaintive "Wait for me!" yowl but otherwise undaunted.

Today he did it again. I swear he was lying in wait, and he had no hesitation whatsoever (in fact, he was quite insistent!) about following me again. So...another relaxed stroll through the woods, and this time I found a loop that didn't go near the road, so we didn't have to repeat ourselves. It was a lovely morning full of dappled sunshine, tall cedars, and nodding flowers. And Boots, quietly threading through a mini-forest of grass and flowers much taller than he is, O great explorer of the wild that he is.

I laugh, but it's nice having a companion on my walks again. I still miss my dog, Jack, who died last November. Tomorrow I will try to get some pictures.

I got home to find the first review of Book 2 of my Fate's Arrow series up at Bookie Monster. It's four stars, so woohoo! And, if you leave a comment, you will automatically be entered to win a free copy, so go check it out!

I am torn about the cover of this one. On the one hand, it does capture many things well about this book, but as a horse person, the beast the hero is riding bothers me a bit (no, a lot). At my request the artist did tone down the my li'l pony aspect of it somewhat but still... Do you find it a turn-off, or would you  be willing to take a chance? I like the artist (nice guy) and he has some constraints on him, so don't blame him; it's just life in the publishing industry. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts and pass them on to the publisher.