Osiyo~

Now you all know I’m not a true cat person. Though I love my Trouble, I doubt I’ll have another cat once she’s gone. But I believe in supporting a great cause and saving lives of any animal, for me, is a cause worthy of the Ranch’s support.

So in that spirit I welcome my friend J.D. Revezzo, with a different kind of cat tale and a great cause behind it.

Thanks for having me here today, Calisa.

Hi J.D.! Let’s get to the meat of this story. Tell us about your new project, please.

What’s that? Oh, right. You wanted to know a little about my story, “What Sekhmet Keeps.” All right, then. Well, you see, it started like this:

A little over two years ago, a friend of mine, author and editor Patty G. Henderson (best known for her Brenda Strange Supernatural Mysteries) announced she’d released a charity anthology of cat stories. I’d always adored Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat so I thought the idea of wicked little felines intriguing.

A story began gestating in my little brain about a cat burglar, but I set it aside thinking I’d missed my chance.

This past Thanksgiving, Patty mentioned she planned a second anthology, Dark Things II: Cat Crimes. So I offered her my still-percolating idea. She said, “Sure, let me see what you have.”

Uh oh. This was serious. Now I had to live up to her example. 😉

I scurried home and pulled out Poe’s The Black Cat, again (what was my cat story after all but a homage to Poe’s feline)? But, as I sat down and got to work, my love of mythology demanded to put its fingers in. I began researching cat myths, and ran across—who else?—the Egyptian goddess Bast.

Bast? A criminal, thought I? Little cuddly, love and light Bast?

No, no. I couldn’t do that to Her—not and have Her not claw my eyes out!

I kept looking. That’s when I ran across this lovely gal:

[image deleted]

Sekhmet. Goddess of the desert, goddess of lions, Ra’s Destoyer. Ah, there was a story worthy of Cat Crimes!

How, you ask? Well, yes, it’s true. Cats and lions are of the same family. They are of the felidae family. Though cats are the tamer of the species, think of it, don’t cats stalk mice the same way a lion stalks its prey? And believe it or not, lions can be playful, like cats.

So, the similarity didn’t seem quite so farfetched to me. Nor that the regal lion goddess would think of gifting the soul of a measly housecat to her errant priestess, Onfalia Mau. Well, one could say gifting, but Onfalia sees it more as punishment.

What? What did Onfalia do to deserve a timid, tame housecat’s soul, you ask? Well, you’ll have to read to find out.

Here’s the blurb and an excerpt:

Dark Things II: Cat Crimes

A collection of tales featuring feline mayhem, murder and dastardly deeds. Vampire cats. Scoundrel cats. Daring cats. Killer cats. Cats you don’t want in your worst nightmares and cats you might want on your side against evil. Authors include Mary V. Welk, Patty G. Henderson, Patricia Harrington, Jim Silvestri, Ken Goldman, Shanna Germain, Anna Sykora and dozens more. Intro by Robert W. Walker. All proceeds from sales go to several cat sanctuaries across the USA. Enjoy over twenty-one “cat tales” and support a cat charity!

And for my story,

What Sekhmet Keeps

by J.D. Revezzo

Betrayed by a false lover, cat shifter priestess Onfalia Mau lost her lioness soul and freedom to her lover’s treachery and Sekhmet’s wrath. Now, after three thousand years, Donquar has returned with one thing in mind: to steal the goddess’s scepter. Onfalia knows that to do so means to unleash Sekhmet’s unholy, bloody Slaughter on the world and she’ll stop at nothing to foil Donquar’s plans.

*** 

Claws dimpled his skin, as if she sought attention. She nuzzled her head into his hand, and purred. Chibale tapped her on the nose. “Now, don’t try to charm me, kitty. I can’t keep you. Out.”

She purred louder and nuzzled his chest.

“Oh, hell.” He carried the cat into the kitchen and poured her the last of his milk. “I don’t mind black coffee, anyway. But tomorrow, we’re finding your owner.”

He dropped his jacket onto the chair, then set down before his computer. The cat leapt onto the desk as he went to work. When he misspelled the goddess’ name, the cat reached out a paw and hit the delete key back to the S-e-k. Chibale stared at her. “Did you belong to an English teacher?”

The search engine suggested Sekhmet, and he carried on with his work. The cat slipped into his lap as he read the first promising page.

Goddess of Lions. A daughter of Ra; represented the scorching power of the sun. “Lion. Sun.” He shook his head. “Never did understand these stupid stories. ‘When mankind rebelled against Ra’s domain, Sekhmet attacked, slaughtering thousands and drinking their blood.’ Sounds like a nice wholesome girl.” The cat shifted in his lap and stretched up, resting her paws against the edge of the keyboard. “You’re so interested in mythology, should I give you to Onfalia?” She looked at him, and he scratched her ears as he returned to his search.

Scepter, Sekhmet. “How does this tie into the stolen scepter? Any idea, kit?”

Two hours into his search, a headline caught his attention: Slaying uptown. Occult in Nature?

“So obvious.” The cat meowed and Chibale looked down at her, meeting her tawny eyes. “Oh, you think so too, do you?”

Festival to appease Sekhmet’s slaughter.

“Hopefully they won’t do the opposite, eh kitty?”

*** 

All proceeds from the sale of our anthology will go to Cat House on The Kings, a no-kill cat sanctuary in California.

Their URL

http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

Buy links for the anthology:

In Kindle and paperback at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/DARK-THINGS-II-Crimes-ebook/dp/B006O15YBE/ref=tmm_kin_title_0/185-0297248-1137456?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

And in Epub at Lulu.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/compiled-by-patty-g-henderson/dark-things-ii-cat-crimes/ebook/product-18787458.html

About J.D. Revezzo:

J.D. Revezzo has long been in love with writing, a love built by devouring everything from the Arthurian legends, to the works of Michael Moorcock, and the classics. Her short fiction has been published in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, The Scribing Ibis, Eternal Haunted Summer, Twisted Dreams Magazine and Luna Station Quarterly.

You can learn more about her works at:

Her site:

http://harshadpassion.wordpress.com/

or if you wish, follow her on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/JD-Revezzo/233193150037011

Or on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/juliannewrites/

I hope you will enjoy What Sekhmet Keeps, and all the tales in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, and remember all the proceeds go to Cat House on the Kings, no-kill cat shelter. So, you’ll not only gain fuel for a few good, *ahem* nightmares, maybe you’ll help a kitty in need, too. Enjoy! And thank you, Calisa, for hosting me today!

(link for Cat House on the Kings)

http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

What a great cause and an exciting book! Nice cover to boot. So, my friends and cat lovers- here’s your chance to do a service to kitties everywhere and get to read a great book of tales in the process. Thanks for spending the day, J.D.

Dodadagohvi~