Thank you, Delilah, for giving me the opportunity to guest blog and dish about my strange writing companion—my cat, BadKitteh.

I often get asked the typical “where do you write?” question. I don’t have an exciting answer. I write at my tiny cluttered built-in kitchen desk in the middle of my kitchen. I like being able to multi-task while I write. That way I can cook dinner, bake brownies, be close to the front door in case the door bell rings and close to the laundry room in case I remember to do a load of wash. Also, if I wasn’t in the room where all the food is, I’d often be too busy to remember to eat. Since I’m in the kitchen it’s easy to grab a snack. Although my most frequent snack is chocolate, I try to have the pretense of eating healthy, so at least once a day I’ll grab a piece of fruit….which leads me to the disclosure most people find baffling: My cat loves fruit.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter have likely long seen me posting about BadKitteh. He’s my twenty pound Maine coon cat. He’s got the personality of a dog. He’s deaf but talks constantly and, probably because he can’t hear what he’s saying, he makes sounds most cats never utter—lots of R’s and W’s and K’s—he often sounds like Dory speaking whale. And he doesn’t believe in personal boundaries. He will fall asleep with his head in my purse, stick his face in any glass anyone leaves anywhere (then drink from it, then knock it over), and he ALWAYS steals my fruit.

When we first brought BadKitteh home from the pound seven years ago we thought he was just a normal cat. He looked like a cat. How were we to know? Sure it was a little weird that he greeted all of our guests at the door and that he licked the feet of every woman who entered our house, but hey, who am I to judge? One day I bought a container of raspberries, rinsed them off in a little colander and set them on the kitchen table. I left the room for a few minutes and returned to find BadKitteh standing on one of the kitchen chairs, head in the colander and only a few berries left. I’ve had cats all my life. I’d never seen one eat a raspberry. I thought it was weird but I figured it was just a single quirk. Wrong.

Over the course of that summer it became apparent that he wasn’t just a raspberry fan. No matter what fruit I eat—plums, nectarines, apples, cherries, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwis—he will bat at my hands until I give him some. When he’s really determined he’ll swat it out of my hand. He’s occasionally pulled grapes out of grocery bags before I’ve gotten them in the fridge or stolen them out of the fruit bin in the fridge if I leave it open for too long.

***Hello readers. Karen has stepped away to start dinner. There doesn’t appear to be any fruit involved, so I’m going to take a moment to correct some things in this post. It’s so hard to type on her keyboard because she writes so much she’s worn all the letters off the keys. Lucky for me, I touch type. I have to say, I don’t know why she insists on calling me BadKitteh. I mean, I never actually hear her saying it, but does she seriously think I don’t read her Tweets? Besides, I’m really quite well behaved. Sure, I threw up in her tote bag once. None of her shoes were around. What was I supposed to do? Use the floor? I know she secretly enjoys sharing her fruit with me. Sure she shakes her head and scowls the whole time, but I know that’s just an act. Humans. They’re so moody and hard to train. I really just…oh, wait….there’s no fruit but she’s making a salad! I see a cucumber! And lettuce! Gotta go!***

See what I mean? No boundaries. None. He’s lucky he’s so cute. So, tell me (and BadKitteh, since you know he’ll read the replies the moment I step away from my desk)—what weird, quirky habits make your pet unique? Tell us all their secrets. You know they’d tell us yours!

Latest release: DECADENCE (cover photo attached separately)

In eight years of marriage, Eric Carlson has never forgotten to kiss his wife Jessica goodbye—until this morning. As Jessica runs her errands, all she can think about is the missing kiss.

When Eric calls to tell her he thinks he left the toaster oven on, she rushes home, annoyed and afraid their house may be burning down. Instead of smoke and flames she finds Eric, looking hot and sexy as hell as he prepares fresh waffles.

Eric knows he and Jessica have been drifting apart. He’s bought the hot new product everyone’s talking about—the Spice Rack, guaranteed to spice up your love life. The jar he opens advises them to “Spend a decadent day indulging all your senses.” With the whole day ahead of them, a fridge full of tempting treats and the house to themselves for a change, that’s exactly what Eric intends to do—in the kitchen, on the washing machine, wherever the mood strikes. And Jessica’s got a super-steamy surprise for him too.

What reviewers are saying about Decadence:

“Sweet, erotic and very satisfying.” ~ 5 stars and a Top Pick from The Romance Reviews

“A fun, hot story that made steam rise off my e-reader.” ~ 5 stars and a Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews

*~*~*~*~*

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. She writes erotic romance, contemporary romance and women’s fiction for Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Turquoise Morning Press, respectively.

“If you haven’t read a book by Karen Stivali then you are missing out on a wonderful writer of contemporary romance.” ~ GUILTY PLEASURES BOOK REVIEWS

“Karen Stivali is a mastermind at creating compelling, entertaining stories that have grit, depth, genuine, charismatic characters, fluid, believable dialogue, and emotional entanglements that will keep the reader engrossed from beginning to end.” BLACKRAVEN REVIEW

“Karen Stivali’s books are sweet and decadent and leave you hungering for more and more. Everything she writes is like chocolate on paper.” ~Tiffany Reisz, author of the Original Sinner series from Mira Books

For more information about current and upcoming projects please visit her website: http://karenstivali.com

Karen can also be found on:
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