Josephine Young is a petite Asian woman in her early twenties with delicate bone structure and startling blue eyes. She possesses cat-like grace and is capable of staring without blinking for extended periods of time. Although she appears fully human, one still receives the distinct impression that her tail is twitching.

Interviewer: Ms. Young, welcome to the Daily Show.

Josephine (smiles): Hello! And thank you. Please, my name is Josephine. My friends call me Josie. I’d like to thank Delilah Devlin for having me as her guest today.

Interviewer: I understand that you’re the heroine of A Cat’s Tale? Please tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Josephine:  Well, I’m a pure bred seal point Siamese. I’m also a shapechanger. I was  born in Florida and used to live with a little old lady from Pensacola before a vampire catnapped me.

Interviewer: Goodness that sounds terrible. Was it traumatic?

Josephine:  Oh, absolutely! That leech held me captive for three years as a blood pet. I suffered an awful amount of torment.

Interviewer: But you’re free now.

Josephine:  Well, the vamp met with a dusty fate so I’m on my own for the first time in my life.  Independence is a little bit scary but I’m enjoying it.

Interviewer: That’s wonderful. Now, let’s take a moment and talk about your story—A CAT’S TALE. I understand that the hero isn’t exactly the same… Erm, what’s the best way to put this?

Josephine:  Creature?

Interviewer: Yes, that’s it!

Josephine (sniffs): Jared is a werewolf.

Interviewer: So yours is a cross-species romance?

Josephine: I suppose you could say that.

Interviewer: How did you and Jared meet?

Josephine: In a bar. He was very attracted to me—naturally. At the time, I thought he was sorta cute but nothing to write home about. Anyway, I slipped a horse tranquilizer into his drink and abducted him.

Interviewer:  Good grief!

Josephine (innocent look): What?

Interview: You must be kidding?

Josephine (blank stare)

Interviewer: I can see you’re not kidding. Well, Jared must have been upset.

Josephine (grins): Yes, he was furious.

Interviewer: So, when you fight—it’s like cats and dogs?

Josephine (huffs in obvious irritation): Look, I understand where you’re going with this but I’m not interested in labels. Jared and I may not be a conventional couple, but that doesn’t mean we should be treated like a spectacle.

Interviewer (clears throat): Let’s try a less inflammatory topic. Josie, what is that you enjoy doing in your free time.

Josephine: I enjoy all the things other girls do: endless hours grooming, long naps in the sun, a little bit of nip now and then.

Interviewer: Uh, yes. I can see how that makes you just like other girls. Tell me, do you embrace your uniqueness, or have you always just wanted to fit in?

Josephine (brow lifts): Fit into what? I’m extremely limber. I can squeeze my body through any opening my head fits through, and as a cat, I’m not very large. So sure, I guess you could say that I can fit into almost anything… I’m very talented at getting into trouble too or so Jared says.

Interviewer:  Uh, so you’re just a conventional cat-girl.

Josephine: Exactly!

Interviewer:  Is Jared as unconventional as you? 

Josephine:  My man is a werewolf, but he’s not all that different from other wolves, at least not that I’ve noticed. I wouldn’t call him unconventional. Snarky and something of a smart ass, maybe…  Jared is also a firefighter which resulted in unfortunate and really bad jokes when we first met. I won’t go into details, but I’m sure you can imagine.

Interviewer: Yes, I can imagine. Unfortunately, our time is running out. Josie, do you have anything else you’d like to share with our readers. Any dark secrets? 

Josephine (unblinking):  I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you.

Interviewer: I can’t tell if you’re kidding. That’s really disturbing. Er, one last question.  If you could do anything without concern for consequences, what would it be?

Josephine (smirks):  Give a werewolf a hot foot.

Interviewer: And that’s all the time we have today! Everyone, please give Josephine Young a hand!

 

***

 

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About A CAT’S TALE:

4 Hearts From Sizzling Hot Book Reviews:
“A Cat’s Tale was an exciting tale of lust and trust as Josephine must learn to accept that Jared isn’t like other men. He is willing to do anything to protect and keep Josephine safe, including submit to the vampire. Jared is a hot sexy werewolf with more power than anyone expects. His sexual energy would drive a vampire wild but he only has eyes for his kitten.”

4-1/2 Stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews:
“With a starting phrase ‘somewhere between Virginia and California,’ you know you are in for a treat with A Cat’s Tale. Jared is so much fun, a true Alpha male who knows when to keep his Alpha tendencies down and hidden. I love how Jared plays the vampire Evangeline, yet stays honest with Josephine. The sexual chemistry between Josephine and Jared is obvious from the first meeting, but distrust keeps the chemistry at a simmer. The dialogue between the werewolf and werecat will keep you entertained hours after finishing the story. Even though Josephine is in a bad situation, she is determined to do whatever it takes to stay alive and fight another day. Once Jared and Josephine finally have sex,  it is hot and raunchy, with the needed animalistic mating that you expect from an Alpha. There are plenty of secondary characters in the story that move the plot along though never taking away from the main characters. While there wasn’t as much sex in the story as I would have liked, I did have a great time reading A Cat’s Tale and can’t wait to read more from Ms. Snark.”

Alpha werewolf, Jared Kohl, wakes up in a vampire’s dungeon, swearing revenge upon the wily Siamese werecat who lured him there with her sultry lips and the sweetest tail. To escape his undead captor, all he has to do is seduce the skittish puss and show her that trust is often a hot and hard lesson to learn.

Enslaved feline shifter, Josephine Young, has learned the hard way not to believe in anything or anyone—not men, not love, and certainly not the blood-sucking mistress who tossed her into the cage with the hungry beast she’d betrayed. But Josephine does what she must to survive, including tempting the dominant werewolf to give her more than promises.

Imprisoned for their blood, Jared and Josephine fight for survival and discover a passion that neither can walk away from. Can these two predators survive long enough to prove that cats and dogs can be more than enemies?

Jared’s voice dropped in a ploy designed to tempt her cat curiosity. He leaned in and whispered, “Want to know another secret?”

Her ears shot forward, tall and erect, and her tail lifted. “What?” Josephine asked in spite of herself.

Jared smiled and eased closer to her. He brought his lips to her ear and resumed his former position between her thighs. Despite her better judgment, Josephine opened for him, welcoming the return of those lean hips and the button fly straining against his erection.

He waited. He pressed against her, stroking his hands over the soft fur of her haunches, teasing her nipples with his chest hair. Josephine’s breath hitched more than once, coming faster until she felt lightheaded. Her tail crept around his thigh, twining there.

“What secret?” Josephine demanded, ever impatient.

Jared nuzzled her cheek, his lips lingering in a long kiss, and the tip of his tongue tasted her flesh. The gentle caresses were a bright promise and so very tempting, because Josephine craved intimacy more than anything. Too long denied a kind word or a caring touch. At the same time, he frightened her because if she let her guard down, he’d possess the means to destroy her more thoroughly than killing her.

“Jared?” Josephine grasped his face and pulled his lips from her skin to stare up at him. “What secret?”

He gave new meaning to wolf smile. He had such big teeth. “I’m not the only one aroused, little cat.”

Mouth open in shock and attempted denial, Josephine stared as he walked away.

 

 Author Bio:

A friend asked me once how I chose my pen name. I told her the following: “Melissa, because when people mix up my first name, it’s the most common goof up. Snark, because it amuses me. A) I love the word ‘snarky’ and B)  I love Lewis Carroll.”

As an individual, I’m sarcastic, stubborn and blunt to a fault. I have a strange sense of humor and I like to laugh (usually at my husband or children), but also at myself. I’m not particularly extroverted, although I do enjoy time with my family and close friends a great deal.

At the moment, I’m a stay at home mom who writes in my spare time. I’ve got a B.S. from Arizona State University in Business, and I’ve worked a variety of different jobs, including as a medical device documentation specialist, a technical writer, and an auto liability adjuster. I live in the San Francisco East Bay of Northern California with my husband, three kids, and three cats.  My hobbies include roleplaying, cooking and reading.

I maintain an author blog called The Snarkology.

Where to find Melissa on the Internet:
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Email: melissasnark at gmail dot com
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