Vampire Kitty-Cat

I'm sure many of you have come across Ray Rhamey through his blog, Flogging The Quill, where he deals out incisive critiques of brave wannabe novelists' first pages.

He's just written a new novel, The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles, and taken the enterprising decision to self-publish, in order to hit the market while vampire stories are hot. It'll be fascinating to see whether he can reach the novel's market this way.

Though I'm not a vampire fan myself - I just don't get the appeal of the undead - anyone who does, from about age ten upwards, might like to take a look. Especially if you are a cat enthusiast, because Ray is a man who understands the feline mind. (On the other hand, if you like dogs, there's the killing of a yappy poodle which I found disturbing.)

Here are a few of my favourite cat quotes:

'Like all cats, I never forget anything. Comes in handy for holding grudges.'

'Oh no. I hopped off of Meg's lap and, not wanting to signal my intent to scram, did a stretch. Front paws out, tail end high, stre-e-etch my back. M-m-m-m, not a bad performance, and it felt great, too. Then, walking as if I was going nowhere in particular, I ambled for the door. Igor, the rat, ambled ahead of me and nudged it closed with his foot.

I hated doors.'

'Why do people say the opposite of what they mean? We cats are always totally up front. We're pissed, we hiss. We're pleased, we purr. We're hungry, we pester the closest associate until we're fed.'

It's not just the distinctive voice of the narrator, Patch, that should earn Ray readers. It's also a sharp satire on contemporary American politics and religion, a pacy adventure story with a colourful baddie, and for vampire lovers, an amusing take on an old theme.