Writers need felines. Period. We have five cats. All are strays or former feral fur babies. This latest showed up out of the blue a few weeks ago and camped on my door mat, next to the invisible sign that reads “Sucker.” (In the past, a peacock, two dogs, several other cats and a bunny have all managed to locate us via that sign, I just cannot figure out where it is). Anyway, we named this little dude Beau. He was adopted at a local shelter and micro chipped but the owners have ignored three phone calls from the service, so he’s now ours. He was a love when we adopted him, and gives my daughter big sloppy puppy-style kisses. He’s also eating us out of house and home.
Beau was apparently raised with dogs, and by someone who tended to play a little rough, so we are gently teaching him not to bite. He also has learned to jump up and ride around on my shoulders, but sadly not to make sure I’m looking before he launches into the air like a chubby fur missile. He fetches with a beat up fish toy. He is not the brightest bulb, but we adore him.
Harry Shannon
HARRY SHANNON has been an actor, Emmy-nominated songwriter, recording artist, VP at Carolco Pictures and a Music Supervisor for motion pictures. His works include “CLAN,” “Daemon,” “Dead and Gone,” “The Hungry” series and “The Pressure of Darkness,” as well as the Mick Callahan suspense novels. He has won the Tombstone for Best Novel and the Dark Scribble from Dark Scribe magazine. His story “Night Nurse” and collection “A Host of Shadows” were nominated for the Stoker Award. Otto Penzler selected “Fifty Minutes” (co-written with Joe Donnelly of Slake magazine) as one of the Best American Mystery Stories of 2011. Readers may contact him via www.harryshannon.com. He can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. His latest, The Hungry 2: The Wrath of God, is a sequel to last years zombie hit The Hungry.