I am in the final editing stage of Last Breath, which is the sixth book in the Last Healer Mysteries series. I decided to add a minor subplot to the story that involves a cat.

In the story, they are expecting a second child and learn of the death of a woman who had stolen Katie’s identity. They also find the woman had a cat. They couldn’t leave the cat behind, so they adopt him. Joe expects the cat to be a pleasant addition to the family but soon learns the cat is very needy, especially at 5 a.m. Sound familiar?

While I am editing that book, I started my next book. It is one I hope many of you will be interested in: a retelling of Chris’s story from Chris’s perspective that I am tentatively calling For the Love of Chris.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the book. Keep in mind it is a first draft.

Telling my life story was not something I had ever thought about. In fact, I was incapable of doing so until recently, but then something life-changing happened. I died.

Some say Heaven is only for humans, but I can say for certain that Heaven is also for cats. Perhaps our heaven is different from the heaven that humans experience. I don’t know. I can only say that for myself, there was a profound sense of enlightenment after I died. Everything that I didn’t understand as a cat suddenly became clear.

Often, when humans describe a near-death experience, they talk about going into the light. I have come to realize that “the light” actually refers to enlightenment. It is a time when one learns the meaning of life.

I’ll tell you a little secret: the meaning of life is not important. What is important is that which gives life meaning. When I was alive, I knew the thing that gave life meaning. I knew it deep in my soul. Unlike other cats I knew, I embraced it and lived my life in a way that was meaningful to me and to those around me.  

The story starts with Chris as a feral kitten with his mom and siblings. This part of the story is pure speculation, so I emailed Terry from Brian’s Home for advice. He had experience with TNR and described in detail what happens to feral kittens that are young enough to be domesticated. I am grateful for his help.

I am still very early in the story so it will be a while before I have anything new to report about that, but I do hope to have Last Breath published relatively soon.