I’ve been an avid reader all my life. Some of the best memories I have are of me, with a flashlight, reading a book under the covers and hoping not to get caught reading past my bedtime. I’m not much different as an adult. I love to read. My taste in genres has grown up a little over the years, (I’ve gone from C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L’Engle to Kim Harrison, and Ilonya Andrews) but I am still attracted to books with a strong female lead that gives me someone to cheer for and identify with.
My catalyst to becoming a writer came in a couple of waves. I remember reading “Undead and Unwed,” by MaryJanice Davidson on a car ride with my family, and laughing so hard I thought I might have to borrow a diaper from one of the kids. I loved her Queen Betsy. She was funny, snarky and real. I wanted to create a character like that. Then came the motivation. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where I put myself to the test of writing for an entire month, and found out I loved it.
From there, a writer was born, and so was my main character of The Guardian of Bastet, Trinity Morrigain-Caine. We developed together as I created her world and how she would interact in it. I gave her my voice and hoped, someday, someone else would want to read her story and laugh out load at her antics.
I wanted to write a story that would make the reader laugh, yell and root for the heroine and I think I’ve accomplished that with The Guardian of Bastet.
Blurb:
Like a good girl, I try to say my prayers every morning. This morning was no exception.
“Goddess, it’s me, Trinity Morrigan-Caine. Could you please let me get through today without pissing off too many people or wanting to kill anyone? And would you please grant me patience for the idiots I meet and guidance to keep my mouth shut when they say something really freakin’ stupid? Thank you.”
From the back cover:
Cat-shifter Trinity Morrigan-Caine has discovered a demon is killing supernaturals. Magically challenged, she has every intention of letting handsome Alpha werewolf Gordon Barnes handle it. But after a dying vampire gifts Trinity a mystical amulet, she is drawn into the fray as the legendary Guardian of Bastet, a warrior born when the need arises.
Though Trinity initially rejects the role, she warms to the idea when Gordon agrees to train her—and their passion for each other grows as he teaches her to embrace her animal instincts.
As she begins to accept her destiny and believe in her growing powers, Trinity realizes the danger is even closer to home than she ever imagined—and she and Gordon are going to have to face the demon in a fight to the death..
About the author:
Jacqueline Battisti was raised in Little Falls, New York where she met and married her high school sweetheart. They have two children and live near Rochester, New York where she is a stay at home mom and writer of the paranormal and urban fantasy of her vivid imagination.
Flash forward to today: Jacqueline has two children who are very outgoing and keep her on her toes. Cub Scouts, Daisy Scouts, play dates, school activities for the kids…then writing, reading current authors, following blogs, facebook, household chores,gardening and exhaustion for mom. Add in a new puppy, two furry feline children and fish and you have the craziness that is the Battisti household.
The Guardian of Bastet is available from Carina Press, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. You can get in touch with Jacqueline on her website, or check her out on facebook, twitter, and goodreads.
Win a Pewter Egyptian Bastet Cat Pendant
The Goddess Bastet (cat goddess) is an important role in The Guardian of Bastet. I have a lovely pendant version to give away to one lucky Carina reader. Leave me a comment here with your email and I’ll randomly select a winner on August 27th. I’ll contact the winner by email on the day and arrange shipping to a mailing address to anywhere in North America. Good luck!
Tags: author, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, new release, Paranormal romance, urban fantasy
Very cool that NaNoWriMo influenced you as a writer. It’s a great excuse to put butt in chair and just write.
Thanks, Michelle. I’ve always enjoyed coming up with stories, but it wasn’t until NaNoWriMo that I finally disciplined myself enough to write consistently. It’s a great program and it definitely challenges you. That is where my main character was born.
This sounds like a great story. Congratulations on the release.
It sounds like there’s a lot of cool paranormal creatures and magic in your book. I like that there’s a demon and cat-shiter in it. I don’t often come across cat shifters.
Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thank you Kathy.
Hi Na S. I thought that having a veterinarian that also turns into a cat would be fun to write. The rest just evolved around her. Her little dysfunctional paranormal family
Congrats on your new release!
Is this the start of a series and, if so, how many books do you plan on writing?
cgnemesis [at] yahoo [dot] com
Dear infinitieh: It was originally planned as a series. Let’s hope the next two get picked up as well for publishing