The novella in this book is a little side adventure featuring John Petit, the older brother of the heroine in ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD. He’s a CIA operative and former Marine. (I know – there are no “former” Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine, right? Semper Fi.) He’s been tapped to join the select team of people fighting the zombie infestation because of his CIA resources and combat experience. Plus the fact that is baby sister is involved up to her neck and she can’t hide anything from her all-too-observant older brother.

John is sent on a mission to San Francisco with a female partner who is only on the team because she was attacked by a zombie and survived. She was a graduate student in chemical engineering when her life altered forever. Now she’s part of the team and it’s up to John to take her under his wing and show her how it’s done.

She makes some mistakes along the way, but when they follow the trail to a fishing camp in Middle Tennessee, they are on their own. The team back at base has their hands full and John and Donna must fend for themselves against a small army of zombies and the insane woman who created them.

It’s kind of a fun story with a fair bit of adventure in it along with a whole lot of romance as John and Donna fall in love. John’s a total hottie and sharp as a tack – the total package of brains and brawn - and Donna is the perfect partner for him – intelligent, caring and adventurous.

So what do you think of the cover? I’m liking those abs. Yum.

Here’s a peek at the blurb:

A match made in adventure… and blessed by Chuck Norris.

As bad days go, this one qualifies as one for the books. Elaine knew being late for her jiu jitsu class could earn her a reprimand from her sensei. But the sensei’s not there. And suddenly, neither is her car. Even walking home becomes problematic when she stumbles onto things that most definitely do go bump in the night. One of whom is too handsome for his own good — and too sexy for hers.

An Alpha Pantera Noir — black panther shifter — Cade operates on his immense skill, superior strength, and dominant personality. There’s something about this small spitfire of a human woman that threatens to bring him to his knees. She blundered into the middle of his mission to transport his queen to safety, and now it’s his responsibility to keep Elaine safe as well. Except no matter what he does, danger finds her at every turn.

Thrust into a world where the supernatural is commonplace, Elaine finds her considerable martial arts skill tested to the limit-and her ability to resist Cade crumbling by the second. But when nothing is as it seems, the last things she can trust are her own instincts…

If you want a look at the character descriptions (which might clear up the Chuck Norris references a bit), check out the page on my website for the book, which will be updated as more information becomes available.

CAT’S CRADLE comes out in ebook on January 5th and in print late next year.

As you might realize, the first installment in my new zombie series is a novella in the HALF PAST DEAD anthology. The official release date for that book is 12/29/09, but we’ll just call it January to make this easier, okay? The first full-length novel in the series debuts in March and is called ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD. It’s not up on the Kensington site yet, but havea  look at the cover…

Is that not THE coolest??? I’ll post the blurb for you tomorrow… stay tuned!

I’ve also pasted the blurb for my story in the anthology, SIMON SAYS, below the cover.

SIMON SAYS 

Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn’t stopped protecting her.  Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them.  But soon he’ll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded….

Here’s the awesome cover for GRADY’S AWAKENING, coming out in ebook from Samhain Publishing in August. (Print next year.) Another masterpiece by artist Anne Cain.