The Cat's Fancy (Time of Your Life) [Mass Market Paperback]

Julie Kenner (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 391 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (August 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505523973
• ISBN-13: 978-0505523976
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When Julie was knee-high to a grasshopper (an expression that she would like it known she has never, ever used in real life) she informed her parents that she was going to be a novelist, and proceeded to write Kitty Claws, a bestselling book about a cat as Santa. (The book sold out its entire print-run of one, so lets not split hairs about that "best-selling" thing, okay?)

After that stellar start, Julie continued to dabble in the literary arts, writing short stories on yellow pads that she forced her mother to type, scribbling poems on ruled notebook paper that she forced her mother to type, making up skits and songs that she forced her mother to watch and listen to, and diving head-first into high school journalism, at which point, mom finally got a break.

In college, she continued with the journalism thing, picking that as her major and working at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas. The idea that she could actually write novels and, oh, buy food too, completely eluded her.

The journalism thing cranked along nicely for about one semester. Then Julie got a job as a production assistant on a movie originally called Splatter, but which was released as Future Kill (and can still be found in Blockbuster and through Netflix), with really great Giger poster art. Julie worked her tail off, appeared as an extra, had a great time, and promptly switched her major to film.

Graduating at the ripe old age of 19, Julie chickened out and didn't move to Los Angeles to become the next Steven Spielberg. Instead, she stayed in Austin and worked as a media assistant until she decided that perhaps law school was the better way to go because, hey, a degree in film slides so seamlessly into law. (Or, more likely, grad school was inevitable and the LSAT seemed doable.) Not one to waste time, Julie took the LSAT in December, and was admitted to Baylor Law School on a full scholarship the following February. Law school and Julie got along great, and after graduation, Julie went to work as a law clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she had a fabulous time drafting legal opinions, preparing the judge for court, and taking regular trips to New Orleans on a government per diem. During her two year stint as a clerk, the writing bug bit again, and Julie wrote a stage play that will never, ever see the light of day. Really. So don't even ask.

After her clerkship, Julie decided she could handle moving to the Big City, and she took a job with Skadden, Arps in L.A., where she worked on a variety of cases with some very smart lawyers. After a year, she moved on to smaller and smaller firms (and had a short stint as a production exec at a small film company, thus justifying all those credit hours in college). She continued to work with very smart lawyers, one of whom introduced Julie to Julie Garwood (her books, not the woman herself), and the writing bug bit again.

Though Julie had been dabbling with writing in her limited spare time, she'd lacked focus. Now, she'd found it, and she was determined to write an historical romance. You may, after reviewing Julie's book list, note that there are no historical romances on there. Let's just say that she didn't succeed at that task. Julie did, however, discover that while she has a head for contemporary nuances, the ins-and-outs of historical detail are enough to make her head explode.

The in-progress historical was promptly shelved, and Julie turned her attention to fleshing out a contemporary romance, having decided that category romance was the way to go, since with the demands of a legal job, she'd be much more likely to finish 240 manuscript pages than 400.

Finish them she did, and though she got nice feedback on the voice, the novel didn't sell. One editor, Harlequin's Brenda Chin, returned a rejection letter with a note that the hook wasn't enough of a "sexy premise."

Always up for a challenge, Julie came up with the opening line, "You need a man," which she thought had oodles of sexy premise potential. She just had to find a story to go with the line. Eventually, she did, and Nobody Does It Better, Julie's first published novel, was born. She entered the first few chapters in contests, finaled, and was ultimately judged by that same Brenda Chin, who ended up buying the manuscript. (Which is not the reason Julie thinks Brenda is a really cool person. Truly.)

By that time, Julie had realized that 400 pages were manageable after all, and she'd almost completed a paranormal romance along the lines of The Little Mermaid about a cat who is in love with her master. The Cat's Fancy sold just a few months after the original sale. Both books came out in 2000, along with a second Temptation, and Julie has had at least 3 books hit the shelves annually every since, and now has well over twenty books to her credit, crossing over a multitude of genres, most of which are represented in some way by the clever pictures in the collage at the top of this page.

Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations," Julie's books have hit lists as varied as USA Today, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Locus Magazine, all of which has made Julie a happy camper. Julie is also a two-time RITA finalist, both times for books about strong women (a superhero and a demon-hunter). There's probably some deep meaning there, and if you know what it is, feel free to drop Julie a line.

Julie was also the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal of 2001, the winner of the Reviewers International Organization's award for best romantic suspense of 2004 and best paranormal of 2005, and the winner of the National Readers' Choice Award for best mainstream book of 2005. Not that she's keeping track or anything.

Julie writes a range of stories including quirky romances, sexy contemporaries, young adult novels, suspense, paranormal mommy lit, and (soon!) darker urban fantasy.

Her initial foray into the urban fantasy mommy lit genre--Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom--proved especially successful, resulting in a Booksense pick, a Target break-out book, other accolades and honors, and a movie deal. Specifically, Carpe Demon, is in development as a feature film with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures. Julie frequently pounds on her battered wooden desk (Salvation Army, $25, gotta love it) in order to urge the project from development to screen. (In Hollywood, these things are never certain until you're watching the movie and eating popcorn.)

Julie and her husband moved from Southern California back to Texas in 1995, and Julie quit the practice of law to write full time in 2004. Now, she lives and writes in central Texas with her husband, two daughters, and several cats. She is an active supporter of Love Without Boundaries. Click here to learn more about the charities Julie supports.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute Modern Day Fairy Tale, August 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cat's Fancy (Time of Your Life) (Mass Market Paperback)

Maggie the cat has one wish: she wants to become a woman so that her owner, Nicholas, will love her as much as she loves him. Time is running out. Nick is engaged to Angela, the "Ice Queen" according to his sister and best friend. They don't love each other, but the marriage will be a solid business alliance. Angela's father's business is Nick's biggest client.

Old Tom, the one-eyed patriarch of Maggie the cat's clan, grants Maggie's wish to become a woman. However, as with all good spells, there are conditions. Maggie will only be a woman at night (she'll revert to feline status during daylight hours) and she only has one week to get Nick to tell her he loves her. If Nick fails to tell Maggie he loves her, she'll revert to her former furry self.

Imagine Nick's suprise when he opens his front door to a beautiful naked woman. She seems to be stalking him. Her kisses are wonderful. So wonderful, that he runs out of the house and down the street to his best friend's house for the night. What follows is a really sweet (and sexy) love story about the importance of family, integrity and love. Maggie's delight in the world outside Nick's house results in his rediscovering it himself, as well as his falling in love with her (of course).

One caveat: you really must suspend disbelief in order to enjoy this sweet love story. Those looking for realism are not going to find it in this book. But for the rest of us who loved fairy tales as little girls, this book is an excellent read.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meow! Le Purrrrrrr!, November 18, 2001

By 

Brenda Condit "satinskper" (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cat's Fancy (Time of Your Life) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is wonderful. I laughed so hard that I kept getting strange looks from people. Julie Kenner brings to life a wonderful fantasy about a man and his cat. Nicholas a big time lawyer has a cat named Maggie who he loves. Maggie loves him too but more than just as her owner. She loves him as a woman. So she asks the wise old one eyed tom to make her a woman so that Nicholas will love her back the same way. He grants the wish but there are conditions. She is only a woman at night and turns back into a cat during daylight. Also Nicholas must say he loves her by the end of Halloween in order for her to stay human, otherwise she will revert back to being a cat and remain a cat forever. She agrees and soon finds herself a beautiful woman, a naked woman on Nicholas's doorstep. When he answers the door she pounces on him, literally. He freaks and leaves for his best friends house. Hoop is a great secondary character and so is Deena, Nick's sister, I wished that their had been more to their story but maybe we can get a sequel. The story is very refreshing and makes one really believe that magic does exist. I loved the part about the kitty treats. Definately buy this book and reread it again and again.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MEow, August 12, 2000

By 

Karen Boml "Kiki" (Hudson, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cat's Fancy (Time of Your Life) (Mass Market Paperback)

It's not that often that I read a book that not only has me rolling on the floor, but seriously has me thinking about those "nine cat's lives........" especially since I have two cats myself! Maggie is a black cat who LOVES her attorney owner, Nicholas Goodman, and wants to save him from marrying his fiancee, Angela, who also happens to be his bosses daughter........Maggie begs Old Tom, a magical cat, into turning her into a human being..he agrees by making the condition that Nicholas must tell her outloud that he loves her, by Halloween which is one week away....also that she'll be a human only by night, and during daylight she'll be feline.... The antics are hysterically funny, including those by secondary characters, Deena (Nick's sister who can talk to fairies) and Hooper (Nick's best friend) Don't think this book is just a silly fairy-tale-like romance....Although it had me rolling on the floor, especially when Maggie, the human, is caught munching on a bag of cat crunchies, this book has much warmth and depth into human and feline behavior!! Just loved how Maggie learned to act like a human, by watching tv shows such as Jerry Springer and soap operas! Each and every one of you who loves a good romance, or just loves cats, has GOT to read this book....it will warm the cockles of your heart as you see the human Maggie trying to win the heart of her love using no guiles... A definite "comfort" read and a definite "keeper"...this is an author to watch..........just can't wait for her next book which deals with the heroine having "x-ray" vision.......I'm already chuckling!! If I could have rated this book 6 stars, I would have!