Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Avalon organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Author Vanessa Morgan will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!
And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Avalon
by Vanessa Morgan
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir
MY REVIEW
The day Avalon crossed paths with Vanessa, her life as she new it ended. Was it fate?
I think it was. Avalon was a handsome cat, a Turkish Van, the breed Vanessa had been looking for. She new they were a possessive breed, but nothing prepared her for this cat.
He tortured the other cats in her household, threw up on her guinea pig, and flew into tantrums, tearing her house apart if she looked at another creature, especially another cat.
But there was another side to Avalon. Adoration. He adored Vanessa. He was hers. And as Vanessa’s life changed, she was his.
This story is about Vanessa as much as it’s about Avalon. She tells much about herself, her past, her thoughts, as the years pass.
Sharing her vulnerabilities, sacrificing opportunities, through good times and bad, Vanessa gave her all to Avalon.
Most pet owners soon learn they aren’t owners. Their pet is not a pet, it’s a member of the family. And sometimes they rule the roost.
The extremes Avalon went to astounded me. Puking on the guinea pig, terrorizing the other cats, letting his displeasure be known with escalating howls, even kicking her boyfriend out, he was to be commended for his unswerving spirit.
The things Vanessa gives up for Avalon may seem like a bit much, but haven’t we all done things for our furry friends that may seem ridiculous to others? I know I have.
Vanessa feels like their paths crossed for a reason. Her and Avalon were meant to be together. And I believe her. Never have I heard of such a bond as they shared.
This story made me cry. But I smiled through the tears and when I finished it, I hugged my dog and my cat, gave them some special treats, and when we snuggled together at bedtime, I felt whole.
5 Stars
Synopsis
Avalon is now also available in French!
Some cats need nine lives to make a difference. Avalon only needed one.
From Amazon bestselling author Vanessa Morgan, Avalon is the heartwarming and once-in-a-lifetime love story of a girl and her neurotic Turkish Van cat.
With humor, the author details how Avalon made other creatures cringe in distress whenever he was around, how he threw her dates out by means of special techniques, and how he rendered it almost impossible for her to leave the house. Avalon was so incorrigible that even the landlord ordered to get rid of him. But beneath Avalon’s demonic boisterousness, Vanessa recognized her own flaws and insecurities, and she understood that abandoning Avalon would be the worst she could do to him. Thanks to her unswerving loyalty, Avalon transformed into a tender feline and even landed a major role in a horror movie. In turn, Avalon made it his mission to be there for his human companion.
Avalon is a memoir for anyone who has ever been obsessively in love with a pet.
Enjoy this peek inside:
Ignoring the neighbors’ cats had diminished Avalon’s jealousy, but with four more beings in the apartment demanding my devotion, Avalon’s reality was still a far cry from his personal utopia, and new pet peeves were routinely added to his usual problem-seeking behavior.
Small changes often caused major disturbances. When we removed a DVD from the cupboard, or put a pen on the living room table that he wasn’t used to seeing there, Avalon pitched himself near the problem area and vocalized his complaints as if he was a muezzin calling to prayer. He only stopped if the space returned back to normal.
Intelligent and calculating as he was, Avalon had also developed a technique to prevent Ballon and Tigris from using his litter boxes. Each time he heard the scratch scratch scratch in the litter, he settled into attack mode behind the bathroom wall, wiggled his behind, and leapt onto the other cat as soon as it emerged, making it jump. It worked every…single… time. Proud, Avalon walked away from the crime scene with his nose pointing airwards.
Borat, our guinea pig, was initially the best one off, but ended up the most miserable. What kept him safe at first was Avalon’s fear of rodents. Cats may be considered deadly predators, killing a median of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals a year in the United States alone, but whenever Borat had free range inside the apartment, Avalon went in a large circle around him, avoiding him at all cost.
Eventually, Avalon ferreted out a way to make Borat twinge in distress whenever he approached. It started when I taught Avalon not to throw up on the bed and carpets. Those lessons must have been meaningful, because Avalon didn’t vomit in those places anymore. Instead he aimed for the guinea pig’s head. As soon as he felt a hairball mounting, Avalon ran as fast as he could toward Borat’s cage, leaned in, and puked his heart out.
About Author Vanessa Morgan:
Vanessa Morgan is the editor of the movie reference guides When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, and Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children. She also has had one cat book (Avalon) and four supernatural thrillers (Drowned Sorrow, The Strangers Outside, A Good Man, and Clowders) published. Three of her stories have been turned into movies. She has written for myriad Belgian magazines and newspapers and introduces movie screenings at several European film festivals. She is also a programmer for the Offscreen Film Festival in Belgium. When she’s not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching movies, eating out, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats.
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The French version of the book can be purchased at Amazon for only $0.99.
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I love the cover. It really caught my eye.
Thank you, Jeanna. The cover is by Gilles Vranckx.
A 5 star review is a great reason to read. I love the cover too.
Thank you, Mary. I hope you’ll like it just as much.
Adorable cover
Thanks for hosting!
Sounds like a good read.
Captivating and lovely.
Wonderful cover and I do love critter stories.
sherry @ fundinmental
I love cats, we have the sweetest black cat that loves to cuddle! The book sounds great
What a beautiful tribute to a beloved furbaby! I currently have 18 cats. I have never seen a Turkish Van.
How was the name Avalon chosen for this beautiful cat?
Wonderful Review, Laura! Very intriguing 🙂