The Magical Christmas Cat - Nalini Singh

Please welcome my special guest this week, Nalini Singh, who has bravely agreed to answer my hard hitting questions about her new book, The Magical Christmas Cat! Published by Penguin, TMCC is available to purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books a Million. It will also be available as an e-book.

BIO: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nalini Singh is passionate about writing. Though she's traveled as far afield as the deserts of China and the temples of Japan, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her the most. She's beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand. Currently she writes hot paranormal romances for Berkley, her books set in a world where telepaths exist and a panther can walk alongside a human. To find out more about her books, see pictures from her travels and read a free short story, drop by her website

Hi Nalini, and thank you for popping by today! Can you tell us a little about your book, The Magical Christmas Cat?

TMCC is actually an anthology with four authors (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Linda Winstead Jones and yours truly :)) My story is called "Stroke of Enticement" and it's about a sexy, dangerous and deceptively charming leopard changeling (Zach), and the woman he decides is his own (Annie). These two were so much fun to write - and their story makes me smile every time I read it. For an excerpt, follow this link

How did the idea for the plot come about?

In Mine to Possess, the fourth full-length book in my Psy/Changeling series, the hero and heroine were going to a ceremony to welcome Zach's mate into the pack. All of a sudden, I wanted to know who Zach was, and the identity of the woman who'd managed to win this cat's heart. It all went from there.

I can't wait to read Zach's story! It's a well kept secret, but I do love sale stories so can you tell us about your road to publication - and your call story?

I was bought by Silhouette Desire after submitting to the "slush" pile, and catching the attention of an editor. She didn't buy the first or even second thing I submitted, but she loved Desert Warrior. Some day, if you catch me alone at a conference, ask me this question and you'll get the full version (complete with the fact that I was eating cornflakes when The Call came) - AND lots of giggling and squealing. Thinking about The Call still makes me giddy.

Oh I definitely want to hear the full version!! We are all about the love here, so please share your fave books, movies, TV shows or current fantasy squeeze (it's all in the line of research!)

I like watching the crime shows on T.V. That either makes me very well-informed or very scary! I read like a maniac, so I have too many favorites to list. Some recent reads I enjoyed - Dark Light by Jayne Castle, Lick my Horns by Kresley Cole (ok, that's not the official title (Jane at Dear Author came up with this one) but I asked Kresley and she's cool with it *g* It's Cade's book), Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn.

LOL. Lick my Horns! What are you working on now?

Book 7 of the Psy/Changeling series. It sounds so strange to say that. I still remember every moment of writing book 1 - Slave to Sensation. The time has passed so fast - I just keep falling deeper and deeper in love with this world and the characters.I'm also putting together a proposal for book 2 in my new Guild Hunter series. There's an excerpt of the first book on my website

Oh yay! How can readers keep up with your writing and books?

I have a website which gets updated every month. I also keep an active blog so come on over and join in the fun, And I'm on Facebook & Myspace, plus I have a livejournal

Thanks for the interview, Christina!