# ♣♣♣ Fantasy novel with 25 illustrations - Gay protagonist ♣♣♣



## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

5+ stars from _BookWenches_: "Mr. Bell's story combines youthful exuberance with mature humor, a fantastic adventure with political rhetoric, and an almost whimsical landscape with darkness and fear. I found this book to be fascinating and unusual and unexpectedly delightful, and I enjoyed every word of it."

From _Reviews by Jesse Wave_: "The Cat in the Cradle is an utterly delightful, whimsical fantasy filled with a creative imaginative plot, great characters, solid writing, and eye catching art work."

_To set out into the world, to be surrounded by the unknown and become a stranger. Only then would he be free to reinvent himself. Or fall in love._

Dylan wanted one last adventure before the burden of adulthood was thrust upon him. And to confront the man he hadn't spoken to since their intimate night together. Stealing a boat with his faithful companion Kio, their journey is cut short when they witness a brutal murder. A killer is loose in the Five Lands and attacking the most powerful families. Dylan--a potential target--seeks sanctuary from an unpredictable bodyguard named Tyjinn. Together they decide to turn the tables by hunting the killer down. Along the way, everything Dylan thought he knew about himself will be challenged, but if he survives, he stands to win the love he never dreamed possible.

_The Cat in the Cradle_ is the first book in the Loka Legends series and features twenty-five original illustrations created by Andreas Bell, the author's husband.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Jay--

welcome to KindleBoards and congratulations on your books and your first posts!

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature, and you've already done that! (It would help the membership if you could reduce the size of your image, more about that later.) Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles! Be sure to bookmark your book threads so that you can find them again to post news and updates to, it helps our members who are following your books.

To reduce the size of your book image, put "width=150" after the first IMG tag, like this:

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. That will constrain the size to 150 pixels in width, which is about right for a signature image. Thanks!

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards! Feel free to PM us if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators


The fine print: 
_Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Hi, Jay

Welcome to KindleBoards from me too!

Love your cover, and already a nice review! Well, actually four great reviews since I just checked out your page! You're on your way!

I see your book is also in paperback...

There are a lot of lovers of fantasy fiction here, so here's hoping you gain lots of fans.

It is nice here at KindleBoards. You'll feel right at home. A good place to hang out and get to know everyone.

Best of luck with your new book!

Nancy


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Thanks for the warm welcome, Betsy and Nancy. I just resized the image in my sig so it's a bit less annoying.   Thanks for the tip! I look forward to hanging out here more.


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

The Kindle version of the book doesn't include the chapter illustrations, so we've put together a free art book for everyone. Aside from the twenty-five illustrations found in the print and PDF versions is a slew of concept art and commentary. Check it out and let me know what you think!
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12874


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Hello Jay and welcome!  Your book sounds interesting . . . I just may have to download the sample from amazon  .
-Jenna


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2010)

Welcome Jay Bell! I'm a new fantasy writer too, and I think you'll find the water is warm. Don't be afraid to head up to the Book Corner area and share some thoughts with us. 

Your book looks interesting, and I may have to take a gander. Best of luck to you!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Who did your cover art foreverjuly? It's lovely!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Stumbling Over Chaos is giving away a few eBook copies of my book, including a Kindle compatible format:
http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/archives/9100

I also had a wonderful review from Three Dollar Bill Reviews recently:

"Review:

The Cat in the Cradle is a wonderful tale about friendship, beautiful magic, and the momentous feeling that is love. This is a wonderful magical read, filled with imaginative creatures and a deeply woven plot. The world created is just spellbinding, and the illustrations provide an eye-catching look worthy of its chapter. I was just blown away and all types of impressed with this book, it is a story not to be missed.

We meet Dylan the main narrator, he is bored with his over pampered life and he is wanting a bit of adventure. He shares these thoughts with his best friend Kio a talking cat. What you should know about Dylan is that he is the son of the Blue Oligarch, a magician with a power over the element water. The Oligarchs are powerful men and women, with their own unique power, and they are divided by color and each color represents its own unique magic. Dylan is next in line to rule with the blue loka, but he feels he is unworthy because he can barely muster enough magic to fill a cup with water. Yearning for adventure Dylan and Kio come up with a plan to visit a friend and throw caution to the wind, their little adventure leads to tragedy, and future that will become too much for a 17-year-old boy and his oversize cat.

The book then becomes as I would say "pure action movie to the face" when Dylan witnesses the murder of the Yellow Oligarch. Yet to realize he just witnessed his doom, and is then thrust into a war of a power hungry magic user. The story becomes one spine tingling event after another, the excitement builds then explodes and it just blew my mind. The world created was interesting, filled with magical beasts,and the makeup of the Oligarch's and their color magic. Dylan takes us through this wonderful world with the enthusiasm of a young person caught in an adventure. His observations are innocent and delightful, and will cause the reader to feel that excitement through the pages. Yet with all the new world to discover a sinister plan is brewing and Dylan is caught right in the middle, and what he faces will be a threat to him and a danger to those he loves.

We are then introduced to secondary narrators Ty and Lali, and they become a big part of the story. These very young characters become shining heroes, yet they were prone to small mistakes, which is just the prime example of growing up. Dylan faces issues with his own sexuality, while battling living creatures. This is the undertone of the entire plot; a young man feeling lost, and is worried about how his friends, family, and society will view him, because of his sexual orientation. The characters are delightful and you will likely be with them or against them. Kio the cat is charm, he is sarcastic and just a great big fur ball of fun. These very relatable characters will impress you.

Overall, an engaging wonderful read, the book is far from perfect but I find that makes sense to me, it makes it real. This book has enough action and gore for the adult reader, yet I would recommend it for a 15 and over age group. It is a magical joy filled ride, and the setting is so imaginative and totally creative. I also recommend the illustrated version of this book; the drawings match each chapter effortlessly. You will not be disappointed by the world of the Oligarch and their color ruling powers, each color represents an affinity of life in the form of a wondrous tale. The Cat in the Cradle is a book not to be missed, a book about love, discovering of self and the acceptance of who you are."
http://threedollarbillreviews.com/2010/08/25/the-cat-in-the-cradle-by-jay-bell-andreas-bellillustrator/


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Jay--

congratulations on the review! And great to hear about the free book giveaway. Folks, it only runs through September 9th, you have to leave a comment. Here are the rules from the website link Jay provided:


> To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Thursday, September 9.
> If you haven't commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn't show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry&#8230;
> If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry - this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
> Winners will be selected by random number.
> ...


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2010)

Well done J. Bell!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Flesh and Blood, a spooky short story, has been released just in time for Halloween! Get your werewolf on and head over to Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26433) to get a *free* copy for your kindle. Here's the summary:

"Nikolai's life was good but simple. He ran the local tavern and was respected by those who knew him. But sometimes life was lonely. When Nikolai decides to help a woman in need, he soon learns that nothing is what is seems. Inside or out, flesh and blood can be deceptive. This free short story explores Nikolai's origins, a character introduced in the fantasy novel _The Cat in the Cradle_."


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

This is one of my most favorite reader comments yet, for The Cat in the Cradle:

"Sitting on the balcony, listening to the drizzle outside. Having a delectable tea in my hands and re-reading your wonderful book, where their are no social norms to me is one of my favourite memories. Thank you Jay, for creating such a wonderful book."

If you read something and like it, let the author know, because this is the fuel that keeps us going!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

The Kindle of this book now includes twenty-five chapter illustrations, previously available only in the print version. I'm thrilled the Kindle version is now complete! At only $2.99, I think the price is worth the illustrations alone.


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Did I mention there's a map as well? That brings the illustrations up to twenty-six!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Blurb updated, hopefully to your delight!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

With a sequel due out this summer, now is a good time to catch up with the first book!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

My husband Andreas is currently at work on illustrations for the sequel. Those, along with the cover art, are some of his best work yet. I can't wait for the world to see them!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Praise for _The Cat in the Cradle_, taken from the most recent Amazon review (also posted on Risingshadow): "The Cat in the Cradle was a very pleasant surprise for me and I enjoyed reading it. It's a charming and easily likeable fantasy book, which handles difficult subjects in a sensitive and engaging way."


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

I've been putting the finishing touches on the sequel this week and am very excited for this to become a proper series!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Illustrations for the sequel are all now complete, including a new map for the southern portion of The Five Lands!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

To celebrate the upcoming release of the sequel (cover art released today: http://www.jaybellbooks.com/ ) I've got _The Cat in the Cradle_ on sale for the ridiculously low price of 99 cents. Snatch it up, because this sale will only last a week!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

The sequel to _The Cat in the Cradle_ is now out!
http://www.jaybellbooks.com/from-darkness-to-darkness-is-out/


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

I've knocked a buck off the price of the book. 25 illustrations, tons of words, some adventure, and a lot of love for only $2.99!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Two novels, two short stories, and an art collection. Will the Loka Legends continue to grow?


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

On sale for 2.99 right now, but only until January 2nd!


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## J Bee (May 17, 2010)

Talking cat! What more do you need?


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