Author Janet Taylor-Perry: Inspiration 46

Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

Proverbs 6:3

We have worked our way to my labor of love, the first book I ever wrote and let it sit on a shelf for ten years. I originally wrote this book in 2000 while I was going through a divorce, and it was cathartic. I could work out problems via characters, expression emotions I dared not say aloud. The book started out as a probably children's book, but the characters had a mind of their own, causing me to write an adult fantasy.

For most of us there comes at least one pet into our lives that we love with our whole hearts, a pet that becomes like another human to us. Such a pet was Satin.

Satin was fifteen pounds of satiny, glossy black cat. For years my children and I joked and even role-played that Satin was not a cat, but a panther. Further still, we often pretended that he was actually a human that some witch had transformed into a panther, who became king of not only the panthers, but his entire realm.

Of course, if Satin was human, then all our other pets had to be human, too. Thus, were born many of the characters in this book.

This book is dedicated to my five children, Matthew, Nathan, Mary Catherine, Caleb, and Samuel, whose vivid imaginations personified our precious pets, Satin, P.C., Lightning, and Kiki.

A Sonnet for Satin

By Janet Taylor-Perry

If there was magic in Frosty's old hat,

Then there was enchantment in my sweet pet.

It came in the form of a small black cat,

The dearest creature that I ever met.

His name was Satin for the smoothest fur.

His love was the unconditional kind.

His magic could be heard in his soft purr.

He was the best pet I will ever find.

But, oh, what sadness in my heart was wrought,

When the magic left creating dark space!

Never a battle with him had I fought,

And nothing his sweetness can e'er replace.

The magic drew his final ragged breath,

Leaving an emptiness in me in death.

Cover by Christopher Chambers.

Satin on the left with Scarlett and Skittles. I could not have posed these three this well.

The Perry 5 at different stages: Matthew, Nathan, Mary Catherine, Caleb, and Samuel