When it comes to my novels, most of my ideas come from dreams I’ve had. But The Cat’s Eyes was very different. The inspiration for this novel came from a furry nuisance with an attitude.
Here’s the story of the real Smokey the cat.
We didn’t know where he came from at first. This bold feline would just show up, uninvited and full of confidence. Eventually we found out his name was Smokey, and apparently he had quite the reputation up and down the street. A true local menace.
Smokey wasn’t shy. He wouldn’t run away from trouble like some cats. No, Smokey would run right towards it. When we’d shake a pack of Dreamies to call our own cat in of an evening, he’d saunter over like he owned the place, demanding a treat, blocking our own lovely cat from entering the house. He had no shame.
One time, he even came in through the cat flap and made himself right at home on our kitchen counter. Our poor cat was cowering in the corner. Then when we tried to chase him out, Smokey actually fought back.
On moving day, we even found him sitting on the bed inside the removal van, as if he was planning to come with us. That was when I said, “One day I’m going to write a story about that cat.”
And, being a writer, that’s exactly what I did.
Smokey’s personality practically wrote the plot for me. He was so confident and so comfortable, that I instantly knew how I was going to build the story around him.
At first, I played with the idea of setting the action in a holiday resort, with a limited two week window to add to the drama. But I couldn’t quite get it to work. There were too many people lingering about and too many moving parts. Instead, I looked to my own life for inspiration.
As a small business owner, I do a lot of networking. That world gave me a great backdrop for both the storyline and the romance. After all, my books are love stories first, always with a strange, unexpected twist woven through.
Jake, the male lead, became a cheeky, charming guy that everyone instantly falls for. Isobel, our main protagonist, doesn’t think she stands a chance. That dynamic was a fun change from some of my more serious romantic pairings in previous books.
Then there’s Nicholas, Smokey’s mysterious yet very handsome owner. He’s got an eerie edge, and I could picture him so clearly from the outset. One man and his cat, turning our characters’ lives upside down.
Writing The Cat’s Eyes was so much fun. Many readers have fed back to me that they couldn’t guess the ending, and that makes me very proud. I spent months developing the plot, jamming the characters into such a tight spot that even I wasn’t sure how I was going to untangle them. But I got there, and it’s great to know that all that work has paid off.
It’s definitely the most unique book I’ve written, and I think it stands out from anything else out there. A romance with a horror twist and a cover I absolutely adore.
Think you can guess the ending? Let me know. Buy The Cat’s Eyes here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cats-Eyes-Lindsay-Woodward/dp/1999585585/
