Meet Xander, International Feline 007

Since Xander de Hunter is the International feline 007, it seems appropriate to write about him on International Book Day. Though I based Xander on my dear Rom (a.k.a. Romakazi) I also found inspiration in Pinterest and Google + photos and gifs, so Xander became tech-savvy….

That plan soon morphed into an entire society (Catamondo), which was global and well-organized.

More gifs I showed how coordinated cats were, and I came up with a Bio for Xander:

    

During his youth, Xander “The Kamikaze” gained fame in Catamundo’s kickboxing tournaments.  He came to the notice of Catamundo’s elite when he vanquished two Dobermans harassing a lovely Silver-gray Persian. Instead of doing nothing, he leaped to the fair lady’s defense, shredding noses and clawing eyes until the owner turned on the hose, then carted his bleeding dogs to the vet. After they returned, the Dobermans showed all cats the respect they so richly deserved.

The lovely lady was Ms. Fluffy Morgan, daughter of Sir Isaac Morgan, Catamondo’s Secatary of Cultural Affairs and Dame Miranda Morgan, renowned for her Mouse Hunt Series of novels. Shortly after Xander’s gallant defense of Ms Fluffy, Sir Isaac nominated Xander for Purrtector of their region. By age 5, Xander organized techno-savvy cats and created the first Catamundo website. Which was a reowsing success with those who understood it. For the next two years, he organized and coordinated classes for techno-dunce cats, to learn to utilize modern technology. By age 5, Xander had risen to US Southeaster District Purrtector and rumor had it that at the next election, he would become North America’s Continental Purrtector.

But mere days before the election, Xander’s family drugged him with catnip, popped his comatose body into a carrier, then they moved aboard sailing vessel, Whispurring Winds, a Gemini 105MC catamaran.  Before his wits returned, his humans had cast off the mooring lines and set sail for the Caribbean…

Catamondo’s Council held an impromptu emergency session where they created a new office: Purrtector of the Seven Seas and immediately voted – unanimously – for Xander to be the first Sea Purrtector. Thus The Kamikaze organized his new position utilizing all the advanced technology available aboard: single side-band radio; satellite phones, marine radio and of course, the Internet, which he’d become skilled at.

In his official capacity, Kamikaze Xander assists cats whatever he advises his humans to anchor….

Now that I knew who my hero was, I began to plan The Red Claw. Initially, Xander displayed the classic cat/dog attitude, so you see that in the beginning of The Red Claw. But the more I watched the news, and saw how poorly humans who come from different backgrounds got along, the more I realized that I wanted Xander to give my YA readers a better example. Besides, our own cats and dogs have always gotten along fine. So, by the end of The Red Claw, Xander was getting along with many Jamaican species. Of course, at the beginning of Purr-a-noia, Catamondo and Dogdom were in an uneasy truce, so he sails to Haiti to help their Purrtector but by The Vi-Purrs, which is mainly in The Dominican Republic, Xander has many friends and allies in other species and this is continuing in the rough draft of Me-YEOW!, which takes place in India.

By Purr-a-noia, Ms. Purrseidon had become a member of our family… I’m not exactly sure how she managed it, but by the time I was halfway through writing Purr-a-noia, Ms. Purrseidon had wormed her way into the story as Mischief…. as the series goes on, she gets older, but no matter what her age, she delights in giving Xander’s ego a challenge. In case you’re interested, Ms. Munchkin helps Purrseidon administer her very own Facebook page.

To honor International Book Day, Xander’s books have been marked down to 99c – of course, Latitudes & Cattitudes, the short prequel to this growing series is free.

You can find short synopses of my books as well as buying links at my website www.jeannefoguth.com