Back when I initially wrote The Journal of Angela Ashby it was missing one of the characters of the finished version. When my agent, Italia Gandolfo, and I were discussing the illustrations we were commissioning from Mister Sam Shearon, she said, “What about the cat? The fortune-teller would have a spooky cat slinking around.”

Cat O’ Lantern by Mister Sam Shearon.
To purchase a print of this image, please click here.

Sam had recently created the Cat O’ Lantern image, which is absolutely fantastic, so we added cat to the list of images, and I did another revision on the book to add a cat.

     The black curtain moved and something small and low to the ground streaked out.
     Mallory yelped.
     I followed its progress until it stopped near the tent siding, just out of the ray of light.
     “It’s okay, Mal.” I nudged her arm. “Look, it’s just a black cat.”
     The cat sat and stared at us through amber-colored eyes, unmoving except a rhythmic twitch of the end of its tail.

Once the cat was on the page in the fortune-teller’s tent it became one of my favorite characters in the book, popping up when you least expected it to. Ultimately, the cat became a manifestation of Angela’s conscience. I had a lot of fun adding the cat, Malachite, into the story.

Sam gave us an absolutely wonderful cover, spooky fortune-teller, ratty old tent, and all. But when we decided to add Angela to the front, I mentioned wanting the cat on the cover.

Italia nixed the idea of the cat because she didn’t want the cover to get too cluttered. And we left it at that … until now.

I don’t even remember what first prompted me to put the cat on the cover. I often work in photoshop creating images for different things, so it might have been for the Amazon exclusive hardcover version we just released, but once Italia saw the cat popping its head out from behind the tent curtain, she loved it. So just like the cat in the book, it has been popping up in everything I have been creating for Angela of late.

it is now in the header of the AngelaAshby.com site. My publisher also posted new images to the Amazon product page.

The cat being a part of the art for The Journal of Angela Ashby is not an earth-shattering event. In the grand scheme of things it is not even a speck on the timeline of life. But it makes me incredibly happy to see those wickedly eerie eyes staring out at the world. It looks so right. It is a decidedly small thing, but it makes me smile and improves my day when I see the cover image or any of the other artwork including it, so the happiness it brings gives it a value beyond gold.

And maybe … just maybe, it can be the conscience, or reminder to act with intention, for someone other than Angela. And that will be a huge thing indeed.

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Mallory, being the character she is, had to research the purpose of the crystal … what its healing properties were.

      “Anyway, malachite has been used for thousands of years for healing, protection, drawing out negative emotions, and clarifying intention.” She ticked the uses off on her fingers. “I’m sure that’s why Madame Vadoma gave it to me.”
     “What’s why?” I didn’t see how that explained anything.
     “She gave you the journal for a reason. I’m not sure what that is yet, but she must have known you’d need some help, especially with intention.” She settled her glasses firmly on her nose. “Like with the frogs … It’s also supposed to help with shyness and timidity.”

The frogs Mallory is referring to were accidentially released, but that is a post for another time …

“She calmed me down and told me the nicest things. She even gave me a crystal.” She opened the drawstring bag and held up a round stone which had been carved into a skull, dark green with bands of turquoise, and shiny.

Whether you believe it the properties of crystals to help calm, provide better focus, influence your behavior or life — or whether you only believe in its ability to make food taste better (table salt, which is a crystal made up of sodium and chlorine ions arranged in a lattice) or make your computer run (computer chips are made from crystals—a lattice of silicon atoms), crystals are a part of our daily lives. So why a crystal skull?

Some associate a skull as being a symbol of death or dying. Look at Sugar Skulls and their association with Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) — and the symbolism inherent of both death and rebirth. But some view crystal skulls as a means to awaken human consciousness and include self-awareness and creating balance. Besides, they are simply cool.

In The Journal of Angela Ashby you’ll find illustrations by the fabulous Mister Sam Shearon and the illustrations have been made into a pack of playing cards which can be purchased here.

The post The Journal of Angela Ashby: The Malachite Skull appeared first on Be the Cat.

Back to witchcraft … those presumed to be witches often had taken in stray cats to be their companion and somehow the idea of “companion” turned into the witches “familiar” and the belief that the witch could turn herself into a (usually) black cat. Even modern literature supports this in the character of Professor McGonagall, who has the ability to transform herself into a black cat in the Harry Potter series.

In the original draft of The Journal of Angela Ashby, there wasn’t a cat on the page. The cat came out of a discussion with my agent, Italia Gandolfo, along the road to publication. I’m a fairly lean writer, and she wanted a longer book … her advice? Put in a cat. I thought about it for a few moments and realized how perfect a cat would be for the story.

With the mysterious fortune-teller, Madame Vadoma, I thought the inside of the tent where Angela and Mallory had their fortunes told was the perfect setting to introduce a cat. I honestly had no idea how much the cat was going to slink through the story, but she did. In deciding on what type of cat, we picked the Bombay cat as being the perfect style … and it is usually the kind of cat you see in Halloween decorations that pop up everywhere in October. Once the cat, Malachite, had been introduced, she became a full-blown character, and somewhat of a conscience for Angela. By the time I was done weaving the cat through the book, I couldn’t imagine the story without it anymore.

     The black curtain moved and something small and low to the ground streaked out. Mallory yelped.
     I followed its progress until it stopped near the tent siding, just out of the ray of light.
     “It’s okay, Mal.” I nudged her arm. “Look, it’s just a black cat.”
     The cat sat and stared at us through amber-colored eyes, unmoving except a rhythmic twitch of its tail.

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