Guest Post: A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle by Kiltie Jackson

Synopsis:

So who exactly is Sukie McClaren?

A Christmas-loving Cat lover? A Sound of Music Fanatic? A Fiercely Independent Woman?

She is all of the above. And when she is sent to Salzburg for a business trip a few weeks before Christmas, she thinks all her dreams have come true. As she packs her suitcase, the only things on her mind are Christmas markets, lots of snow and finally seeing the Doh-Ray-Me steps. Becoming the new best friend of the world’s hottest rock-star doesn’t even get a look in.

Pete Wallace is a reclusive, reluctant, rock-star and the world’s Number One, best-selling, male solo artist. It’s been three years since his last tour and he’s now preparing to go back on the road again. A week in Salzburg, schmoozing with the music press, is one of his worst nightmares.

He can’t wait for it to be over.

When Pete and Sukie meet, it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Lonely for too long, he begins to remember how it feels to be happy and, for the first time in six years, Christmas feels special again.

Eduardo di Santo however, whose kid sister suffered life-changing injuries at a Pete Wallace concert, is all set on getting revenge. When Pete’s new tour is announced, he begins to make his plans. Plans that will culminate in Pete’s demise.

Will Pete and Sukie’s new friendship die before it has a chance to flourish?

A Christmas tale full of love, laughter, friendship and revenge.

And Now Kiltie Jackson with:

I’m Feline Good!

In my novel, ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle’, one of the main characters – Sukie McClaren – has two black rescue cats called Tony and Adam. They are not really central to the overall storyline but, being a huge cat lover myself, I didn’t feel I could write a book without some cats being in there somewhere.

How I came to be a cat lover, and a cat slave, is quite interesting. I didn’t grow up with cats. My mum had been badly scratched by one when she was a child and so held a deep fear of them. When on holiday once, a cat from a neighbouring cottage jumped in through the open window near to where my mum was standing ironing. That was the first time I actually saw someone freeze in total fear. It was also the first time I saw my mother display her amazing ventriloquist skills as she managed to scream at me to get it out without moving her lips, head or any other part of her body!

When I left home and moved into my first flat, I had absolutely no intentions of getting myself a pet – be that a cat, dog or even a hamster! The Masters of the Feline World however, had other ideas on that one as I soon found out.

I was dating a young chap and had been invited to his parents for dinner. Upon our arrival, we discovered that his dad had rescued some kittens from a farmer who was planning to dispose of them. I quickly dumped my handbag and scooped up about three kittens for cuddles. One in particular seemed to take a shine to me and promptly fell asleep in my arms. She stayed there until dinner was ready. When I placed her on the floor, she curled up on my feet and didn’t move until I had finished eating and picked her back up again.

When the time came for me to go home, this little lady was left locked in the lounge to ensure she didn’t escape out of the house. My boyfriend’s kid sister didn’t realise this however and, upon hearing scratching at the lounge door, opened it and released a certain tiny ball of tabby fur to come haring down the hallway at full pelt before skidding to a halt at my feet. She looked up at me with expectation, almost as though she was saying “I go where you go. I’m keeping you.”

My boyfriend’s mother laughed and said “I think you’ve just gotten yourself a kitten!” Ten minutes later I was walking to the bus-stop with kitten in a box, a bag of cat food and litter and absolutely no idea on how one took care of a cat!

Well, I must have done something right because she lived to the ripe old age of seventeen. And her name? She was called Sukie.

Since then, I have had a number of cats. Sadly, they don’t live as long as we do and it is always heart-breaking when they leave and move on. I try to be pragmatic and think that their departure allows me to give a home to a new cat that may not, otherwise, be so fortunate to be loved and cared for. The majority of my cats have been directly from rescues or via someone who has contacted a rescue due to having strays in their gardens.

At this time, Moggy Towers is owned by five cats. Four came from rescues, and one was re-homed. I will confess that keeping only five is very difficult as I have a good friend who runs a home rescue. She has so many poor, unfortunate, creatures come in to her almost daily and I want to give them all a home. Mr Mogs has had to be the voice of reason on more than one occasion.

Our eldest is Princess Moo Moo and she is eleven. She was re-homed with us approximately five years ago and she came with the name! Sadly, she doesn’t get on very well with other cats and so she has taken over the upstairs area of Moggy Towers. She is very beautiful, very regal and very feisty! Truly deserving of her HRH title. Moo Moo is also my little helper when I am writing. My study is upstairs and she will come in with me when I’m working. Her idea of ‘helping’, I should add, is walking across my desk, standing on the keyboard and swiping her big fluffy tail in my face!

Next in line is Abby and McGee. These are my two black rescue babies. They’re not in any way related although, they are so identical to look at, you would be forgiven for thinking they were. They are both seven years old. We had Abby first and decided to get her a chum to play with. We went back to the rescue we’d gotten her from and said “We’ll have the youngest cat you have that has been here the longest.” We were not surprised to find ourselves with another black cat as sadly, they are always overlooked when people take in rescue animals. I really don’t understand why as they are the most loving and affectionate creatures. Both of ours crave cuddles and affection and really are adorable.

The two Moggy babies are Donald, three years old, and Tony, two years old. Both of these came from my friend Sally who runs the home rescue. Donald was recused from a school playground when he was five weeks old. Tony’s mummy arrived at the rescue heavily pregnant and gave birth a few days later.

While they all have their own personalities, the boys seem to have cornered the market for being little characters. McGee gives high-fives and fist bumps, Donald will sit and hold a conversation with you while Tony likes to lie across my shoulders as I walk around the house.

For me, my home would feel very empty without my little feline companions. They’re loving, affectionate, funny and entertaining. I cannot ever see a day when I don’t have a cat in my life. They are truly awesome creatures and, for that reason, there will always be at least one cat in all of my books.

About the Author:

Kiltie grew up in Scotland, Glasgow to be precise. A very unique city with a very unique way of looking at life. When she was old enough to do so, she moved to London and then, after several years of obtaining interesting experiences – which are finding their way into her writing – she moved up to the Midlands.

She currently lives in Staffordshire with five cats and one husband. The cats kindly allow her and her husband to share their house on the condition they keeps paying the mortgage!

Her little home is known as Moggy Towers, even though despite having plenty of moggies, there are no towers!

She loves reading, watching movies, and visiting old castles. She really dislikes going to the gym!

Her biggest desire is that one day she can give up the day job and write her stories for a living.

Kiltie first began writing ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle’ over ten years ago. The project was shelved on Chapter Seventeen as she felt the story wasn’t flowing as she would like it to.

In her own words “The images in my head would not come out of my fingers!” Fast forward to November 2016 when, having finished reading Lizzie’s Christmas Escape by Christie Barlow, she read more about the author and was inspired with how Christie herself came to be a best-selling author.

In that thunderbolt moment, Kiltie knew – with a deep certainty – that she needed to reacquaint herself with ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle’ and begin writing again. She did this in January 2017 and found the words flowed faster than she could type them. Finally, the time was right for her to write her novel.

Her determination to finish what she had started all those years ago was absolute and the first draft was completed on Sunday 16th April 2017.

Since beginning to write again, the ideas have not stopped flowing. She has begun typing up her second book, ‘Of All the Unlikely Places’, and book three (not yet titled) has been worked out and is waiting in the wings for its turn in the spotlight.

She currently has a further ten plots and ideas stored in her file (it’s costing a fortune in USB drives as each story has its own memory stick!) and the ideas still keep on coming.

She now lives her life around the following three quotes:

“I love having weird dreams, they’re great fodder for book plots!”
“Why wait for your ship to come in when you can swim out to meet it?”
“Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!”