Guest Author: Kris Bock and Pride and Prejudice at The Cat Café

Kris Bock is a prolific author and fellow member of the Marketing for Romance Writers group. When she recently announced the title of her new release I had to find out more. I’ve seen and heard about variations on classics such as Pride and Prejudice, and I’ve read several series featuring cats, but this was an interesting combination. Kris’ Furrever Friends series of sweet romances centered around a cafe, but this is the first one with a nod to Jane Austen. I asked Kris to tell us about why she chose to write an adaptation of a classic, and she kindly responded.

****

The  original is still enjoyed for the humor and the happy ending. Many characters fit today’s popular tropes. Darcy is a typical billionaire boss type – rich, powerful, and chilly, but he will do anything for the woman he loves. Lizzie is prickly, witty, proud of her independence and cleverness, and not willing to settle. It works well for modernizations because those kinds of characters are still popular today. Plus you get the enemies to lovers trope. The original feels modern in a lot of ways, even though it was published in 1813.  

While the characters are still relatable, a lot of the events don’t work as well today. The Bennet sisters don’t have careers. We wouldn’t want a teenager who was seduced by a scoundrel to marry him. That means a modern adaptation has plenty of room to play. I was already writing a sweet romance series set around a cat café, which gave me a great starting point for developing my story. It was incredibly fun to figure out what works now, what should be changed or cut entirely, and which characters should be turned into cats.

Excerpt:
The cat Lydia started winding around William’s ankles. He grimaced, looking as if a stranger was trying to use his shirt as a handkerchief.

“See, she likes you!” Caroline squealed.

“I swear that cat is boy crazy,” Jade said. “She’ll take attention from anyone, but if there’s a man around, she’ll ignore every woman in the room.”

“I’m really more of a dog person,” William muttered.

Well, that explained it. Liz liked dogs too. And cats and rabbits and ferrets and rats. Also monkeys, lemurs, red pandas, tree kangaroos, otters, elephants, dolphins, and just about every other animal.

Except for people. She didn’t always have a high opinion of them.

Liz scooped up Lydia. “I’ll distract her for a while. It looks like your drinks are here.” She jerked her chin toward the door as Dustin came in with a tray.

Lydia squirmed and meowed, wanting to get back to pestering the handsome man. Lizstrode to the far side of the room and deposited Lydia on top of a cat tree. “Behave yourself,” Liz muttered. “You don’t want a guy like that anyway. A dogs-only person!”

Lydia sat up and began grooming, ostentatiously ignoring Liz.

Liz huffed out a breath. “Don’t bother making yourself pretty for some man. If he doesn’t adore you at your worst, he’s not worth it.”

Blurb:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune should donate to a cat rescue.

Overworked PhD student Liz takes a brief break at the local cat café with her friend Jade, who wants to start a special needs cat rescue. Jade pitches her idea to Carl, who is in charge of corporate giving for a rich local family, and sparks fly between the two. Liz is happy about her friend’s potential romance but less impressed with Carl’s best friend, William. He seems stuffy and rude, and worst of all, he doesn’t like cats. Meanwhile, William is intrigued by Liz even though every one of their interactions seems to go awry, in part due to his terrible cat allergy. For the sake of their friends and the animals, the two figure out how to get along–until Liz learns some horrible facts about William. But is she trusting the right person? Then the feisty kitten Lydia disappears–perhaps stolen–and they have to overcome their differences in order to rescue her. The Furrever Friends Cat Café helps people find furry forever friends–and just might lead to romantic love too. This Pride and Prejudice modern adaptation features fresh twists to delight both fans and new readers.

Bio:
Kris Bock writes romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a billion-dollar lottery. Can they build new dreams and find love amidst the chaos? In the Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Learn more at KrisBock.com. Get a free 30-page story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for Kris Bock’s Romance and Mystery newsletter. You’ll also get a printable copy of “22 recipes from the cat café” and a freeAccidental Detective mystery short story with bonus material. Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie SweetHome Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. The series starts with Felony Melanie in Pageant Pandemonium. Sign up for their romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. Or find the books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers.