Cat is out of the bag with AAW member’s first novel

Allied Author’s own Mark J. Engels recently made his literary debut with Always Gray in Winter.

The paperback novel, published by Thurston Howl Publications, features a family of werecats and straddles several genres, including military fiction, science fiction and anthropomorphics.

Members of the Allied Authors of Wisconsin had the privilege of hearing excerpts from the book while Engels was working on it. As of Aug. 10, the story is available to the public at Amazon.com.

The back-cover synopsis hints at many layers of intrigue and action:

A distant daughter. A peculiar device. A family lineage full of secrets. When werecat Pawlina Katczynski finally resurfaces, her location previously unknown to anyone close to her, the reunion is short of welcomed. Instead, she finds herself thrust tooth and nail — tooth and claw — into a feud between opposing werecat clans as her family and their enemies reignite a battle that has raged for years. Always Gray in Winter invites the reader to join the feud and see if blood is truly thicker than water…

Engels will be promoting the book on the Speculative Fiction Cantina internet radio program on Aug. 11 and on the South Afrifur Pawdcast on Aug. 13. He also will attend Furry Migration in Minneapolis from Aug. 25 to 27.

A sequel is already in the works.

For more information about Always Gray in Winter, including artwork inspired by the novel, visit the author’s website at www.mark-engels.com.

• See Mark J. Engels’ biography.
• Buy Always Gray in Winter.