For several years there have been reports of a large black cat in Canterbury. Urban myth, most people scoff, yet the eye witness reports keep coming about a mystery black cat. A leopard. When I first saw a newspaper report, the story fascinated me. I kept the newspaper cutting because I'm a writer. Collecting interesting tidbits is what a writer does because interesting tidbits become the spark for great stories.

A couple of years later, I wrote a story called Scarlet Woman. I moved my black leopard south to a small town called Middlemarch. You see I'd also collected a story about the town of Middlemarch. Lots of men lived in Middlemarch but there was a shortage of marriageable women. I combined the two ideas and came up with a paranormal erotic romance called Scarlet Woman. Peeping Tom and Stray Cat Strut followed using the same setting and idea.

Last week a current affairs program in New Zealand played a segment on TV. Two film makers, Mark Orton and Pip Walls have made a documentary about the black cat, and Prints of Darkness showed for the first time in Dunedin on June 6. I can't wait to see it! Meantime, here are links to some photos and the blog of one of the film makers. And a couple more links: Cryptomundo with a story about the NZ black panther and Danny Nineham's site who is a big cat expert.

So, black cat - fact or fiction? You decide!

Shelley