Website IndieReader.com offers recommendations for indie-published e-books that the site's reviewers have declared are pretty great.
The Cat Letters: A Tale of Longing, Adventure and True Love by Lexis De Rothschild (99 cents)
In the wake of a nasty divorce and an adulterous love affair, Lexis De Rothschild's middle-aged heroine — identified only as "Me" — addresses a series of heartfelt letters to beloved cat Baxter as she embarks on a self-empowering voyage to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean. The result is The Cat Letters: A Tale of Longing, Adventure and True Love, an illustrated novella following her life-changing journey on the Nantucket Rose, and her brief but riveting sojourn in foreign territory.
In spite of a slightly overworked premise, The Cat Letters is not just another Eat Pray Love-inspired tale of self-discovery. De Rothschild writes eloquently, offering everything from descriptive and psychological detail to whip-smart humor, separating her novella from more second-rate works. The Cat Letters, in this sense, is more than just a pleasurable read, falling somewhere between high-quality "chick lit" and a tastefully written heart-wrencher.
Which isn't to say that De Rothschild's work is perfectly executed. Her novella, aside from featuring letters penned by "Me," incorporates brief dialogues, to-do lists, flashbacks and more, resulting in a kind of scattered narration. On occasion, readers might find themselves wading through a text saturated with too many extraneous facts, and many might take issue with its abrupt, sloppily conceived ending. Still, there is an air of sincerity to De Rothschild's writing that manifests itself in more than a few unexpectedly poignant moments, and for the most part, The Cat Letters' plot is enjoyable and easy to absorb.
By its conclusion, readers won't be able to help being wholly invested in the triumphs and failures of the lovable "Me," witnessing her inspired transformation from lonely mistress to self-possessed, seafaring heroine.
(Reviewed by Sonia Tsuruoka for IndieReader)
Author Lexis De Rothschild Launches Second Edition of the e-Novella
"The Cat Letters: A Tale of Longing, Adventure and True Love"
Lexis De Rothschild is conducting her own Writer's Experiment by launching the second Kindle Edition of "The Cat Letters" as an Amazon exclusive for a period of three months. "I'm excited to focus on one marketplace to share my work and meet like-minded readers and authors." she said.
The first edition of the illustrated eNovella was on different eReaders through various eStores. De Rothschild found it overwhelming to manage multiple platforms and decided to create a new edition avaliable only through KDP, Amazon's ePublishing venue. "This is an edgy decision, but as my self-publishing friend JA Konrath states in his 2012 resolutions, why not try something new?" says the breakout writer. "Reducing the price of this edition from $2.99 to $0.99 is also a key part of this test as well as a professional formatting with Mojito Press Plus".
I'm excited to see get back more writing time so I can finish the sequel, already." said De Rothschild.
Contact Lexis at:
http://www.lexisderothschild.com
@thecatletters on Twitter
To Purchase, follow this link to Amazon
The Cat Letters
by Lexis De Rothschild
(Illustrated)
Published 2011
Purchasable here on Amazon
You may recognise this story. Two lovers break up. Driven by heartache, one escapes to a different, more challenging environment and goes through various adventures. Later, the other lover calls, but our hero/heroine has found new strength and the other lover has to come round. The relationship begins again, only it’s better.
It’s a classic story line. Even if you haven’t seen or read it, there’s a fair chance you’ve lived it – or one of its numerous variations.
The strength of this version lies in the skillful sketches that illustrate the inexhaustible strangeness of everyday life and people. Life is strange everywhere in the world, of course, but we tend to see this fact more clearly when we go to unfamiliar places. In St Thomas, in the Caribbean, the narrator observes the neighbours screaming at each other, ‘ . . . under the banana tree with centipedes crossing the driveway.’ (P 64) At home, I suppose, rows are less visually interesting than that.
The style here has a frenetic quality. It mixes journal entries (in letter form), things-to-do lists, reminiscence and anecdote, all interspersed with bits of dialogue that are written like tiny scenes taken from a play about confrontation. It’s all highly readable. The narrative is driven along more by emotional energy than the logic of events.
I have to say, I like stories where the main character goes off the rails and down a cliff and yet lands on his/her feet.
Having a cat as the recipient of the letters in an epistolary story – I dunno what the devil to think about that. But then, I’m one of a silent minority for whom cats, dogs, Jesus, Mohamed and other people’s kids are subjects of stolid indifference, no matter how much the rest of the human race gushes on about them.
Still, very enjoyable.
“An Essex Schooner is built to race; it’s sails swelled with pride last night when I was at the helm, steering us from Bermuda to St. Thomas, I heard the sounds of the baggy wrinkles, like Tom-Tom's (Ba-boom!) against the sails; the creak of the wooden masts like breathy oboes mixing with the whistling winds.… Water rushes over the deck as the bow dips from the crest to the trough, the face on the moon a quiet witness to our journey. There are no other sounds; we are that far from anywhere else in the world..”
So writes “Me”, the narrator in Lexis De Rothschild’s “Letters to My Cat.” “Me”, a funny, feisty, hard as nails tough talker, with a soft center, is a woman on the wrong side of forty, two bad divorces behind her, now in a dead end love affair with a married man. But --when you’re in love, you’re in love—It’s pretty hard to just “snap out of it.”
Though strictly practical in her day-to-day living, “Me” who keeps close tabs on her expenses, works when she needs to, keeps a roof over her head and food in her fridge, including enough for her beloved cat Baxter, has rotten luck with love. A ‘round the pointer’ on the tight little island of Nantucket, miles away from anywhere; she finds it impossible to avoid Mr. Married Guy.
So when the opportunity to get off the island arrives with a 110 foot 85-year-old wooden sailing ship, about to leave in November from Nantucket to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands ---looking for passengers—our heroine, never having crewed on a sailing ship in her life, signs up, leaves her beloved cat Baxter with a friend, and heads off on an adventure that will change her life.
This Novella has charming illustrations by Patrick Maloney, as well as candid and gossipy information by De Rothschild of the 24 hour day/night work assignments on a fifteen day ocean voyage under sail.
Dina Harris, "Co-Writer/Co-Producer of “ROANOAK” a Three part Mini Series on PBS/ American Playhouse
It’s not often that a book comes around that I completely identify with and laugh at, at the same time. This is one of the few.
The premise of this book is hilarious. A woman sails to the Caribbean after leaving her married lover and writes letters to her cat. What can get better than that? I don’t think anything really. I was laughing my butt off throughout most of the book. It was quirky, quirky and everything offbeat that I love. I also could identify with talking to pets or inanimate objects in times of stress. I have often asked Orange Comfy Chair what I should read next (he’s always right). I mean who doesn’t have an object or pet that represents all that is secure and comforting?
I needed something to make me laugh. I have been battling writer’s block for the last couple of weeks and I needed something to cheer me up. The chuckles I got from reading this book were more than helpful. The humor was exactly my type. It was witty and intelligent. As absurd as the idea of a woman writing letters to her cat may seem, it really makes for quite the interesting read. I also loved the illustrations. They were lovely and enhanced the book to such an amazing degree.
This is a book that I will keep around because someday I am going to need a laugh and I think the book will always be a failsafe.
Rating: 
A fun and wonderful read. "Me" a bartender, who lives in Nantucket, writes letters to her cat, Baxter, about the daily goings-on in her life. While trying to get over the break up of her affair with a married man, she sails away to the Caribbean.
I thought this story was good and very well written. There was so much humor in it and I enjoyed it immensely. I love "me" throughout the book. She was tough, funny and smart. The Nantucket and Caribbean background was the perfect setting for the story as well.
I think readers will fall in love with this author’s story of love lost and gained again.
