I am shamelessly plagiarizing Mod R’s previous post to remind you that we will be appearing at Austin BN with Jean Kwok this Saturday to celebrate the release of Dominion, the first book in Jean’s new Silk and Iron Trilogy.
As an aside, BN should make us honorary employees, because we have been in conversation 4 times this year.
I’ve included all of the stolen info from Mod R’s info below, but I wanted to tell you a little bit about Jean. Jean and I text for moral support. Our texts break into two broad categories,
Category 1: OMG, we are on a deadline and we are not making it.
Yes, that is exactly what most author texts are like. It’s usually OMG deadline and Have you seen this crap? where crap can be anything from your cover art to some weird publishing convulsion that makes no sense.
But for the purposes of this blog we care more about Category 2: the sharing of orange cats.
All of you have seen Tuna by now.
Behold, Jean’s orange cat, Couscous!
(Also, Jean can find an orange cat anywhere. ::looking at a picture of a random orange cat from Beijing in her texts::)
Basically, we text each other pictures of our cats and try to get the cutest pic possible. It’s not that we are trying to one up each other with our pets’ cuteness. No, that is not at all what is happening.
Not that long ago Jean texted me and informed me that Couscous is now a model. Luisa Gallie, whom you might know from her stunning work on Grace Draven’s series, used her as inspiration for Dominion promotional art. This one is the first draft of the painting.
And this is the final.
Jean assures me that this is a true representation of Couscous’ fighting spirit.
…
I call shenanigans. Clearly, some artistic license was taken. Clearly.
Which brings me to my very important question: which artist should I commission to make an equally realistic portrait of Tuna? Because it’s on now. Please leave your suggestions in the comments, and if you are interested, come see us not talk about that travesty of a painting on Saturday.
Jean’s Info
Event details:
Saturday, July 18, 2026
6:00 PM CT
Barnes & Noble Arboretum
10000 Research Blvd #158
Austin, TX
Tickets are free and will be available through TicketLeap soon, according to the Barnes & Noble event page, which also mentions that a purchase of ‘Dominion’ on-site on the event day is required to gain access to the signing line. Contact details for any other questions relating to the event and the venue are also included.
We will be there and signing things as well, although it is Jean’s event.
Jean Kwok is the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation and Searching for Sylvie Lee. Long-time blog readers may also remember her touching contribution to Ilona’s The Moment Everything Changed series, where author friends shared the moment they first felt like “real” writers.
DOMINION marks Jean’s debut in the romantasy genre:
A woman with no past. A warrior with no future. Their love could save the world—or burn it down.
In a world divided into four rival Dominions, power is everything—and Rubi Morningtail has almost none. Three years after the Annihilation destroyed her homeland and shattered her memories, she lives as an Azure refugee in the Dominion of the Silver Tyger, scraping by as a ribbon dancer and hiding her little bit of singing magic. When she wounds a massive battle tyger on her doorstep, she draws the notice of Blake Axefire— supreme metal mage, leader of the royal tyger warriors, and the last man an Azure should trust. His sentence? Cast her into the Bonding, a brutal trial where tygers choose their riders and slaughter the rest. Surviving is unthinkable.
But survive she does. Now she’s stuck on Blake’s elite team racing to reseal the Anchors to the demon realm. With rebels striking, demons rising, and the Dominions at each other’s throats, Rubi must unlock the truth of her magic and her past…while resisting her dangerous attraction to the ruthless warrior who could be her redemption—or her ruin.
Cinnamon was my family’s ginger cat!
Okay Tuna is pretty, I’ll give you that but Couscous is extremely photogenic (and did I mention also quite heavy? All the extra fur photographs very well) plus Couscous excels at running away from scary things faster than any other animal alive. Can Tuna do that?! And Couscous is also very good at eating all her cat food, every day! Can Tuna do that??? The fight is on!! Oh last thing, Ilona, Couscous is a character in DOMINION!! Where is Tuna? Did I miss Tuna in Maggie?? Or in Hidden Legacy? Oh there was a kitty in Kate Daniel’s, hey kitty kitty… was THAT Tuna???!! (Throws gauntlet, not very far because weak arms)
Just because you can’t appreciate the magnificence of my cat doesn’t mean it does not exist. Just you wait. You may have won the battle but not the war.
Gordon, we need to put Tuna in a book somewhere.
Just FYI: Tuna is referred to in a short story where Arabella and Leon rescue the “baby” from the safe room, using Brick. Also mentioned in Sapphire Flames when Catalina tries to stuff the pepper in his nose! I loved it!
Oh drat.
This orange cat smackdown is making me laugh so hard.
Tuna and Couscous…hmm, sounds like lunch or a very quick supper. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love the 2 orange cats, enjoy the rain
Tuna doesn’t need to run away. Tuna is the danger.
Have fun at BN this weekend! I forgot about this, drat. And I need to add that one to my tbr list, which just keeps getting longer by the day. Gusty sigh. Another gorgeous orange kitty, but yes, just a tad of artistic license 🤣
Gingers are such quirky fun creatures. My neighbors’ cat Marmalade would swish around the corner, send serious side-eye to see if I’m watching, and then S-T-R-E-T-C-H out in his favorite flower patch to spy on the robins. No petting of his glorious self, only adoration from Afar.
I just picked up my copy of Dominion yesterday from my fav indie bookstore. I always remove the dust flap when I first get a book. Both me and the store owner gasped at the pretty Kitty it revealed. Couscous is working the front and back cover like no other!
I agree Tuna should definitely be on covers too!
I plan to start reading this weekend! Have a fun signing and on tour Ms Kwok. BDH have fun if you get to go!
Oh thank you for reading!! I’m obsessed with all cats!
I love the cat comments 😂 Both cats are beautiful and I would LOVE to see Tuna in a book somewhere. 🐾
I love cats more than anything so this is the best post ever!! I spend too much time sharing pics of my cats and begging for pet pictures from my friends in return.
I’ve been seeing Dominion recommended on social media and have it on my tbr 🙂 Looking forward to Couscous!
I also absolutely adore all pets with food names. I don’t know why but it’s just the cutest thing to me.
I’ve been thinking about how much I love all the animal companions in HA books and which ones are my favorites. (You guys write the best furry friends.) Currently I’m obsessed with Sushi. She is adorable, guards, makes nests of Maggie’s things, provides comfort, feeds Maggie fish, and is named after her gifts. I just can’t handle it. I love her.
I love Sushi too!! Any I hope you enjoy Dominion!🐯
my orange cat is 4 year old Bandit. He fits thatnane!
Our orange cat Frank is very photogenic. He even has his own Facebook page! Like Tuna, his white markings take the form of a tuxedo-cat’s white throat and belly, white paws, and a white blaze on his nose.
Our previous orange cat was Fremont, who was all orange except for a white button on his throat. We decided that was his “clerical collar” and called him Father Fremont.
have fun on saturday!
all your cats are pretty! (but I absolutely adore black ones)
Our orange cat, Ragnar, left us for Valhalla several years ago.
Fortunately, Calico Cricket (another stray), joined the household. She unexpectedly brought 4 kittens. Her sons are the Tuxedo Boys. Thank the gods our mostly neufie dog, Clover, adores the cats. They all think you should hire the most amazing artist ever to render a masterpiece of Tuna.
They all agree that Couscous is rocking that cover. Yes, Tuna needs to be in a book. And, on the cover. Shots fired across the bow.
Luisa Pressler.
+1! This! While you have a great variety of amazing artists that you’ve used, Luisa is my favorite.
+100
We used to have a giant (25 lbs, he was huge) orange and white cat named Emmett (he came from the shelter with the name, I don’t like renaming older animals), so I have a soft spot for them.
Couscous may be on a book cover, but Tuna has been prominently featured on a very widely read website on multiple occasions and the guest star of many articles. Not to mention his photo bombing and computer takeovers. 😄
Oooooooo, this looks fun! I’ma buy it.
As much as I worship House Andrews, I will say that Couscous comes off as the slighty more intimidating of the two in the beauty shots provided. Of course, this is probably because Tuna was photographed full face instead of over the shoulder.
Tuna is regal. Couscous wants to find the nearest blanket (crochet or not) and nap. That’s what it looks like from both pictures.
I used to have two cats who both lived to be just over 20 years old. I got them when they were a few weeks old since their mamma died during one very hot summer in southern Missouri.
My male cat was greyish/black. When he got older, I used to call him “Mr. Tubbo” sometimes when he laid on me. He wasn’t fat. He was just heavy. Got the side-eye every time I called him that.
My female cat looked like a spotted leopard and thin all her life. She was the runt of the litter with white gums when we got her. I thought she was going to die after we got her. Nope. She outlived my male cat.
The book sounds like it will be a fun read. I may need to go out to BN’s website to get it.
Have fun in Austin everyone! If you’re going, be careful of all the flooding in the Texas Hill country.