Author Description

<p>At fifty-six, JULIAN GALLWAY is a gifted and successful writer of imaginary plays for children. He's also a curmudgeonly agoraphobiac who, for the previous five years, has triple-locked his doors, shuttered his windows, and reduced his world to a microcosm of eccentric ritual. One night, during an horrendous Seattle thunder storm, a rain drenched kitten appears on his doorstep. Julian is moved to adopt the orphan and, because of his markings, names him BOOTS. In a short time the lovable, extremely intelligent feline begins to warm the hermit's heart and Julian discovers that not only has the adoptee come to him house-broken, he has the miraculous ability to sing! This is not the meowing or burbling of expected cat sounds. Boots can mimic melodies; classical and/or pop. Julian selects a veterinarian, DR. EVELYN ROBERTSON, who keeps Boots overnight for observation, after altering him and giving him his first round of immunization shots. Thanksgiving Day brings with it a surprise feast provided by the handful of Julian's devoted friends. One of these, CELESTE DREYFUS, brings party favors to the festivities. Julian's gift is a Gold Hand of Fate on a gold chain. Celeste's story of their acquisition is mysterious in the extreme. Another of Julian's friends, ALLEN PRESSMEN, a renowned Astrologer and Psychic, counsels Julian that he and Boots are joined by an esoteric umbilical chord and that they share a common destiny which has already begun to manifest. The one-time hermit startles his friends by announcing that he will host a black-tie, New Years Eve celebration in his home. Julian hires Your Compleat Christmas Company to decorate for the event. MARLENE DROIT (CEO OF Y3C) dispatches an elf-costumed staff who transform Julian's home into a Christmas fantasy. During the decorating process Boots sings spontaneously. The "elves" are awe struck and depart; eyes wide and mouths agape. Christmas day arrives. One of Boots' gifts is a bag of Peruvian kibble from an anonymous