The story drags

I begin to doubt strongly whether I'll make my self-imposed goal of finishing and publishing Tiger in the Snow, the unplanned sequel to The Barbary Lion, by December 31. This irks me.

Dmitry Alkaev is the immortal tiger shifter hired by Atlas Leonidus to recapture the lion's escapee mate, Chloe. After 21 years of hunt-and-seek, he finally does ... and disgraces himself and dishonors her. Atlas saves Chloe and beats Dmitry to a pulp.

Tiger in the Snow picks up where The Barbary Lion ends. Dmitry needs recovery time and redemption. He imposes upon the hospitality of an old friend for a few days before heading off to hike the Appalachian Trail in the USA. He's not sure why that's his preferred destination, but destiny calls.

Tessa's Valentine's Day weekend sucks. The romantic weekend she thought she'd enjoy with her boss didn't end in a marriage proposal, but in an offer to be his mistress because she isn't good enough for marriage. Objecting to the disrespectful treatment, she finds herself abandoned in the wilderness. Trekking through the woods in frigid weather in the dark, she doesn't expect to be attacked by a brown bear.

Wait, there are no brown bears in the wild in the eastern USA. Neither are there tigers. But she finds them. Or, rather they find her. And they're each looking for a mate.

Exciting beginning? It quickly climaxes and then the boredom sets in. Oh, dear, I have got to rewrite at least 75% of this novella.

Let's add more excitement: WILLOW will be on sale for $1.99 from December 1 thru 7 as a Kindle Countdown Deal. Buy the stunning conclusion to the Tree of Life series!

---