Belling the cat is not the most effective solution
As you may have guessed by now, in my next WIP, working title That Darn Maven, the main character, Maven, a fairy godmother, has been transformed into a cat by her boss Fiona as payback for the events near the end of the first book. Maven has to grant three wishes by the next new moon to get her human form back, but as a cat, she can’t speak, she can’t walk upright, and she does not have her wand.
She is truly powerless. One of her main adversaries is Queen Panya, also a fairy godmother but one who has hidden herself in her own story and transformed herself into a mouse. She made herself the queen of the mice in a grain mill, having magical power over them. Her mice minions have learned the power of the many against the one, and have dispatched every cat sent to clear them out. Maven has to get her powers back in order to communicate to her potential clients that she is a fairy godmother and that she, despite appearances, is capable of granting their wishes.
In this picture (from DoverPictura.com, a great source for cheap, public domain images) the mice have effectively put the cat out of commission, and are enjoying her discomfort as she hangs there, helpless. I imagine that the cat can get out of the sling if she will shift her focus from the mocking mice to the ledge under her foot and the sling around her leg.
One of the themes of the book is the shifting of focus, getting a different perspective, and deciding which part of the mind/body will be in charge. It will also consider how the temporary solution to a problem may bring about a larger problem until the real scope of the issue is in view. Maven is the CATalyst to this issue, as she has more than her personal reasons for outwitting her boss. The events that happen while Maven is away from Fairy Godmother Headquarters are the basis for the third book, working title, After Midnight.
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