| Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series. After a long absence from the Rio Grande Valley, the majestic jaguar named Oracle returns for a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat.” With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, Oracle navigates a richly-drawn landscape, pressing through pain and perplexity to rediscover ancient wisdom that will awaken creation, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to treasured knowledge. Along the way, Oracle finds an unexpected ally in a conflicted young entrepreneur, while a hermit holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s destiny. Blending magical realism, mythology, and environmental advocacy, this pulse-pounding adventure will captivate readers with its tale of courage, honor, and the power of reclaiming our forgotten roots. Genre: Magical Realism Fantasy Release Date: October 26, 2025 Click here to get your copy! |  |
Q&A with Kurt
Q: What was the inspiration for this book?
A: The idea for The Search for the Shadow Cat and the whole Jaguar Oracle series came from a black-and-white photo and a question.
The photo, dated January 1946, is of farmers and ranchers displaying what they believed to be the last jaguar in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, which they had hunted down and killed. I saw it in a book called El Valle: The Rio Grande River Delta by Seth Patterson.
A few hours after seeing this photo, during a time of prayer about some troublesome matter I no longer remember, the question dropped into me: “What if a jaguar returned to the Rio Grande Valley?”
In Book 2, The Way Back to Eden, in the chapter called “The Photo,” a main human character sees the photo in that book, and, as a result, is inspired in a dream that night.
A: The idea for The Search for the Shadow Cat and the whole Jaguar Oracle series came from a black-and-white photo and a question.
The photo, dated January 1946, is of farmers and ranchers displaying what they believed to be the last jaguar in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, which they had hunted down and killed. I saw it in a book called El Valle: The Rio Grande River Delta by Seth Patterson.
A few hours after seeing this photo, during a time of prayer about some troublesome matter I no longer remember, the question dropped into me: “What if a jaguar returned to the Rio Grande Valley?”
In Book 2, The Way Back to Eden, in the chapter called “The Photo,” a main human character sees the photo in that book, and, as a result, is inspired in a dream that night.
Q: Kurt, What drew you to write in your particular genre?
A: Although I am constantly reading other genres—in particular world history, American history, and Eastern Orthodoxy— I especially read the works of C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and J.R.R. Tolkien. They picked up the prophetic tradition of the ancient Faith and clothed it with fresh, imaginative, poetic tales from the worlds familiar to them. I have attempted to pick up that tradition too.
Why? Because they understood that sometimes we need an encounter and not an explanation. Poetic fiction, when done well, contains prophetic insight for the individual whose heart is open to their Creator. Each one is on a journey from trusting Him as Creator to obeying Him as Healer and Rescuer.
Along with Dante and Milton, they knew that fiction, when submitted to the tradition of the parables that our Lord and the Hebrew prophets employed, gives the reader the opportunity to decide whether their heart is hungry or hardened. What is more, the best fruit of fiction is to render an offering of life-giving beauty and timeless truths that potentially produce joy-giving sorrow, healing of the heart, and course-correction in one’s mindset, which are essential steps in one’s personal transformation.
Although I cannot recommend these authors for every single one of their theological conclusions, I can wholeheartedly recommend the gift they each have of communicating the inexorable love and fiery holiness of our God and King, a glory that animates stories, gives them a prophetic voice, and awakens us to the life we are called to live. The joy-giving sorrow, healing of the heart, and spirit of repentance their tales impart is a retelling of the gospel par excellence.
Telling parables in Afghanistan caused me to discover how humans, as God’s image bearers, are “wired for stories” by the hand of our Creator. This led to reading George MacDonald’s fiction tales in order to experience the same encouragement his writings gave Lewis and Tolkien in their journey of becoming authors of mythopoetry. This included books like The Golden Key and At the Back of the North Wind. I also studied and explored John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante’s Divine Comedy.
I am also highly influenced by Lewis’ Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, his last novel. He said it was the best thing he had ever written by far. The tale draws us into a vividly pictured ancient, pagan world and a conflicted soul we can identify with. As we read her journal entries and memoirs, we follow her lifelong wrestling with the gods over a great sorrow, a raging heart, and a deep longing to be loved. Her discovery of Self-giving Love behind the veil of her world takes her breath away. It might strike you at our core too.
A: Although I am constantly reading other genres—in particular world history, American history, and Eastern Orthodoxy— I especially read the works of C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and J.R.R. Tolkien. They picked up the prophetic tradition of the ancient Faith and clothed it with fresh, imaginative, poetic tales from the worlds familiar to them. I have attempted to pick up that tradition too.
Why? Because they understood that sometimes we need an encounter and not an explanation. Poetic fiction, when done well, contains prophetic insight for the individual whose heart is open to their Creator. Each one is on a journey from trusting Him as Creator to obeying Him as Healer and Rescuer.
Along with Dante and Milton, they knew that fiction, when submitted to the tradition of the parables that our Lord and the Hebrew prophets employed, gives the reader the opportunity to decide whether their heart is hungry or hardened. What is more, the best fruit of fiction is to render an offering of life-giving beauty and timeless truths that potentially produce joy-giving sorrow, healing of the heart, and course-correction in one’s mindset, which are essential steps in one’s personal transformation.
Although I cannot recommend these authors for every single one of their theological conclusions, I can wholeheartedly recommend the gift they each have of communicating the inexorable love and fiery holiness of our God and King, a glory that animates stories, gives them a prophetic voice, and awakens us to the life we are called to live. The joy-giving sorrow, healing of the heart, and spirit of repentance their tales impart is a retelling of the gospel par excellence.
Telling parables in Afghanistan caused me to discover how humans, as God’s image bearers, are “wired for stories” by the hand of our Creator. This led to reading George MacDonald’s fiction tales in order to experience the same encouragement his writings gave Lewis and Tolkien in their journey of becoming authors of mythopoetry. This included books like The Golden Key and At the Back of the North Wind. I also studied and explored John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante’s Divine Comedy.
I am also highly influenced by Lewis’ Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, his last novel. He said it was the best thing he had ever written by far. The tale draws us into a vividly pictured ancient, pagan world and a conflicted soul we can identify with. As we read her journal entries and memoirs, we follow her lifelong wrestling with the gods over a great sorrow, a raging heart, and a deep longing to be loved. Her discovery of Self-giving Love behind the veil of her world takes her breath away. It might strike you at our core too.
Q: Do you have a favorite character in this book?
A: Patch the raccoon. He is the first friend Oracle the jaguar makes when he arrives in South Texas. He is cautious and unpretentious, but he is also clever and inspired to acts self-giving love for the band of new friends he and the jaguar become the core of. In the audiobook version, Nashville actor Zach Lazar Hoffman renders his voice after his favorite actor, Tom Hanks.
I expect that many readers will identify with Patch’s longing for close friends and a supreme purpose that pairs with his struggle to be courageous.
A: Patch the raccoon. He is the first friend Oracle the jaguar makes when he arrives in South Texas. He is cautious and unpretentious, but he is also clever and inspired to acts self-giving love for the band of new friends he and the jaguar become the core of. In the audiobook version, Nashville actor Zach Lazar Hoffman renders his voice after his favorite actor, Tom Hanks.
I expect that many readers will identify with Patch’s longing for close friends and a supreme purpose that pairs with his struggle to be courageous.
Q: Kurt, What do you hope your readers will take away with them when they read your books?
A: My hope is that readers will find courage for their calling. (“Calling” = Who the Creator thought of when He said, “Let there be you.”)
My hope is that the parables, prayers, poetry, proverbs, and prophecies filling this tale will be a silver plow preparing the soil of our hearts for the golden seed heaven plants there. Success is when readers experience what is best described in the Greek words of the early Christians:
Of course, as with any author, I desire that millions of people read my books, provided they experience what I have described above.
A: My hope is that readers will find courage for their calling. (“Calling” = Who the Creator thought of when He said, “Let there be you.”)
My hope is that the parables, prayers, poetry, proverbs, and prophecies filling this tale will be a silver plow preparing the soil of our hearts for the golden seed heaven plants there. Success is when readers experience what is best described in the Greek words of the early Christians:
- Metanoia: a new mindset or renewing of the mind directly causing practical changes in habits, behavior, and lifestyle. In a word: repentance.
- Charmolypi: the joy-making sorrow that softens the soil of the heart for friendship with our heavenly Father, obedience to His Son, and participation in the Holy Spirit.
- Therapeia: healing from the inside out, both in turning-point moments and over time.
- Propheteia: personal insight for one’s life and the world in which they live, leading to courage for one’s calling.
Of course, as with any author, I desire that millions of people read my books, provided they experience what I have described above.
Q: Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.
A: ‘Calling’ is not for clergy alone. It means living as your original self, the one God thought of when He said, “Let there be you.” Or, in the words of the animals in the story, calling means to “remember your name.” For them, this is the poem, parable, prayer, proverb, or prophecy Adam spoke when he named the first of their kind. In our case, it is the word our Lord has spoken. Our destinies are found in the things our Creator has already told us. That is where we will most likely find courage for our calling.
Calling is something deeper than your job description. It is someone you can be within the present limitations of life, whether you’re a paraplegic, on parole, or a single parent with two jobs. It is something constant. Something that remains. Something no person or circumstance can remove from you. But you have to drink the cup, and there is no turning back once you do.
A: ‘Calling’ is not for clergy alone. It means living as your original self, the one God thought of when He said, “Let there be you.” Or, in the words of the animals in the story, calling means to “remember your name.” For them, this is the poem, parable, prayer, proverb, or prophecy Adam spoke when he named the first of their kind. In our case, it is the word our Lord has spoken. Our destinies are found in the things our Creator has already told us. That is where we will most likely find courage for our calling.
Calling is something deeper than your job description. It is someone you can be within the present limitations of life, whether you’re a paraplegic, on parole, or a single parent with two jobs. It is something constant. Something that remains. Something no person or circumstance can remove from you. But you have to drink the cup, and there is no turning back once you do.
More from Kurt
How do you begin again? How do you take the first step alone?
Sometimes we don’t need a how-to manual to answer these questions. We need an encounter. We need a story.
That’s why I wrote this epic tale.
Saturated with poetry, proverbs, parables, and prayers, this book is in the tradition of the Christian poets and the Hebrew prophets. It is an immersion in a mystically supercharged natural world alongside a very real human drama.
Why? Because poetic storytelling, when done well, gives prophetic insight for the decisions we face. Then we can begin again. Then we can take the first step alone. Then we can do the thing that is in our heart to do. The thing the Creator placed there. Your calling: the original self He had in mind before the Fall when He said, “Let there be you.”
That’s what this story is about.
An epic quest for redemption and self-discovery
Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series.
A long, mysterious absence and the fulfillment of a legacy
The majestic jaguar named Oracle has returned to the Rio Grande Valley to pick up the trail left by the last guardian of this endangered realm, Kahoo the Grave. Awakening a dormant legend, Oracle embarks on a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat”—to their rightful place as stewards of the animal kingdom.
With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, the jaguar navigates a richly-drawn landscape where created things have a voice. Oracle must press through pain and wrestle perplexity to rediscover the wisdom of the Days of First Things and restore the fragmented animal realm. As he does, creation awakens, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to ancient knowledge.
Reclaiming lost wisdom and honoring our connection to nature
But Oracle is not alone in his quest. He finds an unexpected ally in Tripp Menefee, the ambitious and conflicted young entrepreneur who runs the Eden’s Bend preserve and high-tech ranch, where a rhino, zebras, and other exotic beasts dwell alongside native ones.
Tripp and Oracle forge an invisible partnership as both seek to restore the animal kingdom while Tripp grapples with his own motivations—and the growing affection he has for the woman confronting him on the toll his development plans are taking on the delicate ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the hermit Brazos Ben, who had once nursed Oracle back to health, holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s past and the secrets of the Lonely Tree at the heart of this landscape. As Ben is forced to confront his own painful history, he must decide whether to help Oracle complete his legacy or remain trapped in the shadows of the past.
Sometimes we don’t need a how-to manual to answer these questions. We need an encounter. We need a story.
That’s why I wrote this epic tale.
Saturated with poetry, proverbs, parables, and prayers, this book is in the tradition of the Christian poets and the Hebrew prophets. It is an immersion in a mystically supercharged natural world alongside a very real human drama.
Why? Because poetic storytelling, when done well, gives prophetic insight for the decisions we face. Then we can begin again. Then we can take the first step alone. Then we can do the thing that is in our heart to do. The thing the Creator placed there. Your calling: the original self He had in mind before the Fall when He said, “Let there be you.”
That’s what this story is about.
An epic quest for redemption and self-discovery
Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series.
A long, mysterious absence and the fulfillment of a legacy
The majestic jaguar named Oracle has returned to the Rio Grande Valley to pick up the trail left by the last guardian of this endangered realm, Kahoo the Grave. Awakening a dormant legend, Oracle embarks on a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat”—to their rightful place as stewards of the animal kingdom.
With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, the jaguar navigates a richly-drawn landscape where created things have a voice. Oracle must press through pain and wrestle perplexity to rediscover the wisdom of the Days of First Things and restore the fragmented animal realm. As he does, creation awakens, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to ancient knowledge.
Reclaiming lost wisdom and honoring our connection to nature
But Oracle is not alone in his quest. He finds an unexpected ally in Tripp Menefee, the ambitious and conflicted young entrepreneur who runs the Eden’s Bend preserve and high-tech ranch, where a rhino, zebras, and other exotic beasts dwell alongside native ones.
Tripp and Oracle forge an invisible partnership as both seek to restore the animal kingdom while Tripp grapples with his own motivations—and the growing affection he has for the woman confronting him on the toll his development plans are taking on the delicate ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the hermit Brazos Ben, who had once nursed Oracle back to health, holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s past and the secrets of the Lonely Tree at the heart of this landscape. As Ben is forced to confront his own painful history, he must decide whether to help Oracle complete his legacy or remain trapped in the shadows of the past.
 Kurt Mahler | Kurt helps those who built someone else’s dream finally build their own. As a speaker, advisor, and award-winning poet, he draws from twenty years of lived experience in forty nations. He is a sought-after voice on five continents, advising expats in places as challenging as Cuba, Persia, and North Korea. He has published multiple books , hundreds of articles, and well-respected poetry. Kurt and his wife Karen have been married since 1993 and raised their family in Afghanistan, where they founded a community development agency. They are Americans living in the Emirates with ties to the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, Central Texas, Louisiana, and New England. |
He writes in the poetic tradition, inspired by the wonder of creation, the mysteries of the Ancient Faith, and the drama
of the nations. Guiding sources for his work include the Hebrew prophets, the Desert Fathers, Dante, Milton, George
MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien. Why? Because thought leaders go back to the beginning to find the way forward.
The key to the future begins with a memory. Our calling comes from the
original self the Creator had in mind when He said, “Let there be you.”
of the nations. Guiding sources for his work include the Hebrew prophets, the Desert Fathers, Dante, Milton, George
MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien. Why? Because thought leaders go back to the beginning to find the way forward.
The key to the future begins with a memory. Our calling comes from the
original self the Creator had in mind when He said, “Let there be you.”
It's Time For A Giveaway!
To celebrate his tour, Kurt is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card;
a high-resolution digital map of the entire series, a high-resolution cover, and the
audiobook version featuring Nashville actor Zach Lazar Hoffman when it is released!!
a high-resolution digital map of the entire series, a high-resolution cover, and the
audiobook version featuring Nashville actor Zach Lazar Hoffman when it is released!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!
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Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 30 (Author Interview)
Artistic Nobody, December 18 (Author Interview)
Guild Master, December 19 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, December 20
Fiction Book Lover, December 21 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, December 22
Vicky Sluiter, December 23 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 24
For the Love of Literature, December 25 (Author Interview)
Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 26 (Author Interview)
Blossoms and Blessings, December 27 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 27
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 28
Stories By Gina, December 29 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, December 29
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 30 (Author Interview)
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