Inspired Images

Inspired Images

Monday, December 22, 2014


As many of you know, I sat down one evening in March of 2012 to write a book.  My intentions were to never speak… not to utter a single word about my endeavor. A private person on many levels, my plan was to write a story formulated just for my likes alone. This would be a story that only I would enjoy. My characters would be written with flaws and my storyline certainly would not be perfect. That was the beauty of my secret. I would have no one to judge me.

Three books later, a mound of support, love and encouragement, I sit here in the quiet moments – the sort of limbo of my book word – and I wait. A Promised Fate will be published on December 30th.  The novel has gone out to a large handful of readers for their unbiased critiques and assessment of my writing skills and storytelling talents.  A fog of nervous energy surrounds me.  What if they don’t like it? What if I am a disappointment? What if my readers find out that I am not good enough? Esteem is such a fickle thing.

It is with this doubt in myself that I say, that I remind myself – who cares? 

The point is that I did it. This is my bucket list, not my life. In the end, I still did this just  for me. I will always be my hardest, meanest critic. I will beat myself up over the choice of one word in chapter four. I will wake myself up at night because I forgot to mention one last time how much Ari really does love Ava.  I know that in the weeks and months to come, my reviews will trickle in and every time a new review posts to my book an excited, scared buzz courses through my veins. This is a thrill. A painful, sort of pleasure ride – do they like me?

My goal was to write a book this year. I did it. I love it. I like me. The peace that I have given myself on a job well done is the satisfaction I wanted. Everything else is just words.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

I am making the official announcement that A Promised Fate, book 3 in The Beautiful Fate Series will be released Tuesday, December 30th!  Pre-order will be available at Amazon.com.

Monday, December 15, 2014

"Love is a kind of silly thing.  Rarely rational, often coming at the wrong time and often directed at the wrong person -- but a feeling so undeniable and so powerful that bending to the other’s needs and giving yourself to that person is the only option."

-Cat Mann

A Promised Fate


“Intimacy with her is like nothing else in the world; it is a drug, shared on her terms only, and I am dangerously addicted.”

-Cat Mann

A Promised Fate

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Teaser # 2


Something was happening. I could feel the change, the pressure of panic deep inside my chest.  The anxiety was so strong that it controlled everything. It orbited and settled like a cloud around my belief that Ava was keeping something from me -- a secret that would inevitably lead to our deaths.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Teasers…


Teasers…

With the upcoming release of A Promised Fate, I have decided to share some teasers and quotes from the third instalment of the Beautiful Fate Series. I will be adding new lines weekly so stay tuned. I really hope these gain your interest and get all my readers just as excited about A Promised Fate as I am!

"I was alone. Waves crashed, sea spray hissed, jagged rocky earth jutted out from the sea like harpoons.  My fear was surreal and terrifyingly intense.  Unyielding tears saturated my eyes and rolled down my cheeks to my quivering lips, my weakened knees tottered with each step I took.  I was marching to my death, surrendering my soul.  I had been betrayed.  Desperate and frantic, I filled my mind with images of her – her lips, her eyes, her soft blushing cheeks, her smile, her warm touch and soothing smell, and at last, when she filled and consumed every corner of my mind and heart, I sucked in a last breath of salty sea air and jumped.  My fate was the water, not the rocks.  The jealous sea was angry with me and grabbed hold of my ankles, pulling me down and swallowing me whole.  Cold water trickled past my mouth, slipping down my throat and into my frantic lungs. Suddenly something ignited deep inside me and in a panic, I kicked and struggled and fought for my life."

Friday, November 14, 2014

Cover Reveal!


Devotion, passion and promises are no longer enough. Everything Ari has built his universe around threatens to come to a tragic end. Ava's seven Kakos foes have been vanquished, but a new and even deadlier terror threatens the Alexander home. As Ari struggles with his role as a deity, he is forced to reveal to Ava his true lineage and what his identity means for their future together.  The Zilotis, an occult group of surviving Kakos extremists, rise up to set themselves against the Fates...and no one is safe, no one can be trusted.  Ari’s fears control him. Trust crumbles and promises lose all meaning as Ari comes to grips with his past and the vows made in the past in his name.  Ari will do anything for Ava, even if his devotion means his own death.  Secrets are rampant, lies and new nightmares emerge. Will Ari be the man he promised he would be?
 

Monday, August 25, 2014

Cutting The Fat

While working on A Promised Fate, I reached out to a handful of Beta Readers, provided the readers with fourteen chapters and asked for their most candid responses.  Some of the readers came back to me after the two weeks were up and said "we love you! we love Ari!!"  (thank you, I love you, too. I know Ari is hot right?)

The beta readers that gave more of a response admitted that the real story and plot doesn't come to play until about chapter 6.  And I cannot agree with them more.

Details are important to me for some silly reason, I like to add off story (not back story as much as a side story that is unimportant to the plot.)  I always find that I fall in love with the characters when they are at the dinner table with family talking about normal family life and laughing.  When plot comes, I have this sort of connection with them now and I feel like I know them, and I know what they are thinking and feeling. This makes the reading experience a little more powerful maybe.  I am character driven writer, and this style has many flaws. I wish I could be more plot driven and I am currently working on this goal of mine. 
Like a swimmer and pool of water, every reader is different, some of us like to jump right in and get to the plot right as quickly as possible.  Others like to ease into the story and characters one toe at a time.

Do you start with just a toe and then ease in to the water or do you cannonball in blindly to the, let's face it, probably freezing water?

Some readers have a boatload of questions that they NEED , make that DEMAND answers to and others prefer to make up their own answers.

I know that as an writer, I spoon-feed details and plot lines.  I am sorry. I do not give my readers as much power as I should allow.  I am a control freak.  I know this - Ava gets this from me honestly.

I know what kind of a writer I am, but what kind of a reader are you?  What do you like - lots of details?  180 degree plot changes?  Out of nowhere surprises from 'b list' characters? 

As I work on deleting the first several chapters of A Promised Fate - give me your thoughts from a readers perspective! I love hearing from you!  Comment below or friend me on facebook and goodreads!  I'm not on twitter - should I be?

Friday, August 8, 2014

Beta Readers

I had an overwhelming amount of volunteers for Beta Readers and have sent the first 50% out to ten people. Thank you to everyone who said they would help.  I am always so shocked and thrilled from the amount of enthusiasm I get for 3 book, and hopefully we can get A Promised Fate one step closer to publication.



I am looking for a small handful of Beta Readers who are willing to take on about 50% (maybe less) of A Promised Fate (book 3) for feedback. Message me via FB, goodreads, through email or comment below if you are interested. I can work with you on the timeframe but would really like to have comments back by the end of August.  The novel will be available as PDF only. I prefer Beta Readers who have already read the first 2 books in the series but I am happy to work with anyone interested.
A few requests- Be mean to me, hit me with any question/concerns you have- rip the book apart so I am able to see all flaws. Make me cry.

DO NOT SHARE THE PARTIAL WITH ANYMONE.
Thanks : )

Friday, August 1, 2014

ARC and Blog tour for Cover reveal

I am looking for a handful of bloggers who may be interested in an ARC of the 3rd book for review on Amazon/goodreads ect. I am not quite ready to give advanced copies yet but I am working on getting a list of bloggers together. I will be publishing quotes from my favorite blogger reviews in the Praise and Acclaim section at the front of thebook and my top favorites will be quoted on the back of the paperback. The cover reveal will be coming up within the next month and if anyone wants a copy to post to their blog, please let me know and we can work something out. Message me, email me or comment below to sign up for an ARC of A Promised Fate and/or the cover for a reveal on your blog. xoxo cat

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

In-between a few projects and I just wanted to share a couple of quick notes while I have the time. New author pics are coming in from Jennifer Moore at Moore memories photography. I think she has done an awesome job and I cannot wait to pick out my favorite for my new author profile! Book three release date is still not posted but I am on track and I think late summer/early fall A Promised Fate will be available as both ebook and paperback. Quotes from A Promised Fate will be posted to my blog in the upcoming weeks so stayed tuned for them because I am SO excited to share them with you all. I have a lot of great secrets about the 3rd installment and will also be posting the synopsis soon and then later this summer, we will see the cover reveal!!!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Happy June! Time restraints are tight so this will be short and sweet- which is hard for me. If you read my books, you understand.  I like to elaborate.  Great things are happening over here for me and I am  bursting with excitement for the new ventures I am able to embark upon.  No, I still don't have a release date for book 3, A Promised FateBut you can add book 3 and book 4, A Forsaken Fate on Goodreads and I urge you to do so.  Also, if you don't already, follow me on Pinterest, I update my Ari and Ava boards almost daily and I also have a few new boards for new characters in the series, Korie and Cameron.
Recently, I signed up to work again with my cover artist, Derek Murphy at CreativIndie and we are doing a little marketing research.  Derek threw together a new cover for A Beautiful Fate and we are anxious to see the difference in book sales between the book with a character on the cover and  the book without a person. 
As a reader, I prefer my covers not to have an image of person.  I like to let my imagination run wild with the character's looks.  Derek might feel the opposite with belief that covers with people on the them drawl in the reader faster and therefore produces more sales.  I am not a sales driven writer, but I am a curious writer and I LOVE research. (insert snorting and the pushing of my eyeglasses up my nose.)
I have included the protégé cover below - comments are not only welcome, but I URGE, BEG, and PLEAD you to give me you opinion. New vs. Old. What are you thoughts on book covers in general?  As a reader, what do you look for in a cover when choosing your next book?  Do you like the simple images that let your imagination do the work or do you like the cute couple kissing or the steamy, sweaty hunk(but let's face it, probably gay) guy? I really want to know - join the discussion on Facebook.  or post below. I love connecting with my readers.  If you aren't already my friend, it's only because you didn't ask : ).
Also, if you like the new cover, it is only available for a limited time - grab it today for ebook only at Amazon
New

Original

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

All I hear anymore is "book 3! book 3! when's book 3?!" and I have to tell you- hearing that never gets old. I love that readers enjoy the characters and the story as much as I do. And so, I have a bit of fun news to share- NO, I do not have a release date but I have begun to work again with my editor. The first part of the novel is off to be cleaned and polished and ready for readers. I will say- that I sometimes find the editing process to be the longest part. My editor and I work very closely. It's not just commas and misspelled words, we work on the voice of the characters and the prose, moving parts of the story around and debating over the use of certain words. I love this part of the creative process as I learn so much.  It is slow, time consuming process, but it's totally worth it. I want to deliver on quality material that keeps the reader coming back for more and I take my editing very seriously. With the first part of the book out of my hands, I am finally moving forward on the ending, the cover art and then finally book 4. : ) Stayed tuned as I promise to keep readers updated with any new news pertaining to the series.
ciao,
cat

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

TOP 15

As you all may know, I was nominated for the Soon to be Famous Illinois Author of the Year award in December. My novel, A Beautiful Fate has been selected for the top 15 books that have been nominated. This is such huge news to me and I am so very honored, anxious and excited. The top three books will be picked the week of March 3rd and I will be on pins and needles the whole time. My novel is in the running with several really great books and although I think I have a pretty good chance at the next round, I am still wide eyed at the fact that I have made it this far. If I am not selected for the next step, I know I will still be so excited to have come as far as I have.
To find out more about this awesome new award check out the website http://soontobefamous.info/
I will keep you all posted with the top three finalist. Please keep your fingers crossed and positive thoughts in your mind for me!!

Thursday, January 16, 2014


So, for those of you who kindly visit my blog, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. As you can see, I don't post often enough. I can give you hundreds of excuses - here are a only a few: I have two cute (by cute I mean loud and hyper) little girls, I have a very cute (by cute I mean sexy and super smart) husband, we are currently doing a renovation on our home and I am working on the re-edits of book 2 for the paperback release and currently writing the final books in The Beautiful Fate Series.

I can attest that the series is coming along nicely. I love where the story is taking me and I have a ton of fun playing with my full cast of characters. But no, I still have no release date.

Since I don’t blog as often as I would like or should, I really want to invite fans of my books to follow me on the sites that I do update more frequently. You can follow me on Pinterest by searching for Cat Mann( hint: I am the one with the book cover.) I am an avid pinner and I update my Ava and Ari boards daily. I love to find images that I think Ava would pin herself and I think their boards help define their personalities. I often find myself strumming through the images for inspiration for the upcoming novels.

I also update quite a bit on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/authorcat.mann, send me a friend request and I promise to accept. I chat with fans quite frequently on facebook and Goodreads.com - I love hearing from you! Posts, questions and reviews make my day so please don’t be shy!

As some of my fans know, I have officially been nominated for the Illinois Author of the Year Award and copies of the paperback have been sent off to the judges. I am super nervous and excited and I encourage everyone out there to support their local library.