Oh heeeeyyyy! Welcome to another newsletter! Shall we begin?
#1. First things first, it’s cover reveal time, baby!
You know, I never know how to start these newsletters so I think we’ll just go with a numbered list. If there’s one thing consistent about me it’s that I’m gonna be awkward and graceless about transitions.
I know I have some new subscribers recently, so if you don’t know me well, my name is Cat, and I write smutty romance, and I’m kind of a loudmouth bitch (but with good intentions, mostly, I promise) and unlike every other reality contestant ever, I am actually here to make friends. All the friends. Please be my friend, I’m scared of dying alone.
And most recently, I’ve dipped my toe into monster romance of the fish variety.
Which means, anyone who’s subscribed to this newsletter, gets to get an early peek at my cover reveal!
And lemme fucking tell you, this cover—in my humble opinion— is unbelievable.
Huge shout out to the artist I worked with, Mignon Zakuga (find her here: her instagram) who basically read my mind and created a whole entire fucking vibe. It really was such an honor to work with her, and I was so lucky she was available! I’m not exactly known for my planning and organizational skills, but she turned this shit out.
So, without further adieu, enjoy the cover for BREATHLESS: A Fish Monster Romance
Sign up for an ARC here: Breathless ARC Sign Ups
Blurb:
Former model and current recluse Jules Lowe would prefer to spend the rest of her life locked inside her apartment doing nothing more than fixating on her empty fish tank and chatting away on a local aquarium forum. But when her online crush sends her an inadvertently suspicious picture, Jules' curiosity gets the best of her. Who or what is Mack Vasser?
Even Jules’ fear of the outside world can’t stop her from exploring further. And while venturing out to track down Mack is scary enough, discovering he's part-fish, part-man is a shock of a lifetime. Even more shocking is Jules' confusing attraction to him which has her leaving her apartment again and again.
Unfortunately for Jules, she isn't the only person who's aware that creatures like Mack exist. And now that she's gotten herself involved, she's risking not only her feelings, but both their safety, in a world where nobody seems to know who the real monsters are.
TROPES:
Slow Burn
Mental Health Rep
Special Peen
Fish Monster MMC
Underwater Fun Times
Dirty Talking MMC
Extra Appendages
Forbidden Romance
I hope you love the cover as much as I do!
And, if this seems up your alley: Sign up for an ARC here: Breathless ARC Sign Ups
#2. Literary-ass shit.
Now that we’ve gotten the cover reveal out of the way, let’s talk about some literary-ass shit in regards to Breathless.
(If that’s what you’re into…if not, feel free to exit stage left.)
So far in my writing career, I’ve only published contemporary romances, but I’m a pretty mercurial person, and I really love to follow any which-weird path my heart sends me.
And because of that, writing a monster romance with an amphibious-man creature was actually kind of inevitable.
I love the weirdness of it all. I love the mild discomfort, the string of inner monologue that goes along with it: Like am I really into this? Why am I into this? Is there something wrong with me for being into this?
But ultimately, my fave thing about monster romance is that it says the quiet part outloud.
Monsters are the inverse of our real world men.
Men might look attractive on the outside, they might use the right words or play the part correctly, they might seem friendly and safe, but at the end of the day, so many men show themselves to be nothing more than monsters.
While in romance, the monster’s appearance says stay back! danger! Because the monster isn’t a liar. The monster is honest about who he is. And because of that, he becomes more human than the men. The monsters are safe and the men pose the threat.
But society wants to attack one and protect the other. Why is that?
Isn’t that the lesson? Isn’t that part of what attracts us to monsters in the first place? The fantasy that what we are afraid of is actually the very thing that will love us the most?
Not to mention, It’s tale as old as time. Minotaurs, Greek/Egyptian/Roman Gods, vampires and zombies.
Any way you slice it, we’ve always wanted to fuck monsters.
#3. Fun little tid-bits
For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, here is my secret BREATHLESS inspiration board.
(Funny story, Pinterest sent me an email yesterday informing me that one of the pins I’d pinned to the board had been removed for being “fetish content” which is actually crazy to me because everything I pinned was extremely tame. Still, because I have childhood trauma, I felt like I’d broken the fucking law for pinning something that violated their terms, and I’m not even kidding you, I briefly considered deleting the whole board. Lolllll. Don’t worry I’m in therapy.)
I won’t give away too much, but if you like little tidbits/Easter eggs about books, here you go.
The title BREATHLESS is first of all a pun on holding your breath/running out of breath. But also, of course, its about the idea of having something take your breath away. Rendering you breathless because you’re in such awe when you see them.
It’s the contradiction of the word that I like the most. Plus, the obvious underwater implications of it all.
I took some inspo from other places too like the movie The Shape of Water (which admittedly, I’ve never seen, but I did read the wiki, lol, and I just love the visuals so much), the book My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Tessa Ottessa Moshfegh, and The Pisces by Melissa Broder.
I thought, what if I took these literary works and turned them into a fun, campy, smutty, but still-dark good old monster romance?
The main characters’ names are also related to the story and again, I won’t give too much away, but I like to get punny with my names as well.
Jules Lowe….Lowe = L’eau which in French means water.
Mack Vasser… Vasser = Wasser which in German also means… water.
The cover itself, in my opinion is a pretty provocative and it’s supposed to be that way. Although, I really thought long and hard about whether or not I should go with the concept I chose. I was honestly a little worried that it might put people off, and maybe it does. And maybe that’s okay.
Like I said, the whole idea of monster romance really intrigues me because a monster character is always gonna be more than what meets the eye. A monster character means there is something behind the scales or the fangs or the claws. (But to be clear, Mack only has scales…)
I think this cover makes you look twice. Is he covering her mouth and nose or is he caressing her face? Can she breathe or is she drowning? Is she caressing his hand or is she pushing it away? Is he holding her in an embrace or is he holding her as his captive?
What does it say to you?
#3. Thanks to the people who’ve helped
To the people who did beta reads: Julie (withjuliekirk) and Sarah (Sarahsunshineshelf)…y’all were so kind to read Breathless in it’s infancy and give such caring and helpful feedback.
Also, to my PA Nikki (lived_athousandlives) who does amazing work and understands romance inside and out.
To my friends, both writer and non writer, who have endured many, many endless rants and complaints and brainstorming sessions.
And to the Romance community as a whole. Without Romance, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Hell, I wouldn’t even be a writer! I certainly wouldn’t be writing about scaly fish human creatures. Anyway. Get yourself free any way you can, you know? Romance helped set me free.
I’m grateful! Thank you!
#4. My dog
This is Griff. I haven't been feeling well these past few days, and he’s really been there for me. Fun fact, he and I are both Scorpios and we share the same birthday of the very lucky 11/11. He’s even luckier because his full birthday is 11/11/11.
Which means he’s never going to die and he’s living forever and nothing bad can ever happen to him. Amen.
#5. Well, I think I’ve said enough
This has been long and unhinged and I love that for me! I hope you’ve enjoyed the cover reveal, and I hope you stay tuned for more!
Before I forget, I also have a podcast with my besties SJ Tilly and G. Marie called the Tall, Dark & Fictional Podcast.
It’s a podcast about romance fiction by romance writers but we also get political, personal, and petty, so be sure to check that out too if you’re a podcast person!
And as always, you can find my other books HERE. Or you know, just do a search on Amazon for my name Cat Wynn.
Okay, here’s another awkward transition to get out of here.
BYE. SEE YOU LATER. FAREWELL.
xoxo,
Cat
The cover is gorgeous