Today’s post, for #atozchallenge, is dedicated to the letter C — for CAT, and my fantasy novel, The Manx. The manx cat is tailless and are thought to come from the Isle of Man. At one time there was a relatively large population of manx on the island, but in recent years it has been declining.

In the Manx language they are called, kayt Manninagh (the cat of Mann) and are also referred to as Stubbin. In Sophia Morrison’s, Manx Fairy Tales, the cat was running late to the arc and Noah slammed the door on its tail. Once on the arc, the cat turned to Noah and said,

Bee bo bend it,
My tail’s ended,
And I ‘ll go to Mann
And get copper nails,
And mend it.

When the waters receded Noah dropped the cat off on the Isle of Man to find some copper nails. I don’t think the cat ever found the nails because it is still without a tail.

The Manx cat is not the only Manx on the Isle of Man. The title of my book is named for the native peoples of the island, the Manx or Manxies. They have cultural origins with the Celtics and their language is related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic although it developed in seclusion since about the 700’s.

The Manx (my book) is inspired by the folktales and history of the island. You will find bugganes, Little People, castles, witches, and much more. Tomorrow, with the letter “D” I will introduce you to one of the characters in the book, Donal. Until then….

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Today’s post inspired by –“C”

D — Donal