#AtoZChallenge - There’s Nowt so Queer as… Werewolves!

I couldn’t resist this play on words! I often find myself muttering, in my version of what I think should be a Yorkshire accent, “There’s nowt so Queer as folk!” I don’t know where I picked it up from, but it stuck with me as I grew up, and every day it seems more and more appropriate to our modern world. And now it is the perfect #AtoZChallenge reference for my Redcliffe novels.

You see, here I apply the word queer in two forms. Queer means something strange or unusual. Well, that definitely explains the Redcliffe novels series. A human woman falls in love with a police detective, meets his identical twin brother, is kidnapped by their enemy, and subsequently discovers a world of vampires, werewolves and witches. All set in the peaceful seaside resort town of Redcliffe in Cornwall. Yep. Just another ‘normal’ British setting!

Photo credit Pinterest 

But then I also apply the word queer in its less politically correct definition. In previous decades we referred to homosexuals as queer. I don’t know why. Maybe because they were treated like social pariahs, feared and shunned simply because they saw the world differently to their heterosexual peers. Well, somehow I found gay werewolves in Redcliffe. Yes, you heard that correctly. Werewolves can be gay too! And my favourite man of the moment is Redcliffe pack lieutenant, Simon Bunce. He is a surfer, he is manager of The Ship Inn (that conceals the wolf lair), and he is in love with his alpha, Danny Mason. Has that got your attention? Excellent!

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

#AtoZChallenge - The Power Animal

When I first began to write Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), I had no idea of the twists and turns that were ahead of me for the Redcliffe novels. There was never even meant  to be a trilogy, much less a series. It just sort of happened. And now we are in a crazy world populated by powerful witches, possessive vampires, and proud werewolves. And a very intriguing Power animal familiar.

The power animal can take many forms. It can be a domestic pet, such as your beloved cat or dog. It can be a creature that visits your dreams, recurring, offering support, guidance or advice. It can be an ethereal creature that lives in a parallel world accessed through your human mind… really? Apparently so! That is how I met the power animal familiar of our new witch Jessica Stone. Suri, the snow tiger, made her dramatic appearance in my second novel, Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel). She is a force to be reckoned with, not least because she has set her sights on the alpha werewolf, Danny Mason, and she detests the vampire, his identical twin brother, Jack.

Power animals are confusing creatures. Witches and shamans traditionally revere them for their wisdom and knowledge of the universe. Totems are created in their honour, and rituals are performed at different times of the year, and to represent different needs or situations. A power animal can offer deep spiritual fulfilment. They can also offer a strange version of reality that sits awkwardly with ‘real’ humans and their daily drama. When Jessica Stone meets her power animal in the Redcliffe novels, she embarks on a wild adventure, all within the peaceful confines of a picturesque, English seaside resort town.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

*Power animal image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Out of Body Experience

Have you ever had an Out of Body Experience? They are intense adventures, let me tell you! And the Redcliffe novels are jammed full of out of body experiences. Our protagonist, Jessica Stone, has vivid dreams that often see her running from some crazed beast, or speaking to a mysterious woman who likes to hold their meetings on Redcliffe beach at sunset…

I have been fascinated by the concept of the out of body experience for as long as I can remember. For me it goes hand-in-hand with ghost sightings, being psychic, and basically being an open-minded, spiritual adventurer. The events in the Redcliffe novels are largely inspired by my personal experiences over the years, although some are exaggerated for literary entertainment. It is not only Jessica Stone who has out of body experiences. As a witch, they are a natural occurrence for her. It is a method for her animal familiar to communicate across their parallel, paranormal world. Once Jessica makes an intimate connection with the vampire Jack Mason, and with his alpha werewolf brother Danny, her experiences become more bizarre and intense.

You could say that being a vampire or werewolf, or any other shape shifting creature, will lead to an out of body experience. The werewolves transform from human to animal, and that surely is an event that sends their spirit flying high or outwards as the physical body does its thing. Vampires are ethereal creatures. They are not human. They feel emotions and sensations very deeply. They can sense the thoughts of humans around them, and they can project their energy onto others. In that sense, they too experience being ‘out of body.’ The possibilities are endless, which is why such a concept is brilliant for my paranormal romance novels.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

*Out of body experience image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Natural Instinct

All creatures are ruled by Natural instinct. Humans are driven by ego and emotion. We have created a world that is dominated by the desire for money, and the notion that this brings power and respect. We continually fight among ourselves, we love with passion and pride, we hate and struggle and survive. All of these emotions come naturally to us. They cannot be seen as physical entities. They simply manifest in our behaviour and our attitude. The same is true for supernatural creatures. Only their natural instinct can sometimes be far more deadly and dangerous.

Think about it. The werewolves are both human and animal. They exhibit all of the characteristics from two species. They have strong urges to hunt, to fight, to kill, to procreate. They feel deep emotion, they love and hate fiercely and in equal measure. The whole mix of natural instinct is a potent and powerful combination. And then there are the vampires. More than anything, they are driven by a natural instinct to hunt for blood. It controls them. It consumes them. Theirs is an eternal battle to appear human, to suppress these dangerous desires, and to avoid killing anything that moves, so that they may feed and satiate their never-ending thirst. Their senses are powerfully sharp and sensitive. They feel everything far more deeply than humans. Is it any wonder they get grumpy?

And how about other creatures? Witches, for example. Witches are essentially human. Their bodies are prone to illness and can be damaged by intent or accident. They have the same intellect, the same emotions, the same natural instinct. But they also have magic on their side. They have power animals, mystical creatures that guide them, support them, and sometimes fight against them. Witches learn to tread the line between human and animal. In the Redcliffe novels, Jessica Stone has a lot to learn once she discovers her hidden magic and power. She battles with her desires and urges, believing them to be wrong, when all she wants to do is follow her instincts and act on what feels natural. She was raised in a human world, with human morals and ideals. Maybe they are not right for her. It is for Jessica to decide.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

*Lover's kiss image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Magic and Mystery

As we progress through the Redcliffe novels, and follow our heroine Jessica Stone, we begin to learn that she is not everything she seems to be at first meeting. Jessica does not even know herself when we begin reading Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel). When she falls in love with a vampire, her world is literally turned upside down, and she embarks on a new journey of self discovery. Central to this journey is Jessica’s natural condition as a witch. She learns about her own secret power, her Magic, her mystery.

Magic is very often confused with different aspects. Traditional magic can be one of two things. It could be magical illusion, as seen by a magician when he or she is entertaining a group of people. You know the sort: card tricks and disappearing acts. In the Redcliffe novels, we discover the power of ancient magic, that which belongs to witches and other supernatural creatures. I prefer to apply the old-fashioned spelling, Magick, but often my computer word processor will insist on correcting it by removing the k. When I read Magick in a text, it automatically sends shivers down my spine, and offers up images of ancient power and ritual, goddesses and gods, and everything that has now been consigned to the history books under the title of mythology.

Jessica Stone learns about her ability to use magic, and how she can work with her spirit animal, Suri the snow tiger, to protect herself against the werewolves and vampires that would play games with her. Jessica begins to realise that actually, she is the most powerful creature in this circle of beasts. She is, as yet, inexperienced and has only just begun to study her craft. It will take time, patience, and lots of mistakes, before she can truly become a great magician. The same applies for any of us in real life. We create our own magic, we are the magicians of our own lives.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

*Witch and werewolf image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Lunar Cycles

There is a very definite werewolf theme developing in my #AtoZChallenge this year. As I have said previously, I never used to be so fascinated with shapeshifters. I was always a vampire lover. I still am, but now the wolves are stealing my heart… they are so vibrant, so passionate, and so unpredictable. Today I will talk a little about the power of Lunar cycles, and how the pull of the moon has such a hold over my Redcliffe wolves and their behaviour.

Traditional folklore dictates that a werewolf will only transform once a month, when the moon is full. I am still a little hazy about where this fact originated, but I am aware that people have always been fascinated by the moon and her mysterious ways. Before we developed the ability to study planets and stars, and properly explore our universe, people could only believe what they saw from the ground. They were aware of this huge, light-giving orb that showed in the night sky, and that seemed to ebb and flow on a constant cycle of death and rebirth. Many were aware of the feelings that came when they watched the moon, and how certain things seemed to occur naturally during the phases of full, dark, waxing and waning moon. It was all connected, although nobody could explain why and how.

My Redcliffe werewolves are not all controlled by the power of the moon. They are affected by it, however. The younger, weaker wolves will only transform once a month, when the moon is full. The older, stronger wolves, including alpha Danny Mason and his lieutenant Simon Bunce, are able to transform at will, although the process leaves them exhausted afterwards. Think about it: you are forcing you human body to change shape and form completely, and that can only be done with the use of magic. At other times of the month, the werewolves will exhibit different behaviour. They are more lethargic, and more human, when the moon is dark, or in the New Moon phase. Their strength and power grows with the moon, and on the nights surrounding the Full Moon, the Redcliffe wolves will be out hunting in the forest, embracing their animal instincts, and celebrating their true nature. How does the moon affect this? We will never know.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

*Werewolf and Moon image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Kimberley

We are less than two weeks into the #AtoZChallenge and I am getting creative with my paranormal Redcliffe theme. Today I will continue from the previous post, The Wrath of a Jealous Werewolf. Today I will talk about Kimberley.

Kimberley is the antagonist in my latest Redcliffe novel, Eye of the Tiger. Every writer knows that a good story must have ’good guys’ and ’bad guys’ who battle their way through the plot, culminating in a fight to the death where the good guy wins. Well, in my fourth Redcliffe novel, I am applying this simple formula. My characters are not so clean cut, however. I do not have good guys and bad guys. My good guys can be very bad. And vice versa.

Which leads me to Kimberley. She is a werewolf. She is a jealous werewolf, who wants to be alpha female to Danny Mason, and to rule the Redcliffe wolf pack as their queen. Kimberley is conceited, proud, brave, and she has declared Jessica Stone her enemy.  This escalates some very brutal fighting between werewolves. But, Kimberley is not all bad. She is a doctor in her human capacity. She works at the local hospital, treating patients very efficiently and thoroughly. She is respected and revered in her profession. Ah, now there is the conundrum. How can she be a bad guy? It is all a question of perception…

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

*Fire and Ice wolves image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - The Wrath of a Jealous Werewolf

It might seem an odd choice for me to use the word Jealous for today’s #AtoZChallenge blog post. After all, jealousy is not a paranormal subject. It is, however, a very powerful, and often very destructive, emotion. It is even more dangerous when experienced by a supernatural creature, such as a vampire or a werewolf.

The Redcliffe werewolves are proud, powerful, and dangerous. The alpha wolves are the most volatile, which is how they came to be leaders of the pack. I am talking about the alpha wolf, Danny Mason, and his lieutenants, Simon Bunce and Sally Frost. Danny demonstrates the extent of his jealous power when he turns it on Jessica and Jack. The brothers descend into a vicious fight, and it is left to Jessica and her animal familiar to break it up. This is only one of many fights that occur, and not just between vampires and werewolves.

 The wrath of a jealous werewolf becomes most apparent as we progress through Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) and into my current work in progress, Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel). It turns out that the female of the species really is the deadliest. Jessica becomes further involved with Danny and his wolf pack, to the detriment of his subordinates. They do not welcome a witch among them. They believe that she is dangerous, unpredictable, and that she is leading their alpha astray with her magical wiles. Among the meek wolves, there emerge one or two that are prepared to fight for power. One is a female who fancies herself as the alpha’s mate, a position that has so far remained unfilled. And she is a force to be reckoned with…

 If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April! 

*Wolves image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Hidden Worlds

To study the paranormal is to reveal the secrets, delights and enchantment of Hidden worlds. I am more interested in the supernatural world, that of witches, vampires and shape shifters, but I did have a fleeting interest in aliens and anomalies during the X-Files years when I was a teenager.  Hidden worlds are fascinating to me, because they conceal our deepest fears, our most dangerous fantasies, and the magic and mystery that would once have been commonplace here on Earth.

The hidden world within Redcliffe town on the south coast of Cornwall is full of adventure and danger, especially to Jessica Stone. There are two very powerful, and very proud, vampires living in the town. Both have spent time living away from Redcliffe, which perhaps explains why Jessica did not meet them when she first moved from Manchester in the north of England. And then we have the hidden world of the Redcliffe werewolf pack. The wolves’ lair is concealed beneath The Ship Inn, a public house that was reputedly a smugglers’ haunt back in the olden days.

Photo Credit Pinterest

The lair of the Redcliffe wolf pack is hidden inside a series of caves and caverns that are carved into the cliffs of Redcliffe Bay. Above these caves, you must walk up a steep incline to access Redcliffe Forest, a vast expanse of plant life and close-knit trees that are home to myriad animals, birds and insects. These animals provide fodder for the werewolf pack when they go out to hunt at night. The forest is dense enough to hide supernatural creatures from human eyes.  All this and more are hidden within our human world, just waiting to be discovered.

 If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April! 

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

#AtoZChallenge - Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Well, do you? I most certainly do believe in Ghosts, and I have seen them on many occasions, both at home and on holiday. I was also a ghost hunter a few years’ ago, a hobby that I hope to resume when my children are older. I love the thrill of sitting in a dark, dusty room in an old, abandoned manor house or business premises, asking for Spirit to show themselves, and then the exhilaration when we get a response… But enough about me. Where do ghosts fit into the Redcliffe novels? I will tell you.

Right at the very beginning of Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), our protagonist, Jessica Stone, is experiencing very strange dreams that have a feeling of being premonitions. As she meets Detective Jack Mason and begins a very passionate, and dangerous, love affair, her life spirals into chaos as the world unravels around her. Part of this includes the emergence of her mother, who died in a car accident when Jessica was five years old. Her mother first visits Jessica in her dreams, and then gathers her strength and shows herself as a ghost.

Photo Credit Flickr

Now, Jessica did not believe in ghosts before all of this happened. She was always a fairly practical woman, living in the real world. Of course, the ‘real world’ is never quite what we think. It differs for everyone depending on their life experiences and situations. Jessica’s mother was a witch, and she would have raised her daughter in the Craft if she had lived. She finds a way to communicate when Jessica’s natural magical ability is roused by her connection to the vampire and werewolf. Lillian tries to help her daughter during their brief conversations, but the ghost is weak and often fades out halfway through. Perhaps she will grow stronger as Jessica becomes more comfortable in her new life. Time will tell.

 If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April! 

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

#AtoZChallenge - Every Witch has a Familiar

As we progress through the Redcliffe novels and learn about Jessica Stone’s hidden heritage as a witch, we begin to learn more about her new position in the world, and what it means as she fights to maintain a relationship with her vampire lover. It is a very passionate embrace with Jack one night that brings forward Jessica’s animal Familiar, Suri, an ancient and magical snow tiger.

Traditionally, animal familiars are believed to be in the spirit of the domestic black cat, but I believe this may be a very old literary invention, although I cannot be sure. Anyway, I had always believed that a witch’s familiar was a physical, living animal. I now know that is far from the truth. A familiar can also be a spirit animal, a ghost-like creature that is intelligent and powerful, and that lives in an ethereal other world accessed directly by the witch. Perhaps they take the physical form of their animal kin on occasion, and perhaps this will happen with Suri at some point, but I am still getting to know Jessica’s animal familiar, and she is an unpredictable and proud creature.

 Jessica finds it hard to believe that a being as powerful as Suri could have remained hidden and undiscovered for nearly thirty years, but perhaps she will find the answers as we continue reading about her adventures. Certainly, book 4 in the series, my current work in progress, Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel), is all about the snow tiger and her power games with Jessica’s boyfriend and his brother. Suri is excited to be free after such a long imprisonment. She is full of energy, and she wants to cause mischief in the Redcliffe wolf pack.

 If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April! 

*Witch and her familiar image found on Pinterest

#AtoZChallenge - Energy and Emotion

There is a lot of talk about Energy in the weeks after Jessica Stone discovers her hidden witch heritage in Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel) and Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). In Jessica’s world, energy is a way to describe the power that she feels when her witchcraft is woken. She also finds it very closely linked to her emotions, especially the extremes of love and hatred that she feels for her vampire and her alpha werewolf.

We all feel energy, although humans are more likely to dismiss it as a natural phenomena. Most of us probably don’t think about it all. The simple force that is Nature, the cycle of growth, death and life, has become all too familiar and regular in our world. In fact, in the developed world, humans have begun to try and manipulate nature and natural energy to make it more useful, more convenient, or even to hide it away like an embarrassing secret. We appreciate that we are a part of nature, and subsequently we are the energy of the world around us, but we don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it.

Photo Credit Pinteret 

Emotions, on the other hand, are totally relevant and prevalent in the human world. Every day we feel different emotion, whether it is happiness, sadness, hunger, fear, excitement or a million variations on those themes. Jessica Stone learns that her vampires and werewolves feel emotion to the absolute extreme, and she must find a way to live with this knowledge and manage it appropriately, if she is to continue her love affair with the vampire Jack Mason, and her entanglement with his alpha werewolf brother Danny, and the Redcliffe wolf pack.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

#AtoZChallenge - The Balance of Darkness and Light

“Jessica Stone used to be a normal, happy human. Now she is an angry, conflicted and confused witch.” This is on the back cover of my third novel Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). During the first two novels in the series, we saw Jessica meet a man and fall in love, which ended in drama and tragedy when she discovered his supernatural secrets, and those of his identical twin brother, the local werewolf alpha. Today on the #AtoZChallenge, I will talk about the balance of Darkness and light in the Redcliffe novels.

A vampire lives in the shadows. They thrive on blood from living creatures, often killing to satisfy their insatiable thirst, and always they live with the consequences of their actions. Some vampires embrace their unique existence. Some hide away from it. Some are hunted, believed by humans to be monsters that must be destroyed at all costs. Werewolves live in thrall to the Moon and her mysterious cycles. Theirs is a world of instinct, of fierce protectiveness to their kin, and the fight to suppress their animal instincts when they live among humans.

Photo Credit Goddess Lifestyle Plan

Traditionally, humans belong to the world of light, often more active during the daytime. This happened in the very old days, when humans were just discovering the power of fire, and electricity was a long way off. We cannot see in the dark. We fear the shadows, because we do not know what monsters lurk out there, waiting to attack. Nowadays, humans can thrive at all times of day or night, and often do. There is some confusion about whether vampires can move about in daylight or not. My vampires can exist in the day, but their movements are slower and more human. They much prefer night, when their senses are sharp.  Jessica moves between the worlds, living both as a daytime human, and a night-time witch consorting with the wolves and the vampires. Her world is full of shadows; confusing, frightening, and exhilarating.

If you are interested in seeing other participants for the #AtoZChallenge, check them out on the official website. We have everything from book stuff, to cooking, to photography, to travel, and a whole lot more. Happy April!

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

Bridging the Gap in my Manuscript #amwriting #writetip

My current work in progress is taking a very long time to write. I began the process back in 2013, when I had seen publication of my first three Redcliffe novels, and my spin-off historical vampire novel The Darkness of Love. The novel in progress is book 4 in the Redcliffe series: Eye of the Tiger. And I have still not yet finished writing the first draft. Wow!

To my fellow writers, this might not seem particularly unusual. For me, it is. I wrote and published my first four novels all within three years. They are easy reads, genre fiction, and they are well written. OK, I concede that my first novel may now seem a little clumsy in hindsight, but I am proud of it, because it was the culmination of a dream that I nurtured for over 10 years. And they are good stories. Trust me!

Anyway, I had stumbled my way through Eye of the Tiger. I only settled on a title for it late last year. But I am not concerned about the length of time taken. This one is going to be my Best Novel Yet. It may even be the one that all the best literary agents clamour to support me with. It might be the one that lands me a massive Hollywood movie deal, or a television franchise, and all those other glamorous dreams and visions that we writers are prone to indulge in.

I have very nearly finished writing the first draft of Eye of the Tiger. I know what happens at the end, finally. I didn’t up until about a month ago. And it didn’t hit me like a revelation, the ending. It sort of dripped into my mind, bit  by bit, until I formed it into a decent storyline that fits the plot. My problem was getting from one section to another. Bridging the gap in the story, if you understand my meaning. I am not the kind of writer that can do chunks of a novel, and return to fill in the gaps later. I have to write it from start to finish, and then go and do the editing in a methodical manner. But, eventually, after deliberating for a couple of weeks, I sat down before my computer last night, and I just wrote it. I didn’t stop to read it back. I just wrote. And actually, I think it worked quite well. Now I am free to write the exciting, dramatic conclusion. Watch this space…


*Image courtesy of HybridGothica at Deviant Art

My Books are Easy Reads; I’m OK with that #amwriting #ASMSG

There is a world of adventure within the pages of all the books in the world. I know, this sort of thing has been said before. There are various memes and quotes circulating on social media to remind us of this. But it is only since I became a professional writer that I began to look at my writing with a critical eye. I mean, when I was scribbling in my diaries, jotting down notes for stories, and lacking the confidence to allow anyone to see what I wrote, I didn’t need to concern myself with writing form, correct language and plot, and all the other nuances that go into creating a literary masterpiece.

My novels have been described as easy reads. And I like that feedback. Yes, I do hold a dream of one day being recognised as a force of literary power and talent. But I also know that this kind of accolade comes with experience. I am still only at the beginning of a long career in writing. In the space of four years I have published four novels and three short stories, and have written a further three novels (almost). That is a pretty good achievement for a new mother contending with babies, toddlers, family crisis and everything else that happens in the domestic sphere.

  

The Redcliffe novels are written for pleasure. They provide passion, romance, adventure and danger. They offer a chance to escape from the real world, and to immerse yourself in a parallel world, a world that operates within human society, but remains hidden. The Redcliffe novels offer you the chance to look at strangers on the street and ask yourself, “What is their story? Who are they, really?” And that, for me, is the pleasure and the excitement of writing. When I set out to write Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), I never planned initially to turn the story into a trilogy. It was simply the case that as I wrote, my characters became something vibrant and alive, and they demanded more attention. And then I had to write my first historical paranormal novel, The Darkness of Love.

 

I hope you enjoy my easy reads, just as much as I enjoy writing them. My novels have short chapters, they are available in paperback format, and they are ideal for tablet and mobile reading. You can read them very easily during the daily commute or on your lunch break. And if you haven’t tried them yet, the first novel, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), is only 99p on Kindle. Have a lovely day, my friends!

I’m Still Here! Author at Work #amwriting

Hello my friends, and how are you today? You may have wondered why I fell silent over here on the Catherine Green Author blog. Well, I will tell you. I have been very busy. Not only am I powering ahead with my business plan, setting my intentions for 2015 and beyond (thank you, Leonie Dawson!), I am mothering and nurturing my young family at home. And, most importantly for the purposes of our conversation, I am beavering away on the latest installment of the Redcliffe novels series.

Before you get too excited, remember that I am still only writing the first draft of my fourth Redcliffe novel. Eye of the Tiger has taken a lot longer to write than any of the previous books that I published. I think the reason might have something to do with my nineteen month old daughter… and her four year old sister… and the dog… and the husband… and the house… you get the picture. But I never gave up. Despite the sleepless nights, the almost constant breastfeeding, and the demands of my family, my Redcliffe characters waited patiently in the background until I could return to them.

And now they are losing patience. The story has been too long in coming, and the Mason brothers are getting restless. That is never a good sign! When you take the cool, calculating power of the vampire, and his hot-headed, impulsive alpha werewolf brother, you know there will be trouble in their little Cornish town. Poor old Jessica has got it bad. She really fell in with the wrong crowd. Now she is in love with a vampire and a werewolf, and they alternately use her and abuse her for the power that she holds as a witch. Tough times, filled with passion, intensity and action.

See you later!


*Vision Board from personal archive; Witch image courtesy of Deviant Art

How Writing about Vampires Actually Reflects my Life

It’s true! Sounds daft, doesn’t it? I mean, vampires don’t really exist… do they? Of course they do. We have the so-called lifestyle vampires; people who dress in gothic clothing, file their teeth into fangs, and even drink blood. That is not me. I am just your average, red-haired, glasses-wearing housewife. You can usually see me sporting jeans, t-shirts and jumpers. I do like to dress up, and I adore gothic clothing, but it just isn’t practical for my lifestyle at the moment. I mean, think about it: if I floated about in fancy dresses with long, floaty sleeves, I would be forever washing my clothes after they got in the way of cleaning the children and changing nappies. And then there is the challenge of breastfeeding in certain clothes.

But that leads me into the reason behind my title. I write about vampires, witches and werewolves (and other magical creatures). I have always been fascinated by the supernatural world. And yes, I see the link between these creatures and the people in my life. For example, I am surrounded by vampires. My baby daughter, as she feeds from my breast, is a vampire, sucking my essence so that she may live. But this is a wonderful, beautiful process, and perfectly natural. My husband is an energy vampire. He leaves me alone with the children for most of the week while he goes out to work full time. He expects me to provide emotional and practical support for him, while also providing full care for our children. Who looks after me? Who gives me the care I need?

And then there are all the other people around me who represent the good and bad qualities of the creatures that I am so in love with. Vampires to me are sexual, alluring beings. That is part of their magical charm. They use sex as a tool for hunting. And they do it in a very beautiful, fantastic way. I will be honest here; my husband and I enjoy a fun and passionate sex life. That is the best part of our relationship. In a way I am also a vampire. I use other people for support in all kinds of ways. Mainly I rely on my friends to listen when I complain about never having time to myself, or being so tired I can’t think straight, or simply complaining about the lack of romance in my life. We are all energy vampires. We feed from each other constantly. The only difference in my stories, is that the creatures I write about act on their urges physically. They are passionate, dramatic, romantic and dangerous. And that is a most exhilarating fantasy to keep me happy!

* You Should Be Writing image courtesy of Pinterest