The Next Big Thing

Today I talk about my new book, Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) as I partake in The Next Big Thing. Thank you to Suzie Tullett for the kind invitation.

  

    1. What is the working title of your book?

Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) – Book 3

    2. Where did the idea for the book come from?

It came naturally after I wrote the first book, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) and the sequel Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel).

     3. What genre does your work fall under?

It is paranormal romance, with a little dark fantasy and some horror elements.

     4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters?

Hmm, so far I am struggling to decide on the right ones. For my heroine Jessica Stone I need a British woman with a convincing Manchester accent, long auburn hair and green eyes. For the Mason brothers I need identical twins from Dublin with black hair and blue eyes… Any up and coming actors interested in the roles please?

     5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Emotion runs high in this fast-paced paranormal adventure, where secrets unfold and friends are not as they seem…

     6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will most likely be published in partnership with Mirador, who produced my first two novels in the series.

     7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of you manuscript?

About four or five months I think. Once I had written the first two, this one just couldn’t wait.

     8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It probably has elements of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, but I aspire to write like Laurell K Hamilton and her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, but with less horrific violence and a British perspective.

      9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I can’t really remember. My first novel, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), was cultivated in my mind for around ten years before I actually wrote it down. It first came about when I read the Nightworld series of novels by L. J. Smith and decided I wanted my own version of a vampire story with characters I could more easily relate to. Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) is a natural progression from that, using experiences gained from my life during recent years.

     10. What else about your book might pique the readers’ interest?

It is set in Cornwall and describes the romantic rugged coastline and old smugglers’ caves. There is a best friend with a new baby, two women running a business, and some interesting moral issues explored.

So those are the answers for the next Catherine Green novel. Please see below for other authors taking part in The Next Big Thing.

http://www.emilyharvale.com/blog  Emily writes about love, fun, friendships, drama, sex and romance.

http://www.lizzielamb.co.uk/ Lizzie writes contemporary romance and her novel Tall, Dark and Kilted is due for an Autumn release.

http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.gr/ Celia Yeary is an author of romance and every story she writes, be it long or short, is based in her native home of Texas, the state she knows so well.

http://thefearlesspen.wordpress.com/ Fran and Caro, who juggle life as mums and that gnawing need to write.

The Modern Paranormal Romance

When people hear the words ‘paranormal romance’ today they will most probably associate it with the popular Twilight franchise, and maybe even the HBO television series True Blood. It is strange to think that the original horror novel Dracula was actually a romance of sorts, although it was grotesque and evil to reflect Victorian values.
It is no longer acceptable to have a truly evil vampire who preys on innocent humans. We have evolved in our society to a point where we realise our arrogance in the face of such stereotypical views. In contemporary paranormal romance novels, vampires, shape shifters, and other non-human creatures are often treated as another race, a group of people that should not be discriminated against, but that are reviled for their supernatural abilities and nature.

I have recently finished reading Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris. It is the latest of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, and I really enjoyed it. There was a clever mix of supernatural activity, and everyday ‘normal’ human life. The heroine, Sookie, spends her evenings fighting manipulative and unpleasant vampires and shape shifters, and her day time hours are filled with household chores and paid employment. She struggles to fit in her human friends, and their baby showers and weddings, and all of the standard rites of passage that humans live by, and that are safe, happy events.

My novel Love Hurts follows this pattern, or at least that is what I intended. My heroine is a human (or so she believes), who runs a small business with her close friend. She is dating a vampire, and once she discovers his hidden secret (because in my Britain, supernatural creatures still remain hidden from society), she then struggles to merge her human life with her supernatural one.

This is where I am drawn in with the genre. I love the idea that mundane life can be livened up with a different cultural perspective, especially an apparently violent and volatile one. It makes life interesting. We need an escape from our daily household routine, and our regular pattern of work and play. That is what paranormal romance offers, and I love discovering new and exciting authors who weave their own perspective and experiences into their tales.

I hope that other people will read Love Hurts and will feel the same excitement and enjoyment that I did when I wrote it. And that those same people will follow my heroine Jessica Stone, as she stumbles through a relationship with a vampire and his identical twin werewolf brother, while supporting her human best friend with a new baby. Oh, and she has a gay best friend who is a werewolf too, just because I can!