*RELAUNCH* Vampire of Blackpool #VoB #ASMSG

*RELAUNCH!* The Vampire of Blackpool #ASMSG #LesFic #Gothic @JolleyTotsPhoto

The vampire, the witch, and the hunter battle it out in a contemporary Gothic adventure in Northern England.

I am excited to announce that as my author makeover continues, I will soon be relaunching The Vampire of Blackpool with a sexy new cover that will look gorgeous on your bookshelf! Huge thanks go to my good friend and new resident book cover designer, Natalie Jolley from NEJ Photography. Her images are awesome, and I cannot wait to share them with you. Look out for the RELAUNCH ahead of my upcoming Sandbach Author Signing Event. See you there!

British paranormal romance author Catherine Green has taken a break from her Redcliffe novels series set in Cornwall, and has launched her brand new novel, The Vampire of Blackpool. A contemporary English Gothic story, it tells the tale of vampire Meredith Hanson, her love interest Samantha Morris, and her rival, the vampire hunter Ryan James. The novel is strictly for an adult audience, and Catherine’s vampires do not sparkle!

Have you discovered the Redcliffe novels? Sign up today, and receive your fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

#FreeBooks The Vampire of Blackpool #ASMSG #LesFic

The vampire, the witch, and the hunter battle it out in a contemporary Gothic adventure in Northern England.

  

Meredith Hanson lives in Blackpool, the former Victorian holiday hotspot of Northern England. She masquerades as a reclusive author, feeding on the blood of unsuspecting tourists without remorse. Her life takes on new meaning when she meets a young witch in a local pub one evening. Despite Meredith’s cold demeanour, she finds herself oddly fascinated with Samantha Morris, and falls into an accidental relationship with the girl. It is at this time that a vampire hunter arrives in Blackpool. He is tough, he is determined, and his next target is an ancient vampire that has been spotted in the tourist town. He intends to bring her down and destroy her to save the lives of innocent humans. Will he succeed? Or will the experienced vampire seductress be the cause of his undoing?

Have you discovered the Redcliffe novels? Sign up today, and receive your fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

The Art of Book Cover Design @JolleyTotsPhoto #ASMSG

Having recently relaunched my Redcliffe novels series with new cover designs, I am in the process of working through my back catalogue and carefully planning any design work for new books that I have in progress. It is understood that humans are visual beings, for the most part. We take in the physical appearance of things, people and pictures when we make our initial judgement about whether to approach, touch or interact. 

   

This is very important for book cover design, and I knew this right from the start, but budget restrictions were a factor. Anyway, as time wore on and the book industry changed again, so have our attitudes and understanding of common practice. A very good friend of mine is a big fan of the Redcliffe novels series, and she happens to be an accomplished professional photographer. She offered to design the cover for my new novel Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel), because apparently, she had something very specific in mind. Since I was mostly clueless about the visual aspect of my new book, I gladly accepted her offer. And I love the result!

  

Today I would like to take the opportunity to showcase the work of NEJ Photography. Based in Herefordshire, Natalie specialises in portrait and boudoir photography, local events and business portfolios, and she is now dabbling in book cover and digital art design. I have already commissioned her to create a new cover for my self-published novel The Vampire of Blackpool, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with… no doubt it will be a Gothic masterpiece!

Have you discovered the Redcliffe novels? Sign up today, and receive your fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

  

BOOK LAUNCH!!! Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel) #ASMSG #TheRedcliffeNovels

OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH – Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel) – book 4 –

by Catherine Green

Jessica Stone used to be a normal human. Then she fell in love with a vampire, met his identical twin werewolf brother, and her life fell apart spectacularly. Meeting Detective Jack Mason, and his brother Danny, brought about a powerful change, and Jessica’s magic was released. Now, in Redcliffe book 4, she must learn to control her ethereal animal familiar, who lusts after the alpha werewolf, and will stop at nothing to use her human mistress as a tool... Or is that a weapon?

The Redcliffe novels series follow the adventures of bookshop owner Jessica Stone as she meets a man and falls in love, only to discover the hidden werewolf secrets of her close friends. Who knew the Cornish coast could be so deadly?

Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel) – available in bookshops, libraries, and online now!

Buy from Amazon UK; Amazon US, and other major online retailers.

Find Catherine Green and her British paranormal novels in the following places:

Facebook; 

Author blog;

Twitter;

The Pagan Housewife Blog; 

Instagram

Have you discovered the Redcliffe novels? Sign up today, and receive your fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

Do You Want Something Dark and Sexy for Summer? #ASMSG

Then read the short stories from My Vampire Boyfriend (A Redcliffe Short Story Anthology). Set in the fictional seaside town of Redcliffe in Cornwall, we explore the sexual and spiritual awakening of young witch Jessica Stone and her involvement with the Mason brothers; one vampire, the other an alpha werewolf. Has that give you a sexy thrill of desire? Excellent! Read on…

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!) 

Did You Read His Story? The Darkness of Love #ASMSG

In all the excitement of preparing to release book 4 in the Redcliffe novels series, it seems I have neglected a couple of my older stories. Have you read The Darkness of Love yet? This Victorian vampire romance is not what you would expect, as my reviewers have reliably informed me. It tells the story of the vampire Marcus Scott who we meet in Redcliffe, Cornwall. He was a mere stablehand on an English country estate before he became immortal…

The Darkness of Love available from Chances Press 

Read his story, and catch up with one of his later adventures in Christmas With the Vampires. I will be back on Monday to reveal the cover for my brand new upcoming novel, Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel).

  

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!) 

‘The Valentine’s Card’ from My Vampire Boyfriend Anthology

Happy Valentine’s Day, my book loving friends! I am feeling all soppy and romantic after spending some quality time with my husband this weekend (and no, we didn’t do roses and dating!) Anyway, today I share with you an excerpt from the short story The Valentine’s Card which features inside the Redcliffe short story anthology, My Vampire Boyfriend. You can download the book today for just 99p! Consider it my Valentine’s Day gift to you…

“The card was white with a vase of pink roses printed on the front, glittered for effect. It didn’t feel like something Jack would send. It looked garish and dated. I opened it up, feeling a strange sense of dread. There was a message inside, printed by hand in blue biro. It read, “Happy Valentine’s Day Jessica. See you tonight, my little witch.”

I gasped. There was only one person who had called me ‘little witch,’ and she was dead. I destroyed her myself several months ago. I felt sick, picked up my phone, and called Jack.”

PS. I’m taking part in Hooked on Books & Cherry0Blossoms Promotions Annual Valentine’s Hop. Come and take part, lots to be won. Even a chance to win a Kindle. https://hobcbpromotions.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/valentines-hop.html

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!) 

A Fabulous Book Signing Event

I just had the most amazing weekend! It started on Friday with a daytrip to the ICHF Stitch and Hobbycrafts exhibition, where my mum, sister and I indulged our crafting habit and made a few cheeky purchases… Then on Saturday came the big event. I attended the West Midlands Valentines Book Signing Event (I missed the evening Ball due to a prior commitment), and it was fabulous! I look forward to my next book event, which will be Scribe Literary Festival in March.

 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!) 

Author Brand Design

The world of publishing is certainly diverse these days. And there is so much more to being an author than simply writing your masterpiece and sending it out to the world. For starters, we need to decide whether to throw ourselves at the mercy of the publishing gatekeepers, only to be rejected time and time again, or whether to go it alone.

We know that being an independent (Indie) author can prove quite lucrative if it is done properly. I have learned during the past couple of years that all of those “overnight success stories” we hear about in the media are not necessarily accurate. The authors behind those successes have often spent years, anything up to a decade or longer, writing, publishing, networking and marketing before making their breakthrough.

I am at the point now where the idea of being an actual “proper” author is sinking in. I think we need to feel the lifestyle in order to project it. Up to now it has pretty much been a hobby that kept me entertained during my long days stuck at home nursing babies and preschoolers. Now my children are getting older, I am finding a bit more time to myself, and I must treat it like a job. Now I am developing my author brand. Exciting!

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!) 

Does Your Gender Affect Your Writing Success?

Here is a loaded question, and I would be very interested to receive some responses in the comments below. I am currently reading On Writing by Stephen King, and I have reached the section of the book where he tells us that if we are serious about writing, we actually have to do it. We cannot keep putting it off and blaming our life circumstances, our lack of free time, and all the other millions of excuses we come up with.

Now, I totally agree with that. But one sentence in King’s book struck a chord. He wrote that he was fortunate to have a “self-sufficient wife” and she allowed him to hide away and write whenever he needed to. They have children, and he wrote his novels and short stories since before they were born and throughout their lives. Did his wife shoulder the parental responsibility, and do all the boring, everyday essential tasks of caring for the children before he found fame and fortune?

I would say that I have a self-sufficient husband. In fact, he is so self-sufficient that I am often left at home with the children, and I do 99% of the household chores, nurturing, caring, doctors’ appointments, etc. My husband simply works, in a demanding job that takes him away from the family home for anything up to sixteen hours every day, five days a week. He then spends the weekends ‘catching up’ on his personal affairs, and sleeping because he so exhausted from working all week. But he provides the income, and I must accept that.

In order to follow Stephen King’s advice, I need to change that model of behaviour. My husband refuses to make his work hours more flexible, or even to book time off that he is legally allowed (that is a whole other saga!). He did recently have a pay rise, however. Our cashflow is not brilliant, but if I am to look at the bigger picture, I need some help with childcare. To that end, I plan to investigate the costs of childcare, and see what I can fit around preschool and school. Then perhaps I can find time to finish the manuscripts I have languishing on my hard drive, and finally get my career established professionally.

How do you fit writing in around family and work?

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!) 

Romance Novel Giveaways: The Redcliffe Series by Catherine Green ❤️ Freebie...

Hey folks, check out this awesome guest blog feature over on Romance Novel Giveaways! And if you haven't already signed up for your FREE vampire Tarot reading, do it now!!!

Romance Novel Giveaways: The Redcliffe Series by Catherine Green ❤️ Freebie...: This blog post contains affiliate links.  Click Here for details. Sally Frost is a mild-mannered NHS hospital nurse by day...

#PoweredByIndie – My Story, by Catherine Green (SpookyMrsGreen)

This month we are celebrating great writing self-published with Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing, Createspace, and Audiobook Creation Exchange. I ventured into the world of self-publishing earlier this year, when I tentatively released a solo short story, It’s Complicated (A RedcliffeShort Story), to be included as a freebie for my newsletter followers. The process was very simple, although time-consuming, but I did come away feeling very satisfied and enthused to try it again.

#PoweredByIndie on Amazon

A month or so later, I released a short story anthology on Kindle, My Vampire Boyfriend (A Redcliffe Short Story Anthology). This compliments my Redcliffe novels series that has been published by Mirador, and will tie-in nicely with the next 3 books in the series that I am currently working on. I haven’t yet decided whether they should be self-published or not. I am still trying to design cover art for them.

Eventually, I took the plunge and published a whole novel, The Vampire of Blackpool. This one had been doing the rounds with agents and small publishers and every time I received a polite “thanks but the book doesn’t fit our requirements” response. So I decided to self-publish it. I wanted a paperback and an eBook, so I used Createspace and Kindle Publishing. I realise that there are still improvements to be made with the formatting of my paperback, but I am satisfied for now that I have a good, solid, readable book to share with my fans.

Have you read my books? Are you published with Amazon? Come and share your experiences… 

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!) 

The Wolf and the Fairy - An English Gothic Fairytale #ASMSG

She is a werewolf hunter, descended from ancient fairies, destined to fulfill her role in the family business. He is a lone wolf, his family brutally torn away, revenge his motivation for existence. The fairy and the wolf come together in a violent union as this modern, adult fairy tale gives us an alternative account of life in ancient Britain, and how it has evolved in the present day.

Download your copy today over at Amazon; Barnes & Noble; iTunes;  Scribd and Kobo.

Inspired by the Seaside #amwriting

Ah, the seaside! Such a lovely place. We are fortunate to live within driving distance of many beautiful, sandy beaches along the British coast. Our favourite family destination is Talacre Beach in North Wales. It is dog friendly all year round, there is a quirky old lighthouse that always fires my imagination, and the beach is surrounded by sand dunes to explore. Every time we visit I come home feeling refreshed and invigorated. Wading into the shallow waves along the shore, feeling the cold sea water wash over my feet, I drink in the natural healing powers of the ocean. And then I walk across the soft sand, allowing it to warm my feet and tickle my toes. Bliss!

It is no surprise that most of my novels are set in seaside locations. TheRedcliffe novels, for example, are set in a fictitious holiday town in Cornwall. The location was inspired many years ago when we used to holiday down there at a friends’ hotel. I spent many hours wandering along the beach, exploring the working harbour, and climbing higher up to look out over the bay, all the while picturing my werewolves and vampires hunting around the area.

More recently I turned my attentions to a classic Victorian seaside holiday destination. Blackpool is a town with a chequered past, to say the least. It was established by the Victorians as a place to visit the sea, take in the fresh air, and revive the senses after long, hard days spent working in the industrial factories of the North of England. Nowadays, Blackpool draws in crowds of families, and it is a popular destination for hen parties and stag parties (I had my hen weekend there, years ago!). Read The Vampire of Blackpool for my take on contemporary English Gothic, and see what you think.

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!) 

The Authors that shaped my Writing

A question that has popped up lately is that of the writers that have influenced me in my work. Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) is a paranormal romance novel. Immediately I imagine many people will associate it with the recent Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I don’t mind this association because I expect the readers of this series to move on and read my own Redcliffe novels series.

My own personal influences came from other writers, and many of them not even in the paranormal genre. When I was a young child I read Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. Any serious child reader has to experience the joys of these authors. They are amazing! I was a huge fan of the Mallory Towers series and The Famous Five. I also read a few Secret Seven books but these were never quite as magical. But they all fired up my imagination.

And then there was Matilda, The BFG and the Witches. These were my favourite Roald Dahl books, closely followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. My husband has recently started reading Matilda to our daughter for her bedtime story, and once again I sit transfixed by the story. I adore the use of language, and Quentin Blake’s illustrations just finish the book brilliantly.

As I grew older I did find my way to the paranormal genre. It started with some Penguin classic ghost stories, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and a couple of anthologies of vampire short stories. Then I discovered LJ Smith. I read the Nightworld series, and I was hooked. The books described pretty much exactly what was happening inside my head, but from an American perspective.

It was Nightworld that really fired up my imagination and put the first stirrings of Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) in my head. Back then I would invent the story of a man who was a vampire, and a human woman who discovered his secret. Sometimes the heroine was the vampire. Eventually I discovered the Mason brothers and Jessica Stone, and the rest is history. In fact, I am very surprised at the way my story evolved over the years. It is as though the characters wrote it themselves and I translated.

Finally I discovered Anne Rice and her Vampire Chronicles. These books showed me that I could be controversial, and that it was acceptable to write about what was really important to me. I didn’t have to disguise my vampires behind senseless violence just so they would be accepted. And now, during the last decade, I have been reading the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton. 

All of these amazing authors leave me with a lot to be desired. But hey, eventually they must retire, and maybe by that time I will be experienced and decent enough to take the reins in the paranormal world. A girl can dream …

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!)