Camp NaNoWriMo Was Not as Planned #amwriting

Well, I did not succeed with my endeavours in Camp NaNoWriMo this year. Oops! I am not upset about it. This was my first attempt in the camp, and I chose to do it at a time when I was busy with other commitments. They included the April A-Z blogging challenge (which I completed successfully), and the fact that I am currently 6 months pregnant with my second child and I have a toddler at home.

The manuscript that is causing me so much stress and has sent my Muse into exile is still only progressing very slowly, but it is at least progressing. Yes, I only managed to write about 6000 words on it last month, but I still wrote around 1000 words per day keeping up with my blogs and other projects. I am happy enough with that.

I also have some excellent news to share! My editor at Mirador just confirmed she will publish my spin-off Redcliffe novel The Darkness of Love. This is a Victorian vampire story telling the tale of Marcus Scott who appears in my Redcliffe Novels series. I am very fond of Marcus, and he was insistent on me telling his story.  Now I just have to do some more edits on the manuscript and get it proofed for publication. Watch this space for a release date...

We Love Werewolves!

I have just finished listening to a radio show on Red Shift Radio entitled Werewolves with Hannah Kate on the Tim Previtt Show. The title caught my attention, so I decided to listen to the show when I had sufficient time. Hannah Kate is an academic from Manchester, UK, who has a particular fascination with werewolves in popular culture. She sounds like a very interesting lady, and one I will have to become acquainted with in the course of my professional career.

What is it about werewolves that we love so much? I have always been a self-confessed vampire lover, but more recently I am falling more in love with my werewolf characters in the Redcliffe novels. It was never intended. They just have this way of charming me, with their rugged appeal, raw sexual overtones, and playful behaviour. Werewolves in fiction are becoming much more popular, although I don’t think they ever really went away from the social conscience.

When I think back over the horror films I have watched and the books I have read over the years, werewolves were always horrific creatures with snarling jaws and sharp claws. They would transform from mild-mannered human beings into crazed beasts that literally ripped through anything in their path, and we were supposed to be terrified of them. Werewolves are a blatant representation of the human condition. How many of us bottle up our feelings, pretend everything is normal and happy, when really it isn’t? I think we all have a wolf lurking within us, the same as we all have a shadowy vampire hiding in the dark recesses of our human psyche…

I would also like to share details about a new anthology seeking submissions, for all writers of ghost stories. Check out the link for submission requirements.

*Image courtesy of FairieGoodMother at Deviant Art

Hump Day Hook #HDH Giveaway! – Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel)

Hello and welcome to the Hump Day Hook. This week we are feeling generous, perhaps with the true beginning of summer as we head into the beautiful month of May. Anyway, our Hump Day Hook bloggers are offering giveaways today! For my part I am offering a signed paperback copy of my newly released third book in the series, Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). Here is an excerpt, to give you a taster of what to expect from my adult paranormal romance series:

      Jack was silent beside me, concentrating on the road ahead.  His energy was still strong and the atmosphere inside the car was cool and angry.  He was angry with me; I knew that.  He was also confused about my powers and he was wondering just how strong and dangerous I would prove to be.  Jack couldn’t help but worry that I had hidden my true abilities from him and Danny in order to carry out some elaborate plan to assassinate them.  He hadn’t said as much, but I knew the truth.  My mother, Lillian, had visited me during the day, speaking inside my mind.  She had told me what I needed to know.  The Mason brothers lived in a state of perpetual alert for enemies.  They trusted very few people, and now I was teetering between the list of people they trusted, and people they were wary of.  Sighing again, I roused myself and shook my head, breathing slowly in and out to try and ease the pressure I felt in my chest. 

 Now for the competition rules. All I ask is for you to comment on this post and tell me why it is that Jessica (our heroine) might prove to be a threat to the safety of the Mason brothers. You can check out the details about the Redcliffe novels on the pages at the top of my blog, or on their dedicated website. You can also read the first book, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) free on Wattpad for a limited time only. Tell me why Jessica is dangerous, and I will award a free signed copy of Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) to the winner. If there are several correct answers, I will choose one at random. Good luck!

If you enjoyed this excerpt, why not pop over to our dedicated Hump Day Hook blog and get yourself some more freebies? We write about romance, love, science fiction, fantasy, erotica and everything in-between, so you are sure to find something that delights the senses. You can also find us on Facebook. Happy Humping! 

A Mysterious Case of Writers Block

I have just returned from a holiday. It was much-needed, and I was hoping to use my time to work on a manuscript that I have been limping through for about the last six months or so. I signed up to Camp NaNoWriMo for the first time this month, and set myself a target of 50,000 words. I already had 20,000 words written, so how difficult could it be? Quite a task, as it turns out. So far this month I have barely written 6000 words on the manuscript. But, I am not despairing yet. There is still time to perform a miracle!

My holiday took me to the west coast of Scotland, and a beautiful town called Ayr. I have never visited before, but looking at a few photos online piqued my interest. I was not expecting the town to be quite so large. In fact, I fell in love with the place! It has a fantastic sandy beach that stretches for at least a couple of miles. There is a harbour that we didn't get round to exploring, and I was curious to follow the rocky coastline and see what treasures could be found in either direction heading out of town. Unfortunately, with two toddlers in tow, it was difficult to explore properly.

My friend and I took our children to a family caravan park for a week, and we had a wonderful time. We went treasure hunting on the beach, the children rode their bike and scooter along the seafront, we found a fun indoor soft play centre for when it rained, and we spent the day at a chocolate factory. I took the opportunity to look around me at the scenery, and tried to picture what kind of supernatural creatures might run wild up there. Usually when I visit a place like that I am flooded with inspiration and my Muse goes into overdrive. Not so this week. I never once had the urge to scribble in my notebook, much to my dismay.

I was telling my friend about my dilemma one evening after I had tried to force myself to do some writing on my manuscript. The words are flowing, but in a stuttering and disjointed manner. Gone are the repeating scenes and sequences that fill my head until I write them down. My Muse seems to have emigrated! My friend then suggested perhaps there was an explanation behind my writer's block. I am currently six months pregnant, and my daughter is two years old. Oh yes, perhaps I am a little distracted! I hope that my Muse returns once the baby is born, but in the meantime I refuse to give up on my project. My vampire hunter story needs to be written, so I will power through until it is done.

Hump Day Hook #HDH – The Vampire of Blackpool

Today I will share just one more excerpt from my unpublished manuscript, The Vampire of Blackpool. This is an exchange between our protagonist, Meredith Hanson, and a vampire hunter she fought with on Blackpool promenade.

    “You will not defeat me, hunter,” I said, “I know all of your tricks.”
    He stared at me, and I refused to look away under his scrutiny.  Instead I stared back, showing him my glowing silver eyes and my gleaming fangs, wet with his blood where I had bitten and nipped him during our fight.  He licked his lips, his body tense beneath me.  I felt his confusion as his mental barrier began to weaken.  My smile widened and I leaned down, my lips a mere inch away from his.
    “You want me, hunter,” I purred, “Admit it.  You want me to kiss you, and you want to taste your blood on my lips.  I know how it works.  You are all the same.”
    I crushed my lips to his and he struggled to push me away, but not before he opened his mouth for me, and our tongues entwined for a moment.  Then he managed to force me back, and I stood up, laughing.
    “Mmm,” I murmured, “Delicious.  I will leave you to recover.  We will meet again.”
    Stepping back slowly and licking my lips, I gave him time to scramble to his feet.

If you would like to see more fantastic new novels from lots of different authors, check out our dedicated Hump Day Hook website and the Facebook group. There you will find anything from traditional romance, BDSM, erotica, sci-fi and fantasy.

*Vampire image courtesy of Pinterest

I'm Taking a Holiday!

Good day my friends! This is just a quick post to say I will be quiet on the blog this week, since I am off on a holiday (or vacation if you prefer). I will take the laptop, because I am taking the opportunity to do some research for a future Redcliffe novel...

I am visiting the Ayrshire coast in Scotland, and my friend and I will take our children for a daytrip to Glasgow while we are in the vicinity. It is the perfect chance for me to research a little about the location for the Mason brothers' undercover police job that took them away from Redcliffe just before they met Jessica Stone...

An author never sleeps as they say!

My novels are adult paranormal with equal amounts of dark romance and contemporary English Gothic. Sign up now for special offers and book release news.

*Image courtesy of Pinterest via Visit Scotland

Vampires and Lattes Online Today! #FreeBooks

Hello! Join the authors of the Vampire Book Realm live today in the Latte Lounge at Coffee Time Romance. We are hosting a spectacular event where you can find new books, new authors, and get your hands on some free novels and merchandise. Come along and join the fun now! Event runs until midnight 20th April.

If you catch me online, you might even get yourself a free copy of my third novel and new release, Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). Here's the blurb, just to pique your interest:

Adjusting to life with vampires and werewolves, Jessica Stone is learning about being a witch. Love is painful. Life is difficult. It is never boring.

Life has changed forever in Redcliffe, Cornwall. Jessica Stone used to be a normal, happy human. Now she is an angry, conflicted and confused witch. It all happened when she met Detective Jack Mason and his identical twin brother Danny. Jessica almost died twice, fell into a love triangle, and she became a murderer. Now she faces the ultimate challenge as she continues the fight to save the man she loves, while simultaneously struggling with her lust for his werewolf brother and their vampire friend. Can she survive, or will love finally end her life completely?