Love Hurts; Love Kills; Love Redeems - Happy Valentine's Day! #amreading

I never understood the concept of being in love.  It always seems like such a big deal and yet everywhere you look you see people getting their hearts broken, scorned women and cheating men.  Practically every TV show, film or novel has some sort of love theme running through it.  People thrive on relationships; they chase each other for romance, for excitement, or simply to be together.  They argue, fight, make up, and break up. I have seen a lot of people hurt by love and then I have seen a few people who are happy with it.  The whole subject confuses me, it frightens me, and because I don’t understand it, I don’t miss it and I certainly don’t chase it.

  

Don’t get me wrong; love must be worth fighting for because everyone always seems to be chasing it.  But not me.  No, I decided after my parents died and my family abandoned me that I would look after number one before anyone else.  Then I met Liz and developed love of a different kind, love for my best friend, my sister.  I made an exception and vowed to always protect her no matter what.  But when it came to men, not a chance.  I wasn’t interested.  I didn’t need romance, and I didn’t need a relationship.

  Then I met Jack Mason and his brother Danny.  All of my carefully built defences came crashing down around me.  Love is dangerous and painful.  Love is confusing and exhausting.  Love will get you killed.  Yet despite everything I find myself going back for more, unable to break free of this trap.  My life was normal and happy and successful before I met the Mason brothers.  Then they showed me what I had been lacking and what I needed to truly be fulfilled.  So let me tell you the story, about a picturesque seaside town in South Western England, and the secrets of its seemingly innocent inhabitants…

***You can now purchase Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) for just £0.99 on Kindle!*** 

The Redcliffe Novels are widely available in both paperback and ebook formats.

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 

Back to Basics with my Writing Process #ASMSG

When it comes to writing my stories, I have always used the computer for the whole process. I love notebooks, and I have a growing collection littering the house. I use these to jot down snippets of conversation, inspiring lines from songs, and ideas for new stories as and when they hit me. But the actual writing, of paragraphs, scenes and descriptions, is all done on my computer. I had thought that this made sense because it was quicker and easier. And that is true. But there is a certain charm to using good old fashioned pen and paper.

Last night I was reading the February edition of Writing Magazine. I am once again way behind on my reading of this publication, mainly because I am so busy being distracted by the children and my domestic responsibilities. And reading books. And surfing the social networks. OK, I procrastinate. I am a writer. It’s what we do. Back to the story. I saw an advert for one of the monthly short story competitions, and an idea came to me of what I should write. But the deadline is in three days, and I only had today to get it submitted, because of the aforementioned distractions. So, I decided to do something different.

I surprised my husband by going to bed at the same time as him for once. But I also took my magazine, my notebook and a pen. I left the computer switched off and out of the way. My toddler chose that exact time to wake up crying, but after a slight delay of around forty minutes, I was good to go. I tucked myself up in bed, propped the notebook on my knee, and started writing. It felt wonderful! Such an exhilarating and freeing experience. I wrote about half of the story before I got tired, and then I typed it up and finished it this morning after the school run. I am so proud of myself! In fact, I plan to do the same again, with another story competition. The notebook is brand new and ready for use. And so am I.

Do you prefer to write your stories on paper before you type them up? Or are you a computer advocate all the way? Please, do share your experience. We writers are a fascinating bunch when you think about it…

9 Awe-Inspiring Bookstores Around the World

Wow! These are most definitely on my list for future holidays! 9 Awe-Inspiring Bookstores Around the World

Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel) by Catherine Green #ASMSG #Vampires

This is the ultimate love triangle between a witch, her vampire, and his werewolf alpha brother. And did I mention, the brothers are identical twins? Super charged paranormal action set in the heart of the English Riviera, Cornwall

Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel) available on Smashwords, Amazon, and in all good bookshops everywhere.

How to work when you have Children

This is the ultimate conundrum, isn’t it? Especially if you are a woman. Yes, I said it. I put it out there! In our enlightened twenty-first century society, women are still struggling to have careers and make a success of their professional lives. Don’t get me wrong, there are millions of success stories. Behind every female CEO, entrepreneur, famous creative type, there is usually a family demanding her attention. How do they do it? How do they manage to nurture their children, support their husbands and partners, and still give the necessary time and energy to their business? I don’t know.

But I have an idea. I think mostly these women simply do not sleep. And perhaps some of them have more external help than others. I mean, I cannot do it right now. I want to make a success of my writing business. And by success, I mean I want to be a famous author. I want my books to sell in their millions. I want to actually earn money from my book sales, and a decent amount of money at that. I want a regular, sustainable personal income, so that I no longer have to be reliant on my husband. And then maybe he can be more relaxed because he won’t be worrying about money quite so much. Ah, that would be bliss…

Read Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) today

So how do I get started? I am in the very fortunate position of being able to stay at home with my children while my husband goes out to work. I am the housewife and mother. And I never thought that I would ever be in this situation. I always had a vague notion that when I had children, I would put them in nursery school while I went out to work full time. But you know what? I don’t want to do that. Why should I pay someone else for the privilege of raising my children, when I am perfectly capable of doing the job for myself? So, I swallowed my pride, ignored the indignant voice of my ego that demanded I should go out to work and ‘be a successful woman,’ and I accepted my role in the home.

I still struggle with it. Right now I am feeling guilty because I haven’t done any writing or promoting for two weeks. If I don’t talk about my books, nobody else is going to. I am all alone here, in this big wide world, where everyone is shouting to get noticed, and it all becomes a blur of sound and colour, much like a busy rain forest I imagine. Tomorrow I return to work, after a fashion. My eldest daughter will be at preschool, but I still have the toddler at home, and she keeps me very busy. And now I have the task of continuing to clear out my house and make room for new toys after celebrating a birthday. Maybe one day it will all fall into place…

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!) 

Why I Love Anita Blake. Yes, that includes all of the sex!

I came across an article recently in which another reader was expressing her blatant disgust at the turn of events in the Anita Blake, vampire hunter series of novels by Laurell K Hamilton. I was actually quite surprised with the vehemence of her words. But then I stopped and thought about it. Everybody views the world around them differently. And evidently, some people, and that includes loyal fans of the Anita Blake series, have fallen out of love with our favourite feisty vampire hunter.

Why would this be? Well, basically, it seemed to happen at the time when Anita Blake gathered several metaphysical animal powers, and when she took time to develop her magical abilities. Then she realised that she actually needed to have sex. She couldn’t survive on violence alone. And she fell in love. On the face of it, that can sound quite amusing. When would anybody need to have sex? More frequently than you imagine, I think. Sex and love are intertwined, and that can be both a blessing and a curse for many people.

It all began with Guilty Pleasures 

When I first discovered Anita Blake, ooh, about twelve years ago, I fell in love instantly with her. I truly admire Laurell K Hamilton for continuing and persevering with her vision. She took many years to have her novels noticed by the big publishing houses. She never gave up. And now she has a series that is still going strong, and it has been republished in many formats, including comic books. I liked Anita Blake because she was a new kind of heroine back then. She was tough, she could fight, she could stand up for herself. And she didn't need love.

There it is. The Anita Blake series started out as more of an action-horror genre story. There was lots of violence, blood and guts. She raised zombies, she worked magic, and she killed vampires. But then she fell in love with a vampire. And a werewolf. And several other creatures. I think this is where people began to lose interest. And I personally think that is a very interesting observation on the nature of human beings today.

Photo credit Laurell K Hamilton

Why do we find it more acceptable to experience violence and pain than we do to experience love and sexual pleasure? Why is sex such a taboo subject of conversation, even in today’s modern, enlightened times? I don’t know. I enjoy reading about Anita Blake’s softer side. I like to see her having fun, relaxing and not being stuck in yet another fight to the death with some evil force or other. And yes, I even understand how she can be in love with more than one man (and woman). And I will continue to read the series for as long as Laurell K Hamilton continues to write it. She gave me the confidence to write my own novels, and for that I am eternally grateful.

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!) 

*Anita Blake image courtesy of Laurell K Hamilton