#AtoZChallenge - Coven and Ceremony

Today on the #AtoZChallenge I will talk about the development of belonging to a Coven as seen in my Redcliffe novels series. Originally, my novels were only going to tell the stories of vampires and humans. I was very narrow minded, and never even entertained the notion that other supernatural creatures might appear in the narrative. My Muse, however, was far wiser. She knew that wherever you have a vampire, you invariably find werewolves, witches, and other vagrant and mysterious creatures that live hidden within the human world.

We only find out about the coven in my third novel, Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel), when Jessica begins her study of witchcraft in earnest. She is introduced to a local coven by her witch mentor, Crystal. Jessica feels a little awkward in the beginning, because her vague knowledge of covens is that they are very secretive, hidden, cult-like entities. This is probably because the human world, or perhaps more specifically, Western civilization, has grown up with the fear of witches after centuries of propaganda and negative conditioning.

Photo Credit Witchcraft and Witches

In truth a coven is simply a family unit. Traditionally they consist of 13 members, because this is  believed to be a magic number with special significance. Coven members with meet up on sacred dates to celebrate the festivals of the pagan calendar. These include Beltane in May, to signify the beginning of Summer, and Samhain in October, to signify the end of the year and a move into darkness as the weather changes and the days are shorter. The coven will celebrate appropriately using music, chanting, singing and symbolic food. It is basically an excuse for a party, where you can be free and safe among friends. Jessica is getting to know her new coven mates as she celebrates the harvest festival Mabon in my fourth novel Eye of the Tiger (currently a work in progress).

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 Blood is the Life!

Many of you will recognise this famous quote from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Actually, when I read it or hear it, I very often think of the hilarious spoof movie, Dracula: Dead and Loving It. I can’t help it, I like the lighter side of the supernatural world. But that is a topic for another day. Today I want to talk about Blood. The blood is what drives a vampire to do what they do. They are motivated by the need to drink blood. They do not want or desire anything else. Blood is, for a vampire, the centre of their world.

When I think about bleeding, or I see something gory in a picture or on television, I am very often repulsed by it. And yet, for some unknown reason, I have always been fascinated by vampires. I know that vampires are supposed to be bad. I certainly do not subscribe to the recent Hollywood craze for sparkling vampires (you know the movies I refer to!). My Redcliffe vampires most certainly do not sparkle. They feed, a lot. They do not always kill, but the thought is always there. Jack Mason could very easily take the life of the woman he loves. Jessica has allowed him to feed on her several times, and the last one, in my upcoming novel Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel), almost went very horrifically wrong.

Photo credit Pinterest

Blood is a drug for a vampire. They thrive on it. They see the world more clearly when they feed. Blood and sex are very closely intertwined. It is that knife-edge between pleasure and pain, the fact that a person could so easily let it all go and indulge their deep, dark fantasies. Vampires act on this fantasy, this desire, when they feed on a human. And sometimes, if they get carried away, the human dies. That is a fact of life, and death. Blood is the link between the living and the dead. We humans seem to have a mixed response when we talk about blood. We know that we need it if we are to survive. Yet we shy away from it. We do not want to look at it, or talk about it, or deal with it. We take it forgranted. Vampires do not. They appreciate that the blood is the life…

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 - Attracted to the Alpha Wolf

It has been over 5 years since I began to write my very first novel, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel). Back then I was fixated on a love story between a human woman and a vampire man. But when I opened up my mind to Jack Mason, I discovered there was a whole lot more in his life. I met his identical twin brother, Danny Mason. Danny is a surfer. He is a police detective, partnering with his brother. They maintain law and order in the supernatural community. Danny is a werewolf. More specifically, he is Alpha wolf to the Redcliffe pack.

The Redcliffe werewolf pack are a mixed bunch. Most of the wolves are quite happily subservient to their master, living quiet lives in coastal Cornwall, pretending to be human, hunting with their pack in the dense forest high up on the cliffs of Redcliffe Bay. There are, however, a select few werewolves that are more forceful, more powerful, and potentially more dangerous to their kin, and to any humans or other creatures that get in their way. Danny Mason became alpha when he killed the previous pack leader. She was unstable, she lost control of her senses, and Danny did what he had to in order to protect his beloved pack.

Danny Mason is alpha werewolf. He is strong, he is not afraid to fight, and he expects to be obeyed at all times. This doesn’t sit well with Jessica Stone when she first meets him. She finds him arrogant, controlling, and even a little bit irritating. Their relationship takes a few sharp twists and turns during my second novel Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel) and my third novel Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). Jessica is in love with the vampire, Jack Mason. But then, she discovers her hidden abilities as a witch, and her ethereal animal familiar, the snow tiger, Suri.

Suri is a very proud animal. She is ancient, having lived in a sort of parallel world for who knows how many years. She surfaced when Jessica’s entanglement with vampires and werewolves called to her, telepathically. And now she is ready for action. Suri is strong, forceful, and she has fixed her desires on Danny Mason. She deems him worthy of her attention, but Suri is trapped within Jessica’s psyche, reliant on her witch for her voice, and her actions.  Suri likes to play games. Danny finds her exciting and attractive. His werewolf lieutenant, fellow alpha wolf Simon Bunce, does not.

Simon and Danny have a very special relationship. Simon is devoted to his master. He would die for Danny. He fights for him, and for the Redcliffe wolves, whenever the need arises. Simon definitely does not find Jessica attractive. She is his friend. But when she begins to play around with her newfound abilities and magic, it causes a rift, and their friendship is forever changed. Suri amuses herself by playing with Simon whenever she has the chance. And Simon blames Jessica for not controlling her errant tiger. It all comes together in a cacophony of conflict, as told in my upcoming novel, Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel).

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 image found on Pinterest; White tiger image found on Pixdaus

Countdown to the #AtoZChallenge 2015

It is that time of year again: the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Wow, that came around fast! And am totally unprepared for the event, not least because for some bizarre reason, I am working on the presumption that we are at least one week behind where we actually are. Does that make sense? So, for example, instead of me writing this  post on 27th March (or thereabouts), I believe I am writing it on the 20th (ish).

Whatever the reason, I completely missed the huge reveal party that many of my fellow A-Z bloggers joined in with on Monday. Have you heard about the April A-Z Blogging Challenge? I have been doing it for three years now (I think), and I find it great for networking and motivation. I love writing my blogs. I love interacting with my readers, and exploring other blogs about anything from writing, to photography, to lifestyle, cooking, business… the list is endless. My point is that blogging is a great way to widen your perspective, do some research, and just generally have a bit of educational fun.

And so to my theme for 2015: Last year I focused on lifestyle, specifically the theme of parenthood and what it means to have a young family. This year I want to celebrate more about me, Catherine, and my personal interests. But that automatically leads into my writing, because it is a part of me. I was recently looking through old photographs, and remembering my nights as a ghost hunter, and slowly I began to devise a theme. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the paranormal world. I would seek out ghost stories in the local library, watch X-Files on television, and write my university dissertation about vampires in popular culture.

I will use the #AtoZChallenge to write about all things paranormal, and how they manifest in my work. You will read about magic and mysticism, animal familiars, witches, vampires, werewolves, energy, and maybe a few more obscure entities that I can procure for your entertainment and interest. See you on the blog hop!

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!

Appreciate the Short Story; it is not so easy to Write

I have just begun to read an anthology of short stories by an up and coming UK British horror author. It is too early for me to comment on the book, since I am reading it mainly for the purpose of providing a review. Having only started it late at night, and therefore read about half of the first story, I am already intrigued and delighted. The story has hooked me in, and I went to sleep thinking about the new characters I had met, and the fate that might befall them. It even unsettled me, so I think we have the makings of a good horror story collection over here!

Buy the book here

This morning I was pondering the nature of the short story. I have reads thousands of stories over the years, and I always believed that I preferred a proper novel. I like to read a series of novels by the same author, once I have my favourites. I connect with the characters, the settings, the stories of each individual world. But then I realised that I have also been reading short stories throughout my life as well. Obviously, as a child I started with stories tailored for a young audience. As a teenager I moved into other genres and realms as my reading horizons broadened. And then, as an adult, the whole world opened up to me.

Buy the book here 

I do appreciate a good short story. They are very useful in this modern age, where everyone is busy, and nobody has the time to be still for more than a few minutes. You can read a short story very easily while on the daily commute, perhaps sitting on a bus or train. You can fit a short story in around your children. And with short stories, you can pick them up as and when you find the time to read. Personally, I read something at least once a day, mostly. But then I am a reader. It is part of my job. A good writer must always do the research from his or her peers.

What do you think about short stories? Do you read them? Do you write them? Please, do share your preferences. It is all part of my market research after all!

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!)