Support Small Business this #BlackFriday!

Are you looking for the best #BlackFriday deals this year? It seems more important now because of the pandemic, with lots of non-essential shops still recovering from lockdowns and restrictions here in England. These shops have had to increase their efforts to sell more products online, competing with big brands and established internet stores. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I believe in not over-commercializing holidays such as Christmas. However, I sell books for a living. If I don’t sell the books I write, I won’t make any money, and that could negatively affect my children and husband.

I propose a compromise: think about the small business owners, including indie authors, craft businesses, local produce etc. They rely on income from the sales of the stock that they lovingly create by hand. We should support those businesses. When I hear about #BlackFriday, my thoughts turn to Amazon. Well, they are made up of small business owners, like me, who rely on royalties paid via Amazon for the sales of our books. Amazon is not necessarily the big bad giant that some people believe. Most of the books published on Amazon will pay decent royalties to their authors, myself included. Check the names of the sellers when you shop, and you will find some small, independent retailers.

 

Why not search for alternative Christmas gifts for your friends and family? Find them a book written and produced independently by a local author. Try a CD or buy tickets to see a local musician. Or even search for some handcrafted bespoke trinkets, jewellery, furniture or bric-a-brac. The small business owners will be far more grateful for your custom and will make more effort to give you the personal customer service that makes you feel good about parting with your hard-earned cash. Thank you.

 

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The Wolf and the Fairy: A Contemporary Adult Fairytale

The Wolf and the Fairy is a contemporary adult fairy-tale that I submitted to a competition but was unsuccessful with. I did, however, really enjoy the finished product, and so here it is for the world to see. Please do leave a review and tell me what you think. Thanks!

Blurb

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 now

The Wolf and the Fairy: A Contemporary Adult Fairy Tale is available to download on Amazon US; Amazon UK; other digital stores - CLICK HERE.

 

Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

Vampire of Blackpool by Catherine Green

Here is an excerpt from Vampire of Blackpool, one of my passion projects that I birthed several years ago:

 

            “Meredith!” she called, hurrying over to me, “You came!”

            She held a glass of wine in one hand and a small clutch bag tucked under her other arm. I stood still as she approached, careful to keep my expression blank. She faltered a little as she realised I was not so excited about her presence.

            “Are you alright?” she asked uncertainly, “You look pale.”
            I had to smile at her sweet naivety, and she tried not to gasp as she saw my fangs exposed.

            “I am hungry,” I replied, “I have not yet found suitable food.”
            “Oh,” she said quietly, glancing around her, “Where do you usually, um, find food?”

            I simply stared at her, allowing my eyes to glow silver. She caught her breath, momentarily struggling with her desire to appease me, and her as yet stronger urge to repel me using her magic. I sensed the landlord approaching us before he spoke.

            “You know the rules, Meredith,” Paul said levelly, “No feeding in my pub. Take it outside.”

This was a snippet of conversation between the vampire protagonist Meredith Hanson, and her new friend and potential lover Samantha Morris. If you want to read more and indulge yourself in a little contemporary vampire romance, buy the book here. Vampire of Blackpool is the first in a new and developing series that I am calling my vampire hunter novels. Let’s see if I can return to my old manuscripts in 2021…

 

Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here. 

 

 

Compassion and Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel)

Since qualifying as a Reiki Master Practitioner I have been meditating on the daily precepts by which we live in reiki circles. One of these is: “Be compassionate to yourself and to others.”  This got me thinking, how does Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) deal with this issue? Do my characters feel compassion for each other, do they have strong decisive morals, or are they completely indifferent?

 

My heroine Jessica Stone believes herself to be an independent and compassionate woman. She does not show prejudice, she lives a good honest, hard working life, and she is friendly to everyone that she interacts with. But when she discovers that the man she loves is a vampire, and his brother is a werewolf, her morals go out of the window. In her confusion she experiences adultery, pain, heartbreak and terror.

Following her tumultuous experience after the revelations of the people she loves, Jessica is thrown into turmoil about her own feelings. Her friends and lover have betrayed her in the worst possible way. How does she continue? Her story is told in the sequel Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel). The title alone may give you some idea where this paranormal romance is heading.

Will Jessica show compassion and remain faithful to her vampire Jack Mason? Will she share herself with his werewolf brother Danny? Or will she leave them altogether, and make a clean break and a fresh start?

 

Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

 

Enjoy a Victorian Love Affair on Holiday

This summer isn’t turning out quite as we expected. Or maybe it is. Here in the UK we are “strongly advised” to stay local as much as possible and only take a holiday within our country. I am happy enough with the arrangement since I don’t crave anywhere exotic. I am just as happy on Blackpool beach as I would be anywhere else!

 

Perhaps you need some books for your summer reading selection. May I offer a suggestion or several? I know a rather cheeky, seductive vampire who loves attention, and you can find him in the Redcliffe novels series and in his own standalone novel and short story.

Have you met Marcus Scott? He is a millionaire playboy who first appears in Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), leaving a trail of chaos and confusion in his wake. He was never meant to be such a powerful character. But he is very persuasive, especially when he turns on the charm and fixes that icy blue gaze on me… *swoon*

 

You can find out more about Marcus Scott in the Redcliffe novels, a contemporary adult paranormal romance series set in Cornwall. And you can read the story of his human life in The Darkness of Love, set on a Victorian country estate in Hampshire. He also features in my spin-off short story, Christmas With the Vampires (yes, I know, totally out of season). Happy holidays!

Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here. 

 

Vampire Hunter meets the Vampire of Blackpool

I am looking forward to visiting my favourite seaside town, Blackpool, when pandemic restrictions are eased in the next month or so. For now, I share an excerpt from Vampire of Blackpool for your reading pleasure.

 

Excerpt

“I know you are up there,” the man said suddenly, and I stifled a gasp, crouching still and silent, “Come out and face me, vampire.”

He was a hunter. I knew immediately by the bitter tone of his voice, and the courageous nature of his words. For the first time in over seventy years, I was facing a vampire hunter who wanted my head on his sword. I felt nothing. I could easily dispatch of him. I had done so with all the other vampire hunters throughout the centuries. In the early years they truly believed in the power of crosses, holy water and garlic. At first these tools had caused a little discomfort, but I had learned to overcome them. Wooden stakes were still a problem. There was something about wood that simply disagreed with a vampire’s body. It was one of the few materials from which we could only heal at human speed, unless it pierced our heart, in which case it killed. We had the same problem with pure silver. The metal contained a natural repellent, and it worked for both vampires and shape shifters. We were still unsure of the reasons why. Our ancient texts and teachers believed it was all tied to the magic of the moon. All I knew was that I avoided coming into contact with wood and silver at all costs. 

The man paced a few steps in a tight circle, looking up to where I crouched in the shadows. He knew I was here. He was not about to give up. I found myself intrigued.  I could descend upon him now and kill him immediately. I would drop his body into the ocean, and nobody would be any the wiser. But I still smarted from Samantha’s attack earlier that evening. Despite my crazed feeding in the nightclubs, I felt weakened, exposed. I was also angry. How dare such a young upstart as her do that to me? I warned her that she was in danger, and still she pursued me. It was her fault.  She brought it on herself. The anger that had been bubbling just below the surface suddenly burst forward, and I hissed, leaping down from my perch and aiming for the vampire hunter. I landed on his shoulders almost immediately and he crumpled to the floor with a shout, sprawling in the soft, dry sand at the very edge of the beach. 

 

Buy the Book

Click here for more details and to buy the book. Welcome to my vampire hunter series!

Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

Book Review: Paranormal Warwickshire by SC Skillman

Here is my review of Paranormal Warwickshire by S.C. Skillman:

This is a delightful book that mixes local history with paranormal stories. The author describes local places of interest and includes snippets from Shakespeare plays at the beginning of each chapter as she connects the area with the famous playwright. There are eyewitness accounts of ghostly sightings, strange phenomena and other paranormal occurrences that leaves me wanting to visit the area again soon. This book belongs in every ghost hunter's personal library!

 

(I received a copy of the book for review purposes, views are my own)

 Warwickshire is a county stepped in the supernatural, as befits the county of Shakespeare and the many ghosts and spirits that he conjured up in his works.

 The towns and village of Warwickshire, its castles, house, churches, theatres, inns and many other places both grand and everyday have rich and complex stories to tell of paranormal presences.

 In this book author SC Skillman investigates the rich supernatural heritage of this county at the heart of England in places such as Guy’s Cliffe House, the Saxon Mill, Kenilworth Castle, Warwick Castle, St Mary’s Church in Warwick, Nash’s House in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Stoneleigh Abbey, as well as in the towns of Rugby, Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.

 She explores the spiritual resonance of each location, recounting the tales of paranormal activity associated with it and examining the reasons for this within the history of the place. 

Paranormal Warwickshire takes the reader into the world of ghosts and spirits in the county, following their footsteps into the unknown. These tales of haunted places, supernatural happenings and shadowy presences will delight the ghost hunters and fascinate and intrigue everybody who knows Warwickshire.

Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here.