Words that tug on the heartstrings
1. Can we start with your name and where you’re from?
My name is Catherine Green, aka SpookyMrsGreen: The Pagan Housewife, and I am from Cheshire, UK. Originally, I come from the Staffordshire Moorlands.
2. Most authors love reading, is this true for you and if so who was/is your inspiration?
Of course I love reading, always have done! My early inspiration came from authors including Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. As I grew older I discovered Judy Blume, LJ Smith and Anne Rice. More recently my inspiration comes from Laurell K. Hamilton and her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.
3. What genre do you write in or do you cross over into many?
I write paranormal romance and contemporary English Gothic. My stories are primarily romance and stories about what happens when you fall in love, but my characters usually turn out to be supernatural or magical in some way. It just happens! I do have some humans in the stories as well…
4. If you could take any character from someone else’s book and make him/her your own creation who would it be and why?
I wouldn’t like to take on another author’s character, but I do admire Anita Blake from the author Laurell K. Hamilton. She is a heroine, but she has many flaws, and these are explored and even worked on throughout the series, which I think is important. I don’t like my book characters to be perfect, it gets boring that way!
5. When did you first start writing?
I have been writing since the first time I learned to form words. As a child I would copy out pages of prose from my favourite story books simply because I loved the act of writing, and the way my writing flowed across the page. As I grew older I wrote diaries (journals), and eventually I began to dabble in short stories and poems. My novel writing only began about eight years ago.
6. Do you plan every inch of your books or do you just let the words flow?
Oh no, I’m too impatient for that! I tried planning my first novel, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), and I still occasionally refer to my character notes and location details if I get confused with my current manuscript. But I am what we refer to as a “pantser” – I write by the seat of my pants, typing away furiously and seeing what happens. Then I tidy up the writing later.
7. Who is your favourite character and why? (your own character)
Hmm, that’s a tricky one because I love them all! Alright, I do secretly have a favourite: Marcus Scott. He appears in my very first novel, Love Hurts, and he was only supposed to be a minor support character. He is a vampire, friends with the Mason brothers, and he develops a fixation with my heroine, Jessica Stone (read the books to find out why!). Marcus Scott became very insistent while I was writing the first three Redcliffe novels, and eventually I gave in and wrote his story, which was published as The Darkness of Love. He became a vampire during the late 1800s, on the whim of his Lord and Master on an English country estate.
8. Was there an event in your life that triggered a particular book, or even a scene in a book? If so what was the book and what was the event?
My books are really a collection of memories and experiences with added supernatural twists. The main theme throughout all my stories is the entity of being in love, and what it means to love another person. I have a very passionate relationship with my husband and we have been together since we were teenagers. A lot of our personal drama has appeared in my novels in some guise or other, along with themes I have observed from my peers.
9. Are you working on anything at the moment? If so can you share any tasty morsels?
Oh yes, lots of things! Let me see… Well primarily I am working on the final three books in the Redcliffe novels series. Jessica Stone has transitioned fully into the person she was supposed to be, and now she and her spirit animal are learning their place in the Redcliffe werewolf pack.
In other news, I am working on a series of novels set in and around the North West of England featuring vampire hunters and their adventures. One is about a vampire hunter who lives on a narrowboat and takes on a hit that unravels some very deep, very dark and very surprising secrets about herself and her occasional work partner. If angels and demons are your thing, you might like to read this one…
I have a first draft of a novel about a retired vampire hunter who is married with young children when she is persuaded to return to her old job for one last target – the female vampire that almost killed her ten years previously. She must hide her previous identity from her husband in order to protect her family, but of course it never works out that way, does it?
And then we have Hunting the Hunted. This is almost ready for publication, and might even lend itself to a sequel, I haven’t decided yet. This one follows the story of a vampire called Frederick James who haunts the old tunnels beneath Manchester city centre. He is targeted by a group of hunters, but they struggle to capture him when he meets a witch who entraps him in a love affair before revealing the true nature of his intentions. This novel has strong homosexual themes and is a bit more experimental for me as a writer. I like it!
10. What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting out?
Always be positive. When you feel the urge to write, just do it, and don’t worry about the consequences. If you decide to share your work with the world then fabulous, but be prepared for a long and arduous journey on your quest for fame and fortune. Ultimately, we write because we have to. It is in our nature.
11. What do you do when you’re not writing?
Mostly I wrangle children! I have two daughters, one aged 6 and one aged 3, so they keep me busy. We also have a big soft dog and two pet turtles. When I’m not desperately trying to tidy my messy house, I like to indulge in hobby crafts, mainly card making. My current obsession is craft stamps, but I also enjoy decoupage. I am also a Tarot reader, and am doing a Tarot reading every day for my #365DaysofTarot challenge. I plan to compile a non-fiction book with the results when it is finished.
12. What is the hardest part of the whole writing, editing, marketing process for you?
Definitely marketing. It is such a complicated, huge and confusing task. Where do we start? Who do we advertise to? How do we advertise to them? I am still exploring this one, so I will get back to you with an answer eventually (I hope!)
13. We all have those friends or family members who make sweeping statements about our writing or the process, which is your particular bug bear?
I don’t really have a bug bear because truthfully my friends and family don’t discuss my writing all that much. We are often too busy being consumed by the demands of the children and whatever domestic crisis is taking centre stage. I sort of get on with it quietly in the background.
14. What is your idea of happiness?
Happiness to me is an equal partnership between myself and my husband, where our parental duties are shared and I am free to work on my craft without hurrying or having to stop for mealtimes and bedtime routines etc. You’ve probably guessed that I am still struggling to achieve that balance!
15. For this one I want you to showcase your creativity by painting me a picture, with words, of your ideal setting to write in.
My personal library is a room at the back of my house. It is average size, square, with French doors opening out onto a picturesque garden where colourful flowers bloom in the borders, and my children play happily on the lawn. I have a Victorian antique desk to the left of the French doors, on which sits my laptop, notebooks, printer and coffee mug. Two of the walls are lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, and in front of the Victorian fireplace sits a small, velvet sofa on which I can rest and read when I need a break. The polished floorboards are covered with a soft rug, and the colour scheme is a mixture of muted purples and greens.
How does that sound?
Lovely (me)
16. What makes you laugh/cry?
My children, my husband and my dog mostly.
17. You’re stranded on a desert island and you can take three men/women who would they be and why? This can be practical or purely sexual in nature.
Ooh, I haven’t thought about that! I might say I will just take my husband for now, because at least then I would get some quality time with him.
18. What is your most annoying habit?
Impatience! I cannot wait for things to happen, I always try and hurry them along. It doesn’t always work, and I am trying to calm down a bit and let things happen naturally.
19. Please tell me about your books?
Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) is about a young woman who runs a bookshop in Cornwall with her best friend. She falls in love with a local police detective and later discovers that he is a vampire, and that his identical twin brother is a werewolf. She is dragged into their complicated and dangerous lives, to her detriment, where secrets are told and lives are lost…
Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel) is book 2 in the developing Redcliffe series. In the quiet Cornish seaside town of Redcliffe, Jessica Stone recovers from an horrific werewolf attack and comes to terms with revelations that her lover, Jack Mason, is a vampire, his brother, Danny, the werewolf pack leader, and her best friend, Simon, is a werewolf. Add to that her discovery that she is a witch, and life is suddenly a whole lot harder than it used to be. Jessica has to fight for her own life and Jack’s when faced with his jealous vampire master who wants her old lover back. But things are never easy, and a vampire master is not so easy to defeat…
Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) – 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?
The Darkness of Love – Lord Gregory Stockton is a powerful and respected businessman embracing the modern era of the Victorian industrial revolution. He has a grand and beautiful manor house complete with a repertoire of servants, and his young wife is charming, attractive, and the perfect lady to his gentleman. The only thing they lack is an heir to the family estate. Lord Gregory knows he can never produce a child, for he is a vampire, although his wife and servants know nothing of his secrets. There are other ways to provide heirs for his estate, however, and Lord Gregory has noticed the romantic attraction between his wife and the young stable hand Marcus Scott. He hatches a plan to bring the would-be lovers together, and then cruelly tear them apart as he continues to build his empire and secure his power base in the south of England. The humans are pawns in the vampire’s game of lust, love and control.
The Vampire of Blackpool – 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?
My Vampire Boyfriend: A Redcliffe Short Story Anthology – The pretty seaside town of Redcliffe in Cornwall is a popular location for holidaymakers during the summer season. It has good waves for surfing, good pubs for socialising, and a vibrant tourist industry. It is also home to a hidden werewolf pack, and several vampires and witches, who all live within human society, pretending to be just like the rest of us.
Bookshop owner Jessica Stone used to be one of those humans. Then she met Detective Jack Mason and his twin brother, Danny. They took her on a wild adventure that shows no sign of slowing down. Now she is deeply embedded with the vampires and werewolves, and learning the power of their lust, and a magnetic attraction that is just too hard to ignore. She is also learning about her own true heritage, and how to feed her desires and satisfy her powerful animal familiar that resides within.
This anthology contains adult themes, and scenes of a sexual nature.
20. Lightning round
Tea or Coffee? – Coffee
Cash or credit? – Cash
Cats or Dogs? – Dogs
Beach or Mountain? – Beach
Summer or Winter – Spring!
Sweet or Savoury – Sweet
Early riser or late riser? – Late riser
Morning or Night? – Night
Christmas Tree – real or fake? – Fake
Sex – Lights on or off? – Lights on!
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions.
Please leave Facebook, Twitter, Website links so we can check you out further.
Author of British paranormal romance series The Redcliffe Novels, Catherine Green was raised on books from a young age, and has happy memories of Saturday mornings spent in her small local library, devouring the contents of the shelves. Catherine has always been fascinated by the supernatural world, and it feels natural for her to write about vampires, werewolves, witches and other mystical creatures in her contemporary stories.
If you sign up to Catherine’s newsletter, she will send you a free copy of her Redcliffe short story, It’s Complicated, to introduce you to her fictional supernatural seaside town in Cornwall, England.
More recently, Catherine released her contemporary English Gothic novel, The Vampire of Blackpool. These novels will show you the darker, sexier side of our favourite British seaside resorts!
You can find Catherine in the following places:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpookyMrsGreen
Author blog: http://www.catherinegreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter page: https://twitter.com/SpookyMrsGreen
The Pagan Housewife Blog: http://spookymrsgreen.com/
There is a growing trend in society to believe that books should be free or heavily discounted and we have all been guilty of feeding into it. I pick up freebies but I am also happy to pay for the books I want. Maybe I can’t get all the ones I want but hey isn’t that just life? I see lots of clothes I like and I might be able to pick up a new dress for a special occasion or a new pair of jeans because my old ones have holes in where no self-respecting forty-something wants holes but I can’t buy every item that my heart desires. Certainly not on my non-existent income as an author. Just as well I have a full-time job that stops me from being a starving artist languishing in a garret with only bread and water to sustain me. My day-time job takes up a huge portion of my week and often leaves me drained but from somewhere I have to find the time for my passion which is writing. My dream would be my writing to take off and be able to write full-time but alas that can’t be at the moment.
Everyone of us has had people who ask for a free copy, I’d like to quote my friend and fellow author Chris Turnbull “erm No! There is no such thing as a free copy…even I don’t get a free copy and it’s my book.”
We do have a free copy on our computers, sure and we can send it to our Kindle device but if we want a print copy of our book, we have to pay – the proof copy isn’t even free. But let me tell you a bit more about what we’ve paid for: A beautiful cover, a feast to the eye, to tempt you, an editor to shape our words and spot mistakes and inconsistencies. And let’s be clear on this my editor and cover designer, both wonderful women who are also authors won’t accept it if I ask them to provide their services for free–which I wouldn’t do. Some people pay for marketing and do promotional giveaways.
I have three novelettes on the market at the moment and a pending novel (having the red pen treatment). A novelette is small, doesn’t require the same time frame to write it but I still used my time and I still paid for the above items. Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of my first novelette ‘As Dreams are Made on.’ Based only on the cover and editing alone I have lost £36.00 on it. So to recap, two years on and with 104 kindle sales and 16 paperback copies I am still in the red. I haven’t set my price high 0.99p/c because it is a short read. An hour or so of entertainment for under £1.00/$1.00 but still people want it for free. You could argue that if they like it they might buy one of my other books and yes that is true but lets also go back to the earlier paragraph where I acknowledged that I can’t buy all the books or clothes I like. So maybe it would generate sales–but maybe not.
Books aren’t just entertainment they are often an escape from reality –a reality that many people find challenging so given the duality of the product why do we question its value?
I’ve got an experiment for you to try (I won’t do it myself as I previously mentioned my busy schedule 🙂 )
Walk in to or phone your hairdresser and ask them if they will give you a free haircut.
Ring your garage next time your car needs a service or MOT and ask them to do it for free
Who loves having their nails done? Manicure? Pedicure? Facial? Let’s see about this freebie
The list is endless.
I would love to hear back from anyone who gets a freebie. Good luck and happy hunting.
But for this author who works endlessly and pays for the services I receive the only freebies I will consider are those that I choose to give for a promotional event which will require your participation.
For anyone who believes that authors should be paid for their work please leave a comment in support and it you are so inclined please share it with the hashtag #Booksarenotfree let’s get it trending.
If you are interested in my books follow the links:
US: https://www.amazon.com/Maria-Gibbs/e/B00SDDJV1U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maria-Gibbs/e/B00SDDJV1U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
If you want to know more about my books have a look at the other pages on this website. You can even see the reviews that I have left for the books I’ve read recently.
1.Can we start with your name and where you’re from?
I’m Laura Morgan, originally from Essex but I now live in the West Midlands.
2. Most authors love reading, is this true for you and if so who was/is your inspiration?
Oh absolutely. I love reading anything dark and powerful. I found there was a real gap in that market a few years ago and that was what inspired me to write my first dark novel. They say if you can’t read the book you’re trying to find, then you have to write it, and that’s exactly what I did!
I do have a few big influences though. JR Ward is one of my all time favourites, as is Pepper Winters and Colleen Hoover.
3. What genre do you write in or do you cross over into many?
I’m one who crosses over. I have a dark paranormal series, a contemporary romance duology and a crime novel coming out soon. I also write dystopian science fiction under another pen name too. I just write what comes to me, regardless of genre.
4. If you could take any character from someone else’s book and make him/her your own creation who would it be and why?
I’d have to say Rhage from the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I’ve always had a thing for the bad guy with a heart and he was the one character who stayed with me long after reading about him. I’d love to take him and make him my own. To pop him in my worlds and see what happens!
5. When did you first start writing?
I’ve always made up stories since being a child, but I only started properly writing them down around four years ago. I hadn’t even realised that coming up with stories in my head wasn’t what everyone did. I figured it was the norm to conjure up characters and storylines, but got the shock of my life when I realised that wasn’t quite the case. That realisation gave the push I needed to finally put pen to paper.
6. Do you plan every inch of your books or do you just let the words flow?
Both really. I plan some, usually at night while I tell myself a story to fall asleep. Then the next day, I type up what I came up with and then some more.
7. Who is your favourite character and why? (your own character)
My favourite character has to be Cate, the Dark Queen in my Black Rose series. She’s dealt some pretty bad cards in the first book and is pushed in directions she doesn’t want to be, but then she finds her strength and turns it all around. She becomes a force to be reckoned with and I absolutely love her for every moment of it.
8. Was there an event in your life that triggered a particular book, or even a scene in a book? If so what was the book and what was the event?
Not really. There are a few real moments I have added along the way. Secret scenes only those who know me really well will spot, but most of all I will see a real-life scenario and ask ‘what if?’ That’s what makes it into the story rather than a real event as such.
9. Are you working on anything at the moment? If so can you share any tasty morsels?
I’m about to release a new story called Rough Love. This one is a modern day tale of both the good and bad in our world. A world where love can conquer all, but at the same time the monsters can also win a few of the battles along the way. It’s a contemporary crime with elements of romance, but fundamentally it’s a mystery and a dark one at that!
10. What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting out?
Don’t get too swallowed up in sweating the small stuff. Just sit down and write. Blurt out an initial draft and don’t give up. It’s better to have a rough draft you can work on a million times than nothing at all.
11.What do you do when you’re not writing?
I love to sing and am part of the Military Wives Choir, through which I’ve had some great opportunities to sing with famous artists and even go on the radio with the amazing Chris Evans. I’ve written poems and songs for them as well and hope to have even more input as time goes on. It’s something I hadn’t thought I’d love so much when I started out doing but now couldn’t live without!
12. What is the hardest part of the whole writing, editing, marketing process for you?
The marketing. I’m too nice and don’t like to bombard people or shove my cards under anyone’s nose I find. I’m awkward like that, but I guess it comes with the territory or being a loner who sits in front of a computer for hours on end talking to imaginary people lol!
13. We all have those friends or family members who make sweeping statements about our writing or the process, which is your particular bug bear?
Because I write romance, the amount of people who tell me random stories about their lovelife is unreal! But then they almost always follow up their story with a, ‘but don’t put that in your book!’ Really?! I think you fail to comprehend the complexity of the writers’ imagination if you think I’m going to put you in my next book 😉
14. What is your idea of happiness?
Being able to write and do what I love for the foreseeable future. I truly love what I do and would adore being able to write full time. My family are incredibly supportive and it’d also be amazing not to have to sacrifice my family time so much.
15. For this one I want you to showcase your creativity by painting me a picture, with words, of your ideal setting to write in.
I love to sit down in my nice and warm writing cave with my coffee brewed to perfection and perhaps a biscuit or two for dunking. Next, it’s on with the writing playlist and I choose whichever one ties in with my current piece of writing. With (ideally) no distractions, I then close my eyes, focus on the story, and begin to type. The words are then not simply black and white symbols on a page, but the narration of the movie playing out in my head. They flow perfectly and only stop when I say so…
16. What makes you laugh/cry?
I’m a sucker for love. I cry at the sweetest of stories and the heart-warming ones. Laughing wise, I’m like a twelve year old. A good fart joke or someone falling over will get me giggling every single time!
17. You’re stranded on a desert island and you can take three men/women who would they be and why? This can be practical or purely sexual in nature.
I’ve got a serious fan-girl situation going on with a singer/writer called Corey Taylor so he’d be first on my list for shooting the breeze, singing together and having some fun (he also comes across as a hilarious guy.) After that, I’d have to go with some eye candy—the one and only Tom Hardy. He’s a great actor and has been the inspiration behind many of my leading men so he’d have to come along to keep on inspiring me 😉 Then, I’m thinking some more eye candy and my other inspiration, Henry Cavill. He seems so nice and gentlemanly, but also like he’d fun and perhaps let me ogle him while he’s swimming and hunting 😉
18. What is your most annoying habit?
I don’t think I have one really? My hubby might tell you differently though, but I do know I can be quite annoying with grinding my teeth at night. I sometimes wake myself up with the noise it’s that bad, oops!
19. Please tell me about your books? For each one please send a pic (kindle cover would be perfect)
I have quite an extensive collection now! The Black Rose series is my dark paranormal collection. They have angels and demons galore, and of course all the dark deeds you might expect given the setting. I cover controversial and taboo subjects, as well as the age-old concept of balance between the worlds of light and dark. I drag the reader kicking and screaming through both the good and bad in this and other worlds.
My contemporary romances Forever Lost and Forever Loved are set in the real world, but one just as dark in its own way. You have hookers and gangsters, but also the story of a young woman who’s overcoming her own history via their world. Plus, you have a hot alpha lead you cannot help but fall in love with haha!
With my science fiction, I wrote from another perspective. One of a futuristic society where the human race is no longer in charge of the earth. Following an alien invasion, the series begins with the story of a young woman who has been brought up under their reign, but she has a bright future ahead of her, if only she can overcome the obstacles in her path first.
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Maria Gibbs 