Hi Catherine, and welcome to my blog. Thank you so much for allowing yourself to be forced persuaded to talk about yourself and your writing, it’s very timely as I know your new book The Vampire of Blackpool is released today. I have read several of your books and count myself as a fan, I particularly love the Redcliffe series, and I recently read The Vampire of Blackpool which was equally gripping, and I’d highly recommend it to everyone. So shall we get started?
Question 1: What kind of books do you write? When do you feel you went from aspiring writer to writer, and how did it feel?
I write British paranormal romance novels, although my books are now moving more into paranormal with some romantic and erotic elements. My fascination is vampires and vampire hunters, with a few werewolves, witches and other shape-shifters thrown in for fun.
I feel that I moved from aspiring writer to ‘real writer’ when I made the decision to quit my full time office job and get a part time shop job to work round. Then I got my first short story accepted for an anthology, and that was it. I was officially a real writer. The news came just before my wedding, and I still remember the evening when I read the email. I was elated, excited, and totally proud of myself!
And justifiably so! Question 2: What were your earliest influences? What did you read as a child?
My earliest influences were probably ghost stories that my friends and I told each other when we were at school. I remember our primary school auditorium had an old, high wooden stage at one end, and the dark, dusty spaces underneath were rumoured to be haunted. Then I heard the story of the famous Chained Oak Tree in Dimminsdale Woods near Alton Towers theme park (close to where I grew up), and that was it. I was hooked on folklore and ghosts.
As a child I read The Famous Five, the Secret Seven, and the Mallory Towers series by Enid Blyton. I read all of Roald Dahl’s children’s books. My favourite was Matilda. I read anything with ghost stories and a horror theme, although I never really got into the Goosebumps books for some reason. I did have a fondness for Point Horror books, remember those?
I absolutely do, although the Goosebumps and Point Horror ones cameout a little bit late for me, but my children loved them—still do actually. When I was a teen there were a lot of ghost story compilations by Aidan Chambers which we all used to read too, supposedly true stories, though possibly some were fiction as well.That brings me toQuestion 3: What are you working on at the moment?
Right now I am working on a manuscript tentatively titled Return of the Vampire Hunter. This is set near Manchester, and is the story of Hannah Oakley, a married mother of two that has to return to work for onelast kill to destroy the vampire that she fell in love with many years previously. Then there is book 4 in my Redcliffe Novels series set in Cornwall. That is called Eye of the Tiger, and is planned for release later this year.
I’m really excited to hear about the next Redcliffe novel! I suppose the next question kind of leads on from there.Question 4: What can we look forward to in the future from you?
I plan to work on some novels set in the North West of England that feature vampire hunters, and maybe even a few angels and demons. They haven’t decided yet… I also feel a strange draw towards erotic novels, although they will have a paranormal theme. My creatures are very passionate, and sex is inevitable when witches, vampires and werewolves come up against each other in power games and possessive disputes.
I’m interested in your comment ‘they haven’t decided yet’, and it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who sometimes feels their characters are the ones in control!
Question 5: Who are your favourite authors?
My favourite authors include Laurell K Hamilton (she is my role model), Anne Rice, Philippa Gregory and Roald Dahl.
Question 6: What do you do when you’re not reading?
Mothering! I have two daughters under the age of 6, and one daft dog that still thinks he is a puppy. They all keep me pretty busy while my husband is at work.
I always love to peek behind the scenes so I always ask this next question. Question 7: What is your writing process?
I tend to write at night, when the children are in bed. My days are filled with admin duties and housewife work, so I forgo an evening in front of the television, and I write my stories instead. If I am really hooked on a manuscript, I will simply write all day, breaking only for the school run and to feed the children as necessary. I sit in front of the computer and just let the words flow. Then I go back and edit. Sometimes, I find myself editing as I go along, but I try not to because it interrupts the creative flow. I also scribble snippets in notebooks when the inspiration hits, but now I have several notebooks with bits of stories scattered all over my house!
It sounds like hard work, but very rewarding. Thank you so much for ‘coming in’ to chat. Congratulations on the publication of The Vampire of Blackpool today. And I hope it sells brilliantly!
About Author Catherine Green:
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. Aside from the Redcliffe novels, Catherine has short stories published in YA anthologies, freelance articles on various industry websites, and contributes to her personal blog www.SpookyMrsGreen.com, and her author blog, www.CatherineGreenAuthor.blogspot.com.
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.
Catherine is currently working on several writing projects, although she is slightly distracted by her young family! Taking a short break from the Redcliffe novels, Catherine is currently preparing to release a contemporary paranormal novel called The Vampire of Blackpool, and then she will continue to develop the Redcliffe novels series, among other projects.
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.
ur earliest influences? What did you read as a child?
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