School is out for summer, hooray! We have been very busy during the past academic year, and both me and my girls are exhausted. Being a parent in general is exhausting, but when you have to do the school run every day, remember packed lunches, money for clubs, equipment and kits, and respond to the many letters that we receive throughout the year, you realise why we need a summer holiday. I never appreciated it before I had children. Now I do! But there is no rest for us.

Tomorrow morning we must be awake early to pack the car and travel up the M6 motorway to Blackpool, where I am attending Books on the Beach. Will I see you there?

School Summer Holidays

Here is a taste of one of the books I am exhibiting, Return of the Vampire Hunter, which was inspired by my work as a mother and wife during the past few years:

Excerpt from “Return of the Vampire Hunter” by Catherine Green

We were on the motorway and I was in the passenger seat. I had been passing food to the children in the back seat, and as I twisted back round to face forward, I glanced at James. My heart skipped a beat and then pounded heavily as the world spun around me.

“What is that on your neck?” I asked sharply.

James glanced at me and then checked his mirrors as he moved into the middle lane.

“What?” he asked absently.

“That,” I said, “On your neck.”

I reached across and gently touched the mark on his skin. It looked like two small, neat puncture wounds. A vampire bite. Shit.

James touched the bruise, winced, and then shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he said, “I must have cut myself shaving.”

“That is not a shaving wound,” I said.

He glanced at me again and frowned.

“Why are you so upset about it?” he asked curiously, “It’s nothing.”

I stared at the tiny wound as my whole world flipped upside down. Was it Elaine? Had she finally found me? Or was it another stray vampire? One thing was certain; I had to return to work. This one had to be destroyed before it came for my whole family. Gathering my senses, I shook my head and smiled.

“Oh, forget it,” I said lightly, “It looked more serious at first, that’s all. But, if it doesn’t hurt then it doesn’t matter. Can you see the sea yet, girls?”

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