#AtoZChallenge: U is for Unkempt

Posted on April 25, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

I think unkempt is a very appropriate word for me and my place in life right now. I am generally a rather tidy person, even though I am a creative soul. Traditionally we view artists and wordsmiths as being a little ditsy or disorganised.

Well, I am certainly disorganised, but I do like to keep a relatively clean and tidy house. I say relatively, because of course, I do have young children, a dog and a husband. Wherever they lead, chaos follows. It seems the natural order in our family.

#AtoZChallenge Badge U by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge U

#AtoZChallenge: U is for Unkempt

Sometimes our messy house really upsets me. Sometimes I feel so frustrated that I just want to throw everything out and have done with. Other times I look on our home with a fond sort of emotion, as I gaze at the unkempt and yet totally loving space that we occupy. I know that it won’t always be like this. Soon enough there will be no need for toddler toys, Lego sets, reams of colouring paper and the endless supply of broken crayons and felt tip pens with no lids. At some point I will be able to decorate and style my home in the way that I desire. But for now we live in a state of organised chaos. It is a working home. It is a home filled with love. It is all we need.

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

#MummyMonday Stay at Home Mom My Messy Home by Catherine Green of SpookyMrsGreen.com pagan lifestyle blog.
#MummyMonday Stay at Home Mom My Messy Home

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#AtoZChallenge: T is for Tea Break

Posted on April 23, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

I do love a good cup of tea! And I’m talking about good old fashioned English breakfast tea, served in a mug and strong enough to hit your taste buds in all the right places. Who here understands what I mean?

#AtoZChallenge Badge T by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge T

#AtoZChallenge: T is for Tea Break

I have sampled fruit teas and herbal teas in the past, and for a while I was a little bit addicted to Green Tea with a hint of lemon. I even stopped drinking ‘proper’ tea while I was pregnant with my first child, because I just didn’t want it anymore. I turned to coffee instead. Now, I am back to drinking tea, although the coffee has become a habit that I am struggling to break.

One thing is certain. I always have a mug of tea or coffee on the go while I am working on my computer. I usually drink about half of it before it goes cold, and sometimes I forget all about the drink until I discover it later that day, still sitting beside my computer as I run around after the children. Whenever we have a crisis among friends or family members, you can be sure that our first response is always “put the kettle on.” I think this is a distinctly British habit, but we find that procuring a mug of tea always helps to deal with a problem or situation. It just fixes everything, you know?

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

Discover Tea Flavours with Whittard affiliated with SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
Discover Tea Flavours with Whittard

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#AtoZChallenge: S is for Spiritual

Posted on April 22, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

The idea of being spiritual holds different meanings for everybody. Many people, when hearing the word spiritual, will associate it with religion.

I have learned that to be spiritual does not mean to be religious. They are two separate entities, although they do entwine very closely because they are such important belief systems for the people involved.

#AtoZChallenge Badge S by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge S

#AtoZChallenge: S is for Spiritual

I am a spiritual being, but I do not consider myself to be religious. Spirituality to me is something that we feel, deep inside, and that we can never truly describe to another person. It is deeply personal, very intimate, and very special. It is the essence of life that keeps us motivated, that encourages us to move around in our quest for various achievements in our human lives.

Why do we do the things that we do? What drives us to succeed with our passions, our talents, our desires? I believe it is this mysterious entity called Spirit. It is without form, because it exists within us all, but we experience it in different ways so that we can make sense of it. I see Spirit as a mist, ever present in our daily lives, encompassing everything that we are, and everything that we do. But I cannot explain what that is, or why. Do you know what spirituality is?

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

Selfie on Talacre Beach in North Wales by SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog. Copyright Catherine Green
SpookyMrsGreen in the Sea Talacre Beach


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#AtoZChallenge: R is for Role Model

Posted on April 21, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

When I planned the #AtoZChallenge earlier this year, I intended to write about role models in terms of my place in the world for my daughters and their friends. I am a role model to my children and their peers, as are all the other adults that they come into contact with.

If you think about it, we are all role models for somebody. We are role models to our children, to our friends’ children, even to our friends and peers of a similar age. Whatever we do in our lives is observed by others. Some will seek to emulate what we do. Others will seek to avoid making our mistakes as they perceive them. We owe it to each other to be the best role models that we can be.

#AtoZChallenge Badge R by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge R

#AtoZChallenge: R is for Role Model

In her true, irritating fashion, my Muse has decided that April is the perfect month in which to bombard me with the desperate urge to write. She is screaming in my mind, and she consumes my every waking moment with the need to write my stories. Who influenced me to write paranormal romance novels? My role models in the industry include Laurell K Hamilton, whose Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series completely blew me away. I am in awe of Anne Rice for her Vampire Chronicles, but I owe my career to L.J. Smith, because it was the discovery of her Nightworld series of vampire novels that set me on my path to genre writing.


Download your free copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) to explore the supernatural creatures in my fictional paranormal town in Cornwall. Thank you.

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

Text reads, "Free e-book download. LGBT werewolf fantasy story. Download Now." Image of a sexy man showing a tattoo on his chest staring at the viewer with a sultry gaze. Vampire and werewolf fantasy books for adults. 3D book cover image for "It's Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)" from the vampire and werewolf fantasy book series by LGBT fantasy book writer Catherine Green.
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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#AtoZChallenge: Q is for Questions

Posted on April 20, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

Why do I write paranormal romance novels? Why am I fascinated with supernatural creatures, especially vampires?

I do not know. I simply acquiesce to my Muse, and I allow her words to flow.

Right now I am immersed in a new novel called Hunting the Hunted. I cannot say when it will be published, as I have two more books planned for release ahead of it. I can tell you that the vampire hunters now have my attention, and here is a snippet from the work in progress, full of questions that will be answered in time.

#AtoZChallenge Badge Q by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge Q

Excerpt from Hunting the Hunted by Catherine Green

“I want to know why you came after me?” I replied, “And to ask you not to attack me again.”
Both hunters laughed at that, turning an identical set of green eyes to stare at me in wry amusement.
“You are joking?” Samantha said, “We came into town looking for you.”
“Why me?” I asked, “Why not my friend, here?”
I gestured to Lottie, who looked up from examining her fingernails, a curious smile on her lips.
“Yes,” she said, “Why not me? Am I not good enough to be hunted?”
The twins glared at her.

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

#WitchyWednesday Vampire feeding on her prey. Associated with book "Hunting the Hunted" by LGBT fantasy author Catherine Green from SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#WitchyWednesday “Hunting the Hunted” by Catherine Green

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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#AtoZChallenge: P is for Pagan

Posted on April 19, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

Early this year I decided to call myself the Pagan Housewife for the purposes of my blog. I felt like I needed something to encompass the subjects I write about, and since I write about aspects of daily life, my spiritual adventures, and of course, my books, then I needed something to reflect that.

I am pagan. It is a label I have only assigned to myself during the past five years, and it took a lot of deliberating, because I felt that to be pagan, I had to actively do something official, you know, like spell casting. Truthfully there is nothing I needed to do. I simply need to be.

#AtoZChallenge Badge P by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge P

#AtoZChallenge: P is for Pagan

Our world is crazy. Here in western society we are put through school and college, encouraged to go out and get a job, and we are taught to conform to all kinds of ideals and moral beliefs. There is nothing wrong with this system per se, but sometimes I feel it breeds a little too much insecurity. It is easy to see the rise in health problems within our society during recent decades. More people succumb to chronic pain conditions, and more people are admitting they have mental health challenges.

The pressures of modern life are simply too great. We forget to appreciate the world around us that Mother Nature created and continues to nurture. We forget to stop and admire the sky, the water, the ground, and even the air that we breathe. To be pagan is to live within the world as a nature spirit. I try to be mindful of my environment while doing the human things that I do every day. That is my version of being pagan.

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

A woman with short ginger hair wearing glasses and a floral top, standing next to a river beneath a weeping willow tree. Photo of Paranormal Author Catherine Green copyright SpookyMrsGreen.com pagan lifestyle blog.
Paranormal Author Catherine Green

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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#AtoZChallenge: O is for Out and About

Posted on April 18, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

Being a writer can be a very insular and lonely existence. We spend long periods of time scribbling in notebooks or typing on our computers, and we barely stop to glance out of the window.

Of course, being a mother of young children, I have to step away from the computer quite regularly. We spend a lot of time in the park, and we take our dog for walks by the canal near where we live.

It is all very good for the soul, being outside in the fresh air and embracing a change of scenery.

#AtoZChallenge Badge O by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge O

#AtoZChallenge: O is for Out and About

Another reason for me to get out is to share my books with the world. I have a life outside of the internet, and there are people who want to discover and read my novels. I want them to do so, but how to get those novels to those readers? Well, I have to take them out. I have started attending mind, body and spirit events in the Cheshire region, speaking about my experiences as a ghost hunter, telling people about my paranormal romance novels, and basically sharing myself with anyone who wants to talk. I love meeting new people, because they all bring new ideas for my future stories, and everyone has a history to share. I also visit libraries and work with the local council on arts based projects in my capacity as an author. Perhaps I will see you at an upcoming event?

New Novel: Vampire of Blackpool

I am launching my fifth novel, The Vampire of Blackpool, at our next event in Crewe, Cheshire. Download your free copy of It’s Complicated if you want a sample of my story style. Thank you.

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

A group of female authors at Sandbach Library in Cheshire, UK. From "Meet the Authors" event at Sandbach Library in Cheshire, UK. One of them is LGBT fantasy book writer Catherine Green of SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
Meet the Authors at Sandbach Library

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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My Kitchen Renovation Project: Trade Reviews

Posted on April 18, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

My kitchen renovation is complete and in this blog post I want to thank the local tradespeople that helped create my dream kitchen.

I would like to share a couple of local recommendations for the tradespeople that helped bring my new kitchen into fruition.

My Kitchen Renovation: Working with Wonky Walls! Local joiner Darren Sproston from DS Joinery Middlewich has the challenge of installing my new fitted kitchen in a small Victorian terraced house. SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
My Kitchen Renovation: Working with Wonky Walls

Trade Reviews

The biggest part of the job was completed by Darren Sproston of DS Joinery. He assembled and fitted all of our units, and I am in awe of how he managed such a feat when we took delivery of a pile of boxes, fixings and bits of wood on the appointed date. There was no way my husband and I could have sorted through all of that. We are not exactly DIY-minded, put it that way!

Anyway, after searching for someone local that could do the job for us, I found DS Joinery and booked him in. Darren was very flexible with the job, he worked well in a confined space (our house is rather small), and he was very accommodating to my children and dog when they kept ‘checking up’ on the work in progress. It’s the little touches that make the difference, I find, and DS Joinery is very much a family company that gets the job done properly, and for a reasonable price as well.

I also had to call on a local electrician to help install my new cooker. For this job I used Rick Duffy from RD Electrics, based in Winsford. He came and installed a new motherboard for our electrics just last year, and again he worked very well around my children and dog, which is important. He was efficient, prompt, and very reliable. I will not hesitate to call on both DS Joinery, and RD Electrics, for any future jobs that need doing.

Image of white gloss fitted kitchen from Magnet, aluminium splashback, gas hob in a small kitchen of a Victorian terraced house in UK. #LookAgain My Kitchen Renovation at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#LookAgain My Kitchen Renovation at SpookyMrsGreen.com

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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#AtoZChallenge: N is for Novelist

Posted on April 16, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

Being a novelist is a dream come true for me, quite literally. Of course, it didn’t come about in quite the same way that I imagined when I was a child.

Back then I saw novelists as mystical, magical beings that created these fabulous works of art through which I could escape the boredom of daily life. I didn’t think I was good enough to write stories that people would want to publish, let alone read. Evidently, I was wrong.

#AtoZChallenge Badge N by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge N

#AtoZChallenge: N is for Novelist

My first novel was published by Mirador, a small, independent press based in Somerset, England. They subsequently published my next two books in the series, which now form what I collectively call The Redcliffe Novels trilogy. They are the manifestation of a dream that began when I was around seventeen, after I had discovered the Nightworld series of novels, written by L.J. Smith. I wanted to write my own story, from a British perspective, of how vampires and werewolves might live among society over here in the UK. And I did. It took a little encouragement from my sister, but I got the novels written, and now they are published and out there in the big, wide world. Gulp!

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

Text reads, "Free e-book download. LGBT werewolf fantasy story. Download Now." Image of a sexy man showing a tattoo on his chest staring at the viewer with a sultry gaze. Vampire and werewolf fantasy books for adults. 3D book cover image for "It's Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)" from the vampire and werewolf fantasy book series by LGBT fantasy book writer Catherine Green.
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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#AtoZChallenge: M is for Mother

Posted on April 15, 2016 by SpookyMrsGreen

Being a Mother is my most important job. That might sound a bit cheesy, but it is absolutely true. I never saw myself as the maternal type, before I had children.

I had this vague idea that I would one day have a family, but I never considered the full implications. It is just something that people do, you know?

Well, I am learning fast that being a mother is bloody hard work, especially in a society that encourages you to spend time with your children, while simultaneously telling you to go and get a job.

#AtoZChallenge Badge M by vampire writer Catherine Green at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#AtoZChallenge Badge M

#AtoZChallenge: M is for Mother

I look at my own mother now and wonder how she did it all back when we were children. My mum has raised three children to be very independent spirits (my sister is a wandering hippy, and my brother is an adventurous entrepreneur). She had a successful career in middle management, moving from property sales into local authority social services, with a few odd jobs in-between when we were younger. And she is there for us now, whenever we need her, for advice and assistance, and babysitting. If I can be to my children what my mum is to me, then I will be a very happy mother!

And then there are my other babies; my beloved books and stories. Download your free copy of my LGBT fantasy short story “It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story).” Thank you.

See you tomorrow, for the next letter in the #AtoZChallenge.

Text reads, "Free e-book download. LGBT werewolf fantasy story. Download Now." Image of a sexy man showing a tattoo on his chest staring at the viewer with a sultry gaze. Vampire and werewolf fantasy books for adults. 3D book cover image for "It's Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)" from the vampire and werewolf fantasy book series by LGBT fantasy book writer Catherine Green.
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

Posted in #AtoZChallenge, #mummymonday, A-Z Blog Challenge, advertising, mother writer, pagan mother, parenting, Random Musings, working mom, working mother, working mum | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments