Christmas is a very strange time of year for many people. While the world seems to revolve around manic present buying, party planning, meal preparation and house decorating, some of us feel sad and out of sorts. We find the time to think about the year that has passed, and sometimes we need a little help and guidance to move forward and make sense of our feelings.
If you are one of these people, and you would like some spiritual guidance, I am pleased to share this amazing competition. You can win a FREE 1 Hour Psychic Reading courtesy of Psychic Light.
Psychic Light Competition
Win a FREE 1 Hour Psychic Reading
All you need to do is click this link, read the entry details, fill in the online form and there you go, one competition entry complete! May you find the guidance and peace that you so desperately need, and remember it is OK to feel vulnerable. We all need a little help sometimes. Simply ask, and you will find what you need.
The competition closes at midnight on 19th December 2016. Check back on the Psychic Light website or on their Twitter or Facebook pages, to see the winner announcement. Have a merry Christmas, whatever your current situation in life.
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.
How do you feel about the #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday phenomenon? Let’s face it, we can barely avoid the hype in this day and age. It is how we have evolved in society. I have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, I believe in not over-commercialising 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.
“Christmas with the Vampires” by Catherine Green. An Edwardian vampire short story.
Support Small Business for #BlackFriday!
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 myself, who rely on royalties paid via Amazon for the sales of our books.
Why not search for alternative Christmas gifts for your friends and family? Find them a book written and produced independently by a new author. Try a CD by a young 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.
Victorian vampire romance novel “The Darkness of Love” 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.
I might have mentioned previously that this month is National Novel Writing Month, or #NaNoWriMo. I have signed up to the challenge and am currently 25k words into my 50k wordcount challenge. I have done this almost every November since 2011, and have succeeded.
This year I have added an extra element to my 50k writing challenge. I am now doing #365DaysofTarot. I plan to do a Tarot reading every day, starting on the 1st November 2016, and ending on 31st October 2017. I have a special notebook for the task, and will use different Tarot decks from my collection, depending on my mood and my intuition.
Eventually I plan to write a non-fiction book about the Tarot readings, to serve as a guide for students, and a guidance tool for spiritual seekers. How does that sound?
#NaNoWriMo 2016 Participant LGBT fantasy book writer Catherine Green
#365DaysofTarot Tarot Card Reading
Today I share a daily Tarot reading from my #365DaysofTarotchallenge. Please do comment below if you have any questions or you draw different insight from the cards.
1, Three of Wands – Journey
You have the choice to stay where you are and build your dream, or chase another dream into the unknown. Perhaps you should continue building, for now. You can chase another dream later.
2, Four of Pentacles – Pride
Look at how wealthy you are! Yes, it is wonderful, but now you might benefit by sharing your wealth with those in need. Then you can reap even more rewards later. The wealth in this instance represents knowledge, rather than money or material items. Share your knowledge and experience with those around you, and see where it takes you.
3, The Moon – Shadows
Dark things lurk in the shadows. You of all people should know this. For you, those dark things are guides. Follow them, listen, and share their wisdom with the world.
#365DaysofTarot Tarot reading by professional Tarot reader 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.
My exploration in new tea varieties is progressing very nicely as the season grows colder. Indeed, I am so very cold these days, that I don’t want to drink anything other than warming tea or coffee.
Read this article to see which varieties of tea and coffee I have sampled recently.
#ProductReview Pure Chimp Matcha Super Tea
One of my favourites is by Vintage Teas, and I found it at Approved Food, my favourite discount grocery shop. The black tea with ginger is warming, refreshing, and easy to drink, and I can’t get enough of it! Fortunately, it is cheap enough to stock up supplies.
I also recently tried Pure Chimp Super Tea. Now, that one is rather unusual. When I prepared the drink, it looked, shall we say, unappetizing. It was basically green sludge. But, I knew that it had cleansing and healing properties, and I want that to tie in with my reiki self-healing treatments, so I gave it a go. The guidance advised to mix a little honey in with the drink to sweeten it, but I didn’t have any. Instead, I dropped a little chunk of lemon in the mug, and it seemed to work. It wasn’t my favourite drink, but it wasn’t the worst, either.
Have you tried any unusual varieties of tea or coffee lately? Let’s share some recommendations!
Discover Tea Flavours with Whittard
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Note: I received a sample of Pure Chimp Matcha Tea in return for an honest review. This article contains affiliate links, meaning that if you shop using the links I share, I receive a small income at no extra cost to yourself. Thank you for supporting SpookyMrsGreen!
I recently received a shipment of Sheese vegan cheese to sample. See my product review in this blog post.
#ProductReview Sheese Vegan Cheese selection
Product Review Sheese Vegan Cheese
I mentioned previously that I am vegetarian. I officially stopped eating meat at the age of 17, but I had phased it out some time before. At the time, I was learning about my place in the world, how I felt about growing up, and I realised that I simply didn’t want to think about the suffering of animals when I ate my food. Plus, I didn’t like the taste of a lot of the meat products I consumed. It was more of a habit, because that was how my family lived.
People still ask me now if I miss meat, and the answer is always “no.” I have never tried to be vegan, however, mainly because I do enjoy dairy products. I will always buy dairy products that have been ethically produced, and I like to think that the animals involved are treated well. I can only trust the suppliers, at the end of the day. Recently I received a selection of vegan cheese products to sample. I had not seen them in my local shops, and I was impressed! I received a sample of Sheese cheese. My favourite flavour is the Wensleydale style with cranberries – delicious!
Not much difference in taste
There is not much difference in taste or texture with the Sheese vegan cheese compared to the regular dairy cheese that I usually buy. I enjoyed the cheese sliced and served on crackers, on crusty bread, and I mixed it in with my pasta dishes, soups and baked beans. Yummy! Now I am aware of Sheese vegan cheese, I can look out for it in my local supermarket, and I can order it online. Made in Scotland, I like that these products are vegan, that they are made in the UK, and that they are incredibly tasty.
You can find Sheese vegan cheese products in your local health food store, Tesco, Sainsburys and Holland and Barrett.
#ProductReview Sheese Blue Style Vegan Cheese#ProductReview Sheese Vegan Cheese selection
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This month we are celebrating great writing self-published with Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing, Createspace, and Audiobook Creation Exchange.
I ventured into the world of self-publishing earlier this year, when I tentatively released a solo short story, It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story), to be included as a freebie for my newsletter followers. The process was simple, although time-consuming, but I did come away feeling very satisfied and enthused to try it again.
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green
#PoweredByIndie: My Story
Eventually, I took the plunge and published a whole novel, The Vampire of Blackpool. This one had been doing the rounds with agents and small publishers and every time I received a polite “thanks but the book doesn’t fit our requirements” response. So I decided to self-publish it. I wanted a paperback and an eBook, so I used Createspace and Kindle Publishing. I realise that there are still improvements to be made with the formatting of my paperback, but I am satisfied for now that I have a good, solid, readable book to share with my fans.
A month or so later, I released a short story anthology on Kindle, My Vampire Boyfriend (A Redcliffe Short Story Anthology). This compliments my Redcliffe novels series that has been published by Mirador, and will tie-in nicely with the next 3 books in the series that I am currently working on. I haven’t yet decided whether they should be self-published or not. I am still trying to design cover art for them.
Have you read my books? Are you published with Amazon? Please comment below and share your experiences. You are welcome to include links for your books and author pages. Let’s share the indie author love!
LGBT fantasy novel set in Northern England. “Vampire of Blackpool” 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.
Today I would like to share something that I have effectively been hiding all year. I did a video interview with Sue Ellam from Soulfully Connecting back in January, and the video was posted on the Soulfully Connecting YouTube channel, but I didn’t tell anybody. I was afraid. I was…embarrassed.
This is a very ridiculous notion, when you think about it. I mean, here I am parading about online as the pagan housewife, talking about ghosts and witchcraft and the messy side of parenting, and yet I agreed to do a video that I knew would be available in the public domain.
Paranormal Author Catherine Green
Battling my Demons; Interview with SpookyMrsGreen
I am not nervous about speaking to people. I do a lot of public speaking as part of my job. But for some reason, this YouTube video has been a big thing. I feel amateur and a bit silly, to be honest. And I have no reason to be. Yes, the sound quality is pretty bad. That’s because I didn’t wear a headset and didn’t test it first. Lesson learned. But apart from that, I think the interview was fairly insightful. I didn’t sound like a complete idiot, I think. So, I am passing it over to you guys.
Please watch the video, let me know what you think, and please do be gentle. I may come across as confident and proud, but behind the smile is a little girl who just wants to hide in her bedroom and read books!
Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here.
My girls love to dance. I do too, and so when I received this invitation from Britmums and #FrubesMoves to join in the blogging challenge, I danced at the offer (see what I did there?!)
Now, my dancing is questionable at the best of times, but I never let that stop me when I am boogieing around my kitchen with the radio blasting my favourite 80s tunes. And my girls love to dance along to their favourite pop songs and movie soundtracks.
Summer Parent Challenge #TheGoodStuff
We Got the #FrubesMoves
With all that dancing, I need to know that my children are growing strong bones and healthy bodies. They are yoghurt fiends, and we must get through at least 3 packs of yoghurt every week at the moment. But I don’t mind, because I know that the girls need the calcium and Vitamin D, and their dentist is happy with their teeth so we must be doing something right!
Frubes is the largest portable yoghurt brand, and a favourite lunchbox staple in our family. We often take Frubes with us at weekends when we set out to visit family or go to the park. My elder daughter prefers Banana flavour Frubes at the moment, and my younger is a fan of Strawberry flavour, but that could all change in an instant, especially with my little “threenager” and her temper tantrums.
Do your children have the #FrubesMoves? What is their preferred yoghurt brand? We also favour Peppa Pig and Thomas the Tank Engine yoghurts from Yoplait, along with the Petit Filous Little Desserts for an after dinner treat.
Frubes Yoghurt
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Note: This post is an entry for BritMums’ #FrubesMoves Linky Challenge, sponsored by Frubes.
Sustainable waste management is something of a mantra in our house. My husband is a Chartered Waste Manager, and as a pagan, I want to do my bit to help preserve the natural world in which we live.
When I received an invitation to join Britmums and Unilever for the #brightFuture challenge, I had to accept. Read on to see how we do our bit to help the environment and promote sustainable family lifestyle choices.
#MummyMonday Washing Cloth Nappies
Doing our Bit for a #brightFuture
When our children were born, my husband and I decided to use cloth nappies. We did not want to contribute to the billions of disposable nappies that contribute to rising landfill tonnage every year in the UK. I spent months researching online to find information and stockists. That was only six years ago, and yet I really struggled to find helpful advice about where to begin with this challenging phase of new motherhood. Still, we persevered, we tried various different kinds and styles of cloth nappy, we went through lots of wet clothes and bedding, and we settled into a routine.
Our preferred nappies are good old-fashioned Terry nappies, and we fasten them with Nappy Nippas, which are far easier and safer than safety pins. These cloth nappies need careful maintenance to keep them in prime condition. We use Persil non-bio washing liquid, and we can wash most nappies at 40 degrees on a special “baby cycle” on our washing machine. Sometimes we do wash at 60 degrees if the nappies are heavily soiled. Our washing machine is energy efficient, and we don’t own a tumble drier, preferring to dry our nappies outside on the washing line when the weather allows, because they come in smelling clean and fresh, and feeling nice and soft for our baby.
Challenge of potty training
We also had the challenge of potty training our elder daughter, and are currently trying to coax our younger one, but she is reluctant. Our bathroom is now cluttered with various different toilet training seats, a potty, and the latest addition is a 3-in-1 Minnie Mouse potty and toilet seat. All of these potty training aids need to be cleaned regularly, and since my daughters can be very independent, I use Domestos bleach to keep everything suitably safe for little fingers and hands.
Finally, after all this mucky work, I need to unwind! Truthfully I am not the sort of person who likes to soak in a hot bubble bath. I get bored, and I struggle to read in the bath because my glasses get in the way and I inevitably get my book wet. So, I prefer a nice, steamy shower (more energy efficient), and some luxurious, moisturising body lotion. Dove body lotions are lovely and smooth, nourishing my dry, itchy skin, and leaving me relaxed and clean.
It’s all in a day’s work for this Mummy! Now, over to you. What little things do you do every day that help improve or conserve our natural environment?
#MummyMonday Potty Training Challenge
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This post is an entry for BritMums #brightFuture Challenge, sponsored by Unilever. I especially like their Dove Self-Esteem Project that is working with leading psychologists, academics and experts to help young people develop a positive relationship with their appearance. The project has now reached over 19 million young lives.
We are now officially in the Autumn season. Last week heralded the Autumn Equinox, and I spent the day in a beautiful, healing environment as I embarked upon my study of the art of Reiki.
It was a lovely day, and I was in the company of some beautiful friends and spiritual sisters. We learned about Reiki and we received our first attunements (although technically I had received an attunement from my sister a few years ago – I just didn’t appreciate her gift at the time). We also had the opportunity to practise reiki healing on each other, and this was a very special event.
Mabon Autumn Equinox crab apple and crystals
Mabon Blessings
My reiki journey is just beginning, and I am very excited about it. The Autumn Equinox, however, represents the time of year when we begin to slow down. At least, in the old days, we would have slowed our pace of life a little. Here in the Western world we are on a constant hamster wheel of activity, with challenges and frantic movement on a seemingly constant loop. I am using reiki as my way to slow down a little, to accept when I need to rest, and to connect more fully with the real world, as opposed to the artificial world of work and commercialism that our race has created.
Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate everything that the modern world has to offer. I would be lost without the Internet, for example. I am very grateful that I can purchase my food in the supermarket, and that I don’t have to spend every day grinding flour to make bread, or reaping the crops. I am just not naturally inclined for that kind of work, and I realise that it is ok. It doesn’t make me any less of a pagan because I don’t really enjoy gardening and farming. I simply work with what I have, and am mindful about exactly what I and my children consume.
I send you Mabon Blessings, my friends. Let us celebrate a very fruitful and enjoyable summer season, and let us now take time to slow down, to rest for a while, and to appreciate the beauty of the colours of Autumn. Blessed Be.
Beautiful Autumn trees and canal
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.
SpookyMrsGreen 