Thursday, September 2, 2010

Autumn is the season for getting gothicked

I have been reading Gothic romance or Gothic novels in some form for many years. The title of my blog refers to the feeling/experience that goes along with reading a great Gothic novel-- the chills, the thrills, and the looking for strangers in the house and not sleeping well. When I get scared, can't read past 11 p.m., or fall in love with the hero in the novel, I know I've been gothicked.

My first foray into the genre was with Nancy Drew books-- some of them, anyway. As a middle schooler and high school student, full of angst, I got into Wuthering Heights and then Barbara Michaels' (Barbara Mertz) novels. I have read all of her works, and she is in my top five authors of all time. That's saying a lot coming from someone who did an M.A. in eighteenth-century British Literature. I have read so many books, but she is so talented. I even have a postcard from her that I received after writing a fan letter-- finally-- last year at the ripe old age of 32!

After devouring all of Barbara Michaels' novels (and some of the Peters' works, too) that I could find, I dug into Phyllis Whitney's work and Victoria Holt's novels. I thought I had reached the end of most of the Gothic reading of that type because it was hard to find more novels of this type; however, over the years, I have found several other authors that I really admire: Deanna Raybourn is a current favorite.

With this blog, I plan to review everything in the Gothic genre that I read. It's always nice to have reviews to read to avoid the absolute duds! So, dear readers, I am glad you are here; comments and suggestions are welcome. I'd love to know which works you want to see reviewed. I will try to review any requested novels.

3 comments:

SAM NINALGA said...

Hi! I stumbled across your blog when I read a mention of it on the Gothic Romance Forum. I'm rather new to the Gothic genre and being a male, certainly in the minority. I've enjoyed reading your thoughts on here. I've been currently reading Victoria Holt's BRIDE OF PENDORRIC. Although so far, I've liked MISTRESS OF MELLYN the best. These gothic novels are short, but I've noticed it takes me longer to read them because I like to savor the language used. Well, I just wanted to say hello and keep up the great work!

Sam

Gothic Writer said...

Hi, Sam! Glad you're here. I will be reviewing some of Victoria Holt's novels as well. Honestly, I have some rereading to do on those to do them justice with decent reviews as I read most of them probably eighteen years ago and have not yet revisited them.

I am finding there are actually more guys than you'd think who love this genre. My theory is that it's because the writing is great and good writing/stories are appealing to most people. :) I'll enter you into the September contest as well. Thanks for reading and commenting and feel free to let me know what you would like to see more of on the blog!

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say hello and what a great site! I’m a huge fan of gothic romances and I agree - autumn is the perfect time to curl up with a good gothic - I love reading other people’s reviews on this genre. All the best, sara.

 
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