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.