Stephen King: Full Dark, No Stars

With King's work, a novella or a novel either gets me or it doesn't. I have long admired him as a writer because he speaks plainly about his success and is down to earth. Favorites by him include Pet Sematary and The Long Walk. I know others' favorites will be different. I also enjoy a majority of his short stories.

I enjoyed Full Dark, No Stars. It's a hit because I'm still thinking about it, and that's one of my main criteria for good writing.

Each novella in this collection presents the dark side of human nature. Man or woman makes choices, and consequences follow. There aren't too many ghosts or ghouls to blame things on, and even when there are, the person making a choice didn't have to be persuaded much to do the bad thing. I like the angle of the collection because I think there's a lot of truth in it.

1922, the first story in the collection, presents life in the heart land in hard times. The protagonist makes his choices between land and his wife. This one has plenty of gore in it as well as rats and things to make one shiver, but it dragged a bit for me. It was the most Gothic of the set, though, with a ghost and murder.


Big Driver kept me on the edge of my seat, and I like that the heroine was an author. If you enjoy a good revenge story, this is it.

Fair Extension explores the consequences when a man makes a deal with the devil. Who pays? It feels grim and real in a way. I like King's understanding and fleshing out of the concept that one person's pleasure is another person's pain. If that is true, then it explains a lot of what happens in the world, and I think that's what King is getting at.

A Good Marriage is my favorite of the novellas. What happens when a woman in a long, good marriage finds out a horrific secret about her husband? I think this one is "real" in the sense that the choices wouldn't be as easy as they are often portrayed as being in movies, etc.

If you enjoy shorter works and suspense that makes you think, this collection is worth picking up. It's nice to be able to read a novella in a couple nights, too.

Just a check-in post mainly...

I'm still here. I've just been really busy. So, if you have guest book reviews, author interviews, movie reviews, or other Gothicked type stuff you want to do, please let me know! :)

I'm still reading Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars, and it's grim indeed. I'm enjoying the second novella in it, Big Driver. I hope to have a review of the book up in a few days.

If I owe you books, I'll be mailing them this week, too.

Best Gothic Romance Titles!

A Facebook friend posted a title of a romance novel that was full of win today, and it got me thinking about gothic romance titles. Let's see. Post the best gothic romance title(s) if you want and about why you like them. Opinions will vary wildly, and that's fine. I just thought this would be fun.

Then, post the funniest ones. I'll post a few for starters. The person(s) who post the best ones wins some gothic romance novels with great or zany titles! I'll keep this up for a few days. Have fun with it! :)

Best:
Greygallows-- by Barbara Michaels (I like the alliteration and the connotations of the title).

The Dark on the Other Side (also Michaels and because it's from a quote by Plato)

Dragonwyck-- by Anya Seton

Nine Coaches Waiting-- by Mary Stewart

The Ivy Tree-- by Mary Stewart (I just love it).

Rebecca-- by Daphne DuMaurier

Wuthering Heights-- by Emily Bronte

Holy Terror-- by Josephine Boyle

House of the Dancing Dead-- by Aola Vandergriff

                             The Shivering Sands-- by Victoria Holt
                            
                             The Winter Bride-- Carola Salisbury

                             The Winter People-- Phyllis A. Whitney
     
                             Wait for What Will Come-- by Barbara Michaels

                             Vermillion-- by Phyllis A. Whitney

                             Damnation Reef-- by Jill Tattersall

                             Winterwood-- by Dorothy Eden

                             The Voice of the Dolls-- by Dorothy Eden

                             The Silver Leopard-- by Zoe Cass

                             Prince of Darkness-- by Barbara Michaels

                             Mistress of Mellyn-- by Victoria Holt

                             Dig a Narrow Grave-- by Mary Linn Roby  

                             The Shrouded Walls-- by Susan Howatch



 Funny/witty:

House of the Strange Woman-- by Monica Heath

The House is Dark-- by Rebecca James

Jack O'Lantern-- by Kathleen A. Shoesmith

Satan's Coast-- by Elsie Lee

Mansion of Golden Windows-- by Elsie Lee ( Love it! This author knew how to name gothic romances).

Mystery Castle-- Elsie Lee

                            Dark Moon, Lost Lady-- Elsie Lee (I got on a roll once I looked hers up!)

                            Sleep in the Woods-- by Dorothy Eden

                            The Frightened Lady-- by Marilyn Ross

                           
                           

Nancy Thayer: website and spooky story

I was browsing Netflix and found this movie today:



I immediately put it in my instant queue because I love Thayer's novel by the same name, Spirit Lost. This novel looks like the only one she has written in the gothic romance genre, but I really enjoyed it a few years ago. It's a spooky ghost story with a memorable heroine and an amorous spirit who haunts an old Nantucket house.

Then I browsed for an author page, and I found one along with a short ghost story. I started reading it and thought some of you might like it.

http://www.nancythayer.com/the-family-ghost.php

Zoe Cass: The Silver Leopard

I'd never read a gothic by Cass before. I really like the mustard yellow, orange, and blue in this cover as well as the archway and castle behind the woman.

This one was published in 1976. Nice title and unique cover, I thought, so I picked it up a while back in the used book store. The Silver Leopard

The hardcover edition sells for a nice sum now.

I made it through twenty pages of this novel. It was nearly all telling, rather than showing. It just didn't hold my attention or have much atmosphere, so I'll put it in the unfinished pile.

How about you? Has anyone read any Zoe Cass that you enjoyed?

My novel-- Magnolian, Thank You, and Beta Reading

I have some exciting news-- to me anyway-- and it's wrapped up in this blog.

My debut gothic romance novel, Magnolian, is available for pre-order in e-book format from the publisher's site at a 10% discount this week only before its release on March 8th.

It will be available soon on Amazon and other book sellers' sites. The print version will go on sale in September.

If you want to read more about it or pre-order the novel, click here. I wrote it in the tradition of the gothic romance novelists I admire. It's a sweet romance/mainstream romance that you, your teenage daughter or son, or your grandmother/grandfather could read. Thanks for checking it out! In the future, I will make most posts about my writing from my author site: www.lisalgreer.com

 
I want readers of this blog to know Gothicked was the inspiration and launching pad for the writing I'm doing now. I love the gothic romance genre, and writing about it and talking about it with you all spurred me on to write my own novels. I appreciate each one of you and your feedback, comments, and love of the genre. Special thanks to beta readers (Barrymore, Hannah, Juliette, Kristi and others) who helped me out with Magnolian and another novel I'm submitting now for publication. Your feedback challenges me and helps make the books stronger. Your time and consideration of my work means more than you know.

If any readers are interested in beta reading a gothic romance novel in the future, please send me a message or let me know. I welcome the feedback.

If you want to keep up with my books and what I'm doing with writing, just follow my website or find me here:

Facebook: Lisa Greer Author

Facebook: Magnolian

or on Twitter: Gothicked

Thanks for checking it out and for being the inspiration! If you read Magnolian and like it (or even if you don't!), please review the novel at your favorite place to post reviews.

~Lisa