Thursday, February 28, 2013

Gothic Ladies and House of Cards

Welcome friendly gal and Gothic author Juli D. Revezzo to the blog! She is going to share a bit about her historical gothic story, House of Cards and share a bit about herself, too. :)



Lisa asked me to speak with you today on my gothic story, House of Cards. When I was in college, I studied art history and when I first began, I had a mild interest in the artists of the 19th century. I adored Renoir and was particularly intrigued with the story of a somewhat forgotten French sculptress named Camille Claudel who lived around the turn of the last century. I’d caught the movie on cable that year and fell so in love I went out and bought the videotape and watched it …oh, about a billion times. I even tracked down a biography of her. In short, Camille was once the assistant to Rodin, became his lover, and poor thing, lost her marbles when he finally tossed her aside. (You can read a longer bio on her here).

                                                                              

I’d been writing at the time, as well, and my first finished novel was set during that time period. Was it any good? Well, I haven’t heard any complaints from the dust mites under my desk. *innocent look*

But I digress… If we jump up to just a few years ago, I found a small dark fantasy and horror zine for which I decided to attempt a tale. I guess somewhere my subconscious caught up with me because the first thing I decided to do was to set this story, what became House of Cards, in the midst of the opening days of the French Revolution. Now you might not see how that ties together, since Mademoiselle Claudel was active in the late 1800s, but believe me, it ties in for to me it’s to her that I owe this delving back into the French setting.

So, I put my main character in carriage on his way out of Dodge because his family faced the Guillotine. He doesn’t quite make it to safety, however, but finds himself facing a very different horror than the one from which he escaped. A horror built by a ghastly set of characters, most notably a mischievous “Hanged woman”, in a dark and horrid place. The woman gives him a mystery to solve if he’s to keep his head on his shoulders, and his life heading to a better place.

Maybe in a way that is a bit like Camille, poor thing, who ended up forever lost and languishing in an insane asylum. At least until the art historians found her. Add a dash of the macabre and supernatural (which, by the way we could say that’s influenced by Mary Shelley, who is also another Gothic lady I love), and a nod to Mademoiselle Claudel’s sometimes tortured clay and bronze figures (see her pieces Deep Thought, or the Beseecher)—now can you see the connection between her influence and my story House of Cards? Well, the French Gothic setting and is one I so love, I plan to revisit these characters again.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll give House of Cards a try, and the next time you see something in the paper about a gallery showing of French art, maybe you’ll think of this little known, but fantastic artist and give her a little “hail” in the Otherworld. :)


Interested to see how this story plays out? Here’s the synopsis for House of Cards:

You can't escape Fate....

A young nobleman flees the bloody Reign of Terror, France, to find himself dragged into a demonic underworld.  An evil hag tortures him during a horrific trial in which he must rely on his wits. Can he thwart his horrible fate, one far worse than the guillotine? Will his knowledge of the Occult and his familiarity with tarot help him survive this ordeal--or seal his doom?


If you’d like to try the story it’s available at in ebook format from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.



More on Camille Claudel



About Juli D. Revezzo
Juli D. Revezzo is a Florida girl, with a love of fantasy, science fiction, and Arthurian legend, so much so she gained a B.A. in English and American Literature. She loves writing stories with fantastical elements whether it be a full-on fantasy, or a story set in this world–slightly askew. She has been published in short form in Eternal Haunted SummerDark Things II: Cat Crimes (a charity anthology for cat related charities), Luna Station Quarterly, The Scribing Ibis: An Anthology of Pagan Fiction in Honor of Thoth, and Twisted Dreams Magazine. She recently released her debut novel, The Artist’s Inheritance.
She also has an article and book review or two out there. But her heart lies in the storytelling. She is a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour.
Should you like to learn more about this and future releases you can find Juli at:
Twitter: @julidrevezzo

Thanks for having me here today, Lisa!

2 comments:

Juli D. Revezzo said...

Thanks for hosting me today!

Suzanne G. Rogers said...

I read HOC and thought it was really wicked!

 
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