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?
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 Summer, Dark 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:
Website: http://julidrevezzo.com
LibraryThing:
http://www.librarything.com/profile/julidrevezzo
Manic Readers:
http://www.manicreaders.com/JuliDRevezzo/
Twitter: @julidrevezzo
Thanks for having me here today, Lisa!
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2 comments:
Thanks for hosting me today!
I read HOC and thought it was really wicked!
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