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GOTHIC/FANTASY has a beautiful new blog. Visit it for a treat:
http://nitetalesat-darkcastle.blogspot.com/
Because of Amazon's uniqueness, my first review isn't.
So if anyone would like to read the first few chapters and review,
I will give LUCIFER'S ORPHAN to you for free.
What with Alex's CASSASTORM onslaught and other multiple releases,
I am not expecting any takers but as Custer said, "If you don't ask, you don't get."
Of course, he got more than he bargained for!
GOTHIC/FANTASY talked on his blog about what Gothic fiction really is.
What with THESE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES,
and assorted vampire and werewolves novels coming out every week,
it would seem that Gothic literature is undead and well.
Or is it?
Think of Dracula and the enormous influence that book has had
on culture.
How many single books can claim to have had the same impact
on the minds of so many people—many of whom have never read it?
My Father Renfield even teaches from it on how to approach life in a meaningful way in my own END OF DAYS.
What makes a book Gothic anyway?
To me, at its core, Gothic fiction
has these characteristics:
(1) The main character is being asked to
reject the rational world in order to embrace the primitive world of our
emotions.
(2) This is usually done through a supernatural element that
invokes a feeling of dread or terror.
(3) The supernatural world is
represented by a character who has completely rejected the rational
world for this primitive world.
(4) The story serves to warn the
reader of the danger of giving oneself over to the seductive but
dangerous world of the primal man.
Do you think the modern "Gothic" novels truly are Gothic?
Should the term be expanded in response to the modern world?
Or would doing so totally destroy the essence of what it means to be Gothic?
Remember my FIRST BLOGFEST!
One of the first ten reviewers of LUCIFER'S ORPHAN will win this:
Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI have it on my iPad and will get to it soon.
Alex:
ReplyDeleteWhy should you be sorry? You have to sleep sometime, you know. You have so much on you with CASSASTORM -- your own marketing platform needs you now. You worked so hard to craft it, you need to guide it to do all you made it to be. Only the highest sales for you, my friend. :-)
Perhaps there should be Retro-Gothic and Neo-Gothic.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to compare old Gothic tales which relied on fear of the unknown or the monster to new villains with superpowers and magic powers.
It's the historical and literary elements in your stories which add an unexpected layer of appeal. I've started reading 'Lucifer's Orphan' a day ago.
D.G.:
ReplyDeleteNeo-Gothic and Retro-Gothic sound really good as terms. You could have given birth to a new genre: name something and another someone will write to fill the void! :-)
Thanks for the kind words, D.G. I hope you enjoy LUCIFER'S ORPHAN. It was written to fit certain, concrete parameters so it may be a bit different than my usual fare.
Thanks for starting it. :-)
Uniqueness, huh? I would have called it something a lot more swear-y.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that modern Gothic is the same as classical Gothic, but meanings change over time (as I go into on my blog every Thursday). It's how words work. But for clarification, they could be called "Modern Gothic" and "Classic Gothic", or something similar, if needed.
I agree with the other comments-there should be a new genre or a sub-genre. Modern. Neo.
ReplyDeleteHope to be reading L.O. tomorrow evening!
End of Days = Pride & Prejudice meets The Hobbit....that blurb alone requires a reader to open the pages and see what's going on! Love it :)
J E:
ReplyDeleteI thought you would find "uniqueness" amusing in a black humor sort of way! :-)
Yes, I like Neo-Gothic from D.G. Terms come and go, but great literature endures, right?
Words Crafter:
ReplyDeleteI vote for Neo Gothic. :-)
I hope you enjoy L.O. Like I said: it was written to fit within certain rigid parameters so that a young girl could have a tale of mystery, magic, and first love.
I'm happy you like END OF DAYS' blurb -- I thought it might invite a look-see at the very least. Cross your fingers for me.
Thanks for being my friend!