Gothic-Writing Points

My blog post from April 2nd (Gothic Musings) was about writing in gothic style and explaining different visual inspirations. Oddly enough, last week I stumbled on an article titled Elements of the Gothic Novel by Robert Harris. Since I consider the Collective Obsessions Anthology in the realm of gothic fiction, I was interested in the article's points.

According to Harris, gothic novel elements include:

Setting in a castle; an atmosphere of mystery and suspense; an ancient prophecy connected with the castle or its inhabitants; omens, portents, visions; supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events; high, even overwrought emotion; women in distress; women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male; the metonymy of gloom and horror; and the vocabulary of the gothic.

None of the eight books in the Collective Obsessions Anthology are set in a castle, but rather a large mansion by the sea. The atmosphere is most definitely mysterious and suspenseful at times. As for "ancient prophecy" being connected to the structure or it's inhabitants, there is an element of divine fate playing itself out through several generations totaling more than 140 years.

The other points are covered as well: All titles in the Collective Obsessions Anthology have omens with touches of the supernatural, along with emotional drama (mental illness, murder, suicide, obsession), and women in distress. While most females in the storyline come across as rather assertive, a few of them are indeed threatened by unbalanced males at one time or another.

The "gloom and horror" ambiance is present, although neither dominates any one book in the anthology.

Although I've only included terms that apply to my anthology, Harris defines "vocabulary of the gothic" as the following:

Mystery (diabolical, enchantment, ghost, haunted, omens, ominous, portent, secret, spectre, spirits); Fear, terror & sorrow (anguish, apprehensions, commiseration, concern, despair, dismay, dread, frantic, grief, hopeless, lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully, panic, sadly, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terror, unhappy, wretched); Surprise (alarm, amazement, astonished, shocking, staring, thunderstruck, wonder); Haste (anxious, frantic, impetuous, sudden); Anger (enraged, furious, incensed, provoked, raving, resentment, temper, wrath); and Largeness (enormous, massive, tremendous, vast).

In addition, elements of romance are considered part of the gothic genre. These are: powerful love, uncertainty of reciprocation, unreturned love, tension, lovers parted, illicit love and rival love. The point that doesn't apply to the anthology is "uncertainty of reciprocation."

Even the most obsessive character in the anthology (Mike Sullivan, who appears in The Twain Shall Meet) never has doubt that the object of his desire will return his affections. He is actually quite certain she will be his in the end, even when all odds are stacked against him (re: incarceration in a sanitarium).

Gothic tales and the writing thereof may not be to the taste of everyone, but the genre continues to fascinate me.

QC Cover Hint

I've received word that Quixotic Crossings will be released the last week of April, which I'm assuming comes around the 25th. The book is part two of the Collective Obsessions Anthology.

There are also some hints forthcoming about the book cover. A little bird told me it might depict a mansion in the fog, which thrills me to no end. I can't wait to see it!

I'm more excited about the release of Quixotic Crossings than I was by Passion Forsaken, probably because some of the characters in Quixotic Crossings are deeply disturbed, which most authors agree is much more fun to write about. The paranormal also comes into play in the second book, along with murder and other psychological mayhem.

This is the current short-blurb for Quixotic Crossings:

Fate continues to entangle the Larkin and Sullivan families amidst madness, murder and obsessive love. Colm and Molly's grandson Jean-Claude Sullivan finds his life driven by greed and perversely tainted pleasures. Beloved family chef Claude Mondoux watches helplessly as Colm slowly loses his mind in ghostly visions of Molly, while Colleen Larkin seeks love in the arms of another man with deadly consequences...

I've already prepared three excerpts from Quixotic Crossings, which will be made available online once the book is released.

Gothic Musings

Now that the Collective Obsessions Anthology  is complete, I've recently been pondering my next project.

Because I'm such a fan of "Gothic" novels from the 1970s, especially titles written by Dorothy Daniels, Marilyn Harris, Marilyn (aka Clarissa) Ross, and the Dark Shadows series of paperbacks, I know anything I do will likely be in the same realm.

It's more than fog-shrouded mansions, shrieks in the night and mysteriously beleaguered heroines. Elements of the unknown are important to the stories, granted, but plot and dialogue are my first priorities. Blending macabre ambience into storyline seems to follow in a natural order for me. However, I'm often inspired by Gothic visuals such as well-done portraits or certain morbid garb.

Inspiration is an individual phenomenon. We are all moved by different people, events and thoughts. I'm rarely motivated by people per say, but certain events, thoughts, dreams and visuals keep my writing juices flowing on a regular basis.

On that note, certain images often inspire an idea or remind me of a scene I've already written.

Although the following image is meant to portray the abuse of absinthe, when I first saw it I thought of Molly Larkin in Passion Forsaken as she languished in the attic at the family mansion with her bottle of laudanum:

The image below also reminds of Molly Larkin in Passion Forsaken, this time as she decides her fate near the end of the book:

And Molly again as she carries out her fate near the end of Passion Forsaken:

I do not claim ownership of the images referenced above. Lucky for me, Magickal Graphics has a bountiful supply of stunning pictures. I simply love browsing their various galleries for inspiration.

Please Note: The three referenced "Goth" images remain the sole copyright of the individual artists. If I knew their specific names, I'd credit and link to them without hesitation. I have absolutely no talent in that direction, so I truly admire their stunningly beautiful work.

As for new books to follow the Collective Obsessions Anthology, I do have a few story ideas brewing, which I've already started to put on paper.

And so the Gothic muse turns...