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...