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Gothic Romance Writers

Gothic Romance Writers Chapter of RWA

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20 Ghost Romance Plot Ideas & Writing Prompts

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on August 22, 2018 by Gothic WritersAugust 8, 2018

‘Tis the season for Ghosts, and I’m in the mood for some Christmas Spirits. How about you?
The days are shorter and the nights longer, colder and the perfect time to cuddle up with a ghost story. (Ed. Note: The post was originally posted last December!)

Nothing rends my heart than that of love stories, a love that transcends everything even death. The euphoria of falling in love and being consumed by it only to find out you can’t be with that person you love because of a myriad of ghostly reasons; they’re a ghost, you’re a ghost, a ghost doesn’t want you to be together and might kill if you are. Let the devastation and heartache ensue. I’m talking about Ghost Romance.

Ghost Romance usually falls under the genre Paranormal Romance, but also could be Gothic Romance. Which means that the story needs to follow the Romance genre’s conventions and not written with the main intent to scare, as it is in horror. That is not to say your story can’t be creepy or scary. I much prefer the ones that are. But the driving force of a Ghost Romance should be the love story. You know, two people meet, they fall in love and ain’t love a bitch. The one hard and fast rule for romance is the HEA, or the happily ever after ending and therein lies the challenge for the author, finding a way for it all to work out and making the HEA believable. Sometimes it truly takes a Christmas miracle.

So, Night Writer, if you up for the challenge here are some Ghost Romance Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts for some inspiration.

  1. Her marriage is on the rocks and while preparing to put her childhood vacation home up for sale she is visited by her old dead flame.
  2. As a medium, she is no stranger to ghosts but there is one who has visited her on and off throughout her life. Like a guardian angel, he’s gotten her out of some sticky situations. Then one day he comes with news that she is going to be murdered or some other evil is going to befall her and he doesn’t know if he can save her this time.
  3. She’s finally committed to him and said yes to marriage, but she may not make it down the aisle because of his dead ex-girlfriend.
  4. She’s been dead for decades and no one has ever seen her until now and he isn’t easily spooked. But their romance might be short-lived when an exorcist is brought in.
  5. He has a reoccurring dream of a woman’s demise only to find evidence that it really happened and now she’s come to him for help.
  6. After surviving a catastrophic event, i.e. train wreck, airplane, a couple find solace in each other only to find out that one of them didn’t actually survive.
  7. She died from a seeming accident, and now she must warn her boyfriend before he comes to same fate.
  8. She’s loved that old house for years and finally buys it only to find it already inhabited by a gentleman who says he’s been waiting for her return.
  9. An evil curse keeps his soul trapped inside that house but she may be the one that can set him free.
  10. He’s given a second chance at life only to be haunted by the one that gave it to him.
  11. Attending an addiction recovery group in the basement of an old church, she becomes drawn to and connects with another member only to find he died years prior from an overdose.
  12. On a business trip, he acquires a 100-year-old antique watch, ring, etc. and its original owner has returned to reclaim it.
  13. Cleaning out the attic she comes across centuries-old letters or journals. As she falls in love with the words, the man who wrote them comes for a visit.
  14. A deal with the devil or a spell can bring the one he loves back but at what cost and how she has changed.
  15. He’s made the ultimate sacrifice, but as a ghost, he regrets it until he meets a descendant of one he’s saved.
  16. An archaeologist digs up a long-forgotten tomb to find it inhabited by a ghost who now feels indebted/resentful.
  17. The angry residences of a ghost town are out for the developer who is determined to bring it back to its glory days, but one dead cowboy comes to her rescue or is he just a distraction.
  18. She was saved at high sea by a swashbuckling pirate, but when the ship ports she was the only one alive on board.
  19. Stuck in the Underworld he finds one who can help him escape, but now he’s not sure if he wants to if it will mean he’ll have to leave her behind.
  20. While visiting a fountain, mirror, painting, etc. she hears a voice call to her through it. Is it possessed or is it something else?
Read any good Ghost Romance stories lately? Leave me your recommendations in the comments, I’d love to hear about them if you have.
Stay Beautifully Haunted!
♥ Shadow
Reposted with permission from Shadow Leitner’s Dark Inklings Blog
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #ScaryNotSoScary, Genre, Ghost Romance, Ghosts, Lists and Descriptions, Shadow Leitner, Writing Inspiration, Writing Prompts

3 Tips for Writing Creepy Sounds + A Haunting Playlist

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on August 15, 2018 by Gothic WritersAugust 8, 2018

Writing Gothic fiction has so much to do with setting the atmosphere. While using all of the senses are important to creating this, sounds are a powerful emotional vehicle.  Not only do they evoke emotion they also can symbolize a character’s internal environment.

I’m always challenging myself to find different ways to describe sounds that will bring that sense of foreboding or create a dark atmosphere. While there are certain words that incite an immediate eerie sense, sometimes it can feel clique, overused and readers may be desensitized to them. And meh, is never the reaction I want when writing dreadful things. Now, I’m by no means suggesting to never use these, but if every door creaks and there is a crash after every lightning flash, it might be time to switch it up a bit.


So, here are 3 tips for writing creepy sounds.

1. Add a sound description that one doesn’t normally associate with the thing making the sound. For example, the birds barked from the treeline to warn us of what lay beyond. Or, the fire cackled mocking my attempts to concoct the perfect brew. You get the gist. Providing a sound that isn’t expected naturally puts one at unease, consciously or unconsciously.

2. Use onomatopeia, by writing the sound itself. An example would be writing tick, tock as the sound of a clock. It places the reader deep within a character’s experience. It is also a nice way to zoom in tight on a sound, silencing everything else. This a cinematic approach but can be just as powerful in the written form.

3. Use metaphors and similes. For example, the storm growled where it crouched on the ridge ready to pounce, and the floorboards moaned like an old woman beneath his feet. Sometimes attaching a creepy image to a sound can enhance its spookiness.

How do you approach writing eerie sounds? Let me know in the comments.

My Haunting Playlist for Writing.

Not all writers write to music. I am one that does. Music and sounds are both powerful in conveying emotions and immediately put me in the place I need to be to write a specific scene.  So, I thought I’d share the link to Shadow’s Haunting Playlist on Spotify, my playlist of haunting tunes for writing. Enjoy and let me know if you have other tunes to add. I love to discover new haunting music.

As always, stay beautifully haunted,

♥ Shadow

Reposted with permission from Shadow Leitner’s Dark Inklings Blog

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged atmosphere, How I write, Music, Night Writers, playlist, Setting, spooky sounds, tone

5 Podcasts for Gothic Writers

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on August 8, 2018 by Gothic WritersAugust 8, 2018

I find podcasts to be really useful in voids of time, like commutes and shuttling my spawn around. From informative to entertaining, they can turn empty moments into more productive ones, and they certainly beat staring aimlessly at brake lights.

So, in no specific order, I’ve compiled 5 useful podcasts for Gothic writers.

1. Helping Writers Become Authors

This podcast, by award-winning author, K.M. Weiland, gives a lot of great information on the craft of writing in general and all the episodes are worth checking out. But, here are a few episodes that are particularly helpful for writing Gothic fiction.

  • Characters: Likability Is Overrated: Learn why readers connect with imperfection in characters, more than perfection.
  • Eliciting Emotion: Discover what drives emotion in fiction and how to elicit it in readers.
  • Is Your Story Mysterious Enough?: The art of the mysterious is at the heart of every type of story, not just mysteries and suspense.
  • 7 Reasons Weather Is a Writer’s Friend: Ever since Edward Bulwer-Lytton slapped readers with his infamous “dark and stormy night” line, writers everywhere have been leery of misusing weather in their stories.
  • Why Your Hero Absolutely Must Pet a Dog: A little trick authors can use to make even their darkest anti-heroes sympathetic.

2. Writing ExcusesThis is an award winning podcast for writers, and there are a lot of fantastic episodes as they are in season twelve. Before you break out into a sweat over the volume of episodes, these podcasts are short, about fifteen to twenty-five minutes. And here a few places to start.

  • Season 11 – Elemental Genres. This was a really great season with a lot of information on genres and there are podcasts dedicated to Horror, Mystery and Thrillers, with information that can be applied to Gothic Fiction, but there is a bonus podcast in this season that is a real gem called, Horrifying the Children with Darren Shan.
  • Mystery Plotting: Discusses plotting principles for any discovery and revelation plot and is not just for the Mystery genre.
  • Horror: Discusses what makes a story scary and tools for writing tension.
  • Lovecraftian Horror: More great writing tools for Dark Fiction.

3. This is Horror

This is a podcast dedicated to Horror fiction, writers and readers. While I don’t define Gothic Fiction as being synonymous with Horror, there are a lot of tools within this genre that are applicable to Gothic Fiction. A great episode to start with is TIH 123: Writers’ Craft Talk: Writing Suspenseful Scenes with 16 Writers 

4. In Our Time

BBC Radio runs this podcast hosted by Melvyn Bragg and it has a wealth of information from Gothic Literature to Victorian Culture. A great source for research and insights into the Gothic classics. I would start with this episode, In Our Time: Gothic

5. Lore

If you haven’t heard about this award winning, critically acclaimed podcast about true life scary stories, you shouldn’t waste another minute missing out. I can’t say enough about how much I love this podcast. It isn’t a podcast on writing but will definitely give you all kinds of story ideas and inspiration.
The storytelling is beautifully done by writer, host and producer, Aaron Mahnke, who is also the author of many supernatural thrillers. A lot of the music is composed by Chad Lawson whose haunting music is often on my writing playlists.
Episodes to start with is ALL OF THEM. Hurry, go now, don’t walk, run.

Bonus podcast: A Gothic Story : A podcast by the British Library to accompany an exhibition they held called Terror and Wonder: the Gothic Imagination. It wonderfully chronicles the birth of Gothic Fiction and all of its monsters.

How about you, Night Writers, do you listen to podcasts for inspiration and techniques? If you do, definitely share which ones, I’d love to add them to my list.

As always, stay haunted!

♥ Shadow.

Reposted with permission from Shadow Leitner’s Dark Inklings Blog

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged How I write, Lists and Descriptions, Night Writers, Podcasts

10 Historic Cocktails of New Orleans!

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on April 16, 2018 by Gothic WritersApril 16, 2018

by R.C. Matthews

(NOTE: This post is reprinted from R.C. Matthew’s blog with the author’s permission.)

What do ten historic cocktails served in New Orleans have to do with tips & tools, you ask? Well, they’re the best kind of research out there. Live … up close … and personal. I should know because I tasted six of the ten. All in one afternoon. Who says research isn’t fun?

I’m not ashamed to admit that Google! is one of my best friends when it comes to researching time periods, locations and how long it takes for a corpse to rot. [That’s no joke. My search history is pretty scary.] But after taking a trip to New Orleans this past week in order to perform research for my next gothic romance novel, I’m hooked on the idea of traveling to the destination of my story.

Let me tell you why …

  • You don’t know what you don’t know. I spent hours on a tour of the city’s haunted sites as well as two of the famous River Road plantations. During these tours I soaked up copious quantities of data, took countless pictures and wrote notes on all kinds of fascinating details that I would NEVER have thought to research or question. For example, did you know that kitchens in 19th century Louisiana were required by law to be detached buildings? This mandate was a result of two major fires that occurred in New Orleans in the late 1700’s which burned the city down. Cooking was done over an open fire … and where there is fire, there is danger. Or did you know that Absinthe was outlawed in the United States because it was deemed a dangerously additive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen? The stuff is 124 proof! I had no clue and wouldn’t have even thought to look into it, but now that I know it was a popular drink in the time period of my novel, I’ll be sure to slip it into the story for authenticity. Watching the drink being prepared and then tasting it makes for good story telling! Which brings me to my next point …
  • Reading about something and experiencing it firsthand are two entirely different ball games. Smell. Sound. Taste. Touch. All of your senses are engaged when you’re researching firsthand. One of the coolest things I experienced while in New Orleans was a Creole bone reading conducted by the wisest psychic in the city. She’s practiced her craft for over 50 years. And she was wonderful to observe. The tone of her voice … or the way she paused between revelations … and her body language. All of it added to the atmosphere and isn’t something you can truly learn by reading an article on Google! Even the chalice she used to store her bones was fascinating. Her voice held a certain gravelly quality, and I loved the rings and bangles she wore. I’m talking about the mood she set. I was also shocked by the depth of the reading and the minute details she went into regarding what I can expect to happen over the course of the next year in my life. She spoke with confidence and never faltered in her advice. My heroine is a Creole and practices Voodoo. Most people are familiar with the idea of Voodoo dolls or gris-gris. Tarot cards are also well-known. But Creole bone reading? Aaahhh… good stuff.
  • Local legends may only be local. I’m convinced that at least one quarter of what I learned cannot be found in books or on the internet. Some legends live in the people within the city and are shared by word of mouth, but never make it onto a written page. Or if you do find a morsel of information, it’s not enough to wet your appetite – but rather a trifling little bit of news. One thing I learned about the people of New Orleans is that they love to talk and entertain. I think it must be second nature. Bartenders. Hotel bellmen. Waiters. Store clerks. Everyone was friendly and loved to share stories and information. Simply interacting with the local folks offers wonderful fodder for shaping the personalities of the characters in our books.
  • The little things we never read about. One night we were walking back from dinner at a restaurant on the outskirts of the French Quarter to our hotel on Bourbon Street at the corner of Orleans. It wasn’t late. Maybe 9:30 p.m. or so. But the streets were quiet. The stars were sparkling above us. Soft light glowed from the street lamps, illuminating the colorful buildings. And only a few people passed by … until two streets later where the crowd of people thickened and noise levels increased with street entertainers. Another street and it was full-fledged chaos. One street was highly focused on shopping – Royal Street. Whereas Bourbon Street was all about the bars and drinking. Jackson Square offered every possible form of entertainment. I’m not sure you really understand what makes a place tick unless you’re there and you walk the streets at various times of day and night.

I could go on and on and on. After being submerged in the culture, I can’t help but believe my story will be so much richer for having been there. We can’t all afford to jet off to the wonderful settings of our stories every time. I get it. But try it once or twice and see for yourself if it makes a difference in your writing.

Oh, and my favorite historic cocktail? Scarlet O’Hara: Southern Comfort, cranberry juice and a dash of lime. Yum.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged history, Research

Elements of a Gothic Story

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on September 5, 2017 by Gothic WritersSeptember 5, 2017

By R.C. Matthews

Elements of a Gothic story include:

• Architecture,
• Fainting heroines,
• Suspense and mystery,
• Hidden passageways,
• Family curse
• Wonder and Terror
• Setting is usually in a castle, an abbey, a monastery, or some other, usually religious edifice, and it is acknowledged that this building has secrets of its own. It is this gloomy and frightening scenery, which sets the scene for what the audience should expect. The setting is greatly influential in Gothic novels. It not only evokes the atmosphere of horror and dread, but also portrays the deterioration of its world. The decaying, ruined scenery implies that at one time there was a thriving world. – Lots of family history – Legacy of a once rich family
• Night journeys
• Eminent danger
• Miraculous survivals
• Virginal maidens who are desperate
• Heroes that stand for good and right that come to their aid
• Villains that are dark and oppressive
• Clergy that are weak and sometimes evil
• Also lot of symbolism – graveyards, skeletons, crows, death, macabre, storm clouds

See also:
https://engineoforacles.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/100-gothic-themes-motifs/

Elements of the Gothic Novel
Robert Harris
Version Date: June 15, 2015
http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm
________________________________________
• The gothic novel was invented almost single-handedly by Horace Walpole, whose The Castle of Otranto (1764) contains essentially all the elements that constitute the genre. Walpole’s novel was imitated not only in the eighteenth century and not only in the novel form, but it has influenced the novel, the short story, poetry, and even film making up to the present day.

Gothic elements include the following:

1. Setting in a castle. The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, trick panels with hidden levers, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections.

The castle may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavor with their darkness, uneven floors, branchings, claustrophobia, and mystery. And in horror-gothic, caves are often seem home to terrifying creatures such as monsters, or deviant forms of humans: vampires, zombies, wolfmen.

Translated into the modern novel or filmmaking, the setting might be in an old house or mansion–or even a new house–where unusual camera angles, sustained close ups during movement, and darkness or shadows create the same sense of claustrophobia and entrapment. The house might be already dark, perhaps because it was abandoned, or it might at first seem light and airy, but either night comes and people turn off the lights to go to bed, or at some dramatic point the lights will fail (often because of a raging storm).

The goal of the dark and mysterious setting is to create a sense of unease and foreboding, contributing toward the atmospheric element of fear and dread. Darkness also allows those sudden and frightening appearance of people, animals, or monsters.

2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. This atmosphere is sometimes advanced when characters see only a glimpse of something–was that a person rushing out the window or only the wind blowing a curtain? Is that creaking sound coming from someone’s step on the squeaky floor, or only the normal sounds of the night? Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a disappearance, or some other inexplicable event. People disappear or show up dead inexplicably. Elements 3, 4, and 5 below contribute to this atmosphere.

In modern novels and filmmaking, the inexplicable events are often murders. The bodies are sometimes mutilated in ways that defy explanation–“What kind of monster could do this?” or “Here’s the body, but there’s no blood.” When the corpses start to mount, suspense is raised as to who will get killed next. (In filmmaking, the atmosphere can be created largely by the music. Anyone who has watched a horror movie with the sound off or very low knows this.)

3. An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former or present). The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. “What could it mean?” In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a legend: “It’s said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these halls.”

4. Omens, portents, visions. A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. For example, if the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may portend his death. In modern fiction, a character might see something (a shadowy figure stabbing another shadowy figure) and think that it was a dream. This might be thought of as an “imitation vision.” Sometimes an omen will be used for foreshadowing, while other writers will tweak the reader by denying expectation–what we thought was foreshadowinig wasn’t.

5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural. As you might imagine, Hollywood uses special effects to a large degree to provide fire, earthquakes, moving statues, and so forth, often bluring the line between human-produced, natural, and supernatural events.

6. High, even overwrought emotion. The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. In the filmed gothic, screaming is common.

7. Women in distress. As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention. The women suffer all the more because they are often abandoned, left alone (either on purpose or by accident), and have no protector at times. (In horror-gothic films, when the guy tells the girl, “Stay here; I’ll be right back,” you pretty much know that one of them will soon be dead.)

8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male. One or more male characters has the power, as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself), or commit a crime. In modern gothic novels and films, there is frequently the threat of physical violation.

9. The metonymy of gloom and horror. Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes. (This explains why they never oil the hinges on the doors in gothic novels.)  Note that the following metonymies for “doom and gloom” all suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural.

  • wind, especially howling
  • rain, especially blowing
  • doors grating on rusty hinges
  • sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds
  • footsteps approaching
  • clanking chains
  • lights in abandoned rooms
  • gusts of wind blowing out lights
  • characters trapped in a room
  • doors suddenly slamming shut
  • ruins of buildings
  • baying of distant dogs (or wolves?)
  • thunder and lightning
  • crazed laughter

 

10. The vocabulary of the gothic. The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary set creates an sustains the atmosphere of the gothic. Using the right words maintains the dark-and-stimulated feel that defines the gothic. Here as an example are some of the words (in several categories) that help make up the vocabulary of the gothic in The Castle of Otranto:

Mystery: diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins, haunted, infernal, magic, magician, miracle, necromancer, omens, ominous, portent, preternatural, prodigy, prophecy, secret, sorcerer, spectre, spirits, strangeness, talisman, vision

Fear, Terror, or Sorrow: afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish, apprehensions, apprehensive, commiseration, concern, despair, dismal, dismay, dread, dreaded, dreading, fearing, frantic, fright, frightened, grief, hopeless, horrid, horror, lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully, panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terrible, terrified, terror, unhappy, wretched

Surprise: alarm, amazement, astonished, astonishment, shocking, staring, surprise, surprised, thunderstruck, wonder

Haste:anxious, breathless, flight, frantic, hastened, hastily, impatience, impatient, impatiently, impetuosity, precipitately, running, sudden, suddenly

Anger: anger, angrily, choler, enraged, furious, fury, incense, incensed, provoked, rage, raving, resentment, temper, wrath, wrathful, wrathfully

Largeness: enormous, gigantic, giant, large, tremendous, vast

Darkness: dark, darkness, dismal, shaded, black, night

Walpole himself lays on most of these elements pretty thick (although he’s a lot lighter on darkness than many modern gothic works), so it might be said that another element of the classic gothic is its intensity created by profuse employment of the vocabulary of the gothic. Consider this from Chapter 1 of The Castle of Otranto: The servant “came running back breathless, in a frantic manner, his eyes staring, and foaming at the mouth. He said nothing but pointed to the court. The company were struck with terror and amazement.” Gets your interest up on page two, doesn’t he? Then, “In the meantime, some of the company had run into the court, from whence was heard a confused noise of shrieks, horror, and surprise.” The Castle of Otranto is available at Amazon.com

An Example

The 1943 Sherlock Holmes film, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (one of the classic Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce films), contains all the elements of the gothic. Here is a brief rundown of the items above:
1.  Setting. It’s not quite a castle, but it is a huge mansion with several levels, including a basement and a hidden sub-basement. Dark and drafty. Ominous.
2.  Atmosphere of Mystery. It’s a multiple murder mystery, with cryptic notes, hidden passageways, wind, lightning, and everyone a suspect.
3.  Ancient Prophecy. There is the Musgrave Ritual. Obscure, compelling, ancient.
4.  Omens and portents. The crow at the tavern, the intrusive lightning strike, the taunting notes from the butler.
5.  Supernatural or inexplicable events. How the victims died. The lightning seems to strike at just the right time.
6.  Overwrought emotion. The female lead screams and panics a bit.
7. Women in distress
8. Women threatened by a male. Toned down here, but the murderer had designs on the heroine.
9. The wind blows, signs bang into the wall, lightning, a few characters are trapped in various ways.

Elements of Romance

In addition to the standard gothic machinery above, many gothic novels contain elements of romance as well. Elements of romance include these:

  1. Powerful love. Heart stirring, often sudden, emotions create a life or death commitment. Many times this love is the first the character has felt with this overwhelming power.
  2. Uncertainty of reciprocation. What is the beloved thinking? Is the lover’s love returned or not?
  3.  Unreturned love. Someone loves in vain (at least temporarily). Later, the love may be returned.
  4. Tension between true love and father’s control, disapproval, or choice. Most often, the father of the woman disapproves of the man she loves.
  5. Lovers parted. Some obstacle arises and separates the lovers, geographically or in some other way. One of the lovers is banished, arrested, forced to flee, locked in a dungeon, or sometimes, disappears without explanation. Or, an explanation may be given (by the person opposing the lovers’ being together) that later turns out to be false.
  6. Illicit love or lust threatens the virtuous one. The young woman becomes a target of some evil man’s desires and schemes.
  7. Rival lovers or multiple suitors. One of the lovers (or even both) can have more than one person vying for affection.

 

R.C. Matthews is the author of contemporary and gothic romances featuring bold, sassy heroines and magnetic alpha heroes. Warning! The chemistry between her characters is off the charts hot, so read at your own risk. She resides in the Midwest and is surrounded by men: her husband and three sons. During her free time you’ll find her watching The Walking Dead, reading a fabulous book or hanging out with her family.  Her website is at www.rcmatthews.com

 

Posted in Uncategorized

And Now for Something a Bit Frivolous, but Fun!

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on September 4, 2017 by Gothic WritersSeptember 5, 2017

Paper Horror Houses You Can Download, Print and Build for Free

Posted in Uncategorized

What Makes a Novel Memorable?

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on October 5, 2016 by Gothic WritersSeptember 5, 2017

by Connie Vines

The best stories connect with readers on a visceral level. They transport us to another time and place and put us in a different “skin,” where we face challenges we may never know in life. And yet, the commonality of the story problem draws us onward and, in solving it vicariously through the protagonist, changes us.

Another feature of a memorable story is characters that live off the page. One of the highest compliments I’ve never received for my novel “Lynx”, Rodeo Romance came when one reader told me she thought about my story constantly. She said that Lynx and Rachel’s story seemed so real, so heart wrenching, and their love so very enduring.  She said that she was going through a difficult time in her life and my story gave her hope.  Hope.  Hope for someone during a desperate time—I felt blessed that she shared her story.  I was also humbled.  It is moment such as this that I know just how powerful worlds and stories are to our readers.

While I never sit down at the keyboard and say, “I think I will write a powerful, life-changing story today.”  What I do, by nature, is select a social issue for the core of my stories.  Since my stories are character driven and often told in the first person, the emotion has a natural flow.

How do you create this type of engagement with your story?

Go beyond the five senses.  Your reader must feel your character’s emotions.  Your reader must forget there is a world outside of your story.

Embrace idiosyncrasies.  As teenagers everyone wanted to fit in, be one of the crowd.  Your character isn’t like anyone else.  Give him an unexpected, but believable trait.  In “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”,  my heroine, a Zombie has a pet. Not a zombie pet. Not a dog, or a cat.  She has a teddy bear hamster named Gertie.

Make them laugh. It doesn’t need to be slap-stick.  Just a little comic relief when the reader least expects it to happen.

Make them cry.  Remember the scene in the movie classic, Romancing the Stone, where Joan Wilder is crying when she writes the final scene in her novel?  I find this is the key.  If you are crying, your reader will be crying too.

If you are writing a romance, make them fall in love.  Make the magic last.  The first meeting, first kiss, the moment of falling in love.  These are the memories our readers savor, wait for in our stories.

Don’t disappoint them.

As Emily Dickinson, said so well:
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

Enjoy the month of Halloween, my lovelies!

Connie

Posted in Uncategorized

Goth Monday–How do you Define the ‘new’ Goth Genre?

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on July 26, 2016 by Gothic WritersSeptember 5, 2017

by Connie Vines

Good day,

It’s Goth Monday!

While scanning websites I located so interesting material.

Wikihow.com gives instructions on ‘how to write Gothic Fiction;.http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Gothic-Fiction

Have you read this article? Do you agree?  Disagree?  Is there a template of excellent fiction?
I believe the elements in each genre are what a reader is hungry for.  However, the storyline, can never be developed from a template.

What about the genre itself?

Has the genre evolved since “Dracula” and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was written? Or, in your opinion, has it spun into an entirely ‘un-gothic direction?

Is “American Gothic” the new Gothic?

Top Ten Gothic Films  Agree?

Worst Gothic Films  I liked ‘Mary Reilly’.  Even though I am not a Julia Roberts fan, I found the take on the story very thought provoking.  I also felt that”Lady Frankenstein”, it was a little disturbing (I have difficulty with Frankenstein and the abandonment issue evolving around of Victor and the Monster, anyway). However, I didn’t think is should be on this list.

Readers, what are you thoughts?

Posted in Uncategorized

Gothic Rose

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on July 18, 2016 by Gothic WritersSeptember 5, 2017

by Connie Vines

I located a website with a tutorial program (free) if you are interested in learning to sketch a Gothic rose.

I found this helpful, because I am not much of an artist. I like to add an additional touch when autographing my print books. http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/22325/1/1/how-to-draw-a-gothic-rose.htm

If you need additional tutoring (Connie is raising her hand), here is the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUsb-C9o44

I located another site about Gothic Arcitecture.  This site provided pictures and detailed information and photos of Gothic architecture.  For those of us not inclined to visit overseas to verify specific details in our WIP. This site will provide a great way to complete that scene.

 http://faculty.scf.edu/condorj/256/presentations/Gothic%20Constructions.pdf

Posted in Uncategorized

Gothic Fashion Links

Gothic Romance Writers Posted on June 27, 2016 by Gothic WritersSeptember 5, 2017

by Connie Vines

When writing our Gothic Fiction, fashion creates a sense of time and place.
For accuracy I have provided links so that you will make certain your research is correct.

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_fashion

http://www.aboutbritain.com/articles/victorian-clothes.asp

Social Classes
http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/art/costume/index.html


For the Victorian Gentlemen
https://www.gentlemansemporium.com/mens-late-victorian-clothing.php

From the British POV
http://www.aboutbritain.com/articles/mens-victorian-dress-code.asp

And because food is also important in a story
http://recipespastandpresent.org.uk/victoriancooking/

Posted in Uncategorized
       

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