Gothic Romance

Since mid-December 2016 my life has been upside down. My husband became ill with such a severe case of shingles on his face (and in his eye) he had to be hospitalized. That was just one part of the problem, as it turned out. He also had contracted an intense face eating bacteria all over the same area of his face. Four months later, after the bacteria kept returning—always worse than the time before—he is still on medication and unable to do much of anything. He also has new health issues caused by some of the drugs he had to take. 

I thought I’d just post a bit about my Gothic romance novella this month, and I apologize for not being around more. Many unexpected responsibilities fell into my lap during this time, and I’m doing my best but it leaves little time for writing-related activities.

Last year my novella length contemporary Gothic, Raven of Blackthorn Manor, became part of the A World of Gothic series. This was such an exciting experience! The story is set in a remote part of Ireland on a very haunted property.

Gothic romance is not a large genre, but there are many loyal fans who love stories set to a Gothic theme. A World of Gothic has a slight twist to the traditional theme—the stories are contemporary and are only novella length which is around 30,000 words.  

There's something about a perilous tale where an intelligent heroine is surrounded by danger and attracted to a hero who seems to be her greatest enemy that lures me ever deeper into the story.

Do you enjoy reading Gothic romance? If so, please share what you love most about the genre, or your favorite Gothic story ever.

These are the first five novellas in the A World of Gothic series, and there are several more now. They are all fabulous reads. 

About Raven of Blackthorn Manor:

When Morgana Pierce accepts an invitation to Blackthorn Manor, known as Ireland’s most haunted property, she hopes to convince the gloomy owner, Sir Dermott Blackthorn, to allow her crew to film the property for her paranormal series.

Morgana has a secret of her own. She’s on a quest to find the father she never knew. Her only clue to his whereabouts led her to this bleak property on an isolated windswept Irish peninsula, where myths, legends and goddesses still seem to live and breathe.

Morgana’s ability to communicate with the dead soon puts her in danger as she learns there have been several suspicious deaths and disappearances in recent years. Threats against her own life force her to decide how to navigate an ever darker reality.

Dermott Blackthorn’s ancestral line has been cursed for nine generations, and he is the last one. His death is imminent if things unfold as they have for the previous eight Blackthorns.

Morgana is attracted to Blackthorn’s mysterious and moody house guest, Ronan McIver. He is both protective and dismissive of her, sending mixed signals. What is he doing at Blackthorn Manor?

As the danger surrounding Morgana intensifies, the setting is ripe for the perfect storm. She must rely on someone, but who can she trust? 

~*~*~

GEMMA JULIANA lives in Texas, USA with her own personal hero. She has lived in many countries, including Ireland. She was very excited about setting this novella in Southern Ireland and weaving spooky ancient Irish mythology into the plot.

http://www.gemmajuliana.com 

 

Do You Believe In Banshees?

September is flying by, and Halloween is around the corner, so the theme of banshees seems like a timely topic.

According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a banshee is a female spirit in Irish and Scottish stories who cries loudly to warn people that someone is going to die soon, and another of their meanings is: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die.

It’s easy to put it all down to too much whiskey or superstitious nonsense, but banshees actually exist. I’ve known Irish families that have had banshee activity over several generations. Furthermore, Irish folklore tells us that the “bean sidhe” was a fairy woman from the realm of the fairies, and that humans were very unhappy to see her combing her hair or wailing on their property. Such families saw her as a sign that one of their own would soon die.

Perhaps the most famous account of an ancient Banshee is that of Aibhill. She was attached to the tribe of Brian Boru, from the royal house of O’Brien. She haunted the rock Craglea near the palace at Kincora near Killaloe. The night before the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, she visited the old king and told him he would not survive the battle. With that, his fate was sealed.  

Irish history tells many stories of banshee sightings, experiences, visitations and subsequent family deaths.

~*~

I grew up reading the stories of Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney, Daphne du Maurier, and other classic Gothic authors. I’m thrilled when I find a contemporary Gothic story, but sadly it’s an *underpopulated* genre. So, I was excited to be invited to write a contemporary Gothic mystery novella for the new series, A World of Gothic. I’ve blended a sprinkling of the paranormal with Irish mythology and the Gothic formula.

Here’s a blurb about my novella, Raven of Blackthorn Manor. It’s now available for a limited time exclusively on Amazon for $0.99.

When Morgana Pierce accepts an invitation to visit Blackthorn Manor, known as Ireland’s most haunted property, she hopes to convince the gloomy owner, Sir Dermott Blackthorn, to let her crew film the property for her paranormal television special.

But Morgana has a secret reason for being at Blackthorn Manor. Her only clue to the whereabouts of her father is a thirty-year old letter on the manor’s letterhead. Her quest leads her to this bleak property on an isolated windswept Irish peninsula.

Morgana’s ability to communicate with the dead soon lands her in danger as she learns about several suspicious deaths and disappearances in recent years. Threats against her life then force her to figure out how to navigate an ever darker reality.

Dermott Blackthorn’s ancestral line was cursed for nine generations, and he is the last. His death is imminent if things unfold as they have for the previous eight Blackthorns.

Morgana is attracted to Blackthorn’s mysterious and moody house guest, Ronan McIver. He is both protective and dismissive, sending mixed signals. Why is he staying at Blackthorn Manor?  

As danger intensifies, the setting becomes ripe for the perfect storm. The time arrives when she must rely on someone, but who can she trust?

RAVEN OF BLACKTHORN MANOR ~~ AMAZON BUY LINK: http://a.co/5qGdAdS

~*~

Have you got a banshee story to share? Are you from a culture where a creature similar to the banshee announces an impending death?

~*~

GEMMA JULIANA has traveled the world and lived in many countries, so she enjoys placing characters in international settings and sprinkling magical spice into her stories. Whether she’s turning up the heat on a character or playing matchmaker, writing gives her great satisfaction, especially when her muse cooperates. She shares a cozy Texas cottage with her true love, teen son, and a very crafty dog, who rules them all. Her muse is nourished with the finest fuel for creativity – chocolate.

Visit Gemma’s website, join her mailing list, and chat with her on social media.

www.gemmajuliana.com

http://gemmajuliana.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/author/gemmajuliana

www.twitter.com/gemma_juliana

www.facebook.com/gemma.juliana

https://www.pinterest.com/gemmajuliana/

The Spartacus Effect

I don't know about you guys but I am continually shocked at how graphic television has gotten. I'm not complaining mind you. The sight of sexiness doesn't hurt my delicate eyeballs. The sounds of people making love, having sex, doing the nasty, bumping uglies, knocking boots, getting laid, whatever does not offend me in the slightest. As a matter of fact I find it somewhat cool to be able to follow a storyline all the way into the bedroom/car/back hallway/airport bathroom wherever this sort of activity is taking place, if it helps do something for the actual story that I'm also following.

And, when done well, it really does provide motivation for main characters and adds a little "somethin' somethin'" to the draggiest of plots.

It is my contention that these premium channels (HBO, Starz, Showtime, Cinemax, even A&E to a certain extent) are in some sort of silent race for the raciest....a quest for the highest (or lowest) point of sexual activity one can show and it NOT be labelled as pornography. There are scenes of out and out oral sex (Californication, Banshee), vamp sex with biting and bloodiness (True Blood), sex with minors (Weeds), sex with prostitutes (Deadwood), werewolf sex (True Blood), redneck sex with a "bonus Swinger party!" (Justified although this one is not quite as out there as some), sex while zombies threaten your existence (Walking Dead), 1960's sex (Mad Men), 1930's sex (Boardwalk Empire), fetish sex (Weeds), pimp giving sex lessons to the whores sex (Game of Thrones), gay male sex, plus all kinds of glorious weirdness like sex with your mother-in-law so she can get pregnant PLUS BDSM fun (I LOVE THIS SHOW: Shameless).

But nothing and I mean Nothing with a capital "N" beats one show for out-and-out, show-it-all-why-not, orgies, girl/girl, boy/boy, slave/master (literally), sex as reward, sex as relaxation after a bloody day on the battlefield, sex help from the slaves you NAME it they have DONE it: Spartacus.

Now, I love a good sandals and swords romp. I honestly figured that it would be a one-and-done. I mean, if you know your history, you know that "Spartacus" the man did not live that long. He was a brave gladiator who did a brave thing (burning down his arena while leading a slave rebellion). But honestly? Stretching this thing out 4 or 5 seasons seemed a bit craven and lame. Until I figured out what this show is about.

Yep. You guessed it. Sex. All kinds and forms of it--beautiful, erotic, lovemaking; enthusiastic, jaw-dropping orgies; man love (a lot of this, which gives the show an A+ in my book for veracity); choose your partner parties (which to this day makes me hear "I love quick time harch" in my head). In the very first season there was a scene whereby the Dominus and Domina (yeah, check the roots of THOSE words Oh 50 Shades of Dismay fans) are having a lovely evening together, sharing wine and a meal, chatting about their day watching the yard full of barely dressed, muscular dudes beat the sh*t out of each other for their master's sport, ripping off the townspeople, plotting the downfall of fellow mid-grade managers like themselves--the usual workaday Roman stuff. And as they continue talking they commence getting naked, fairly matter of factly (you would have to turn to straight up porn to see more man-dingle than you do in this show. None of it erect, mind you and alas.). They keep chatting, "Oh the woes of we who lead," sort of stuff as they fall into a bit of cursory gettin' it on. Kind of a "Oh let's have sex before we go to sleep kind of thing, could ya hurry up with that hon?" You know....we've all been there.

BUT.....just as things seems to be moving along at a normal, married couple sex way, the slaves waltz in and start...well, "diddling" their masters is the only word for it. Swear it. Rent the thing and see. It's Lucy Lawless (who is the BEST bad gal ever---too bad she was a Roman and had to go) and that dude from The Mummy and Four Weddings an a Funeral, getting off -- or I guess "finishing off" with a little help from the help.  Yowza.

And the parties that Lucy would throw! Whew. Plus she had the super triple bonus of pretty much having a stable of studlies to choose from when she wanted a little private pony ride.  She chose wisely, in Crixus, but he felt otherwise.

Listen, this thing is many times over the top. They all are (see: Shameless and Californication). We are all sort of numb to this kind of thing anymore so shows like Spartacus are invented to see if they can throw us for a collective "Holy crap can you do that on tv?" sort of loop. And I love it.

What is your favorite over-the-top show? If Spartacus is your cup of amphora-aged wine (like mine 'cause we are just nasty) who is your favorite character? What was your favorite storyline? I LOVED the evil Illythia b*tch.  She was awesomely awful.  I can see the thing is winding down to it's well-known, historically recorded ending. (Spartacus sees the business end of a cross). But lo and behold we have a new hotster this season and his name is: Gaius Julius Caesar.  Yeah. And he is gettin' HIS own show once we move past our nasty, dirty, slave rebellion.

mmmm mmmm mmmmm......rendering unto Caesar never sounded so promising...

Happy watching! (or Happy Endings)

P.S. this show has it's own built in sad story too. The absolutely adorable Andy Whitfield played Spartacus The Original Anger Issues Slave Guy. He was diagnosed with cancer and died about six months after, leaving behind a wife and child.  The new guy Liam something or another is good. But he is no Andy.

p.p.s. Spartacus is also the most egregiously violent thing on tv--fake blood and all. Seriously if you want the full bore "history with the guts, gore and fellatio and a fair bit of cunnilingus and man meat left in", get your paws on this show.
Liz

Oh, right, the promo bit: Ahem:
ESSENCE OF TIME, the 4th book in the award winning, top selling Stewart Realty series won another award:

so to celebrate my publisher marked this AMAZING novel (yes, novel) down to just .99 on ALL the usual sites!
Amazon
B&N
ARe