Carole Gill has been a friend of mine for some time now; we met over on Vamplit Writers, and recently Carole's first novel, The House On Blackstone Moor, has been published to rave reviews.
They say my father was mad, so corrupted by evil and tainted by sin that he did what he did. I came home to find them all dead; their throats savagely cut. My sisters only five and eight were gone as well as my brother who was twelve. My mother too lay butchered in her marriage bed. The bed her children were born in.
I discovered him first, in the sitting room, floating on a sea of crimson, the bloody razor still clutched in his hand.
How pitiful I must have looked, bent down trying to wake him. Calling to him over and over: “Papa please, please wake up!”
He could not waken of course. No more was he to open his eyes, not in this world, had I not been struck mad I would have realized.
Yet madness is sometimes a mercy when shadows come to take the horror away. Please do not pull away in terror, please. I have much to confess. Just be patient, for I promise I will tell you everything. The only thing I ask in return is for you not to judge me until you hear my entire story…”
So begins a tale of vampirism, madness, obsession and devil worship as Rose Baines, only survivor of her family’s carnage, tells her story.
Fragile and badly damaged by the tragedy, she obtains a position as governess at a desolate house on the haunted moors where demons dwell.
The house and the moors have hideous secrets and yet there is love too; deep, abiding and eternal…but it comes with a price, the loss of her soul.
Just the fact that she's got "Moor" in the title should tell people -- gothic. Yay! Think Jane Eyre with supernatural, devil worship, and of course, everyone's favorite -- vampires. Carole doesn't just tell a tale about characters interacting with vampires, she also explores some all-too-human, and upsetting, issues such as child abuse and madness.
So, what exactly is Blackstone Moor about? Here's the blurb:
I discovered him first, in the sitting room, floating on a sea of crimson, the bloody razor still clutched in his hand.
How pitiful I must have looked, bent down trying to wake him. Calling to him over and over: “Papa please, please wake up!”
He could not waken of course. No more was he to open his eyes, not in this world, had I not been struck mad I would have realized.
Yet madness is sometimes a mercy when shadows come to take the horror away. Please do not pull away in terror, please. I have much to confess. Just be patient, for I promise I will tell you everything. The only thing I ask in return is for you not to judge me until you hear my entire story…”
So begins a tale of vampirism, madness, obsession and devil worship as Rose Baines, only survivor of her family’s carnage, tells her story.
Fragile and badly damaged by the tragedy, she obtains a position as governess at a desolate house on the haunted moors where demons dwell.
The house and the moors have hideous secrets and yet there is love too; deep, abiding and eternal…but it comes with a price, the loss of her soul.
Taught, suspenseful, and a sure to-be-edge-of-your-seat read, right? Interested in winning a free e-copy? Then please leave me a comment below telling me your favorite gothic novel!
For more information on Carole (who is planning a sequel to Blackstone Moor, please visit her blog here, and she's also blogging with several very talented writers right here!
Wow thank you so much, Nicole! I am delighted to be here and very happy indeed to give a book away!
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Pleasure is all mine, Carole!
ReplyDeleteyes please... but favourite gothis novel... tough... modern gothic, possibly Marfin's Gothique or the early Anne Rice interview books. Original gothic (flowing into 19th C)... I'd say Feval's Vampire City - especially as he had Ann Radcliffe as the heroine
ReplyDeleteWow Nicole, so glad I stopped by your blog today! I don't think I've ever read a "gothic" novel. I've read Rebecca and I think that has an element of traditional gothic in it; I can never hear a peacock without thinking of that book, that is the most eerie and mournful sound!
ReplyDeleteI read a few Victoria Holt novels when I was young; weren't they considered gothic?
I don't know what elements have to be present for a book to be labeled Gothic but I certainly know I want to read this book: the blurb puts me in mind of Edgar Allen Poe's writing style. First person narrative, what is being revealed is horrific yet the speaker is calm and emotionally distant from what he/she is saying; almost like a trauma victim in a prolonged state of shock: they've convinced themselves it happened to someone else, that they didn't live through such an event. At least that's my take :)
Definitely putting The House on Blackstone Moor on my TBR list: I'm going to start posting a Sunday column of books not to be missed, new releases or new to me. My mother, and several friends are constantly asking me, "what should I read next?" Boy do I have an answer now!
Carole, great story, I can't wait to read it!
See you next week Nicole!
wow! thank you, Rachel I think you'll like it be sure to check out my latest reviews:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33847
Today's most recent had me in tears I was so honored!
Thanks!
as for what gothic is, it's dark, bleak and frought with danger. But amongst all of that darkness there exists too the light of promised love or at least the hope of it--
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you mentioned Rebecca because my book is being compared to it, the style and so on. Anyway, thanks very much!
and thank you, Nicole!