A Far Future Project (Gothic Romance Experiment)

 

  

Gothic romance is a genre that has always fascinated me, and I confess that, of the gothic romances I have read, few appeal to my sense of pleasure in completing a book. In case you are wondering, the definition of gothic romance is "a fiction genre that blends intense, passionate love stories with a dark, eerie, and suspenseful atmosphere. It focuses on emotional vulnerability, hidden secrets, and psychological tension rather than a joyful, straightforward plot." (Source: Reddit - r/DarkRomance)

So I got to wondering if I could write a gothic romance that appealed not only to my own personal pleasure, but to the pleasure of others.

So I went to ChatGPT and had some dummy covers made with a character who caught my fancy in the first two books in the series. Please note, and this is important:

I do not use AI in my writing. That is strictly forbidden for me, and using AI breaks the unspoken contract between my readers and me. Three human editors inspect and check all my work, not AI. Covers are one thing (I cannot afford $500 for a cover. I'm sorry), but my stories are 100% me.

Anyway, the reason these works aren't listed in my last writing progress entry is that writing these romance books is a far-off dream.

I know people will wonder why these covers feature an anthropomorphic wolf. The reason is that it takes place, with his permission, in author Eric Hinkle's Beastian universe where humans live on equal terms with anthropomorphic animals. It may be two or three years from now before I can tackle this project, but I'm excited. Wish me well.

So, tell me ... do you read gothic romance? Would you give my experiments a chance?

Writing Progress Report

  

I am quite close to publishing the paperback edition of Dark Dreams and Darker Visions. The ebook has already been released and is currently available on all Amazon markets.

1. The Shrine War is a braided novel consisting of three novellas under one cover: The Shrine War, The Inugami, and Incident at a Japanese Inn. The Shrine War is complete, The Inugami is being checked out by my editing team, and I am still beating out an exciting conclusion in Incident at a Japanese Inn.
2. I am working with my co-author, Ken Pick, on wrapping up the first book in The Adventures of Jill Noir trilogy, and I will be delighted to put the first book, The Ferret and the Priest, to bed once and for all. The story is hard SF and takes place in Ken's WebFed universe.
3. Then, in no particular order, I need to finish:
1. Doll Wars, a fantasy war between secret societies who team up with magical and deadly child-sized ball-jointed dolls,
2. The Lord of All Futures, a dystopian tale of the near future,
3. Rat Hunt, a weird novella of terror in the New York City underground,
4. Chaos carolinensis, my salute to pulp stories with blobs about a mutated amoeba gone berserk, and
5. Grave Gate, a sword-and-sorcery tale about four adventurers biting off more than they can handle in a dungeon controlled by a lich.

Keep an eye out for further developments, and don't forget to support me by enjoying my books through your country's Amazon and, as always, please leave a review.