It seems like yesterday that I was bemoaning the onset of winter. Now, summer is almost upon us (or at least it is here in Italy, where 25°C is considered a perfectly reasonable May temperature). And summer is, in my mind, associated with one thing above all else: the Edinburgh eBook Festival, masterminded by the unflagging Cally Phillips.
This year I’ve been booked to write some contribution pieces about Gothic fiction. Since the Festival is concerned to a large extent with eBooks and self-publishing, I’d like to shine a light on some examples of good self-published Gothic fiction (ironically, I suppose, given the Gothic preference for murk and mystery). I’ve a few ideas already, but of course the sheer number of books out there is bewildering, so once again I’m sending out a plea for help: if anyone out there knows of any great self-published Gothic fiction, please get in touch. You can leave a comment, contact me via Twitter or Facebook, or email me: mari.biella@gmail.com.
I suppose it’s quite funny, in a way. Shouldn’t Gothic novels be lurking in the internet’s darkest corners, fangs bared, waiting for their chance to leap out at unsuspecting passersby? And of course, like all genres, Gothic fiction is a bit nebulous: where exactly do we draw the line that demarcates the Gothic from the non-Gothic? But one of the points I’m hoping to make during the Festival is that Gothic fiction is a vital, living – or perhaps undead – variety of literature, that will continue to develop and remain relevant. Nobody’s going to drive a stake through this genre’s heart just yet.
So, if anyone out there knows of any self-pubbed Gothic fiction that deserves to rub icy shoulders with Frankenstein or share coffin space with Dracula (all right, I’m setting the bar high there, I grant you), please don’t hesitate to get in touch. In the unlikely event that I’m deluged with suggestions, I may not be able to include them all, though I will consider them all. And those that I do include probably won’t shoot to the top of the book charts as a result, though given the Gothic taste for the highly unlikely I suppose you never know…
maribiella.wordpress.com 
Hello, Mari. I was impressed by this book by a new writer, which struck me as original, though I haven’t deled much into werewolf fiction; I loved the humour: –
[https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/386902]
That’s the Smashwords link and my review on it.
Lovely, Lucinda, thanks – I’ll have a look!
Thanks Mari. Silly me, don’t bother giving the name, will you, Lucinda! It was ‘Hunter’s Moon’ by Emily Wolf.
I can’t think of any Gothic fiction I’ve read to recommend, but I am looking forward to your post at the Festival!
-aniko
Thank you, Aniko!
Still not getting all your posts, Marie and we’re both on WordPress. Defies logic.
Anyway…
It’s not THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO or DRACULA but my new book ‘And Soon The Song’ just about creeps in to Gothic fiction. There’s a mediaeval hall, an insane ghost, a thousand years of evil, a comic butler, several dogs of hell, lots of history, bits of pastiche (but not pasties, in this one) and forbidden love. There are also a few sly forays into quantum mechanics and grand guignol, but all in all, you might find it to be Gothic.
http://bookShow.me/B00ISTXV38
Okay, I’ll stop now 🙂
Thanks for the comment, JD. I apologise for it not showing up – I just discovered that for some reason it has been languishing amongst the spam! I’ve no idea why this should be happening…
I’ve already bought a copy of AND SOON THE SONG and will try my best to read it by June 30th! (That’s my deadline for delivering my contribution posts.)
I’m not getting your posts, so maybe it’s a WordPress problem, but many thanks for buying the book and good luck with getting through it by the 30th!