Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Jennifer Vido | Jen’s Jewels Interview: A DREADFUL SPLENDOR by B. R. Myers
Interviews , Jen's Jewels / August 26, 2022

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, A DREADFUL SPLENDOR? B.R. Meyers: I was eight years old, and home sick from school one day and my mom let me watch the local channel’s afternoon movie, The Pit and the Pendulum (she was a big Vincent Price fan). The last five minutes of that movie terrified me — but in a fun way. And even though I’ve seen most of his other movies (House of Wax is stellar!) that first trip to the Medina Castle in The Pit and the Pendulum was the seed that eventually led to me write A Dreadful Splendor many years later. Never underestimate the power of television! The story started much the same way most of my book ideas come to me, in the form of a certain scene, a tiny vignette that keeps replaying in my mind. I ask myself: Is this the beginning, the middle, or the end? And who is telling the story? The more questions I ask, the more layers get added and slowly the premise becomes clear. For A Dreadful Splendor it was the final séance scene complete with a fake spiritualist and rigged tricks. Then I wondered; What would happen…

Isabel Canas Interview – Gothic Delights
Author Guest , Interviews / May 4, 2022

First of all – I love the cover for your book THE HACIENDA. It seems to capture the mood based on the book’s description. Your book is described as “Mexican Gothic” and “supernatural suspense”. What does that mean to you? How would you describe that for readers? THE HACIENDA is a genre-bending novel that combines elements of historical, horror, thriller, paranormal, and fantasy, tying it all together with a dash of romance. I believe the term “supernatural suspense” signals to readers what kind of experience awaits them between the covers: a suspenseful, terrifying tale of ghosts, witchcraft, and things that go bump in the night. Mexican Gothic is both a comp title (as in, THE HACIENDA will appeal to readers of the novel Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia) and, I believe, a genre in and of itself with ample room to grow! So many things about Mexican culture and history lend themselves beautifully to the Gothic as a genre: ghosts, tempestuous colonial histories, long-buried secrets, buildings that are hundreds of years old, the cultural predominance of and tension between Catholicism and traditional religious beliefs, and the skeletal iconography of holidays such as the Day of the Dead. I eagerly await…

Miranda Owen | Contemporary Gothics
Author Guest / March 26, 2019

Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen loves a contemporary gothic story! The atmosphere, the moody settings, and the thought-provoking plotlines… The de Vincent estate was one of the most haunted locations in the entire state of Louisiana. –MOONLIGHT SCANDALS by Jennifer L. Armentrout I have been fascinated by gothic tales of romance and danger since I read my first Dorothy Daniels book in junior high. It had a predictably historical setting, with a dash of the paranormal, and a hint of romance. For a long time, I only connected gothics with a historical setting, and never imagined that there were such things as contemporary gothics. I recently discovered Jennifer L. Armentrout’s spectacular “de Vincent” series and was immediately sucked into her world of danger, mystery, and eroticism with a decidedly gothic edge. All of the authors discussed in this article utilize a few classic elements of a gothic novel but throw them in a story with a contemporary setting. She felt…God, this sounded insane, she felt watched. Obviously, she wasn’t being watched unless it was by a ghost. There were no windows and no one else was in here. –MOONLIGHT SINS by Jennifer L. Armentrout Location is everything. Authors who…

Fresh Pick | THE SPLENDOR FALLS by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Uncategorized / September 10, 2009

September 2009On Sale: September 8, 2009528 pages ISBN: 0385736908EAN: 9780385736909Hardcover$17.99Young AdultBuy at Amazon.com The Splendor Fallsby Rosemary Clement-Moore Can love last beyond the grave? Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship. Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand. Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well? Previous Picks Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books…

Fresh Pick | MISTRESS OF MELLYN by Victoria Holt
Uncategorized / September 9, 2009

December 2008On Sale: December 23, 2008Featuring: Connan TreMellyn; Martha Leigh336 pages ISBN: 0312384157EAN: 9780312384159Trade Size (reprint)$13.95 Romance Historical, Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Mistress of Mellynby Victoria Holt The Classic Novel of Romantic Suspense Mount Mellyn stood as proud and magnificent as she had envisioned… But what about its master–Connan TreMellyn? Was Martha Leigh’s new employer as romantic as his name sounded? As she approached the sprawling mansion towering above the cliffs of Cornwall, an odd chill of apprehension overcame her. TreMellyn’s young daughter, Alvean, proved as spoiled and difficult as the three governesses before Martha had discovered. But it was the girl’s father whose cool, arrogant demeanor unleashed unfamiliar sensations and turmoil–even as whispers of past tragedy and present danger begin to insinuate themselves into Martha’s life. Powerless against her growing desire for the enigmatic Connan, she is drawn deeper into family secrets–as passion overpowers reason, sending her head and heart spinning. But though evil lurks in the shadows, so does love–and the freedom to find a golden promise forever… Previous Picks Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.