Tag: neo gothic romance

Cheating is a very popular theme in romance novels as well as the media.  [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link] explores the theme of betrayal from the perspective of the different character viewpoints. 

Please Note:  [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link] has been adapted to screenplay. Go to Home Page to view cinematic trailer.

Here are some of my thoughts regarding the topic:

In a series of interviews set in Jacksonville, Oregon I was asked about the bad boys in [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link]. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

W

Anastasia Blackwell poses during filming of music video for "The House on Black Lake", featuring aerial artists from Trapezepro on Sky Ranch in Sonoma.

The Following is a list compiled by the Manchester Library, and so offers an English opinion (and they are masters of the genre) of the best written written romance novels in genre of contemporary gothic suspense,  romantic suspense, modern romantic thriller, historical romance, modern romantic suspense.

I will soon be compiling a list with an American perspective of what consititutes the best romance novels of all time.

Not listed in order of preference:

1. [amazon_link id="0312339666" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Sailing to Capri[/amazon_link]  An English tycoon dies mysteriously and leaves a note naming six people he suspects might have wanted him dead, by Elizabeth Adler.

2. [amazon_link id="1560540966" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Scarlet Thread[/amazon_link] A British nurse and an American soldier meet, fall in love, and secretly marry during the Second World War. Years after the events of war separate them, a chance meeting brings the couple together to consider their lost love, by Evelyn Anthony.

3. [amazon_link id="B002QVRCE8" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Tregaron's Daughter[/amazon_link] A young woman from a small English village finds romance and mystery when she embarks on a voyage to Venice, by Madeleine Brent.

4. [amazon_link id="B000GH2YPG" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Rebecca[/amazon_link]  Classic Gothic tale of love and deception, by Daphne du Maurier

5. [amazon_link id="B002QPB3JY" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Darkwater[/amazon_link] Gothic romance with deep mystery and danger by Dorothy Eden

6. [amazon_link id="B000I762C0" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Property of a Gentleman[/amazon_link]  Set in England's Lake District, this novel revolves around the world of art and antiques, by Catherine Gaskin

7. [amazon_link id="0449240975" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Savannah Purchase[/amazon_link]  Savannah in the early 19th century is the setting for this novel of romance and intrigue, by Jane Aiken Hodge.

8. [amazon_link id="0385242999" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Silk Vendetta[/amazon_link] Historical romantic suspense set in 19th century England, by Victoria Holt

9. [amazon_link id="B000MN0CSA" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Shrouded Walls and the Dark Shore[/amazon_link]  Two spellbinding tales of romance, danger and death , by Susan Howatch

10.  [amazon_link id="0786235047" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]I Came to the Highlands[/amazon_link]  During the 1700s, with a heavy heart, a young woman leaves America and her true love to accompany her ill and destitute father to his family's castle in the Scottish Highlands. Unwelcome at the castle after her father's death, she is certain her life is in danger, by Velda Johnston

11. [amazon_link id="0816144036" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on the Left Bank[/amazon_link] In this late 19th century historical novel set in Paris, a young American woman faces many dangers as she seeks to solve a horrifying crime...a classic combination of Gothic romance and suspense. 

12. [amazon_link id="B000JI1QQK" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Shattered Silk[/amazon_link] The world of vintage couture is the setting for this suspenseful tale of romance and intrigue, by Barbara Michaels

13. [amazon_link id="006074748X" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Airs Above the Ground[/amazon_link]. . .[amazon_link id="0345468988" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Stormy Petrol[/amazon_link] Mystery, danger and love await the reader of novels written by this classic romantic suspense author Mary Stewart

14. [amazon_link id="0449005119" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Turquoise Mask[/amazon_link] In this novel by a master of romantic suspense, a woman returns to New Mexico to uncover secrets surrounding her mother's death, by Phyllis Whitney

15. [amazon_link id="0312081561" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]China Silk[/amazon_link] Despite warnings, a young girl accepts a marriage proposal from a British government official stationed in colonial Hong Kong in the 1920s, by Anne Worboys

CONTEMPORARY ROMANTIC SUSPENSE 

16. [amazon_link id="1416537775" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Hello Darkness[/amazon_link]. . . [amazon_link id="0743466764" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]White Hot[/amazon_link]. . .[amazon_link id="1416593527" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Chill Factor[/amazon_link] . . . [amazon_link id="1416523324" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Ricochet[/amazon_link]Popular author Sandra Brown delights fans with her fast-paced romantic thrillers.

17. [amazon_link id="0778323536" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]A Grave Mistake[/amazon_link]A novel of mystery, deceit and desire set in contemporary New Orleans, by Stella Cameron 

18. [amazon_link id="B004HMYA12" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Cove[/amazon_link]. . . [amazon_link id="B004HMRBEA" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Maze[/amazon_link]. . . [amazon_link id="B004HMWP2S" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Target[/amazon_link] Historical romance author Catherine Coulter delivers suspense and romance in her first three FBI thrillers.

19. [amazon_link id="0060727284" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Illusions[/amazon_link] The breathtaking mountains of Aspen, Colorado, form the backdrop for this romantic thriller by Janet Dailey

20. [amazon_link id="B0012V66BS" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Slow Burn, Murder List, Killjoy[/amazon_link]
An author known for her historical romances pleases her fans with novels of contemporary romantic suspense - Julie Garwood.

21. [amazon_link id="1414310552" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Danger in the Shadows[/amazon_link]In this novel with Christian fiction overtones, a woman in an FBI witness protection program faces danger when she finds herself falling in love.
 

22. [amazon_link id="B0039Q3FD6" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Prior Bad Acts[/amazon_link] Readers will find spine-chilling suspense and seductive romance in Tami Hoag's thrillers set in Minnesota. 

23. [amazon_link id="0553383841" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Haunting Rachel[/amazon_link] Gothic overtones mark this modern romantic thriller, by Kay Hooper

24. [amazon_link id="0743537521" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Open Season[/amazon_link]A small-town librarian, looking for a lover and trying to reinvent her boring life, faces danger when she becomes the target of a killer, by Linda Howard.

25. [amazon_link id="0515131741" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Lost and Found[/amazon_link]The world of art and antiques is the setting for Jayne Ann Krentz's novel of mystery and romance.

26. [amazon_link id="0060829834" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Wrong Hostage[/amazon_link]. . . [amazon_link id="0060504196" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Always Time to Die[/amazon_link] Elizabeth Lowell is an award-winning master of contemporary romantic suspense, and this duo is sure to please her many fans.

27.  [amazon_link id="0821763415" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]In The Dark[/amazon_link] A young woman is named sole beneficiary in her estranged aunt's will and then is suspected of murder when her aunt suddenly disappears. Can she trust the handsome investigator to whom she is is helplessly drawn?, by Meagan McKinney.

28. [amazon_link id="0446602485" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Night Train to Memphis[/amazon_link] More mystery than romance, this fifth installment in Elizabeth Peters' popular series features art professor, Vicky Bliss.

29. [amazon_link id="0440225043" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Midnight Hour[/amazon_link] . . . [amazon_link id="0671786601" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]To Trust a Stranger[/amazon_link] Fast-paced suspense with emphasis on romance, by Karen Robards

30. [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link] An obsession with a charismatic man leads an American woman on a seductive and harrowing journey through the Montreal underground.

31. [amazon_link id="0515133973" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Midnight Bayou[/amazon_link]  A winning combination of romance and mystery in New Orleans, by Nora Roberts

32. [amazon_link id="0553264613" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Hot Ice[/amazon_link] Exotic Madagascar setting...hot passion... highly-charged suspense, by Nora Roberts. 

33. [amazon_link id="0778321541" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Expose[/amazon_link]. . . [amazon_link id="155166836X" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Last Lover[/amazon_link] TV journalist Sally Harrington is featured in this contemporary romantic suspense series
by Connecticut author, Laura Van Wormer.

Courtesy of Manchester Public Library

I am honoured to be included in a short list of the most reknowned gothic romance writers. Please go to link to learn more about gothic genre, authors, music, architecture at:  https://sites.google.com/site/gothicromantic9/modern-books-and-writers

A.B.

I am hosting a radio program on blogtalkradio in which I will be offering an oral interpretation of  entire novel "The House on Black Lake" in a series of episodes. Following completetion of reading, I plan to discuss creation of story, journey to publication and adaptation of screenplay. The radio shows are live, but are archived, and can be listened to at any time.

For more information about my radio show, go to www.blogtalkradio.com.

Fairy tales and romantic comedies have led us down a path to seek beautiful romance. But, society tells us this may not be at all what we crave. Lady GaGa's new song is breaking records, as is Twilight. True Blood, Spartacus, Mad Men, and the list goes on. They all show bad romance at its very best. All seek something, but none really finds it.  Because it cannot be had without an interference. There is always the dark side ready to swallow us up - man and woman.

"The House on Black Lake" explores this theme through many different angles and individuals.  At book's end it is still not clear where the answer lies, but there is hope of something different and far more exhilarating. There is something about "Bad Romance" that lures us all and can be explosive if we learn how to harness it. The romantic candlelit table places too much expectation of perfection and beauty without the thorn that gives it its special allure.

Bad Romance - a revolution unfolds!

Bad Romance

When Alexandra enters the Sandeley's summer home, the first thing she sees is a lineup of  mounted animal head trophies. I never imaged  would find a house with such specimens in the entryway. So, I was quite shocked when I first entered the elegant Chateau Tivoli B and B in San Francisco and saw the mounted animals heads in the in the entryway. I immediately new that I must shoot the film trailer in this beautifu historicl Victorian hotel.