07-26-2010, 12:41 AM
I have been thinking alot about these questions lately. Many of the posts that I have read on this forum since I joined it a month ago have focused my thoughts on the differences between these terms. On the face of it, it seemed rather simple, but when I tried to describe it to myself, it became more complex. Then I ended up with more questions than answers.
I've taken a good, hard look at my own collection of gothic books and realize that it is best described by the word "exclusive". I mean it excludes alot of what is out there with the label "gothic" on it. For instance, I don't care for the supernatural in a gothic story. So writers like Barbara Michaels whom I know many readers find to be very gifted, are ruled out. I don't even bother trying them. Yet I know that she fits in the gothic/romantic suspense/gothic romantic suspense category somewhere.
Creature of habit that I am, I like basically the same type of story told over and over again in much the same way with variations that are clever, engaging, admirable in style and rich in mood and atmosphere, and the variations that I see on my bookshelf within these self-imposed limitations attest to the richness of possibility this genre has. I always know when I'm in the middle of a really good gothic story that it truly is an authentic experience of the gothic genre.
I doubt if I clarified anything, gothicromancereader, but I have yet to fully sort out my own thoughts.
I've taken a good, hard look at my own collection of gothic books and realize that it is best described by the word "exclusive". I mean it excludes alot of what is out there with the label "gothic" on it. For instance, I don't care for the supernatural in a gothic story. So writers like Barbara Michaels whom I know many readers find to be very gifted, are ruled out. I don't even bother trying them. Yet I know that she fits in the gothic/romantic suspense/gothic romantic suspense category somewhere.
Creature of habit that I am, I like basically the same type of story told over and over again in much the same way with variations that are clever, engaging, admirable in style and rich in mood and atmosphere, and the variations that I see on my bookshelf within these self-imposed limitations attest to the richness of possibility this genre has. I always know when I'm in the middle of a really good gothic story that it truly is an authentic experience of the gothic genre.
I doubt if I clarified anything, gothicromancereader, but I have yet to fully sort out my own thoughts.
