Book Tour/Giveaway - Dreams of Mariposa by L.T. Getty

Dreams of Mariposa
by L.T. Getty

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GENRE: Steampunk-Horror

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BLURB:

Every decade, Marie must leave her home and everything she loves to start anew. She can’t risk the locals learning the truth of her immortality, much less her vampiric need of feeding off fear. Fortunately for Marie, fear comes easily and she spends her endless days mourning the loss of her beloved.

When she is summoned to the leaders of the masquerade, she is persuaded to assist them in uncovering a mystery of powers possibly more ancient then their own order.

As a rare daywalker of exquisite beauty, there is no society Marie cannot infiltrate. Having spent the last few centuries growing into her abilities, she expects to learn of the old powers, and return to her lonely eternity of mourning.

She doesn’t expect to fall in love.

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Excerpt:

“Where is this fool taking us?” one of Raoul’s men asked.

I realized then that they hadn’t been paying attention.

“Driver!” He reached his arm outside the open window to rap and get his attention, but I could smell the hiss of venom and knew it was intentional.

The horses ran quicker, and I could hear more coming up. They sought to isolate us and do their deed in the woods. Interesting choice, as there was no need to restrain ourselves without potential witnesses.

One of Raoul’s guards kicked open the door. He glided out. His gift included some manipulation of his form, and like a shadow he leapt onto the path, while his fellow went to climb up on the stagecoach.

Raoul glanced at me. “You’ll be safest in here.”

“Do not leave your men, guardian mine.”

His gaze darted from mine as I recognized the smell of flesh turning to ash, and light pierced the chest of the fellow on the roof of the coach. He exploded into dust before he could scream. The stench of sulphur was undeniable, even without our honed senses. The other fellow met a similar end a moment later.

Unfazed by the strange tool on a chain, Raoul unsheathed a rapier from his cane and struck the driver in the leg. The man was young. He met a knife at the rapier for the second strike, but the riders coming up were too late. Raoul knocked aside the gun and slashed the driver’s face before he pierced his heart. I bounced along uncomfortably as the driver was pushed forward and went under the back left wheel.

The horses squealed and ran faster. Raoul reached for the reins, but a rider came up from beside the carriage, then put her pistol in through the open window at me. I grabbed the weapon with such force I nearly knocked her off her horse and into the carriage’s paneling.



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Gothic Literature: A Brief History

When someone says Gothic, most would quickly think of a sense of very dark fashion or an old, very sharp angled architectural style. If I were to speak of literary traditions, iconic works such as Shelly’s Frankenstein or the works of Edgar Allen Poe typically come to mind. I’d like to take the opportunity in this guest post to talk about a brief history of the movement, as well as some lesser known authors and works that have helped shaped the genre we recognize today.

The Gothic movement started out as architecture and aesthetic seen originating in France during the 12^th Century, with an art style that followed suit. Religious themes dominated culture at this time, so this was a time of building great castles and cathedrals, and with it were swooping archways and peaked towers. You can see examples by clicking the links below.

As a literary genre, the gothic traditions goes beyond that of typical genre fiction, with several works of Dostoevsky and Bronte’s Wuthering Heights often cited as Gothic works without supernatural themes. What exactly are those themes? As stated above, there was typically a religious undertone. Hence, it leant itself into the essence of the supernatural, in addition to other more secular underpinnings. So while we see plenty of works that deal with haunted castles and themes of death and dying, secular themes include human madness and the inner darkness of one’s mind.

The first attributed novel of the movement, The Castle of Otranto by Walpole, was published in 1764 and was thought to combine the fanciful elements of the Arthurian Romantic tradition to the modern novel, which he thought was steeped in too much realism.

Ann Radcliff was a pioneer in the genre and became known for her explained supernatural – in other words, the seemingly paranormal has a natural explanation. This was often imitated in her time, we can see this idea being used in the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., where at the end of the film Holmes explains away all the supposedly supernatural things villain Lord Blackwood used to make his opponents fear him. Radcliff also has been  attributed as introducing what would later be called the Bryonic Hero.

If we were to consider the tropes often common in contemporary fiction, we find that they live on to this day. While not every novel that features elements of mystery or the supernatural constitutes as gothic per say, one could argue that it is the appeal of modernizing old stories that has led to not only the popularity of Urban Fantasy as a fantasy subgenre, but bringing in Horror, at least as it pertains to the supernatural, into the realm of speculative fiction.

What do you think of when you think of gothic? Do you agree or disagree that it encompasses multiple genres, or that it can relate towards readers across multiple genres?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction#Victorian_Gothic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themes_in_Fyodor_Dostoevsky%27s_writings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byronic_hero

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

L.T. Getty is a science fiction and fantasy writer who hails from the Canadian Prairies. When she’s not writing, you can likely find her driving an ambulance and dreaming about travel.
Blog:
https://ltgetty.wordpress.com/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479207.L_T_Getty
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48991028-dreams-of-mariposa
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Mariposa-Beautiful-Immortal-Deadly-ebook/dp/B084G9RV9D/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-of-mariposa-l-t-getty/1136133286
http://champagnebooks.com/store/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dreams-of-mariposa
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

L.T. Getty will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Please use this rafflecopter code on your post:

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