Dreams of Mariposaby 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 12th
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?
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:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI like this cover.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing job you have! Loved the excerpt!
ReplyDeleteDid you design the cover of your book?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the description of the book. Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed following the tour for Dreams of Mariposa and I can't wait to check it out. Thanks for sharing all of the great posts along the way.
ReplyDeleteI just love Goth Horror!! Omgossssssh!
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt
ReplyDeleteTerrific cover
ReplyDeleteSounds like a page-turner!
ReplyDelete