Saturday, August 31, 2019

New Book is Coming!



The death of a spouse is life-changing and so my writing has changed. It's taken three years for me to work on a book, but I am and that's a major accomplishment. It's a different genre, don't have the desire to write dark horror any more. I do have the inspiration and affection for my cat and for felines in general. I learned a great deal about cats, their history and their surprising and unique personalities.

Please be patient and follow me through this journey. The cat that features in the book is special and so are her adventures. She has a mission to follow. It is of great benefit to those lucky enough to meet her.

I can't say when it will be done, but each day is a day closer. There's history, humor, pathos, poignancy and an array of emotions--from human and animal points of view. It is not a children's book. Please stay tuned!


Saturday, July 13, 2019

My Work in Progress--WHY CATS?





Cats are special. Having had dogs I didn't realize how unique and special they were until I had one. My dogs had to be rehomed after my husband's death as I could no longer walk them. It hurt. Any pet owner knows just how much it can hurt.

I have a very special cat. Her name is Sasha and this is her at 8 weeks.

She is three now and in the time I have had her, she has been there for me through my worst grieving. Always supportive and loyal she taught me just how special a special feline can be. 

A more recent photo. She has this intense way of looking at me sometimes. Like she knows all about me. It's like she wants to speak! Okay, I'm a writer and I am imagining that, but perhaps she does, in her own cat-like way. 

Any time I get upset or fall into the depths of sadness over my loss, I perk up just looking at cats. I watch videos of them, I share photos and I find I am feeling better. 

The book I'm writing is about a cat that is special, special in supernatural ways. And it saves people because of this talent! I will dedicate the book to Sasha because she saved me from the depths of sadness. If I look at her, I can see in her eyes that she knows every secret written in my soul. She knows the names of the people that helped me and those that didn't. 

She knows and understands and that, in itself, is comforting. 








Tuesday, June 18, 2019

My Work and Upcoming Work


It's so ironical but all of the work that is published is dark. There's a 4-novel vampire series, book 1 of another vampire series and a horror novel about a circus as well as the darkest work about Countess Bathory. There is also my collected horror stories. All my books are published by Next Chapter Pub.  The irony is, I wrote these works during the happiest time of my life!

Truthfully, my life has been no picnic. Childhood was great but for about twenty five years after it, it was pretty awful. Traumatic actually. That's probably where the horror comes from. Those years tore into my soul and left a presence. Just the way it is. That presence is what I tapped into when I was married and wrote all that work.

I have written about hell, but now I really know what it feels like since my husband's death. I'm still clawing my way back. But I'm writing again and feel like myself. I have a work in progress which is going well.

Meanwhile, If you like dark horror, please check out my Amazon Author page:


THANK YOU!

Monday, March 4, 2019

Epic vampire Series, told against the backdrop of history



The series spans many human lifetimes because it is the story of vampires. The saga begins in Victorian England and ends there, but takes the reader into Ancient Egypt, Rome and beyond.

You will meet the famous and infamous. Ever wonder what vampire brothels are like? Some Roman emperors liked them! Well, Caligula did, as you will see!

You will also see what sacrifice is all about. Would you give up your soul for love? If you don't think you would, you might change your mind after reading the series!

At the core of it all, is the passion of the vampire. Although, dark--it is deep. It lasts for centuries because the vampire does!

ALL FOUR NOVELS, $4.99

THE HOUSE ON BLACKSTONE MOOR
After discovering her savagely murdered family, Rose Baines is plunged into a nightmare of hell. She is incarcerated in two madhouses, after which she is helped to obtain a position as governess at Blackstone House. Located on haunted moorland, nothing is as it seems for the House and its inhabitants have hideous secrets. There is unimaginable horror there, and love too--love that comes at a terrible price.

UNHOLY TESTAMENT - THE BEGINNINGS
Rose and her children find themselves held captive on a ship staffed by vampires, overseen by the mad and evil demon Eco. The last time Rose saw Eco he tried to destroy the children, and now he tells her he loves her. 

“I saw you leave the house that day, Rose. That terrible day you discovered your family butchered. I saw you…” 
Eco, believing he has fallen in love with her, pens a confession documenting all sins he has committed during his immortal existence. 

From Ancient Egyptian vampire cults, Roman vampire brothels, The Dark Ages, The Crusades, The Black Death of 1348, on to his meeting with the child murderer and former aide to Joan of Arc, Satanist Gilles de Rais, and concluding with his wicked, blood-soaked affair with the Blood Countess herself, Erzebat Bathory. The pages are filled with debauchery, vice and murder – how can one stained with so much blood and evil possibly be trusted?

UNHOLY TESTAMENT - FULL CIRCLE
Vampiric orgies and satanic rites fill the pages of this book. All of the hideous secrets of Blackstone House are revealed. Every evil that Rose Baines was subjected to is closely examined, as are those who committed the worst sins against her.
Rose and her children's ordeal continues. They are still held captive on a ship staffed by vampires, overseen by the demon Eco.

There are more blood-drenched confessions to read. Rose has no choice but to finish the journal. Eco, mad and as unpredictable as ever, can snap at any time. But will he? 

The rest of the journal tells of the sick and twisted obsession Eco has had for Blackstone House's former mistress, evil and debauched Eve Darton. There are aristocratic devil rites, both in England and France, including satanic sacrifices. There is the Great Fire of London 1666, plagues, vampire destroyers, witch hunts and resurrection men who supply a necrophile doctor. 

The novel comes full circle as all the hideous secrets of Blackstone House are revealed, as are the reasons Rose’s father killed himself and his family. 

Eco, first seen in the previous book, has documented all of the sins he has committed during the course of his immortal life. Trying to get Rose to forgive him, he forces Rose to read his journal by holding her children hostage.
Dracula makes his debut. He is a friend of Eco's. He and the other vampires have killed a child's mother.  The dying mother begs Rose to take the child and she does.

THE FOURTH BRIDE
Dia, the child Rose adopted grows to adulthood and marries. But after the tragic and sudden death of her groom, Dia, cursed by Dracula as a babe, is taken to his castle. Once there, she is seduced and turned by the count and becomes his fourth bride. The other brides are to be her sisters. All are to love and feed upon one another. Dia's tale is full of erotic sex and graphic violence. It is a tale of love and lust but mostly of blood, for the blood is everything.

REVIEWS


2014 - Amazon Bestseller in Dark Fantasy - THE BLACKSTONE VAMPIRES OMNIBUS
2015 - Amazon Bestseller in Vampire Horror - THE BLACKSTONE VAMPIRES OMNIBUS
AWARDS:

"92 Horror authors you need to read right now"
Carole Gill -- the Blackstone Vampires series
~Charlotte Books - EXAMINER

"In the attempt to find the just measure of horror and terror, I came upon the writing of Carole Gill whose work revealed a whole new dimension to me. The figure of the gothic child was there. Stoker's horror was there. Along with the romance! At the heart of her writing one stumbles upon a genuine search for that darkness we lost with the loss of Stoker." 
DR. MARGARITA GEORGIEVA ~ Gothic Readings in The Dark


Thursday, February 21, 2019

HOW THE MONSTER BECAME A VAMPIRE





Bathory's name and her family's importance ensured she avoided trial for her crimes, despite the king wanting her put on trial. Instead, she was imprisoned in her castle under deplorable conditions, which is some comfort. This excerpt are her recollections of death and then undeath. Raised from the dead by Anton, the vampire who has fallen in love with her and cannot believe she committed the crimes she is supposed to have committed, has given her immortality.

"Time passed and I suffered, for there were months of unbearable cold. If I felt I would succumb, I soon realized I wouldn’t. Why can’t I just die, I wondered? I begged to freeze to death, but did not. No fire was permitted in my domain, no blankets or coats, the thin blanket long gone, although I did finally have a thin, torn coverlet with the smell of dog urine on it. That stink faded in time or perhaps I got used to it. Spring came. I could tell from the sound of birds I heard. That and the scent of wildflowers that grew along the castle ramparts. I knew the colors to be bright.

Why hadn’t I ever admired such things when I had the chance? My prison was actually warm in summer. What a welcome respite! Autumn less so, for it signaled the approach of winter. Did I expect better treatment? In all honesty, I did not. It was to be endured until the escape by death was at last granted to me. I became ill and old. Yes, finally—though I had no mirrors, old age had at last taken me. I could see the changes. My hair had grown long and wild, uncombed and knotted, but worst of all, I could see the grey.

Sometimes I was observed looking at it. Invariably, a voice would taunt me. “You are an old woman! You are an ugly old hag!” What followed was a string of abuse. Well, what did I expect? Indeed, I had aged. I saw my body as I tried so desperately to keep clean. I’d see my withered breasts, hanging like lifeless things. My skin sagged all over my body. I had a stink, too, as it was impossible to bathe. The best I could do was to use some dirty water I was given to drink. Wetting a rag, I’d try to keep myself clean. Only once or twice did I think of those other baths I used to have—one of countless murderous sins that had condemned me. Regret was still new to me and remorse newer still, but because I had horrific hallucinations and fits once again, when sensible, I was thoughtful about what I had done.

If I can recall a last moment of life, I suppose it would be the feeling of dizziness. I was standing in my quarters, then suddenly unsteady on my feet. I tried to grab hold of something, and fell forward with great force. There was pain...but it did not last. Blackness overwhelmed it.

There is nothing in my memory after that except just finding myself in a shadowy place. At first I thought I was dead. But then I saw you, my love, looking at me. “I am Anton...” you said. “And you must drink.” You raised a goblet toward me, plain and unadorned. I shook my head but you persisted. “You must for you will die in agony if you do not drink...”

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Oops! When Your Work in Progress Surprises You!



If you write, you might know what this feels like. If you read, you might be interested. Depsite working with a detailed outline, the characters still call the shots. I can't help it. It might be easier if they didn't.

Today, for example, I'm writing--minding my own business and suddenly I'm hearing from an important character, a confession. I wasn't going to make him a choir boy, but I didn't expect to hear about his membership in something shocking. He's not only a naughty aristocrat, I love naughty aristos, don't you! He's part of something that is really awful and answers a great many questions!

I can't spell it out other than to say, I'm amazed and I think my readers will be too!
No use guessing, all will be revealed! 

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Never Say Never!





There I was minding my own business, sitting and working on my cat fantasy novel when along comes something else--something dark and different this way comes!

Expect something more in line with what I write, however it's not vampires. It's a thriller with suspense and of course lots of horror. Also, it's historic. But you know me, it's not 'just' historic!

That's all I'll say for now, watch for updates. And as for the cat fantasy, it'll follow! This new project pushed its way in! How rude! Inspiration is like that, though!

Sunday, January 6, 2019

It's Time to Get Going!



What are your New Year's resolutions? Are you going to work more regularly on your work in progress?  I hope to!

I feel when we survive Christmas and get past New Year with resolutions and everything, we should (keyword) dust ourselves off and do all those post holiday things. Lose weight, possibly--and get going with our writing if that's what we do.

I am planning on working on my work in progress more regularly! I do have another book in mind to follow it, but that can be tricky. It's almost a fool-proof way to procrastinate and shelve the w.i.p. by jumping ahead to the other work! I've discussed this with friends and after some sniggering they say, "No!"  They know me, you see!

I'd love to hear from you if you are resolved to do more work on your writing, planning or even researching.

And meanwhile, let me wish us ALL a very happy, prosperous new year filled with determination and positive thinking!