September has been a busy month at Crowvus HQ. We have lost a beloved member of the team, published two books, closed our Tenth Ghost Story Competition, and we have blogged every single (work) day. It's been an absolutely roller-coaster. Still, we would like to thank you all for sharing it with us: for your kind words on the loss of Orlando; for your support on the launch of our new author's new book; for entrusting us with your words. Whether you've been a reader, a writer, or a spectator, we're glad you've share the road with us.
I know we’re nowhere near Halloween but, let’s be honest, every season is spooky season if you want it to be! So, I’m going to share some thoughts about one of my favourite genres to read and write: Gothic Horror. I first discovered it as a genre when I was a teenager being taught at home. Every week, Dad would take me and my sister to the local library and we would pick a book or two to read. One week, I picked an abridged version of Dracula . I loved it so much that I immediately graduated onto the full version, before moving on to The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe . There was something about these stories which completely immersed my imagination, and I think it was how setting is always an extra character in them. I read a piece a couple of weeks ago which was labelled as Gothic, but the setting wasn’t right. It didn’t jump out as one of the characters in the book which was twisting and turning as much as any of the humans (or not-quite-humans!) Whitby is rightly proud of it...