Anne Carlisle's Blog: Ghost Orchid, page 3
October 2, 2012
Review across the pond
Rating: 4 starsReview by Anne CarlisleREVIEW of THAT SCOUNDREL ÉMILE DUBOIS (by Lucinda Elliot)
I don't often read vampire novels, though I was a fan of Anne Rice. However, from the get-go, I loved this historical Gothic romance by a Wales writer, Lucinda Elliot, who asked me to review her book. Immediately we know we are in the hands of a capable, well-read writer with a flair for language when the opening image is of "the candle guttering on the mantelpiece". The word "guttering" is picture-perfect; we can see the candle dripping and the channels forming in the hot wax. And, from the first show of Emile's talons and Sophie's jealousy, we know we are in for a fast-paced and exhilarating read. "Inhuman Chuckling" and "Mischievous Experiments" accompany a vampire's saga of brutal assaults. The paranormal and sexual elements are blended in subtly and craftily, and with humor. Ms. Elliot has done her homework. The dialogue, the furniture, the dress, and the aura all take us back to the 18th century, a period when reason was a deity and masked vampires passed for royalty in drawing rooms. However, it's not all fustian. There is an appealing mixture of "upstairs/downstairs" folk in the novel. The characters, no matter if they are human or paranormal, upper-class or servants, are loveable and believable. Simple, elegant reminders of the phantasmagoric--"Emile's form wavered"-- are a relief, for this reader at least, in a genre that is, generally speaking, over-stated. The intelligence of her readers is never insulted as Elliot's weaves together elegant aristocrats, fairy-tale realism, 18th century European history, and Tarot cards into a Gothic horror tale/novel of manners. The story always captivates and delights while occasionally creating chills down the spine. Each character (Sophie's young maid is a case in point) brings something fresh and new to the gory banquet table. The narrative is action driven and the dialogue is always apt. One of many compelling vignettes is when Kenrick bites Morwenna's neck, and she discerns in his cold eyes a human secret, an image of a lover's welcoming arms. I heartily recommend this new book to readers on both sides of the pond who like sly humor and artifice mixed in with their erotic/historical tales of vampires and romance.
I don't often read vampire novels, though I was a fan of Anne Rice. However, from the get-go, I loved this historical Gothic romance by a Wales writer, Lucinda Elliot, who asked me to review her book. Immediately we know we are in the hands of a capable, well-read writer with a flair for language when the opening image is of "the candle guttering on the mantelpiece". The word "guttering" is picture-perfect; we can see the candle dripping and the channels forming in the hot wax. And, from the first show of Emile's talons and Sophie's jealousy, we know we are in for a fast-paced and exhilarating read. "Inhuman Chuckling" and "Mischievous Experiments" accompany a vampire's saga of brutal assaults. The paranormal and sexual elements are blended in subtly and craftily, and with humor. Ms. Elliot has done her homework. The dialogue, the furniture, the dress, and the aura all take us back to the 18th century, a period when reason was a deity and masked vampires passed for royalty in drawing rooms. However, it's not all fustian. There is an appealing mixture of "upstairs/downstairs" folk in the novel. The characters, no matter if they are human or paranormal, upper-class or servants, are loveable and believable. Simple, elegant reminders of the phantasmagoric--"Emile's form wavered"-- are a relief, for this reader at least, in a genre that is, generally speaking, over-stated. The intelligence of her readers is never insulted as Elliot's weaves together elegant aristocrats, fairy-tale realism, 18th century European history, and Tarot cards into a Gothic horror tale/novel of manners. The story always captivates and delights while occasionally creating chills down the spine. Each character (Sophie's young maid is a case in point) brings something fresh and new to the gory banquet table. The narrative is action driven and the dialogue is always apt. One of many compelling vignettes is when Kenrick bites Morwenna's neck, and she discerns in his cold eyes a human secret, an image of a lover's welcoming arms. I heartily recommend this new book to readers on both sides of the pond who like sly humor and artifice mixed in with their erotic/historical tales of vampires and romance.
September 1, 2012
What's in a name?
I've given some thought, since writing my first blog, to its proper naming. My daughter tells me Anne Carlisle's Blog is not where it's at. So, I began to think on improving it....and some candidates quickly emerged:
In my college days, I wrote a weekly editorial column. It was illustrated with cartoons. To my great surprise it was singled out by the American Newspaper Publishers Association when they awarded our weekly newspaper a national prize. My column was a satiric glance at all things comically collegiate, and it was called "Anne-alysis." I wrote it in the style of a writer I loved and whom I had the opportunity to interview: Art Buchwald. He inscribed his book to me: "Anne, stay out of my business."
I was a GDI--a Goddamned Independent. The Dean of Students, a former sorority president, took great exception to my satiric slant on the goings-on of frat brothers and sorority sisters. And she wasn't my only critic. My predecessor in the spot of editorial columnist was an investigative journalist named Byrd, and his column was "A Byrd's Eye View." He took a dim view of my cavalier, nerdy attitude toward campus revolution and other important things going on in the late sixties. He wrote me a letter "from his sleeve" and advised me to "cease talking up it."
My next thought was to align myself with the denizens of darkness and depravity that are legion in the field of paranormal/abnormal/dysfunctional romance that I seem to have wandered into. Perhaps I needed a moniker that was dripping in blood, semen, or saliva.
Might a giant insect do?
I considered calling my blog Preying Mantis, or better yet, Praying Mantis. Doesn't she attract, then eat her mate? Have I not vowed to follow in Nora Ephron's footsteps and find my revenge in writing well and killing off ex-husbands, one by one? One can make the case I've already killed off two, another is slated for Book II, and my current husband is wary of what might happen to him in Book III. He needn't be, though. (I promise, Mark)
But what if the ghoulishness in my work recedes as I move forward? What if I run out of exes to kill off? Will the big bug still seem like a fitting umbrella for my monthly blogs of wisdom?
The journey was then lightened, providentially, by a stroll down memory lane, thanks to Facebook responses from high school acquaintances back in Ashtabula, Ohio, where I was born and raised, as the expression goes. They were more than kind and less than kin, raising questions like "Who's she?" Good question. I haven't lived in that town in more than two decades.
Wasn't Anne Carlisle the popcorn man's grand-daughter, someone asked? And yes, indeed, I am. Finally, I thought I had arrived at the end of my journey. I smiled at the shiny image of my grandfather's old-fashioned popcorn-and-peanut cart in the downtown park. His stand was beloved by everyone in town but no more so than by me. It was and is the ultimate symbol of my small town life. I told my husband I'd found a title: The Popcorn Stand.
But then, in my wanderings on the internet, I came upon an interesting factoid. The Ghost Orchid, which takes its sustenance from the air, not the ground, thrives only in Florida.
Now, when it comes to writing, first and foremost, I belong to Key West and nowhere else. Key West, during the nineties, was where I got my writing chops back. I edited, reviewed, and wrote features for a monthly magazine, Solares Hill, for almost a decade. I was privileged to interview famous writers (Kurt Vonnegut, Peter Matthiesen, Thurston Clark, JoAnne Akalaitis, Wendy Wasserstein, and Nancy Friday, to name a few) who wandered into the Key West Literary Seminar in January, visited, or lived there.
And it's also true a ghost is a major character in my trilogy, which is 2/3 done. The first book is out, the second is nearly completed, and the third is out there in the air. I take my sustenance from the air, which is where words, names, images, and the imagination connect.
So Ghost Orchid it will be. See you in October.
Anne Carlisle
other links to follow me and find my book, "HOME SCHOOLING: The Fire Night Ball"
BookLocker (publisher, sells paperback and eBooks)http://booklocker.com/books/6309.html
Barnes & Noble (for the Nook):http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1112392584?ean=2940014863445
Amazon (paperback and Kindle versions):http://www.amazon.com/HOME-SCHOOLING-Schooling-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008WDT9CMiTunes (Apple products):http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/home-schooling-fire-night/id552750648
To read excerpts and sign my Guest Book, go to my personal webpage or FB page. http://www.annehcarlislephd.com
http://www.facebook.com/anne.carlisle.33
In my college days, I wrote a weekly editorial column. It was illustrated with cartoons. To my great surprise it was singled out by the American Newspaper Publishers Association when they awarded our weekly newspaper a national prize. My column was a satiric glance at all things comically collegiate, and it was called "Anne-alysis." I wrote it in the style of a writer I loved and whom I had the opportunity to interview: Art Buchwald. He inscribed his book to me: "Anne, stay out of my business."
I was a GDI--a Goddamned Independent. The Dean of Students, a former sorority president, took great exception to my satiric slant on the goings-on of frat brothers and sorority sisters. And she wasn't my only critic. My predecessor in the spot of editorial columnist was an investigative journalist named Byrd, and his column was "A Byrd's Eye View." He took a dim view of my cavalier, nerdy attitude toward campus revolution and other important things going on in the late sixties. He wrote me a letter "from his sleeve" and advised me to "cease talking up it."
My next thought was to align myself with the denizens of darkness and depravity that are legion in the field of paranormal/abnormal/dysfunctional romance that I seem to have wandered into. Perhaps I needed a moniker that was dripping in blood, semen, or saliva.
Might a giant insect do?
I considered calling my blog Preying Mantis, or better yet, Praying Mantis. Doesn't she attract, then eat her mate? Have I not vowed to follow in Nora Ephron's footsteps and find my revenge in writing well and killing off ex-husbands, one by one? One can make the case I've already killed off two, another is slated for Book II, and my current husband is wary of what might happen to him in Book III. He needn't be, though. (I promise, Mark)
But what if the ghoulishness in my work recedes as I move forward? What if I run out of exes to kill off? Will the big bug still seem like a fitting umbrella for my monthly blogs of wisdom?
The journey was then lightened, providentially, by a stroll down memory lane, thanks to Facebook responses from high school acquaintances back in Ashtabula, Ohio, where I was born and raised, as the expression goes. They were more than kind and less than kin, raising questions like "Who's she?" Good question. I haven't lived in that town in more than two decades.
Wasn't Anne Carlisle the popcorn man's grand-daughter, someone asked? And yes, indeed, I am. Finally, I thought I had arrived at the end of my journey. I smiled at the shiny image of my grandfather's old-fashioned popcorn-and-peanut cart in the downtown park. His stand was beloved by everyone in town but no more so than by me. It was and is the ultimate symbol of my small town life. I told my husband I'd found a title: The Popcorn Stand.
But then, in my wanderings on the internet, I came upon an interesting factoid. The Ghost Orchid, which takes its sustenance from the air, not the ground, thrives only in Florida.
Now, when it comes to writing, first and foremost, I belong to Key West and nowhere else. Key West, during the nineties, was where I got my writing chops back. I edited, reviewed, and wrote features for a monthly magazine, Solares Hill, for almost a decade. I was privileged to interview famous writers (Kurt Vonnegut, Peter Matthiesen, Thurston Clark, JoAnne Akalaitis, Wendy Wasserstein, and Nancy Friday, to name a few) who wandered into the Key West Literary Seminar in January, visited, or lived there.
And it's also true a ghost is a major character in my trilogy, which is 2/3 done. The first book is out, the second is nearly completed, and the third is out there in the air. I take my sustenance from the air, which is where words, names, images, and the imagination connect.
So Ghost Orchid it will be. See you in October.
Anne Carlisle
other links to follow me and find my book, "HOME SCHOOLING: The Fire Night Ball"
BookLocker (publisher, sells paperback and eBooks)http://booklocker.com/books/6309.html
Barnes & Noble (for the Nook):http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1112392584?ean=2940014863445
Amazon (paperback and Kindle versions):http://www.amazon.com/HOME-SCHOOLING-Schooling-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008WDT9CMiTunes (Apple products):http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/home-schooling-fire-night/id552750648
To read excerpts and sign my Guest Book, go to my personal webpage or FB page. http://www.annehcarlislephd.com
http://www.facebook.com/anne.carlisle.33
August 13, 2012
Hi Goodreads members
It's a pleasure to be among you. What a wonderful opportunity to share the works we write and read. Publishing a novel has been a lifelong dream for me, accomplished July 31 with the publication by BookLocker of the first novel in a series HOME SCHOOLING: The Fire Night Ball. I'll be offering a giveaway here, and a free excerpt is available on my publisher's link and on my personal webpage.
http://www.annehcarlislephd.com
http://booklocker.com/books/6309.htmlHome Schooling
http://www.annehcarlislephd.com
http://booklocker.com/books/6309.htmlHome Schooling
