Sheila English's Blog, page 2

Loving Gothic Fiction Reviews!

There’s something extremely satisfying and inspiring when you find you’ve won someone over who was initially skeptical. I do realize that writing Gothic fiction means not everyone will be interested. Some people feel I’m writing fan fiction, which I don’t agree with, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.  Gothic fiction is more of a “feeling” you get than a template. Yes, there’s usually a scary castle or manor and you get the feeling of being haunted whether there are ghosts or no...

Online Book Club Reviews Adam Frankenstein: Search for a Soul

So happy my Adam Frankenstein: Search for a Soul got 4 out of 4 stars from the Online Book Club!

This is one of the best-written reviews I think I’ve ever seen for anyone. Very thoughtful, well written, and clear.  You can read the entire thing HERE.

Here is a snippet of some of the review-

 

“I am hopeful that this book is the first of many from Sheila English about the exploits of Adam Frankenstein, as I look forward to more tales about the classic monster. A riveting and highly entertaining r...

The Madame and the Madman Move on in ScreenCraft Contest

So excited that my short story The Madame and the Madman was chosen by Screencraft to move on to the finalist stage of their contest!

The Madame and the Madman is an Adam Frankenstein story that also featured Victor Dracula in a historical, Gothic setting.  The story is available in Adam Frankenstein: Search for a Soul which has won several awards.

Adam asks Victor Dracula to help him stop a brothel that uses children.  But asking anything of Dracula comes with a price and often…regret.

Thousand...

The New Comic Cover for Demon’s Gate!

Fear Fest was released last year and did very well so I am super excited to share the release of the follow-up to Fear Fest – Demon’s Gate!

Demon’s Gate

Adam Frankenstein and his partner Rebecca shut down the gate with the help of Eli Van Helsing, Bram Stoker, and Victor Dracula. Not everyone they fought with or for lived. But, the gate was closed. The key was destroyed. Or was it? The final page of Fear Fest had our heroes discussing how the battle had been won, but if you look very close at th...

Let’s Watch Frankenstein Together! January 16, 2021

Yes! Universal Studios will release Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein on January 16th, 2021 on YouTube for a limited time for free! We can watch it together! I’ll hold a Facebook Live event on my author site to get us going! We’ll start at 5PM Pacific. I hope you’ll catch the amazing Boris Karloff in the 1931 Universal Studios version of the famous story!

You can subscribe now HERE at Fear: The Home of Horror on YouTube. they will also play other movies this month including The Mummy, Dracu...

Researching Mary Shelley

Most people know her as the author of Frankenstein. That is just a small part of her story. Mary Shelley was a woman unlike others of her time. She thumbed her nose at convention. She couldn’t be categorized by the ton. By anyone. She was truly unique in ways we’d still find amazing if she did them right now in this century.

How do I know? Because I’ve been studying Mary Shelley for years now. I’ve always known I’d write about her. Not just about her creation- Frankenstein’s monster, but about M...

A Very Mary Shelley Christmas

The year Mary Shelley wrote her now infamous novel – Frankenstein was called “The Year Without Summer”.  It was, in fact, cold and dreary the entire year and even though she began writing the novel in June it’s felt that she was inspired to set the novel in December due to the cold weather when she was writing.

Richard Rothwell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

For this reason, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is often thought of as a Christmastime book despite its Gothic and horrific...

TOP 5 GOTHIC HISTORICAL TO READ FOR FREE

One definition of Gothic is-  of or relating to a style of fiction characterized by the use of desolate or remote settings and macabre, mysterious, or violent incidents – Gothic novels

That’s the definition we like best!

We’ve chosen five of our favorite historical Gothic novels and given you links so you can read them, legitimately of course, for free!

Frankenstein– A mad scientist tries to play God by reanimating a man made up of pieces of the dead. The creature comes to life and the battle ...

Writing Historical Gothic – Research and Challenges

I’ve always known the story of how Mary Shelley’s League of Supernatural Hunters came to be.  I’ve written a short story about it and thought that would be the end of it. But my agent had other plans. He wanted readers to fully understand where the League came from, how it started and what the rules were. So, my plan has changed and I’m writing a trilogy to explain all the details, of which there are many, about the League and how it works today.

The challenge in writing anything historical is t...

The Vampyre by John William Polidori

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Reprinted with permission.
The Vampyre by John William Polidori
Title: The Vampyre; A Tale

Author: John William Polidori


THE VAMPYRE.
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INTROD...