Things I’m Not Doing

Sweeping Epic Gothic! That’s how best to describe Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates…a book I’m no longer reading because the prose drowns you.

Drowns I tell you.

I made it one third of the way through the book and couldn’t take it any more. I couldn’t breath, think without despair and I didn’t care about anyone.

Didn’t help the book started with a drowning either.

So that book went to Black & Read…they didn’t want it either. I’m having trouble with the O’s. Besides O’Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins and Zia) and my current book I’ve dropped Kevin O’Donnell of the brink for his boring, make me do math, Sci Fi snoozer Fire on the Border. Then there was Tawni O’Dell’s murder most foul and unlikable character tome Back Roads. At least I made through Twilight and got many hours of entertainment out of it with making of the fun. These I couldn’t even deal with. It is possible the Edwin O’Connor books might end up on the same pile…but they are at least readable so far.

Also I’m apparently not selling my house. The banks said no at the last minute before closing and the buyer pulled out because she can’t get a conventional loan or pay cash only. Frell…anyone want a house?

I have a ton of other things to do then leak money. Don’t worry, I’d be in this same position had a kept my day job. Worse actually, because I’d be letting down folks other than myself. The room cleansing continues.

We’re not getting a bread maker. The broken one J. bought still sits in the kitchen. He called Cuisinart, who agreed to replace it. Apparently they didn’t say what they’d replace it with. So far we have an espresso maker, and a brick oven (I kid you not) sitting next to the broken bread maker. We give in Cuisinart…we’ll just bake the old fashioned way.

Finally, I am not on schedule. Damn. Kick me now.

Dark Inheritance by Carola Salisbury

Another Gothic romance written by a man pretending to be a woman. This time Michael Butterworth as Carola Salisbury.

This one’s actually pretty good. Susannah Button, a destitute well educated daughter of a tavern keeper, finds employment as a governess to the local money’s youngest daughter Hester Dewaine.

She falls for the oldest son, Mark Dewaine. But then horrible things start to happen, she is eventually sent to Venice to be a companion to an old matron. As things progress she goes to London, then to Oxford, and eventually back to Venice.

It’s a whirlwind novel with all kinds of plot and intrigue. The payoff is huge and immensely satisfying.

Opal-Eyed Fan by Andre Norton

The Opal-Eyed Fan is a Gothic romance set in the Florida Keys. Persis is a young orphan shipwrecked on Lost Lady key with her dying uncle. The story follows Persis as she takes control of her life in the wake of her uncle’s death.

Personally, I love this story. Andre Norton has created a small compact world in which nothing is as it seems and anyone can be in control. She leaves with the typical cliffhanger, but characters are rich and interesting.

Daughter of Darkness by Edwina Noone

A gothic novel of melodramatic proportions. Amanda Trent, a tutor hired in London, heads for Walesly-Upon-Thames to become a companion for young Karoleigh Stafford. After being frightened by stories of the ghost that haunts the castle and the craziness of the family, she sees the ghost. Then our tissue-wet heroine falls in love with Lord Stafford as he’s the only convenient lord around, though she only really talks with him three times.

How ever-so-much sugar can you pour into a gothic novel? The answer is none but Ms. Noone must have missed that quiz. Karoleigh is beyond fake and full of syrup. Amanda is as stalwart as any wet paper bag. The men might as well be non-existent for all their worth in this book. But this one of those, she-male stories. The author’s real name is Michael Avallone.

The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson

This is an older copy of the Vampire Encyclopedia. New editions have been updated with the latest additions to Vampire fiction. This book came out shortly after the movie, Bram Stoker’s Dracula in the early 90’s. It is a listing of vampire myth, literature, fiction, TV shows, and movies from around the world. Not only is it extremely interesting for any one interested in Vampires it is essential for reading pastiche books without having read all the background info for those books. I read it just before reading Anno Dracula, by mistake not by design, but it made reading that book more enjoyable.

If you are interested in Vampire lore, this is a must have book.