The first of my works
that Alban Lake accepted was a paranormal gothic novella called “Secret of
Morris Valley.” A novella is too long to be a short story; too short to be a
novel. In this case, that means 16,500 words, or roughly 66 pages, depending on
type size, page size, ect.
Do you remember
gothics? I remember reading some, 3 or 4 decades ago, but I haven’t noticed any
on the shelves recently. So when I saw a call for submissions in 2006 or 2007
for gothic stories, I admit my interest was piqued.
Gothics were romance
stories where the woman falls in love with a handsome stranger who lives in
some out-of-the-way place - usually far from civilization. Once the woman
arrives at his home, it becomes apparent that he, his family, and his servants
are all keeping some deep dark secret from her. As the story progresses, she
becomes suspicious, worried and frightened, doesn’t know who she can trust...
Of course, in the end, the secret is revealed, the woman doesn’t care, and the
happy couple fall into each other’s arms.
Yep, that describes “Morris
Valley.”
Unfortunately, that
anthology chose not to accept my attempt at a gothic, although they did say it
had been between mine and another for the final selection. As the saying goes, “Close,
but no cigar.”
So I found myself
with this overlong gothic story in a market where gothics were no long
appreciated, apparently. I had added some paranormal to it, because paranormal
was/is hot, but that hadn’t landed me in the anthology. I kept my eyes open,
but I could not find a market to submit a gothic novella that had werewolves in
it. Until I decided to take a chance and send it to Alban Lake.
We are looking for a
July or August release. Stay tuned, for I’ll keep you informed as the details
are worked out!
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