FOR LOVE THE BELL TOLLS
A Gothic Romance Short Story Anthology
from Stars and Stone Books
Featuring: Cara McKinnon, Sheri Queen, Read Gallo, Serena Jayne, Kylie Weisenborn, and Heather Sheldon.
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Cara McKinnon – “The Doors Between”
Can love overcome an otherworldly evil?
Sheri Queen – “The Circus Train”
Finding love isn’t easy, especially when someone wants your blood.
Read Gallo – “Blood and Petals”
How much would you change to get what you want?
Serena Jayne – “Kiss Me Dead”
With only the light of their love, Simon and Lila attempt to conquer darkness and death.
Kylie Weisenborn – “Undead Men”
When the dead become unburied, so does the truth.
Heather Sheldon – “Lost Love Found”
A haunted gift flips Mandy’s world on end, and her handsome new neighbor might be her only salvation.
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What Is Gothic Romance?
This anthology’s genre is gothic romance, but the authors were allowed to pick their own interpretation of “gothic.” We asked the authors how they decided to interpret gothic, and why they went that route.
Read Gallo – “Blood and Petals”
Initially, I got hung up on the image of a woman in white fading in a dark Victorian garden, so I was very literally gothic at first. But a book I was reading about teen pregnancy in the 50s, where young mothers were encouraged to “surrender and forget” their children struck a chord with me and I transitioned the time period from England in the 1900s to America 1950s. It was surprisingly easy to transfer the way the girls were treated. I think I could have made it more modern and not have lost much of that bite.
Serena Jayne – “Kiss Me Dead”
For me, gothic is all about horror. The horror of living. The horror of death. The horror of tragic love. The Grimm Reaper, such a dark character, made for the perfect gothic hero. Lila’s desperate situation is also dark.
Cara McKinnon – “The Doors Between”
I went for a variation on a traditional 19th century gothic romance. I say variation, because those usually feature swooning virginal heroines and Fiona is the exact opposite of that. But it does have ghosts, possession, a curse, a brooding old house in an isolated location, and family secrets.
Sheri Queen – “The Circus Train”
I set my story in the late 1800s with a focus on the evils that stalk a circus performer and her elephant companion. I liked the history of that era and the voodoo legends that prevailed in NOLA.
Heather Sheldon – “Lost Love Found”
I choose an antique journal because I enjoyed the idea of part of the story taking place in the past. I’m a big historical romance reader.
Kylie Weisenborn – “Undead Men”
I had a hard time with this prompt at first. I immediately thought of dark, creepy Poe-era details, but I had to do some research to make sure I was portraying that time in history accurately. Embalming first began in the mid-1800s, so I had to take a little bit of creative liberties with the exact year the story would have taken place, but it worked out!
The anthology authors will be answering more questions on this blog tour! To check out all of the stops, visit: https://www.starsandstonebooks.com/blog-tour.
Cara McKinnon 