Diamond Gothic pic

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Diamond Gothic

I remember the endless hours I spent watching and re-watchingAnne of Green Gables as a kid and teen.  It's been a while now, but every time I catch it running on some obscure channel I stick around and watch for a while.  It conjures up memories and emotions one can only feel at the tender and tempestuous age of 16.

Another story I became quite fond of during required reading my junior year of high school, was The Great Gatsby. The glamour!  The romance!  The passion!  The tragedy!  Oh, Mr. Fitzgerald, what you did to my heart! (Or maybe it was Robert Redford who did it... I'm not entirely sure)

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In any case, I've started writing a rotating novel with a couple talented lady-friends and as the story has developed it seems to have become a strange amalgam of Anne & Gatsby.  Our story, Diamond Gothic, is also set in the 1920s.  and centers around the heroine (or is she?), Annabell Hayworth.  Each chapter is no longer than 3 pages and all the writing/story progression is improvisational.  No one of us authoresses knows what will happen until the authoress before her turns in their chapter...

In Chapter One, written by me, we meet 19 year old Annabell hours before she will be shot in the stomach at a lavish garden party in Wilmington, North Carolina.  Chapter Two, written by JC Coccoli, flashes back to the beginning of the summer and is set at Annabell's family's summer home in Savannah, GA.  We meet Annie's parents, Walter & Dorothy, her younger brother, Junior, and a mysterious presence is introduced that will begin to haunt the family as the story moves on.  In Chapter Three, written by Abigail Spencer, we begin to understand the inner workings of Annabell's family & household and Chapter Four, written by me as at the rotation begins again, introduces us to a handsome young man, Theodore Wentworth, who will send our Annie into quite a spin.  Meanwhile, Dorothy and Walter have woven a tangled web for themselves in their marriage.

As Diamond Gothic continues, we learn about Walter & Dorothy, a few family secrets, we meet a dazzling redhead with secrets of her own, hear rumors about a heart-stopping troublemaker (is there any other kind?) Jason Wenworth, we venture into the servants quarters and find out what Nessie, the chief of staff has to hide, and while young love peppers our novel, the element of suspense keeps you coming back for more.

Jason Wentworth?

I hope you'll all take a few minutes to get caught up on Diamond Gothic this week.  We are slowly starting to build a steady fan-base, and we'd love your support!  Soon we'll have audio versions of our chapters for sale on iTunes (read by each corresponding authoress).

Visit us on TUMBLR
Read all the chapters on HELLO GIGGLES

DiamondGothic/HelloGiggles: Someone To Watch Over Me (Videochat Karaoke)

New pic

New Diamond Gothic pic of Joy:

From the Desk of Diamond Gothic (Joy's part 4)

From The Desk Of

DIAMOND GOTHIC

Bethany Joy’s Part 4!

Delicious little spoiler…  This Diamond Gothic chapter is called “Madeleines.” Find out why on Sunday, April 1st (on HelloGiggles, of course)!

And, why not make a batch of these dreamy, cookie-esque French cakes to enjoy whilst reading the chapter?

Madeleines Recipe (from Bon Appétit & Epicurious.com)

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• Powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter and flour pan for large madeleines (about 3 x 1 1/4 inches). Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. Beat in vanilla, lemon peel and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.

Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)

Dust cookies with powdered sugar.

Read DIAMOND GOTHIC now!  Chapters 1-3 are on Hello Giggles this very moment!

All About Authoresses... 

Bethany Joy Lenz is the creator of DIAMOND GOTHIC, and is in the rotation of our three authoresses. She is most well-known for her work as an actress, playing girl-next-door "Haley James Scott" on the CW hit ONE TREE HILL. She also keeps busy as a composer of musical theatre, as one half of indie rock band Everly, as a mother to her one year old daughter, Maria Rose, and as a writer for her blog Wish You Were Here. She also tweets @BethanyJoyLenz and is on WhoSay.

http://diamondgothic.blogspot.se/p/all-about-authoresses.html