My collection of original gothic short stories is coming in time for the winter holidays.

A popular post on my blog provided some insight into writing my gothic tales!

BLOOD & WOLF by Judith Vila I'm happy to announce BLOOD & WOLF is now available on Kindle! Whether you own a Kindle or use the Kindle App, download and enjoy a delicious gothic-y romance set in the Catskill Mountains of New York in 1851: ❤️ Slow-burn love story (clean with a soupçon of spice) 💪 A leading woman with brains, resilience, and a passionate heart 🫢 Secrety secrets and an old family curse 🐺 Werewolves in an exhilarating tug-of-war between civilization and instinc

Are you a Substack newbie? Here's what you need to know.

I've got some more deliciously gothic Substack recommendations for you!

Grab a summer read from Substack--where dark and chilling reads are happening!

Here are some thoughts about werewolves--what do you say?

The vampire story benefited from reader feedback. Here's how...

How to buy Blood & Wolf.

Do you look for rules behind every magical thing? I prefer a little mystery myself!

Welcome to the new Judith Vila, gothic author, site! If you've visited me before, welcome back! You'll see some changes here, reflecting my new focus on historical/Gothic/romance/mystery/horror mashups. Please be sure to wander around this site, and haunt me on Substack: Romance at a Dark Wood's Edge , where I share updates about my writing adventure. But if this is your first visit, know that I write Gothic. Why? Because in every great gothic tale the story requires somethi

Blood & Wolf by Judith Vila Writing a novel is definitely a lonely journey--I know because, writing as Judith Vila, I just released my gothic/romance/mystery/horror mashup, Blood & Wolf. And from the early days of playing with the concept in my head to this moment when the book is in the hands of lovely readers, I remember often feeling like I was all by myself. But the truth is: I wasn't alone. Yes, the responsibilities of writing, revising, testing and re-writing again are

I'm delighted to share with you an audio snippet from my upcoming gothic/romance/mystery/horror mashup.

Does your author name align with the nature of your book? Here's my adventure.

The sister relationship is unique, combining deep emotions with complex dynamics. And in a gothic tale, it can be a pivotal part of the book.

Here are a couple of podcasts where you'll get recommendations for gothic-vibe books and films.

I'm sharing a few gothic-y writing prompts to spark icy fear and smoldering passion. Try these for yourself and your group! Or suggest some new ones!

Boomers, Gen X and Millennials find something captivating about gothic literature. Here are my ideas why gothic is relevant for different age groups, and I'd like hear what you think, too.

I'm a die-hard gothic fan, and in this post I share the features that I believe make gothic stories so alluring!

2026 is going to be a great year! We're almost at mid-January and it's time for me to share my priorities for 2026. I'm curious if you're developing your creative-side, too--so please let me know in the comments below what you're working on this year. Instead of going through individual goals, I've grouped my hopes and dreams into two broad priorities: Continue to explore Gothic and spooky literature. January is International Gothic Reading Month for starters, and I'm rerea