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

This image is from Stockcake. I recently got feedback on selected chapters from the draft of my gothic mystery. One piece of feedback both beta readers shared was how much they enjoyed the setting. Their comments were great news for me, because I've worked hard on the setting of my story. It takes place on the Catskill Mountains, mostly at an old, creaky manor where a vast forest, dark and mysterious, hulks against the building on one side. The action of the story spans the