Shawn Reaches Out To The Goth Subculture

I’m planning on releasing my new novel Spinsterella on Halloween of this year (Moving it up from Christmas) And I’d like to get some feedback from the guys and ghouls in the Goth subculture before I publish it.

To write this novel I’ve been doing a lot of research on Goths and the Goth subculture and I want to get things as accurate as possible for my novel. I want to make every effort to present Goths in the most positive light possible and I don’t want to perpetuate any stereotypes about people or the subculture.

So far I’ve learned a lot about the Goth subculture from my year of research. Sophistique Noir’s website gave me tremendous insight into Goth fashion, and YouTubers like LeahMouse, Drac Makens, LigeiaResurrected  The Gothic Alice, Toxic Tears, Dumpster Dollie and It’s Black Friday have given me an understanding of the lexicon, music and lives of people who participate in the Goth Subculture not only in the U.S, but all over the world.

From my research I’ve learned a lot about the subculture. Things like Baby Bat phase, and how people have stayed in the subculture for years and even decades. Some Goths have even married and started families while being part of the subculture.

I’ve learned that the subculture is very inclusive and very diverse. There are Trad Goths, Cyber Goths, Corporate Goths, and even Fit Goths. People all over the world participate in the subculture and all are accepted. White, Black, Hispanic and Asians all live the Goth lifestyle and in most cases all people see is the content of people’s character not the color of their skin under their makeup. That’s what I like most about the subculture how it’s inclusive and accepting of people all over the world.

From what I’ve learned about Goths from their websites, videos and my own experiences with Goths, I think I got things right with the Matilda character in Spinsterella. But the more I learn about the subculture, the more want to learn about it. As I’ve stated before I see a lot of nice people I could be friends with. And I really want to tell a story that people in the subculture can relate to and present the fairest and most balanced picture of it.

So many people make judgments about Goths based on their dark clothing and spooky makeup. Calling them devil worshippers, blood drinkers, and some would even call them mentally ill. But I know none of that is true. While Goths do see things from a dark perspective, most are hardworking, decent people.

With this book I want to present a humanized portrayal of a Goth heroine everyone can relate to like I did with other characters I’ve written like Marilyn Marie from All About Marilyn and Colleen Anderson from The Thetas, and Nikki Desmond from All About Nikki. A book that will give readers a better understanding of people who participate in the subculture and some perspective on their experiences after reading it.

Yeah, Spinsterella is a romance novel. A romantic comedy. But I’d like to think Goths want romance too. And from what I’ve seen in real life and in You Tube videos Goths have close friendships, share a lot of love and a lot of laughs. I’m hoping they get a lot of the jokes in between the lines of the story. I’m a big Tim Burton fan and his films like Beetlejuice were some influence on the story.

Right now I’m in the middle of the second round of edits. Working from a paperback proof this time so I can get things just right. And I’d like to get a little help in getting those tiny details just right.  

I’m hoping to have both the paperback and the eBook versions of Spinsterella up on Amazon.com on Halloween. I know that Halloween is the biggest day of the year for the subculture and I want to have the books available that Saturday in paperback and KindleUnlimited. I know many Goths are on a tight budget so the eBook will be FREE that Saturday as my treat to readers. With everybody’s help I’m hoping to present one of the most positive portrayals of Goths and the Goth subculture to readers all over the world.