The Gothic Webring

Spring Update: A time for renewal

   It's sunny spring, and I'm back. After a prolonged period of being ill, and a surgery, I return! I have recently completed a tutorial for you, all it requires now are some photographs. I look forward to sharing this with you and breathing life back into this blog.     As for my future plans... I intend on sewing through my fabric stash this summer. It's a very large project to tackle but I am excited to do so. Space in my home is limited, and I want more clothing and less fabric! That means even more tutorials to come. My coat will be included in this process as I don't want it left unfinished. I want my bins empty for the fall. This also means I will be doing some much needed spring cleaning, as I really need to get rid of old clothes. I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that sustainable fashion is very important, and that by re-purposing or donating old clothing you are making very positive decisions! Never throw a garment away as it can have a negative impact on the environment. Salvage the hardware and materials or donate your garments to charity.     It's also important to reconsider throwing out your scrap material. DO NOT DO THIS ANY LONGER! I am trying to correct my own bad habit (do as I say, not as I do >.< ). Certain materials that end up in landfills can decompose in the worst way, we really ought to avoid this. I'm sure you're wondering, "what's the alternative?" There are two ways I can think of....

Spring Update: A time for renewal

Join The Family for Mother's Day!

Join Fate and Fangs and our fellow local authors from the South Jersey Women Authors and members of the New Jersey Authors Network for a Celebration of Literature!!! We’re having a MOTHER’S DAY FAMILY BOOK EXTRAVAGANZA 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday May 18 at the Novel Idea Chapter II Bookstore in the Landis Marketplace, 631 Landis Avenue, Vineland, 08360.   Moms, Dads, Kids, Families, Young, Old, and Young at Heart can Enjoy Readings from Area Authors, Dine on Sweets and Spring Refreshments, and Take Home a Good Book – all in celebration of Mother’s Day! Authors tentatively scheduled include: Kristin Battestella, Jeanne Buesser, Nicole Caruso LaBrocca, Jennifer Eaton, Jon Gibbs, Laura Kaighn, Christine Norris, Katherine Pollio, Jane and Caitlen Rubino, Christy Sloat, C. Jovan Williams, Emily Guido, Alice DiNizo, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and Mike McPhail.   Walk along Landis Avenue and dine with authors outside, or shop downstairs at the Amish Market and find more authors! Want to hear a great children’s story or speak to a local writer? Find us at A Novel Idea! Beverages to whet your whistle, Home Baked Goods to ease that Sweet Tooth, Books to open the Mind!!! Make May 18 a Special Time for Moms, Dads, and the Whole Family to have a treat and share in the love of local literature. Author topics include Children’s Books, Middle Grade, Special Needs Reading, Young Adult, Light Paranormal, New Adult, General Adult Fiction, and More! Bring your Camera, you nev...

Join The Family for Mother's Day!

Chatting This April!!!!

No Foolin'!  Can't make our New Jersey Authors Network Seminar 2 p.m. est this Saturday April 6 at the Howell Public Library? http://www.njauthorsnetwork.com/    Never Fear!! How about not One, but TWO Chances to Chat with Fate and Fangs?! Join us and the South Jersey Women Authors for a chat 9 p.m. est Wednesday April 10 at Coffee Time Romance. Any and all near and far any genre are welcome to join us! http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Chat.html Last month my publisher joined our chat and answered some great questions from local authors. But Fear Not, Muse It Up is having their own Chat Party 9 p.m. est the following week Wednesday April 17! So here's Two Times to talk in Real Time with authors, readers, and others in the Publishing Bizzzz.  Now don't forget to promote, share, invite, and stop by!  As Always, find us online All Night Long at our Facebook Page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vampire-Family/157922293588

Chatting This April!!!!

March Events with Fate and Fangs!!!

Guess What? The Vampire Family is in the news again!!  Here's the link for the local Marlton news write up for our NJAN Author Panel on March 7! http://sj.sunne.ws/2013/02/28/library-hosting-author-event-march-7/ Join us 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7 a t the Evesham Township Library for this special  NJAN PUBLISHED AUTHOR Q & A!! Five local NJ writers, members of the NJ Authors Network share their journeys to publication and discuss the ins-and-outs of being a published author. Moderated by Marlton author Ilene Schneider, author of the Rabbi Aviva Cohen Mysteries and the nonfiction Talk Dirty Yiddish. The authors will be available after the presentation to sell and autograph their works. PANEL PARTICIPANTS: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, an author, editor, and designer, is best known for her work with the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series. Kristin Battestella’s works include The Vampire Family and a new series, Fate and Fangs. Jennifer Eaton is the author of a contemporary romance, Jack and Jill Volume One and is published in the anthologies “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas.” Melinda Leigh’s debut novel, She Can Run, was nominated for a 2012 Thriller Award. Her fourth romantic thriller, Midnight Sacrifice, will be released in April 2013. Sharon Trembley writes genre-blending, non-formulaic fiction that includes elements of horror, fantasy, and romance.   Get the complete scoop on all the NJAN happenings on the web! http://www.njauthorsnetwork....

March Events with Fate and Fangs!!!

More Fate and Fangs Appearances!!!

Fate and Fangs: Tales from the Vampire Family is steam rolling thru February and into March and beyond with even more events, appearances, and macabre treats!!! In addition to our Love in the Afternoon NJAN appearance in Millville last week and our participation with Ravencraft's Realm's Valentine Blogfest, we still have a few more dates in February, including a visit to Wall Township with the New Jersey Authors Network and a Live Chat with our fellow Muse It Up authors!! 2/23 NJAN Wall Twp Library 2 p.m. 2/28 SJWA Brunch Cherry Hill 2/28 Paranormal Love Muse It Up Chat 9 p.m. est at Coffee Time Romance   http://www.njauthorsnetwork.com/ http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Chat.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southjerseywomenauthors/ But Wait!  We're nearly booked thru May!!!   3/7 NJAN Marlton Q&A 7 p.m. 3/20 SJWA Chat 9 p.m. at Coffee Time Romance 4/8 Meet a Writer Guest Interview 4/10 Muse It Up Chat Party 9 p.m. est at Coffee Time Romance 4/17 SJWA Chat 9 p.m. at Coffee Time Romance 4/20 Meet the Authors Williamstown, NJ 5/8 SJWA Chat 9 p.m. at Coffee Time Romance 5/18 SJWA Mother's Day Event at A Novel Idea Bookstore, Vineland Whew!!!  Summer planning is also happening, so if you need some vampire macabre and mayhem from The Vampire Family, tell us now. Remember, no blood necessary for the participation in any Vampire Family events. Yet. Stay up to date with all the happenings on our Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vampire-Family...

More Fate and Fangs Appearances!!!

Treat yourself to a Fate and Fangs Prize!!

Remember to stop by Today Wednesday February 13 and comment as part of Ravencraft's Romance Realm's Love Letters and Lattes Valentine Blogfest for your chance to win an ecopy of your choice in the Fate and Fangs: Tales from the Vampire Family series! http://ravencraftrealm.blogspot.com/2013/02/love-letters-n-lattes-valentines-event_13.html?zx=166c27c3c9da23e0 The comments and calorie free condiments are already crazy with cinnamon and cookies! And of course, remember you can get the real deal with Yours Truly this Saturday!  Join us 1 p.m. February 16 for Love in the Afternoon, a New Jersey Authors Network Romance Writing Panel!! Remember NYC folks, we're in Wall Twp the following week February 23!! Get the scoop on all the NJAN appearances here http://www.njauthorsnetwork.com/ For even more Vampire Family mayhem and macabre, join us on our Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vampire-Family/157922293588?ref=ts&fref=ts  

Treat yourself to a Fate and Fangs Prize!!

Vampire Valentine Dates!!!

Not only has Fate and Fangs had its picture in the local newspaper the past few months, but we're on for more action across the Garden State! Firstly, check out Yours Truly Kristin Battestella at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the A Novel Idea Bookstore in Vineland!  You can see the pictures and read the article scoop right here: http://www.thedailyjournal.com/proart/20130202/news01/302020051/officials-praise-local-bookstore-during-ribbon-cutting?pagerestricted=1 http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-NOVEL-IDEA-CHAPTER-TWO/111779972172578 We're doing more South Jersey Women Author events at Novel Idea in the coming months so stay tuned!! Up next, here's a grand photo that tells it all for our Feb 16 Appearance! 1 p.m. Feb 16 NJAN Romance Panel Millville Public Library. Check! http://www.njauthorsnetwork.com/ Can't make it down to Millville or up North NJ ways for our New Jersey Authors Network Appearance 2 p.m. Saturday February 23 in Wall Twp?   We're Virtual as always! Read up on Lust, Fate and Fangs Book 5 , February 13 as part of Ravencraft's Love Letters and Lattes Valentine Blogfest or browse our past interviews at RRR! http://ravencraftrealm.blogspot.com/2011/08/rrr-welcomes-kristin-battestella-and.html  http://ravencraftrealm.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-with-kristin-battestella.html And don't forget you can chat with the entire Muse It Up Publishing gang for our special Paranormal Love Chat 9 p.m. est Thursday February 28 at Coffee Time Romance. htt...

Vampire Valentine Dates!!!

In Memoriam

Ah, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever! Let the bell toll! -a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river -  And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear? -weep now or never more! See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore! Come! let the burial rite be read -the funeral song be sung! -  An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young -  A dirge for her, the doubly dead in that she died so young. -Excerpt from the poem "Lenore" by Edgar Allan Poe    One year has passed since the death of my beloved friend, and I grieve as if it were yesterday. There is an emptiness within me, a feeling that I can only describe as displacement. It's as though my friend was a city, once bustling with life and an admirable culture, then overtaken by disaster and stripped to nothingness. Nothing remains but a skeleton; a shadow of the past.     The memories are all that I have these days, and I struggle to keep them alive. The hardest part is having memories that only we shared, and that without her I have little to stimulate or engage those thoughts; as a result they slip into the depths of my mind, perhaps never to be recollected again. I regret not keeping a ...

In Memoriam

New Year Tea with The Vampire Family!!!

Ring in the dead of winter this January with The Vampire Family!!  Join myself Kristin Battestella and fellow local author Christy Sloat for a special Meet the Author Tea 12:30 p.m. Saturday January 19 at A Novel Idea Chapter Two, the new bookstore upstairs at the Landis Marketplace in Vineland, New Jersey! Get the scoop on Fate and Fangs: T a les from the Vampire Family or pick up an autographed copy of our original The Vampire Family and Christy's young adult novel The Many Lives of Avery Snow. Make your macabre New Year Resolutions with us or take home some sf erotica sauce with a copy of Leigh Wood's On the Way to New Isosceles, also on hand along with tea, sandwiches, and dessert!!!!   Cost for the brunch is $8, and patrons should RSVP by calling a Novel Idea or visiting their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-NOVEL-IDEA-CHAPTER-TWO/111779972172578?ref=ts&fref=ts Don't forget to stop by Christy's Page, too!! http://www.facebook.com/christysloatauthor?ref=ts&fref=ts Stay tuned for more upcoming Fate and Fangs events in 2013, including guest blogs with Jennifer Eaton and Beth Ann Masarik, chat sessions at Coffee Time Romance, New Jersey Authors Network appearances in Millville, Wall Twp, Marlton,...

New Year Tea with The Vampire Family!!!

News

    I n order to reduce clutter, all newsworthy items and project updates have been allocated to a separate page. Click here or select the News tab within the navigation bar. 

News

Off the chain.

     C learly this post is about chains, given the title, and you might wonder why I've selected this as today's topic. Well, it just so happens on a previous outing that I purchased a few yards of chain. It was on super sale and I just couldn't resist it! The problem; I don't know what to do with it. It would seem that the most common use of chains in Goth fashion occur in designs for corsets, pants and jackets. Some uncommon approaches are embellishments on boleros, skirts, and accessories. I don't know which is more appealing. I'm not terribly fond of having chains on my pants because I used to get caught on park benches and stair railings, which would result in ripping my pants apart or destroying the chain completely. I don't mind chains as an embellishment, but I'm not sure how much is too much, or too little; I don't want my garments looking cheesy. What are your thoughts on...

Off the chain.

An Informative Introduction to Gothic Sewing: The Fundamentals

_ I f you have never sewn anything in your life before it may seem a little intimidating, and rightly so. Sewing is not a skill you master in a day, like all hobbies it takes practice and dedication. If you are considering sewing as hobby you need to learn the fundamentals. All creative pursuits begin with the fundamentals. For instance, you can't expect to be a realist portrait painter if you don't study the human form, or how to use and apply paint. I will not e ndeavor to teach the basics of sewing, but I will put you in the right direction. The objective of my blog is to inform you about sewing Gothic/alternative clothing; I will discuss selecting patterns, how to embellish or re-use garments, where to find inspiration, and how to realize your designs. I want to provide you with useful tips that have helped me find my style, and to sew efficiently and economically. _ I'm going to break down my introduction into sections. My first s...

An Informative Introduction to Gothic Sewing: The Fundamentals

Introduction

Hello! Welcome! _ This is a blog about inspiration, creativity, and fashion. Here I will post photographs and detailed accounts of my adventures in sewing alternative fashions. _ In an economy such as this buying Gothic and alternative clothing can be very costly. Not wanting to break the bank, I decided sewing my own clothing would be a sensible solution. Although many would argue that sewing your own clothing is by far more expensive or equal to purchasing a ready made item, I have to disagree. Considering Gothic clothing is often times far more expensive than ordinary clothes, and also more difficult to acquire, sewing your own clothing is actually less costly than purchasing it. It also helps to understand the cost of materials, how to select fabrics, and how to look for good sales. I will discuss this further in my following post; An Informative Introduction to Gothic Sewing: The Fundamentals. _ I hope that those who read this blog find it helpful in their own adventures with sewing. All the best, -LMP

Introduction

A Brief Update

    H ello everybody! In my last post I was discussing future projects for November. I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to complete anything blog related these last few weeks, but I've also been chronically ill and bed ridden, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I'm going to be on holidays very soon, which I am eagerly anticipating; I have so much sewing planned for my time off! X) I'm hoping to get super caught up on all my projects, but I can only do what I'm physically capable of, so I still can't make promises.     My other reason for posting is a very personal one, my birthday is approaching; hence the picture of the cute birthday cat. Please do not put ribbon on cats though, it's not good for them! I really don't like to admit this, but I don't have a lot of friends. I'm not exactly 'social.' That's not to say I'm shy or anything, I just don't mix with most people around here. As a...

A Brief Update

November Update

Projects, Funds, and Waiting -     A ww, it's November. Cold, boring, dull November. A time in which I dread the onset of....wi..wint...fuck it, I won't even mention its name. I sometimes fantasize about moving to a warm, tropical island. I think most of us do...only without those creepy stonefish, or sharks. For now, I guess I'm breaking out the fleece. Anyways, I have some projects in mind for this month, but I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to tackle them. >.< I've just been swamped. There is no rest for the weary. It appears that I'm going to have to do things little by little, every chance I get...      The last time I updated I was talking smack about the DIY Punk Pants  tutorial. I am happy to say that it is finished, and available for your consumption! I hope you enjoy it. I also discussed my costume, which was an absolute disaster. Halloween was, in its entirety, a complete dud; not just for me, but some Ameri...

November Update