I can only aspire

The more I read these novels from a variety of authors, the more impressed I've become. There is genuine talent in these pages. Each author's personality shines through to some extent; characters are generally not formulaic; unique twists and turns are frequent; there's diversity of expression and imagery. It's a far cry and quite a switch from having previously mostly read (and long since given up) King, Koontz (never liked his books much anyway), Rice, Barker and other horror authors who, to me, are the after-1980 monopoly.

I could only aspire to be a Gothic author in the fashion of many of these excellent authors. Cheers to them! And long live the Gothic genre. :-)