Whenever anyone disparages indie titles - or outright blanket dismisses them - I can't help but ask, "Have you read Alys Arden's THE CASQUETTE GIRLS?"
It's not only hands-down one of the best self-pubbed books I have ever read, but it easily competes with releases from any of the major publishers in any category you throw it up against (editing, cover design, typesetting, need I continue?). But don't just take my word for it. It garnered a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and has gone on to be a bona fide best-seller on Amazon. In fact, THE CASQUETTE GIRLS (and its upcoming sequel THE ROMEO CATCHERS) have even been picked up by Amazon's publishing imprint Skyscape for wide re-release later this year.
As I wrote in the book's Library of the Damned spotlight back in the now sold-out Rue Morgue #144 (digital issue still available through the Rue Morgue iPhone and Android apps):
THE CASQUETTE GIRLS offers up a story that's more intricately woven than your typical supernatural release. The narrative, which concerns the centuries-long entanglement of a family of vampires and a coven of witches, is as much a genre yarn as it is a love letter to New Orleans and the brave citizens who rebuild the city after each devastating hurricane. It also boasts elements of historical fiction, mystery and romance. You could say it delivers everything but the kitchen sink, without ever feeling overstuffed.
The story follows sixteen-year-old Adele, who returns to New Orleans two months after a hurricane so destructive that it is simply known as The Storm. Almost immediately, telekinetic events begin to manifest around her, causing her to wonder if she's losing her mind. As these perplexing occurences lead her to pieces of a mysterious family heirloom and a 300-year-old journal penned by an ancestor during her perilous boat journey to the New World, Adele begins to unravel a generations-spanning spell involving the imprisonment of vampires, which she just may have unwittingly broken upon her arrival back in the city, resulting in a spree of exsanguinations in the French Quarter.
Throughout THE CASQUETTE GIRLS, Arden embellishes upon actual historical events, figures and folklore, while tossing in snippets of French and Italian dialogue; along with the lush, detailed descriptions of New Orleans, this grants the book a feeling of veracity often missing from genre yarns. But she doesn't tell you everything - some characters secrets remain so even after the final page is turned - which is equally refreshing.
If you've been looking for a supernatural story that will envelop you with both atmosphere and a genuine sense of history, THE CASQUETTE GIRLS delivers.
The indie release (pictured above) can currently still be ordered from Amazon in paperback, hardcover and Kindle editions.
The first few chapters of THE CASQUETTE GIRLS can be sampled for free right here on Wattpad. Just click the external link on this chapter.
Lastly, be sure to check out our upcoming Halloween double issue of Rue Morgue (on newsstands October 1) for an interview with Arden about her wild and wooly journey from the trenches of the indies to striking a more traditional publishing deal, and the ways it changed her novel along the way.
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Books to Die For
No FicciónA book for book lovers, this is collection of reading recommendations and author interviews, as they appeared on Rue-Morgue.com, as well as my various #fabfictionfridays shout-outs on Wattpad. Here you'll find mainstream releases, Wattpad serials, s...
