On February 4, 2025, my new novella, Woman in the Abbey, will be released by Vine Leaves Press. The story involves a young woman who gets lost in a haunted abbey where ancient horrors gradually reveal themselves. As the story unfolds, our young heroine gets mired deeper and deeper in the evil the lies within. Filled with malevolence, retribution and revenge, Woman in the Abbey explores the evil that lies dormant in the world in which we live.
Woman in the Abbey has garnered praise for its fidelity to the gothic tradition. Norah Vawter, DC-based author and editor, states that the story is “an old-school gothic novel packed with horror, romance, and beautifully overwrought emotion.” Elizabeth Bruce, writer and theater producer and author of Universally Adored & Other One Dollar Stories, says that Woman in the Abbey `is a “go-to novel for aficionados of the underworld visited upon a crumbling abbey filled with the tortures of the damned.“ And Edward Belfar, author of the award-winning novel A Very Innocent Man, says that “Mike Maggio’s Woman in the Abbey delivers everything that a fan of gothic fiction could want — a crumbling, haunted abbey, an endangered heroine, supernatural intervention, unrelenting suspense. It will have you guessing till the end.”
To celebrate the publication of this, my eleventh book, I am sponsoring an essay contest which is open to all. Here is how you can participate:
Woman in the Abbey is a gothic novel containing all the necessary requisites of that genre: a damsel in distress, a dark, crumbling edifice, mystery, and elements of the supernatural. However, gothic novels are not necessarily horror stories for, in addition to dealing with ghosts and other supernatural beings, they probe the depths of the human psyche and expose truths about human nature.
Keeping this in mind, write a short essay analyzing some of the themes in Woman in the Abbey. What do you think the story is trying to reveal? What makes the novella more than a simple horror story? Include examples from the story to support your argument. The essay should be between 5 and 7 pages
- The contest closes on March 15, 2025.
- The winner will be announced on my web site on May 1 and will receive $50 and a copy of my short story collection, Letters from Inside.
- The winning essay will be posted on my web site, www.mikemaggio.net
- Other selected essays will also be posted.
- All published essays will be copyrighted in the author’s name and all rights will return to the author.
- Direct all question to abbey@individual-author
I look forward to your participation.
