SciFiChick review: Alex Van Helsing series "completely engaging, exceptional"

SciFiChick turns in a new review of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead and loves it!

As the complex story unfolds, the intensity increases. Fast-paced and action-packed, this sequel is completely engaging. There are plenty of surprises and twists leading to a climactic and dramatic ending. A few mysteries still linger that will leave readers wanting more. Full of mystery, adventure, and teenage angst, this fantasy series for young adults is exceptional.

Thank you, SciFiChick!

Castle Dracula Podcast on Interview with the Vampire!

Check out our latest podcast episode: INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE!

A look at INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Hosted by the creators of the Alex Van Helsing book series (Jason Henderson) with panelists Julia Guzman, travel writer and attorney, Barb Lien-Cooper, creator of the online comic GUN STREET GIRL and adapter of many manga and manhwa titles published by Tokyopop and Viz Media, and Dr. Park Cooper, co-creator of the graphic novel HALF DEAD and editor-in-chief of comic-book publisher Septagon Studios. We'll cap it off with endorsements and of course Q&A from the audience!

Don't forget to check out the podcast at iTunes and subscribe!

Meanwhile, tune in next Tuesday for the next episode...

MTV Geek on Alex Van Helsing (with Excerpt!)

MTV Geek, MTV's website on books, comics, movies and the like, has a post up with an exclusive preview of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead.
Go check it out!

Release day for Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead (and some new reviews)

Some new reviews for Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead this morning, on the very day that the book is available everywhere. 

Mundie Moms turned in a review of Vampire Rising, which comes out in paperback today:

I really enjoyed this book. It was an engaging, fun, quick read. There's humor, classical references, down to earth and enjoyable characters and of course some great vampire hunting, butt kicking scenes. Now I can see why Alex Van Helsing made the Texas Lone Star List. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Voice of the Undead. This is a clean cut book I'd recommend to older middle grade and YA readers.

Collected Miscellany has a review of Voice of the Undead:

Ultravox was a nice villain and the concept added a thread that could pull both the action of the school(s) and the larger vampire versus human battle.  The continuing battle with Elle and the development of the Merrill brothers added a nice touch as well – some tension and an extra burst of action.
Looks like this is turning into a nice series for those looking for action adventure with a vampire twist.

The Brain Lair says:

Voice of the Undead is a fast-paced, action-packed caper.  Alex is in and out of trouble faster than you can say Vampire Rising.  ... Alex is too busy surviving to reflect on anything, but the mishaps keep the story moving forward. 

Finally! The book is here! I want to hear what you think.

Shock Value (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 1)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool (often vampire) things. Today:
SHOCK VALUE by Jason Zinoman

Shock Value is a deeply researched and thoughtfully told analysis of New Horror, the modern-set, often more unsettling horror movies that came around in the 70s and continue more or less to today.
I had some real doubts about reading this outstanding book from Penguin Press. I'm a fan of horror of the gothic era-- Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, Hammer and Corman. For me the end of the Gothics signaled by the thunderclap of The Exorcist is a sort of sad time, although I appreciate the modern scares of the New Horror era. I mean, The Exorcist is a masterpiece, and I'm a huge fan of a few modern horrors such as The Changeling.

I'd read a series of essays by Jason Zinoman in Slate where he staked out several positions I loved (such as "the less explained about horror, the better") and at least one position I wasn't on board with, that horror has a purpose, and the purpose is to unsettle the audience. That means constantly upping the stakes, because the audience can't remain unsettled long-- so that whereas audiences in the 70s were disturbed by Regan spitting up pea soup, by the 2000s we really need to see someone's eye gouged out with a blowtorch. I'm not really there because I kind of think there's room for both the unsettling and the curiously settling kinds of horror. I'm not convinced that one is superior to the other.

The book makes no such claim-- Zinoman painstakingly traces the rebellious roots of Wes Craven, Dan O'Bannon, William Friedkin, Peter Blatty, and more as they launch modern classics like Last House on the Left, Alien, and The Exorcist. And it all begins with a look at Vincent Price, hamming it up on the Mike Douglas show, musing about what is horror.

Great stuff. I really admire this book and recommend it.

Listen now to the Kung Fu & Vampires Episode! (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 5)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool (often vampire) things. Today:
Kung Fu and Vampires: The Caste Dracula Podcast brought to you by alexvanhelsing.com

The podcast team recorded our new episode last night and had a great time. You can listen now to our discussion of kung-fu, vampires, and the movie that brought them together.

Description: A look at the one the most awesome and awesomely off vampire movies ever, the kung-fu vampire extravaganza LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES starring Peter Cushing. Hosted by the creators of the Alex Van Helsing book series (Jason Henderson), indy comic Halloween Man (Drew Edwards), and manga Psy-comm (Tony Salvaggio), and token female attorney Julia Guzman. We'll cap it off with a look at kung fu, vampires, and of course Q&A from the audience!

Here you go:



Or you can find the Castle Dracula Podcast at Talkshoe.
Or on iTunes.

Meanwhile, here's a trailer for Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires.

SIX DAYS! Pre-Order! (And tune in tonight!) (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 6)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool (often vampire) things. Today:

Tune in tonight to the Castle Dracula Podcast! And by "Tune In," of course I mean click that link and you can either dial in or listen on computer. Tonight the topic is kung-fu vampires.

Description: A look at the one the most awesome and awesomely off vampire movies ever, the kung-fu vampire extravaganza LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES starring Peter Cushing. Hosted by the creators of the Alex Van Helsing book series (Jason Henderson), indy comic Halloween Man (Drew Edwards), and manga Psy-comm (Tony Salvaggio), and token female attorney Julia Guzman. We'll cap it off with a look at kung fu, vampires, and of course Q&A from the audience!

Meanwhile: holy mackerel. Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead comes out in SIX DAYS! It's been a long road since the first book came out last year-- I've talked to literally thousands of readers and even got to be the only Texan on the Texas Lone Star List. Now, book two is finally coming out. I want to do more of these-- and I want this book to blow the first one out of the water. 

So: MY REQUEST FOR YOU.

1. If you like Alex Van Helsing, pre-order. Pre-orders are everything. If you haven't, pre-order the book by clicking the Amazon link to the left.
2. Want more to do? Read a Preview of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead at HarperTeen!
3. While you're there, put the Read Inside widget you see below on your site by going to the preview page and clicking "Put this book on your site" in the upper right to grab the code for the widget. Then you can just paste it into your blog.
4. Finally, thank you to all the readers who have written in! I've had a blast hearing from all of you.

So! Go read, and then pre-order. Voice of the Undead comes out on July 26 and I for one can't stand the suspense.

Ebook Pricing Has Nothing to Do with Physical Book Pricing

I was on twitter and someone brought up a logical question that people have asked often:
How can it be that a book has a cheaper physical price at a store than when I buy it on Kindle?
A few supporting points I hear:
Paper costs more than air, so the paper price should be higher.
Restated as a cry from the heart: On general principle there should never be a book that costs more on paper.

Unfortunately, sometimes the things we think are just common sense in fact aren't true. The prices of ebooks and paper books have nothing to do with one another.

Let's completely set aside, by the way, the cost of network bandwidth and content management. We'll pretend a world where ebook and paper book costs of delivery are equal.

The price of ebooks depends on a lot of things, such as the price suggested by the retailer, the actual price paid by the retailer to the publisher, and any standard price the retailer pays. There are lots and lots of details in here, but basically the thing to know is that ebooks are a product like downloadable games that have a price. The price could vary widely from day to day and hour to hour, though as a matter of policy these prices generally are stable.
The price of paper books depends on a lot of things, such as such as the price suggested by the retailer, the actual price paid by the retailer to the publisher, and any standard price the retailer pays. There are lots and lots of details in here, but basically the thing to know is that paper books are a product like slacks that have a price. The price could vary widely from day to day and hour to hour, though as a matter of policy these prices generally are stable.

You know what these two don't have anything to do with? One another. Sams sells paper books. On Tuesday they might decide, "It's back to school time! Today, paper books will be the thing that brings people in the door. Let's make all paper books half off. We'll lose money on the paper books, but we'll make money on pencils and pens." And Voila, a $15 book is $7. The Ebook on Amazon is still $9.99. Let the cry of the heart begin. They don't have anything to do with one another. They are products, with prices. They have no more relation to one another than their relation to the price of a soft drink featuring a character from a movie based on the book.

But you know, they could have something to do with one another by choice. In theory a retailer could set up a spider that says, if there's a cheaper price in hardback out there, we will undercut it on the ebook version. But that would still be a marketing choice by the retailer. And anyway, why? They are different products. Tomorrow Sams' sale will end; the paper book will go back up.

I might be in an airport and can't find SOLOMON KANE, but can buy it for $9.99 on my Kindle. My price choices here are $0 for zero books or $9.99 for one ebook. The fact that Solomon Kane is $5 at a store down the street from the airport is completely meaningless in this instance.

I might be in the airport and find Under The Dome marked down to $8 on paper, while the ebook remains $11.77. But the paper book weighs approximately 900 pounds while the ebook weighs nothing. At this point, the ebook is worth the extra money, if we're comparing. I'm paying for a value.

Ebook prices and paper book prices: They don't have anything to do with one another.

Read the First Chapters of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead Online! (Countdown Minus 11)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool (often vampire) things. Today:
Read a Preview of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead at HarperTeen!
It all starts with a motorcycle chase that leads to an all-boys' school having to merge with an all-girls' school.




I usually write books in isolation a good year and a half before they come out. Between that and the street date, I might edit some here and there at the editor's behest, but there comes a point still many, many months from the book's release when it is done, completely done and locked, and all I can do is wait. Because I want people to read! I have students who write me and say, hey! Finished book 1-- where's book 2! And it's not out there.

Today, finally, you can go to HarperTeen and read the first bunch of chapters of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead. It takes you through a LOT, including the catastrophe that causes Alex's boys' school to have to merge with the all-girl school across the lake.

So! Go read, and then pre-order. Voice of the Undead comes out on July 26 and I for one can't stand the suspense.

Listen to Fright Night: Episode 2 of the Castle Dracula Podcast (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 12)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool (often vampire) things. Today:
Episode 2 of the Castle Dracula Podcast: FRIGHT NIGHT!
You can stream the podcast right here:

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) - Castle Dracula Podcast Episode 2

ReleasedJul 13, 2011

A look at the vampire/comedy/horror classic Fright Night while we anticipate the release of the Colin Farrell remake. Hosted by the creators of the Alex Van Helsing book series (Jason Henderson), indy comic Halloween Man (Drew Edwards), and manga Psy-comm (Tony Salvaggio), and token female attorney Julia Guzman. Spoilers!
The really exciting thing is the panel had an audience this week listening live. Join in next Tuesday, when we'll be talking about THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES.

Also you can visit the Podcast on iTunes and subscribe (be sure to leave comments!) or visit us at the Talkshoe home page.

Thanks for listening, leave comments, and let us know what topics YOU would like to be covered!

Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League Script by @erniecline (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 14)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool (often vampire) things. Today:

Ernie Cline's Script for Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League.

I recently watched BUCKAROO BANZAI on DVD, and you know, it has everything that makes me want to be a writer-- at any moment you look at the film, you feel as though you're seeing a far smaller fraction of the movie's reality than a normal movie would suggest. With most movies, one gets the sense that the characters hardly existed before the film and will probably sputter away shortly afterwards. BUCKAROO goes on and on, and encourages you to believe the well is deep, deep. And it should have been deeper-- after the outstanding curtain call at the end (seen below), the credits promised a return: "Against the World Crime League."

And at least some of the world waited.

Writing possibly the single most storied spec script ever written-- Sci-Fi World Magazine even ran an article about it-- Ernest Cline of the soon-to-be megahit Ready Player One created "BBAWCL" as a fan-fueled lark. At Cline's blog, the writer explains:

It was the BB sequel I’d always wanted to see, and I knew that other die-hard Banzai fans would probably get a kick out of it. So I posted the script online, where it quickly spread to the far reaches of the Internet. In the months that followed, I received literally hundreds of emails from other Banzai fans writing to tell me how much they enjoyed the script. This was incredibly gratifying, and something I never expected when I was writing it.

Amazing, really. Go to Cline's blog to check out the script and download it, and don't forget to pre-order Ready Player One, which is just fantastic.

The wonderful Buckaroo Banzai curtain call:

Slate's How to Fix Horror Series (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 15)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool vampire things. Today:
Slate Magazine's Series on "How to Fix Horror" by Jason Zinoman

This past week, Jason Zinoman, author of the new look at modern horror films Shock Value, has turned in a thoughtful series of essays called "How to Fix Horror." I've enjoyed reading them for the most part because they're erudite and well-argued, and I recommend them. Having said that I have a lot of disagreements with Zinoman because he strikes me as a kind of purist against other purists, which is silly when we're talking about pop culture.

Here's Zinoman:

Horror can certainly be discreet and cerebral and deeply moral. But it's more at home being impolite and gross and borderline unethical. We needn't be embarrassed if we prefer the movies that favor splatter over politics or poetry. What matters—what keeps us coming back for more—is fear, a pleasure as old as the game of peek-a-boo. Maybe we like horror movies of questionable taste because we get a perverse thrill out of something debased. Maybe it's just because we are so addicted to goose bumps that we'll see anything to get that feeling again. Straining to be respectable not only misjudges the nature of the genre; it robs us of one of the most potent scares you can have at the theater: the horror of realizing you love horror.

Well, I don't know, I think "more at home being impolite and gross and borderline unethical" might be a judgment call. I'm not crazy about these pronouncements where something is "supposed" to be anything. What is horror supposed to be? Do we really have to get uppity about this?

Linoman is definitely a worshipper at the cult of King, and I respect that-- he quotes from Danse Macabre. But Linoman and King part ways in that Linoman can't stand indoor bullstuff. The kind of horror I prefer tends to be either supremely eerie (Dont Look Now) or sublimely cheesy (Blood of Dracula)-- two kinds of horror Zinoman seems to define right out of worthy consideration. These are good essays, but the lean way hard in the direction of a respect for what Bruce Wright's Nightwalkers calls "terror" (movies about primal fear of bodily harm) and turns its nose up at what Wright calls "horror" (movies about the sinking awareness of the great abyss beyond.) That's just another nomenclature, of course. I can't wait to read Linoman's book, though, because I expect it to be very good at covering what it covers.

Tuesday Night at 10:30: Castle Dracula Podcast Hits Fright Night Classic!

The Castle Dracula Podcast returns Tuesday Night with a discussion of the classic Fright Night!

Castle Dracula Podcast. A panel show on vampires, vampire movies, and anything cool in the horror genre. With "Alex Van Helsing" and "Sword of Dracula" author Jason Henderson, "Halloween Man" creator Drew Edwards, "Psy-comm" and "Clockwerx" manga creator Tony Salvaggio, and token female Julia Guzman, attorney.

Why this movie? Because we talk vampire films, it's a classic, and there's a remake with Colin Farrell coming in August, so we have to be ready!
Want to listen in or even join in and ask questions? Go here for details.
You can find the podcast at iTunes here if you want to listen to the last episode in which we eviscerated Van Helsing, or subscribe to get the podcast in your iTunes as soon as it's available!

Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent in Fright Night (classic)

CONTEST: Become an Anti-Vampire Spy and Win a copy of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead!

Awesome book blog iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books are running a very cool contest where EVERYONE wins a bookmark for entering, plus we'll be giving away an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead.

Read the details here!

We have a contest! The goal? Become an ANTI-VAMPIRE SPY and you'll win an ARC of Voice of the Undead! And even better: anybody that enters this contest will receive something!




What's an ARC? An ARC is an Advanced Review Copy. It's the version of the book that newspapers and bookstores get. Jason is going to award one to one reader who can send in the best image of themselves as an Anti-Vampire Spy. A member of the vampire-terrorist-hunting Polidorium, like Alex -- in the cover above-- or like his sister Ronnie here:

Ronnie Van Helsing, Anti-Vampire Spy, from Sword of Dracula.

But wait, you might be asking-- how do I do this?
Any way you want.
It could be a photograph of you, dressed as a spy, in a spy pose. (What's a spy pose? This is a spy pose: )

Basically, look cool.

So yes, you could, if you thought it somehow conveyed anti-vampire spy, dress up like the Michelin Man and front as only that rubberized, all-weather demon can.

Or it could be a drawing. Or a video. It could be a collage as long as it someone represents you-- as a spy-- wanting to kill some vampires.

Rules:
Very few. Keep it clean, and anything you enter has to be something you don't mind being posting.

EVERYONE WHO SENDS IN AN ARTISTIC RENDITION will get a SIGNED ALEX VAN HELSING BOOKMARK. And one of you, randomly chosen, gets an ARC of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead.

Show us your spy stuff!

How to Enter:
-Email any entries to jasonhendersontx@gmail.com
-Subject Line: Be a Spy Contest 

-Include your name, shipping information, and attach your picture, video, or whatever your entry is.
-Deadline: Between Now and July 26, the day Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead is released!

Examiner 4-Star Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead Review (Countdown Minus 18)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool vampire things. Today:
Examiner gives Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead 4 Stars


Caitlin Stanford, in an Examiner review that's been a zillion times from the India Times to the Chicago Hello, weighs in on Voice of the Undead:

Caitlin Stanford

Alex Van Helsing, 14-year-old Polidorium agent-in-training and descendent of Abraham Van Helsing of Dracula, returns in Jason Henderson’s new book, Voice of the Undead.

Suspicious things are afoot at Glenarvon Academy in Geneva, and as usual, Alex Van Helsing is in the thick of them. Continually harassed by the vampire Elle, a name readers will recognize from the first book, Alex gets into deeper trouble when a new villain, Ultravox, arrives at the Scholomance.
...
Voice of the Undead has a few new characters for the readers to love, including Ultravox, as well as old friends like Sid, Paul, Minhi, and Mr. Sangster. There are also still plenty of cool techno-gadgets and weapons to go around, not to mention motorcycles, WaveRunners, yachts, and, of course, wooden stakes.

Alex’s character continues to grow in Voice of the Undead, and soon he is learning more and more about himself and his family. He’s still very relatable and very funny, and fans will enjoy learning more about him.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Review of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead - Dallas young adult literature |

Thanks Caitlin!

LA Teen Festival Interview (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 19)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool vampire things. Today:

LA Teen Festival Magazine Interview on Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead


LA Teen Festival is an online teen magazine with a mainstream focus, so it's really exciting to have some exposure in a non-book-related mag. Check out the interview here! 

LA Teen Festival (Selena Gomez cover)

Jason Henderson Interview, page 1

1897 Reviews of Bram Stoker's Dracula (Voice of the Undead Countdown Minus 23)

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool vampire things. Today:

Contemporary reviews of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
This is fantastic reading-- a collection of reviews of Dracula from the period of the books' release.

Here, then, is the Daily Mail:

By ten o’clock the story had so fastened itself upon our attention that we could not pause even to light our pipe. At midnight the narrative had fairly got upon our nerves; a creepy terror had seized upon us, and when at length, in the early hours of the morning, we went upstairs to bed it was with the anticipation of nightmare. We listened anxiously for the sound of bats’ wings against the window; we even felt at our throat in dread least an actual vampire should have left there the two ghastly punctures which in Mr Stoker’s book attested to the hellish operations of Dracula.

Here, from the Spectator:

Mr. Bram Stoker gives us the impression — we may be doing him an injustice — of having deliberately laid himself out in Dracula to eclipse all previous efforts in the domain of the horrible, — to “go one better” than Wilkie Collins (whose method of narration he has closely followed), Sheridan Le Fanu, and all the other professors of the flesh-creeping school.

Great reading for any Dracula fanatic, check them out here.

CONTEST: Become an Anti-Vampire Spy and Win an Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead ARC (Countdown Minus 24)

UPDATE:
This contest is now being hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books.

You'll still send entries to me, but you can read blogger Lucia's excellent post over there.

I want to see you all looking like spies!

-----------------

With Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead coming out on July 26, I'm counting down 60 cool vampire things. Today:

CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT!
Become an Anti-Vampire Spy Win an Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead ARC!

What's an ARC? An ARC is an Advanced Review Copy. It's the version of the book that newspapers and bookstores get. I want to award one to one reader who can send in the best image of themselves as an Anti-Vampire Spy. A member of the vampire-terrorist-hunting Polidorium, like Alex -- in the cover above-- or like his sister Ronnie here:

Ronnie Van Helsing, Anti-Vampire Spy, from Sword of Dracula.

But wait, I hear you asking-- how do I do this?
Any way you want.
It could be a photograph of you, dressed as a spy, in a spy pose. (What's a spy pose? This is a spy pose:)

So yes, you could, if you thought it somehow conveyed anti-vampire spy, dress up like the Michelin Man and front as only that rubberized, all-weather demon can.

Or it could be a drawing. Or a video. It could be a collage as long as it someone represents you-- as a spy-- wanting to kill some vampires.

Rules:
Very few. Keep it clean, and anything you enter has to be something you don't mind me posting.

EVERYONE WHO SENDS IN AN ARTISTIC RENDITION will get a SIGNED ALEX VAN HELSING BOOKMARK. And one of you, randomly chosen, gets an ARC of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead.

Show me your spy stuff!

How to Enter:
Email any entries to jasonhendersontx@gmail.com
Subject Line: Be a Spy Contest
Deadline: Between Now and July 26, the day Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead is released!