These students wrote me letters about Alex Van Helsing. What they wanted to know surprised me.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Laurel O'Boyle, a 7th grade English teacher in Michigan who said the class was reading Alex Van Helsing-- and that several of the students had become really enthusiastic, and did I mind getting some student letters, and would I answer them?

I said I would love to get student letters, and I'd make a valiant effort to answer them. So herein are the letters from Ms. O'Boyle's 7th Grade English class.

What they wanted to know surprised me-- why vampires, they'd ask over and over. And why do the vampires wear white? And most of all, why do vampires on a college campus wear T-shirts that say "Meat is Murder." Yes. The most constant question was why vampires would wear an old The Smiths t-shirt. 

I loved these letters and I'm very thankful. 

Thanks guys for making my week!

---

Jay,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the following letters. I thought it would be easier to send them all to you. I am pleased with the questions and predictions some of my students made. I hope you enjoy them as well.

I had them do two things in their letters, write a prediction of what the next book will be about (they know there are more books, but they haven't looked at them yet) and ask you any questions about Vampire Rising that they had.

Enjoy,

Laurel

Dear Mr. Jason Henderson

               This book was very interesting. It kept me thinking through the whole book. I predict that in the next book the whole Van Helsing family will start vampire hunting, I predict this because in the book it said that “the Van Helsings use to hunt vampires.”

               I have a few questions. Why is everything at the vampire school white? Why do their shirts say “meat is murder”? Why did you choose vampires and not skeletons, zombies, or something? Why didn’t you say anything more about Alex’s family?

Sincerely,

Garrett Bowen

Thanks Garrett! Well, you’re right about one thing—Alex’s family will be seen more in Book 2 and beyond. In Book 2 his parents actually show up, while in Book 3 his sister Ronnie helps out a lot, although she does it by remote, through Skype, basically. Ronnie has her own comic book, by the way: Sword of Dracula. And now I’m pitching some new novels starring Ronnie.

The vampires who have shirts that say “meat is murder” wear them as a joke—the vampires just think it’s funny. That’s actually a T-shirt you used to see on campuses a lot.

As for what kind of monsters—basically, in this universe we can have any kind of monster, but the vampires are the most dangerous, because they’re the smartest.

Dear Mr. Henderson

               I really liked how you took the time to write these books for people to read.  I liked how much action you put in this book.  You added a lot of missions for Alex to do, and you had Mr. Sangster help him through most of it.

               Now I have a few questions for you.  Why were the vampires wearing white at the school but the guards were wearing red?  How did you come up with all the cool characters and scenes in this book?

               In the next book I think Alex and Sangster will find Claire, and they will melt Icemaker; I further predict that Alex, and Sangster will get in a fight with Icemaker and kill him. I predict this because Sangster and Alex don’t like Lord Byron, so they won’t have to see him and fight with him anymore.

Sincerely,

Ashley Albert

Saranac Community Schools

Hi Ashley!

I had the vampires wear white because in many cultures it’s the color of death. Also I just thought it would look cool.

How did I come up with these characters? Any time I start a book, I try to think of what characters would work well, what’s missing? For instance, Alex needed some friends, and then I just thought of what kind of guys would be fun for him to hang out with, and Paul and Sid were born.

Your predictions have a lot to do with Book 3, actually, hint hint… 

Dear Mr. Jason Henderson

From reading the first novel to your books Alex Van Helsing, I have made some predictions about your next book.  In my mind, I can see Claire rising, and becoming the leader of Scholomance, making other vampires rise from the dead. I believe that Paul and Sid will embark on the journey with Alex to save more captives in the Scholomance.

Some questions I have about Vampires Rising are: Why do the vampires wear all white? And is Icemaker really frozen or is it a trick?.

                                                          Sincerely,

Sammy Eyestone

                                                          Saranac Community Schools

Sammy! Excellent predictions, but no comment. These answers will be given, though! And yes: Icemaker is truly frozen—but will he stay that way?

Dear Mr. Jason Henderson,

               I’ve really never written a letter to an author before.  You must take my word for it, you do a dang good job at making a vampire book.  I kind of bet, your book was better than Twilight.  Your book has a lot of details about the characters.  I must say I really loved your book.  If I had to rate it, I would rate it a 10/10.  It was a real adventure about vampires.  Some parts of the book got me to the edge of my seat.              

               I am predicting after the book that the Blob that Mr. Sangster was talking about will appear at Glenarvon Academy and work with Icemaker when he will be thawed.  I believe Alex’s family will appear. 

               My questions are:   why are the vampires dressed in white?  Why are they wearing “Meat Is Murder” t-shirts?  Where did you get the idea for Icemaker? Why did you choose Lake Geneva for the setting of this story?

                                                                                                                        Sincerely,

                                                                                                                        Maverick Musser

Oh, that’s so kind! Thanks Maverick! My gosh, I am thrilled to be compared in any sense with Twilight. Okay: I have no plans yet for The Blob (but you should check out that awesome movie with Steve McQueen), but your other guesses aren’t far from wrong. See above for comments on their white clothes and ironic t-shirts.

I chose Lake Geneva for the very reason Sangster is lecturing on it—Lake Geneva is where the great Romantic writers gathered to start Frankenstein and the early vampire novels. Since Alex Van Helsing is in a world where books really matter, Lake Geneva was a really important place to be.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I like your book Vampire Rising. It was very interesting because it had a lot of action and I like to read books like that.

I think that in the next book the Scholomance is going to attack and try to get Icemaker back.

I was wondering why there were shirts that said “Meat is Murder” on them. It confused me because vampires drink blood and that kills.

I hope to read another Alex Van Helsing book.

                              Sincerely,

                              Caitlynn Woodward

 Thank you Caitlynn! And I promise you, I think the later books are even better at balancing story and action adventure. At least I tried to do that! And yes, see above: the Meat Is Murder t-shirts are ironic.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I liked the book; it was very good with detail. I liked all of the action about the vampires.

I think in the next book there will be more people, like Alex’s mom, and Icemaker will be thawed by the vampires.

A couple of questions I have are: Why did Alex go in the cave by himself? Why did Mr. Sangster not tell Alex why it takes so short to heal his leg?

                              Sincerely,

                              Blake Patrick

 Hi Blake! Stay tuned for more hints about Sangster. But why did Alex go in alone? Because he thought it was the only way to get his friends back, and that’s what heroes do. Without that there wouldn’t be a book!

But to let you in on a secret, in an early version, Alex went in with Agent Armstrong.

 

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I loved your book Vampire Rising. I hope there are more books about Alex. Your book is the best I’ve read this year.

I predict that the next book is going to be about vampires and more about Alex’s family. I also think that Icemaker will get unfrozen in the next book.

My questions are why do the vampires wear white and how did you come up with the characters?

                              Sincerely,

                              Autum Rogers

Autum,  so far there are two more books, and with any luck more to come!

Dear Mr. Henderson,

You are a great book writer. I enjoyed your book.

I think what will happen in the next book is: Alex and Mr. Sangster will go on another adventure. It will have to do with Claire and Icemaker. Claire is a skeleton and becomes a vampire person. Icemaker is going to unfreeze. Icemaker and Claire are going to hunt Alex down. Alex gets caught. His friends Paul, Sid, and Minhi get Mr. Sangster and try to save Alex. Those are my ideas for the next book.

My questions for you are: Where did your ideas come from for writing this book? Is the ice dog (revenant tracker) going to be in the next book? Is Mr. Sangster a part of Alex’s family, like his uncle? Why were different vampires wearing read and white?

Sincerely,

Mykal Palmer

 Wow, thanks Mykal! Your guesses are strong—in the very next book, we dive more into Alex learning to be a spy. But the heaviest stuff about Icemaker, Claire and more comes in Book 3!

Sangster is not part of Alex’s family, though—he’s what we call a mentor, someone who helps you and in many ways can become like family. Thanks!

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I loved your book and its action.

I predict in the next book, Icemaker will come back and kill Sangster because Sangster was the one who helped keep Icemaker from resurrecting Claire again and from killing Alex.

Why doesn’t Minhi fall in love with Alex in the book? Why did you choose to start with action instead of Alex waking up in his bed?

Sincerely, your biggest fan,

Christian Laney

 Christian, Hm. Why doesn’t Minhi fall for Alex? I’ll bet Alex asks that question every day. And in Book 3 he kind of asks it out loud.

 

Dear Mr. Henderson,

Your book was very interesting. I really enjoyed reading this book. Where did you get inspired to write a book about vampires? Also, I liked how creative you were in this story. Where did you come up with all this? Like, did you make it up, or did you read it somewhere?

I liked how you left it a mystery what will happen in the next book. I predict that Icemaker will return in the next book. Will Claire rise in the next book? Will Sid, Minhi, and Paul become agents like Alex?

                              Sincerely,

                              Sara Pardo

 Sara, thanks so much for your kind words—I just really wanted to create a whole world of action and mystery that was similar to adventure stories I read and loved when I was young. So this world is really our world, just with a lot of monster literature underneath it.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

               I love your book.  I have a few questions about Vampire Rising.  Where did you get your inspiration?  Why is the grass white in the Scholomance?  Why is the book based in Europe?  Did you base it there because of your own interest in Lord Byron?  My prediction for the next book is that Alex will be back and this time, there will be a zombie apocalypse.

                                                                                                                                                      Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                      Joe (Stan) Collins

Stan, I actually have a proposal for a zombie apocalypse book with Ronnie Van Helsing, so who knows!

The grass is white at the Scholomance because everything down there is plum wrong.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I like the book Vampire Rising.  It was a very action filled adventure.  I would definitely like to read the second book.  I predict the second book will be about demon werewolves. 

Why did you choose to write about vampires?  Why is the Scholomance under water?

                                                                                                                                                      Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                      Nick Nelson

Nick, thanks so much! The Scholomance is under water because it’s a great place to hide!

Dear Mr. Henderson,

               I think Alex is going to take out the Scholomance and beat the new vampire leader in the next book. I think the next book will be good. I like the creativity in the book. My question is, why do the vampires wear “meat is murder” shirts? Did you plan on Sangster being a vampire since he healed so fast?

The book was great. Thank you.

               Sincerely,

               Lucas Holtforth

Lucas, see above about the shirts—but Sangster has his own secrets. By all means read on!

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I loved your book Vampire Rising. It was a good book to read and I don’t like to read very many books.

I predict the next book will have Icemaker’s followers find where Icemaker is frozen and unfreeze him by breaking into where he is at. They will kill everyone in there guarding Icemaker, except one to tell Alex what happened. Alex will be a full agent and he will be training Paul to be an agent. Minhi will get bit and turn into a vampire. Alex will get his butt kicked by Minhi with her moves. In the end Minhi will be turned back into a human.

How did you come up with the characters Minhi, Sangster, Alex, Sid and Paul? Why did you pick vampires for Alex’s enemies? How do you like your book?

               Sincerely,

               Ashley Dulyea

Ashley, ooh, your questions about Icemaker lend me to say, just get to Book 3… thanks so much!

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I think Alex is going to destroy the Scholomance and the new vampire leader. I also think Alex, Minhi, Sid, and Paul are going to find Claire.

I didn’t understand why the vampires wore white and not red and black, because in most books they wear red and black. Why did you have them dress like that?

               Sincerely,

               Taven Haskins

Taven, thank you so much! And I had them wear white because it is the color of ghosts and death.

Thanks everyone!

Happy Halloween: You've seen DRACULA-- But you've never seen him like this. On your iPad.

We call it Black Hawk Dracula. Dracula: Impossible.

Just in time for Halloween, SWORD OF DRACULA is out on Comixology for your iPad or mobile device! If you haven't read it, SOD is a techno-thriller about the agents out to capture the most dangerous terrorist on the planet: Dracula.

And the hero? None other than Ronnie Van Helsing, the sister of Alex Van Helsing of my YA book series. The series debuts on digital this week with the free prologue "ICE" and Issue 1, both drawn by Greg Scott. So check out SWORD OF DRACULA on your mobile device or PC and let me know what you think!

Ronnie Van Helsing is new to her leadership role in the Polidorium--but it doesn't stop her from dragging the organization into a full assault on Dracula, Lord of the Vampire. In opening act issue that plays out in near-real time, the Polidorium meet Dracula for the first time-but are all the Humvees, coagulant missiles, rocket launchers and blackhawks at Ronnie's disposal any match for a man who controls a reservoir of blood? 

 Word from the critics:
 "Required reading... unlike anything I can remember since the Tomb of Dracula heyday." (Cinema Nocturne) 
 "A damn fine vampire read that utilizes the mythology in fun and exciting ways." (Aint it Cool News)
 "Retooling Dracula is tricky — Writer Jason Henderson establishes the vampire lord as a contemporary para-military target with the creepy-cool ability to shape blood into weaponry and castles. Greg Scott's opening chapters scan like storyboards for Black Hawk Down fused with the best of '70s grind-house horror." -- Entertainment Weekly 
 "Henderson's approach to Dracula is fundamentally different from anything that has come before." (Cinescape)

New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer, new Alex Van Helsing French Covers

Some fun stuff I received this week.
First, I just got a look at the covers for the French editions of Alex Van Helsing:
As I wrote to a friend earlier:

I go to a lot of schools and libraries to talk about my book series about Alex Van Helsing, and people always want to know about the covers. Especially the girls, because the guy who plays Alex on the covers is a good-looking-- and very earnest and serious-looking--- young man. And I tell everyone the truth: I don't know who the actor is, though he does look like the character. In fact I have no input into covers at all-- when the publisher asked me what should be on the cover I pictured something with all of Alex's team in a group shot looking all bad, and I wanted to get Alex's motorcycle in. HarperCollins opted for photographic covers focusing on the main character. And that's the style of them. In the third book we thought about putting Alex's girlfriend Astrid on the cover because it's a shared adventure, but in the end they opted for the covers looking the same. I should note that in the French version, you instead have a shot of Alex's shoes and not him, with different colored shoes for each book! (By the way: I don't really name the books either. I write the books and suggest a title, and maybe it gets used, and maybe not.)

So excited to see Alex cross the language barrier!

Meanwhile, next month brings us the release of a game I wrote the screenplay for and am very excited about: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS.

The amazing team at Red Fly is releasing teaser trailers along the way, and this time the newest trailer focuses on Raphael, the toughest turtle.

I can't say much about the plot-- we don't even have a release date-- but I will say this game was a lot of fun to write dialogue for, especially in the idle sections where we could just let characters talk.

A fan asks questions about HIGHLANDER: ELEMENT OF FIRE

It's been a busy period-- not only have I moved from Texas to Colorado, but I've been busy with a new book as well as several tie-in gigs. I've been busy as heck writing the script for this Summer's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES game OUT OF THE SHADOWS, which is now done, and I'm kicking off another job.
I wanted to update and answer some questions about writing. Generally, I write whatever comes my way, either bubbling up from inside or sent from without.
Whatever product we create, most of us consider ourselves first and foremost writers, a label sufficient in itself. Most write because they love words and love using them. I write for a lot of reasons-- I think creating heroes that readers will want in their lives is an obsession of mine-- but I love challenges, especially the challenge of a new assignment I don't have complete control over.

For instance, I like writing Alex Van Helsing into a terrible corner and then having to write him back out of it, but that's nothing compared the challenges a writer faces with someone else characters. I might have what I think is the perfect idea, but it might not get approved-- maybe I think the Turtles should have a funny argument about old science fiction movies, but the argument might get cut because the owners already plan for a conversation like that in another project soon. That kind of cut-- which means you have to put in something else-- happens all the time. The art of writing demands control, but the art of writing for others demands equal parts control and humility.

I started out writing standalone novels in college, beginning with THE IRON THANE, a fantasy adventure about MacDuff, the hero of Shakespeare's MacBeth. But my first job working with someone else's characters was a tie-in novel for a TV series: the book was Highlander: The Element of Fire, the first tie-in to the Highlander series. I was 23 and busy with law school, and there are choices I made then that I wouldn't make now, but what I remember loving about it was that the producers allowed me to a) make the book a team-up between the characters of the Highlander TV series and the Highlander film series. I worked hard to blend the two.

But. I wrote the book in about five weeks with very little revising before publication, and it shows at times. There are scenes I would change or cut if I were doing them today. So it goes.

I mention all of this because out of the blue this weekend I got a series of questions from Alexander, a reader who enjoyed The Element of Fire so much that -- and can I say this is bizarre to hear about something I write when President Clinton was in his first term-- he had spent a lot of time thinking about it:

I'm a die-hard Highlander fan, and particularly, your novel "The Element of Fire", which I think is a better story that handles both characters of Connor and Duncan MacLeod in a much better, dignified and honest way than any of the comics and, especially, the "Highlander: Endgame" film did. On top of that, I feel that the story is an interesting and fitting exploration of the first three hundred years of Duncan's life, in as far as his doubts about the Game and Prize are concerned (even though it wasn't your intention, as you had once pointed out in an interview,I think it works still), and how he morphed, basically, into the Duncan of the show.  ...
But to me, the biggest and most amazing accomplishment, was the detailing of the Connor-Duncan dynamic. I love how you wrote those characters, and how they interact with one another. I love you managed to showcase their changes but also their sameness through the years, as well as point out their differences and similarities. To me, you basically set that dynamic, you made that relationship work, and as a fan who loves these characters and the franchise (despite the efforts of its producers to ruin it, movie-wise), I am indebted to you for this experience.
So on that note, I would like to thank you for this magnificent story. It may not be the greatest of literature, sure, but as a story that explores these characters through the years in a rollicking adventure, its one of the best. Thank you so much for this wonderful contribution.

And he had questions! So I decided-- if a reader is actually spending time thinking about a book I wrote twenty years ago, I should see if I remember enough to answer.

So with no further ado, here are the questions I received, the answers to which require me to dig deep into the recesses of my mind:


Q: What do you think of the story so many years later? Would you have changed anything story-wise, or character-wise?
A: Oh, man, there are many things I would change-- for one thing, you'll notice that the book reads in chronological order, so that it starts far in the past and moves forward to the 19th century where most of the action takes place. On the TV show the formula was to introduce a bad guy, then have Duncan take us back and forth through flashbacks that told a parallel story in the past. I wrote the book this way, in the style of the show. But the publishers were unfamiliar with the format of the show and re-arranged the book to be in chronological order. That's on them. But there's one worse that's all on me-- there's a scene where Duncan is pretty brutal to a crooked person he's interrogating, and I regretted the level of violence after re-reading it, and wish we had cut the scene. Sometimes you're working so fast that you don't realize how a scene reads.
Q: What DO you think of Connor and Duncan as characters to write? Which of the two was easier to write, and which was the most fun? Was it challenging that you had to simaltenously a lot of information for Duncan, and not as much for Connor?
A: I liked writing Connor a lot more, because he was such an oddball, with that untraceable accent and strange, detached nature. But I really loved showing them together, with Duncan and Connor debating how to be an Immortal.Q: Do you think Duncan cleared up his doubts about the Game, or do you think he had lingering doubts about it? In the Series, "The Messenger" episode, which after the book, he's adamant that the Game must be fought, because all it takes one Immortal to not lay down his sword. Did Duncan finally learn Connor's lesson?
A: Well, Duncan kept evolving in the TV series-- and to my knowledge never once experienced the faith crisis that I explored in the book. I just thought he should experience it-- not once in the show had either character expressed doubt that the Game might not be real. That there might not be a prize after all. I fought really hard to keep that line of questioning in, because the TV guys didn't like it-- yet in the end they allowed me to keep it.
Q: Have you read the Dynamite Entertainment Highlander comics that center around Connor and Duncan, and the former's dealing with Kurgan's Dark Quickening? What do you think of them, if you have?
A: Never have! I should pick them up, I guess...Q: In an older interview, you mentioned that there were doubts about allowing Connor into your story. Had you had more of a blank slate, and among other things, would you have Connor in a bigger role in the story? Fans have noted that he's basically in the sidelines for the story, and would've liked him in a more proactive role.
A: Yes-- he is the mentor character, not the lead. That's because it's a Duncan book with Connor in it. I think you could have a Connor story with Duncan in it, but I think you have to pick one or the other to be the lead. (Having said that, yes, you could have an equal-time story with two leads, but in this case it was everything I could do to get Connor in as the mentor!)
Q: And after having Element of Fire, what do you think of Highlander: Endgame, the movie that paired them in the big-screen? ... What do you think of the other Highlander novels? You have the distinction, apart from writing the only Connor-Duncan story in prose, but also having written the first novel based on the TV Series. Have you read any of the follow-up novels, and if so, what is your opinion on them?
A: t's so long since I saw the movie that I shouldn't even venture a comment. I know they weren't having philosophical discussions about the game. As to the other books-- I never did!
Q: Was there ever an intention of writing a continuance to the novel? Seeing as how the novel is set entirely in the past, and the character of Lauren survived, was it ever a hope of yours to perhaps write a follow-up story, set in the present?
A: YES! I wanted more of Gabriela Savedra, especially. I loved that character, the Spaniard Immortal who apparently went to train with Amanda.
Q: Finally, what do you think of the franchise, overall? What got you into Highlander, and what has the experience of working of EOF meant to you?
A: But I was very lucky to get that gig and have been thankful for it ever since, because it influence my whole career-- because I'd written THE IRON THANE, I got Highlander. Because I'd written Highlander I got not only some Marvel Universe books, but a job with EA doing game scripts. I was so thankful for this book for the opportunity to write in a universe I loved, and for the doors it opened. I'm still thankful.

Thanks!

Ms. Yingling loves Alex Van Helsing: Triumph of Death

Head on over to Ms. Yingling Reads, a blog focused on books for middle school readers (especially boys) for a new review of Alex Van Helsing: The Triumph of Death!

John Wilson said it best: things have to blow up in the first chapter, and Mr. Henderson never forgets this. So many strengths in his writing-- good action, lots of travel to exotic places, a tiny bit of romance, good friends, supportive but not intrusive adults, and in this case, a fairly thought provoking mystery. Excellent stuff. This series is a must have for my middle schoolers who love the Cirque du Freak series.

Check out the rest!

The Monitor: Alex Van Helsing Series Review; likes "quippy, Whedonesque dialogue"

David Bowles of the Texas newspaper The Monitor turns in a fantastic review of the first two Alex Van Helsing books. Here are some highlights, but check out the original at the Monitor site. I like his description of Voice of the Undead:

Book 2, Voice of the Undead, begins just a few weeks later. The action kicks in almost immediately: Alex is attacked by blood-sucking worms; his fight against them results in Glenarvon’s being partially destroyed by fire. The boys of the boarding school are temporarily relocated to LaLaurie, a nearby girls’ academy attended by Minhi, one of the members of Alex’s “Scooby gang.” Soon a new “big bad” arrives: Ultravox, a vampire who can control humans with his voice (and whose identity is just as clever as that of Icemaker). Setting the story at LaLaurie allows for some cool meta-jabs at the Twilight series (Ultravox employs written horror stories to infect girls’ minds with post-hypnotic suggestions and use them as weapons), but what makes Voice especially entertaining is the deeper exploration of the secondary characters; the quippy, Whedonesque dialogue; and the arrival of Alex’s parents.

Adolescent boys will particularly enjoy reading the action-packed, fast-moving books, but adult fans of the supernatural are encouraged to read them as well. This series is more respectful of lore, tradition and geekdom than most other YA vampire novels: horror fans and literature buffs alike will be rewarded by the references that Henderson includes.

Check out the rest!

Cover Reveal: Alex Van Helsing: The Triumph of Death

There is a painting in Madrid that holds the key to a coming Apocalypse, and only Alex Van Helsing and a mysterious motorcycle-riding witch can unlock its mysteries.

Are you ready for more Alex Van Helsing? Finally I can reveal the cover of Book 3, The Triumph of Death-- to me, the best of the three books planned so far. In Book 1, Alex joined the spy organization the Polidorium. In Book 2, Alex had to balance breakneck spy action with girl trouble galore, and the pace picked up considerably. Now in Book 3 it's wall-to-wall suspense and action, with new bad guys, new organizations, and (surprise) a new girl-- a 14-year-old witch/spy who can give Alex and his motorcycle a run for their money.

But at the book's heart is a painting-- a kind of amazing one. I'll be posting more on that soon, but for now, here's the cover of Alex Van Helsing: The Triumph of Death, coming in hardback July 24, 2012!

If you find this interesting-- and if you dig the awesome green colors-- pre-order now and pass it on!

Alex Van Helsing: The Triumph of Death (HarperTeen, July 24, 2012)

PSJA ISD Visits

Posters by the students of PSJA North HS on
the many topics of the Alex Van Helsing series.
This may well be the first-ever triptych on the live of
Dr. John Polidori.

Gang, I had a great week. I spent the past week visiting schools in the PSJA (Pharr-San Juan- Alamo) ISD in Texas, visiting no less than fifteen schools:

• LBJ Middle School
• PSJA North HS
• Sotomayor HS
• SW-Escalante MS
• Kennedy MS
• Liberty MS
• San Juan Middle
• PSJA High 
• Alamo Middle
• Austin Middle
• CTA/ Options HS
• Buell Central HS
• T-STEM Jeff. HS
• Memorial HS
• Audie Murphy Middle

I had such a fantastic time. One thing that PSJA ISD did that was new to me was the make the author visit into a reward for readers. Generally the only students who attended were those who had read enough to qualify and had even read Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising (proven, believe it or not, by passing an Alex Van Helsing Accelerated Reader test.) The result: these kids were motivated and wonderful, and I spent five days surrounded by students full of questions. We talked about books, writing, vampires, and Alex, and a bunch of other stuff.

At Costa Messa in McAllen with book distributor
Pat Anderson of Overlooked Books.

And check it out! San Juan Middle School's librarian, Minnie Lazo, posted an Animoto video regarding one visit that I really enjoyed!

Thanks PSJA ISD-- especially Ms. Nora Galvan, the Media Director who made it all possible!

Reader Mail: Where Do Vampires Come From and the Power of Dracula

Ronnie Van Helsing

Silver Falcon Writes:
I have a couple of questions about your world of vampires in Sword of Dracula and the Alex Van Helsing books.

1. How were vampires created in your world? Was Dracula the first or was he created by another? Did he made a deal with the Devil? Was it forced on him? Have you ever thought about how he was when he was human?

2. 1. Does the Polidorum have the technology to create an injection of some form that could suppress the vampiric virus or nature of a vampire?

3. 1. When Dracula creates his blood masses of creatures, zombies and whatnot, does he have a hivemind or connection with them that allows him to see through their eyes, speak through them, and control them like puppets?

Silver! What awesome questions.

First thing: you totally don't have to have read the Sword of Dracula comic to enjoy the Alex Van Helsing novels, or vice versa. They are in the same universe, but it's more like a bonus. If you know, you know. But I can answer these questions and they apply to both stories.

Some of this actually gets discussed a little in Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising and the Sword of Dracula trade paperback, but I'm not sure I've ever put it all in one place. And some things are definitely only in unpublished documents.

In the Alex Van Helsing/ Sword of Dracula universe, the first vampires were descended from the Nephilim, Angels who were put on earth to care for humanity but who turned against God. The vampire curse has passed down since, not genetically but through blood and biting. When you get bitten, besides the other changers, the curse burns out most or all of the empathic centers of the brain, making you a more dangerous, more-ready-to-kill person.
Dracula was not the first vampire-- he became a vampire in the 15th century, but has since become one of the most powerful vampires in the planet. If you want to know how he was when he was human, see Ronnie's slideshow in the first chapter of Sword of Dracula, and in my essay "What I Forgot About Dracula" in the back of Sword of Dracula.
Does the Polidorum have the technology to create an injection of some form that could suppress the vampiric virus or nature of a vampire?
They might. It might be possible to capture a vampire and hit them with something to repair the empathic centers or chemically enhance them to render a vampire "nicer."
When Dracula creates his blood masses of creatures, zombies and whatnot, does he have a hivemind or connection with them that allows him to see through their eyes, speak through them, and control them like puppets?
You're referring to Dracula's "blood powers," where he can use blood to create creatures like horses, bats and even augment dogs with extra parts. This all stems from his basic powers of necromancy and remote control, both of which were referenced in Chapter 18 of Dracula.
I haven't gotten  really specific about this, but generally the various creatures follow rules. Blood dogs blood sharks are dogs whose bodies have been augmented with bloodwood (the manipulated blood Dracula controls) to create new creatures that, while not exactly sentient, can function as trained creatures. Zombies are raised human dead and function according to a set of simple rules. My feeling of all of these is that Dracula can mentally wind them up and let them go, but in a pinch could mentally control any one of them.

Note that so far Dracula is the only vampire we've seen who has this blood power, but there may be others like him. Also note that during the events of Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising, Alex is so far not even aware that Dracula or the other vampires alive-- whereas by Sword of Dracula, he is sending Ronnie secret notes with plans on how to deal with the "Lord of all Vampires."

Thanks for the questions!

Pitching and how it morphs: Young Van Helsings

Someone on my blog asked me about Sword of Dracula, the comic series I wrote that first introduced the spy organization (grown up around the heroes of Dracula and the origins of Frankenstein) called the Polidorium. Would the characters there-- especially Ronnie-- ever return? I told her something a lot of people might not know: Alex Van Helsing, the book series, sprang from a pitch called Young Van Helsings. There, Alex was one of the leads in what would be a series about Alex, sister Ronnie (the star of the comic) and Alex's manipulative twin Judith. As it happened, by the time we were done, the pitch had refocused on Alex himself. That happens all the time-- this was actually a rare case where the pitch morphed, but the earlier version is still viable. Sometimes it can go wildly out of alignment with the original-- what starts out as a police procedural can wind up as a romantic comedy about a cop. Usually these changes are better. And besides-- you're the writer. You can always come around to the earlier version later.

Pitch time. That's where we are.
This is one of those periods where I'm mainly working my a** off but it's more or less hidden from public view. In public view I'm in a quiet period because Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead doesn't come out until July 26, and though I've turned in a draft of the third book, I don't have edits on it yet, so I'm working on new material. During the last hiatus I worked on a ghost story with a female lead; this time I'm working on two different middle grade boy action books simultaneously.

Where do I do this? I have an office at home, but for knocking out chapters, nothing suits me more perfectly than an empty lecture hall. Most of the Alex Van Helsing series, in fact, was written inside of lecture halls at the University of Dallas:

Gorman Lecture Center, where I do a lot of my writing.

Sometimes when I take breaks, I leave cryptic notes on the white boards (last time: THE COARSEST SENSATIONS OF MEN.) I always wonder if the students notice these notes, or if the professor just erases them. The world may never know.

Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead gets a cover!

I am so stoked about this. See, authors usually see a cover many months early, but it's kind of forbidden to show the cover off until the cover is officially released. There's no real rule as to what that means-- after all, Goodreads has covers way early, but the one that seems to make a difference is Amazon and the other online retailers. When Amazon has a cover, you have a cover.

Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead finally has a cover!

So finally I can talk about it, even though we're still way early. This book comes out in late Summer-- July 26, just in time for Back-to-School days. So just some hints for now, but what's this one about? See the description here from Amazon:

Now that Alex is in the know about the deadly vampires that live--and hunt--clustered around his boarding school, everything is different. Putting his talents to use, Alex is training with the Polidorium to become a vampire hunter, just like his Van Helsing ancestors. Sure, he's only fourteen, but c'mon, this runs in his blood.Meanwhile, Alex's arch-nemesis Elle, a vampire whose youthful appearance and blond hair disguise a vengeful rage, is out to get him before a powerful leader called "Ultravox" arrives on the scene. Ultravox specializes in assassinations, but who is he targeting? Dodging Elle's attacks, Alex is on a mission to uncover Ultravox's deadly plan before his friends and his school become collateral damage. There's no time to report back; innocent lives hang in the balance, and it's up to Alex to act now--or else.

Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead-- July 26, 2011

Amazon has Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising for $6.80

 A few notes:

• If you haven't gotten Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising in hardback, Amazon has a bargain price: $6.80, cheaper than the paperback will be (and the paperback doesn't get here until next Summer.)
• Book 3 work continues apace, and again I apologize for the lean blogging while I work to get this draft finished. Tonight I knocked out about 1500 words, putting us over the 48,000 word mark as we turn into the final big giant confrontation at the end, which by the way is at the Brough of Birsay. 
• One of the ARC Tour websites will very soon be taking sign-ups for an Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead ARC, and I'll post the link as soon as it exists!

Writing is a lot of things, but mostly it is hard

Holy Mackerel! I haven't updated my blog since January 3. See what happens when you're knee-deep in the rough draft of a book? I also need a haircut. And my family may well be forgetting what I look like.

Today I was reading Neil Gaiman's Pep Talk for Novel Writers, written for the people participate in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing or Writers or Something that Makes this Acronym or Whatever It Is Work. NaNoWriMo, which I've never tried, asks you to kick out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. You know what would come after that? Month two, revisions, NaNoWriMoBetta. My hat's off to those guys. I can't re-create Neil Gaiman's wise words here because Kenny G doesn't try to follow Charlie Parker. But what Gaiman says is, writing is hard. It's one of my favorite things in the world, and I need it with a burning, addictive need, but it's never easy.

Right now I'm writing the rough draft of Alex Van Helsing Book 3. No title yet, though in my mind so far it's called The Triumph of Death.

I've told you I work off an outline, right? Here's the one I'm using currently:

I actually do this. I have an outline in Excel, and as I complete certain chapters, I turn the yellow boxes green. Yeah, I know.
What happens when I make a major change, though, and it throws the whole outline off?
Yeah, what about that? It does happen. It happened this week. I'm about 40,000 words into this book and suddenly realized a key moment in the outline just wasn't working. What then? In my case, I take out my notepad and start scrawling. Maybe the characters don't go this extra place. Maybe we eliminate this subplot entirely. Ohmygod what if this whole subplot is a symptom of a larger problem and wait we needed to get that conversation in and wait there's too much talking and suddenly you're a guy building a tower of china cups on a tray you're actually holding, while you attempt to type a novel. Stephen King writes about these moments well in his On Writing: "OhmygodI'mlosingmybook!"
One word after the other. One sentence after the other. Outline, revise, write, write, more words, a thousand today, that's my goal, though my day is night, since I work by day.
It's work, hard work, and in the end it's lonely work because you can't really download your whole draft into someone else's head. You desperately worry that you're screwing it up, but you're on one brick in the wall, and the wall has sixty thousand bricks.
With any luck I'll be done with a rough draft in a couple of weeks, and then it's revise revise, revise. Fix the notes I've put in for myself. Eliminate characters, sometimes eliminate whole plots. Ditch the stuff you know is half bothering you and you don't want to admit it, but it will bother the reader.
And that's before it even goes to a publisher.
I really do love this process. This is the party I came for.

Voice of the Undead Giveaway, and SciFiChick.com lists Vampire Rising in its Top 10 YA Fantasy Novels of 2010

This is nice-- run over and give TheSciFiChick.com some love because they just added Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising to their Top 10 YA Fantasy novels of 2010. What can I say except THANK YOU! It's kind of bizarre, really, because even though the whole point of the blog is to keep everyone up to date, I'm still constantly amazed that people are reading and caring.

Meanwhile, I have GIVEAWAY NEWS. I plan to give away an ARC (advanced reading copy) of Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead  as soon as our Facebook page hits 500 Likes-- so if you haven't, go add yourself!

I haven't yet figured out how I'll give it away. Probably once we do hit 500, I'll post a call for responses, and draw from the responses. No other details yet because they have not come to me.

Process and Progress on Alex Van Helsing #3

The AVH Notebook (V. 2)

Not much blogging this week due to Holidays and a lot of work on Alex Van Helsing #3: Whatever It Will Be Called. Here you can see my notebook-- my process basically involves outlining first on paper, then in Excel, then back to paper for individual scenes. Honestly when it comes to real brainstorming it's better for me to use paper.

For instance, you can't really see it but the header there says SECHERON DARK, with dramatic beats underneath, corresponding with the bits of action in the scene. This scene is in (currently) chapter 4 of the first draft. The notes say:

SECHERON DARK

Into town-- body armor

Police lights cutting through the dim-- people milling about

The Docks--

Army of vampires coming up from the water (L. Geneva)-- attacking

a bony horse and the Skull Lady

Vampires with other skull faces covered-- attacking--

ELLE!

Alex saved by the GIRL

"It's Claire."

Claire sends a message

That's for a scene-- scenes need to have dramatic beats and its easiest to write them down. I continue this way, going from electronic to paper outline, throughout the first draft.

Meanwhile I had a quick call with my editor to pick her brain about what to do with some of the characters. A 10-minute call and we're out. The editor is warm but sharp and efficient. We bat some ideas rapid fire and settle on a direction, and each return to our lives.

And on we go. The book is currently 15,000 words into draft 1, and due in February.

Give an Alex Van Helsing Shirt for Christmas!

I've added all kinds of things to a new, improved Alex Van Helsing Store. Check it out if you're looking for some cool stocking stuffers!

Alex Van Helsing Web Game: Classic Vampire Target Practice!

A way to pass the time while I write the next Alex Van Helsing. If you like this, maybe I can add more classic vampires.

Other games

Build your own games

Alex Van Helsing Makes Vampire Killing Needlessly Complicated

Two random computer people explain Alex Van Helsing for you:

Glog on Alex Van Helsing

The Garcia Middle School in San Antonio has prepared the first "glog" I've seen on Alex Van Helsing in preparation for a school visit I'm doing next week. A glog, for those of us for whom this is new, is basically an interactive scrapbook-slash-poster on the web.

I think this is so cool. I wish when I was a kid I could have done this for the Three Investigators and The House with the Clock in its Walls.

You can check out the one from the Garcia Library here, and a preview is below (Thanks to librarian Lucy Podmore for setting this up!)

The Book Buzz on Alex Van Helsing: for "anyone who likes good adventure"

Over at the Book Buzz, "book fanatic" Jill Bellomy weighed in with a kind review of Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising:

I've grown weary of the vampire mania.... but I heard a lot about it and decided to give it a try.  Boy, am I glad I did!  I loved it!  Mr. Henderson's vampire storyline is fresh & new and filled with delicious literary & historical references.  I just ate it up!  It's a an exciting, suspense-filled adventure that is anything but a Twilight copycat.  One review calls it a "modern-day spin of James Bond meets Dracula" which sums it up perfectly! Fans of Vladimir Tod, Alex Rider, Alfred Kropp, the Young Bond series, or anyone who likes good adventure, try this new series by Jason Henderson.

That does my heart good-- I did realize when Harper Teen and I started this series that we had an uphill battle because of the familiarity of the vampire genre. But just like in courtroom dramas, there is always a new angle. (At least the writer always tries for a new angle, anyway.)


Read the full review here.


Speaking of Harper Teen, no sooner did my kind friends over there sent me a box of Advanced Review Copies of next Summer's release, Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead but that I turned around and passed them out. In this case, I gave out copies to 9 different Texas middle schools, where students in book clubs will get to read the book 8 or so months early, and with any luck can write me some helpful notes in the marginalia. I actually hope they enjoy it, but more than this I'm hoping to get a feel for what's working for them in the series and what's not. It can have a lot to do with the new project, "AVH3," whatever it's going to be called.