¡Hola chicos! ¡Durante todo el fin de semana estará gratis toda mi biblioteca en Amazon! Se agradece cualquier difusión que den, opiniones, etc. Hi guys! Throughout this weekend all my library will be free in Amazon! Thanks for any dissemination to give , opinions, etc.
Chicos, esta entrada será solamente en inglés, si la quieren leer en español, clic aquí.
Red eyes, fangs,
ancient castles, surname Harker, and bloodlust... who would not recognize the
story by these items? Almost no one would be wrong to say the name of the book,
a book that marked a style, a race, a genre, and many, many generations of
readers.
Dracula, by Abraham
"Bram" Stoker, was published on May 26, 1897, and since then it has
not been out of print, fueling night terrors of many literary, inspiring others
and creating a trend difficult to avoid when speaking of vampires.
However, the book
left some chances, many questions that could be answered in a second part, and
not just one but many "sequels", written by authors who gave their
point of view about what could happen after the end of the novel.
The September 24,
2009 in the UK, Dacre Stoker, nephew grandson of Bran, with Ian Holt, publishes
the oficial sequel to the book that made him famous to his name: Dracula The
Un-Dead.
I made contact with
Mr. Stoker and he answered some questions about his novel, as well as on his
writing career, the influence of the name Stoker in his life, so without any
further need to extend the entrance, I leave to all vampire readers the
interview with Dacre Stoker.
1. There are so many novels about Dracula, have you
read any of them to write yours?
Yes, however there are far too many to mention here. Top one:
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
2. The idea of the book was from Mr. Holt, but what
would have happened if he had not thought about it?
Then I probably would have never written a sequel to Dracula.
Would you have written the book on your own at some
point?
Most likely not, but I would probably have written something about Bram
Stoker instead.
3. You read Dracula when you were in college; the
style was something pretty , let's say, "new" at the time when it was
published. When you wrote Dracula, the Un-dead, did you want to use it again,
at first?
It was a thought of ours, but the epistolary style is not too popular
today so we thought it would not be all that well accepted.
4. We had Vlad and Bathory, those two vampires
together in the book, so different characters and at the same time, very
similar. Why did you decide to put them together?
The sequel needed a new twist, something expected and something
unexpected. Why like enemies and not like lovers with a common cause? That
would have been to cliche, besides Dracula was still in love with Mina.
5. Every character of the first book has changed a
lot since its end; Mina, Arthur, Jonathan, all of them have gone through the
consequences of their encounter with the Count, what made you decide the future
of each one and their role in the story?
We figured that each character would have been affected like being in a
war, sort of post Dracula stress syndrome. They had friends die, they had to
kill Lucy, Lucy’s mother died and Arthur’s father died, we figure that would
reasonably change anyone.
6. Is any of the new characters based in real
people or they are just from Bram's notes?
Elizabeth Bathory is based on a real historical figure, a few others
are taken from Bram’s list of characters in his notes but were never used in
Dracula like Detective Cotford. The others are just adaptations from Bram’s
original characters in Dracula, although Quincey has a lot of qualities
of Ian.
7. From your point of view, why do vampires have
become so popular now? Meyer and Rice helped in the cause, but do you think
there's something else? Something that makes vampires such a fascinating race
that they keep coming back again and again no matter what?
They continue to fascinate because authors keep adjusting the
situations that they are placed in, that keeps it interesting. The other factor
is that the theme of immortality is alluring to most horror readers.
8. Is there a difference between the you before
writing the book and the one after doing it or do you feel like the same
person?
Yes I am still the same person, however I have enjoyed many wonderful
experiences and met many interesting people as a result of promotional
tours.
9. In addition to Dracula, Bram wrote other books.
Which one is your favorite?
I liked Jewel of the Seven Stars and Mysteries of the Sea.
Would write a sequel to any of these books? Why?
Not ready for any other sequels at this time, too much going on with
Dracula.
10. Being honest, what do you think of nowadays'
vampires? What would be Bram's opinion about them?
I think Bram would have been very proud about the legacy that he
created, you must remember that besides being a writer he was a theater
manager, longevity in the world of entertainment is highly regarded.
11. When you were a child, besides all the Halloween
thing, being a Stoker was something significant to you?
Being connected to Dracula meant very little to me and my family, of
course we were proud of Bram’s achievements. We were raised to succeed at
everything we did from our studies to our sports, not to rest on the laurels of
others but to go out and make your own name.
12. What are you working in right now?
I am busy working on two books right now, I am finishing off a Bram
Stoker Dracula Travel Guide, and staring a prequel to Dracula with the author
J.D. Barker. I am also working on a documentary film about the origins of the
real Prince Dracula and the fictitious Count Dracula. I have partnered with
Romanian Treasures Travel Company to organize and host Dracula Tours to
Romania
13. Is there another Dracula novel coming from you,
a fiction novel, let's say?
Yes as I just mentioned I think readers are ready for a historical
fiction about Bram Stoker writing his famous novel Dracula.
14. After vampires, do you have another creature
that you like?
In the horror genre I find witches very interesting. Otherwise I like
fish, whenever I have free time I love to go fly-fishing for trout, they are
difficult to catch little slimy creatures!
15. To finish, what is your advice for those young
writers to become successful authors?
Every time you get a creative thought, write it down, keep a journal,
these nuggets may very easily become wonderful parts of your next story.
I can only thank Mr.
Stoker for his time and patience with me and my questions. I look forward to
hearing from you and your projects!
¡Hola chicos! ¿Qué tal sus vidas? Seguro mejor que las mías *llora* Hi guys! How's that life of yours? Better than mine, for sure *baby crying*
Paso a dejarles una información interesante acerca de una de las sagas que sigo: Rasguños en la Puerta, de Melisa S. Ramonda. El tercer libro de la saga se publica este año en casi nada, y como adelanto, los primeros tres capítulos saldrán gratis, ¿quién dijo yo? I let you this interesting information about one of the sagas that I follow: Rasguños en la Puerta (Scratches on the door), by Melissa S. Ramonda. The third book in the series is gonne be published this year in almost nothing, and as an adelant, the first three chapters will be free will, who did say me?
Si alguno tiene dudas, no sabe si darle una oportunidad a la saga, puede leer la reseña que hice del primer libro aquí y leer acerca de las dos historias cortas aquí y aquí. El segundo libro lo tengo esperando por mí en el teléfono, así que por el momento dejaré pasar la oferta de los tres capítulos, además de que estoy leyendo otra novela de la autora (soy un lector-acosador a veces, como notarán). If any doubt, don't know whether to give a chance to the series, you can read the review I did the first book here (just in spanish) and read those about the two short stories here and here. The second book's waiting for me in the phone, so I'll let it go for now the three chapters' offer, plus I'm reading another novel by the author (I'm a stalker-kind-of-reader sometimes as you can notice).
Entonces, para no llenar la entrada con palabrería, les dejo la sinopsis con la portada oficial de la novela :3 So not to fill the whole entry with crazy talking, here's the synopsis with the official cover of the novel :3
Rusia, 1979
Sergei Valinchenko, Alfa Mayoritario de la nación loba, se ha ido. Sergei Valinchenko, Alfa Majority of the wolf nation, is gone.
Después de las -misteriosas- muertes de sus hermanos mayores, Illya
Valinchenko (el tercer hijo de Sergei) es el único que puede tomar las riendas
de una empresa que amenaza con desmoronarse. Lo que el Mando Común no sabe, es
que debajo de la prístina piel del lobo se esconde una bestia aún más feroz con
sus propios ideales. Brutal, certero y decidido, Illya tiene la visión y la
fuerza para hacer cumplir sus planes. No conoce límites.
After the -mysterious- deaths of his older brothers, Illya Valinchenko's (the third son of Sergei) the only one who can take charge of a company that threatens to crumble. What the Joint Command doesn't know's that beneath the pristine wolf skin an even more ferocious beast with its own ideals hides. Brutal, clever and determined, Illya has the vision and strength to fulfill his plans. No limits. Él es la pesadilla con la que se alimentan los rumores, uno más oscuro
que el otro. ¿Cuánto de eso es mentira, y cuánto es verdad?
He's the nightmare with which rumors are fed, one darker than the other. How much of that's a lie, and how much is it true? ¿Cuánto oculta Illya, en beneficio de su gente y del Bien Común? How much hides Illya, n benefit of his people and the common good?
Ekaterina Tasarova no le teme a Illya Valinchenko. Ni siquiera lo
conoce. Pero cuando llega a Vladivostok una carta del Mando Común avisándole
que es una de las candidatas para casarse con él, ella elige obedecer. Tal vez
ser la Primera Hembra Alfa es demasiado, pero una chica de pueblo no
desaprovecha oportunidades; sobre todo si esa chica tiene un espíritu
"alfa" imparable y siempre quiso hacer grandes cosas. Ekaterina Tasarova's not afraid of Illya Valinchenko. She doesn't even knows him. But when it comes to Vladivostok a Joint Command's letter telling her that she's one of the candidates to marry him, she chooses to obey. Perhaps being the First Female Alfa's too much, but a village girl does not waste opportunities; especially if that girl has an unstoppable "alpha" spirit and always wanted to do great things.
Ella le ofreció lealtad, él le ofreció poder.
She offered him loyalty, he offered her power. La nación loba está a punto de entrar en una nueva era...
The wolf nation is about to enter a new era... Si la pareja "alfa" sobrevive lo suficiente.
If the "alpha" pair survives long enough. Esta es la historia de una relación atípica enmarcada por la Rusia de
la Guerra Fría, de un pueblo fraccionado y dolido por la pérdida de un líder
débil pero amado y de un juego peligroso de lealtades y traiciones que es
imposible ganar en solitario.
This is the story of an unusual relationship framed by Russia of the Cold War, a split and hurt by the loss of a weak but beloved leader and a dangerous game of loyalties and betrayals that cannot win lonely.
¡HOLA! HELLO!
¿Han pensado que a veces hace falta un pequeño empujón para que se te suban los ánimos? Yo mil veces, y precisamente la entrada anterior era por eso mismo: Necesitaba a alguien que me alegrara, me ayudara a respirar tranquilo. Y eso pasó ese mismo día a mitad de la noche, casi a media noche. Have you thought that it sometimes takes a little push so that your spirits will rise? I do have, a thousand times, and the previous entry was precisely for that reason: I needed someone to glad me, help me breathe easy. And that happened that day in the middle of the night, almost midnight.
Verónica es una gran amiga mía, una hermana muy muy muy cercana a la que quiero MUCHO CON DEMASIADO. Ambos hemos pasado por situaciones muy similares, aunque ella se las ha visto peor que yo, siendo sincero. Veronica is a great friend of mine, a very very very close sister who I love WITH TOO MUCH. Both of us have gone through similar situations, although she has seen worse than me, to be honest.
Nos hemos apoyado mutuamente, nos decimos las cosas a la cara, nos aconsejamos,... en resumidas cuentas, somos hermanos de espíritu. Obviamente cuando me pidió leer Fuego en las Manos no le dije que no.
We supported each other, we say things to your face, we recommend ... in short, we are siblings in spirit. Obviously when she asked me to read Fuego en las Manos I didn't say no.
El día en que publiqué esto esperaba que alguien me dijera algo con respecto a mis libros, obviamente algo positivo, que me ayudara con tanto estrés. Tal como dicen, Dios está en las palabras. The day I published this I was waiting for someone to tell me something about my books, obviously something positive to help me with so much stress. As they say, God's in words.
Verónica me llama a mitad de la noche para decirme que revise el Facebook, reviso y me encuentro con que me ha hecho una entrada en su blog. Me alegró la noche, la semana y el mes entero. Eso era precisamente lo que necesitaba para poder seguir adelante. Veronica called me in the middle of the night to tell me check my Facebook, I checked and find she has made me a blog entry. I was glad the night, the week and the whole month. That was exactly what I needed to move on.
El resto de la entrada lo dice mi hermanita: The rest of the entry is for my sister:
¡Gente! ¿Qué tal? People! What's up?
Bueno, creo que el título de la entrada habla por sí solo, pero para los despistados, hablaré un poco de lo que es ser blogger y estar estudiando al mismo tiempo. Well, I think the entry's title speaks by itself, but for dummies, I'll speak a little about what it is to being a blogger and to study at the same time.
No es sorpresa que he estado desaparecido del blog, y eso se debe precisamente a mis estudios. Es mi último año en la licenciatura y solo hay una palabra para poder describir lo que siento: No wonder I've been missing the blog, and it is precisely because of my studies. It's my last year at the undergraduate and there is only one word to describe what I feel:
HORRIBLE
Entremos en mi contexto actual: Mientras escribo esto estoy también escribiendo una comparación entre mi trabajo como periodista digital y el de otro ciberperiodista, un trabajo que debo entregar para mañana Jueves, y obviamente lo hago en español, la parte en inglés la traduzco con google para ahorrar tiempo, y tengo Enchant, el disco de Emilie Autumn, para relajarme un poco.
Let's go to my current context: As I write this I'm also writing a comparison between my work as a digital journalist and other cyber-journalist, a job I should deliver tomorrow Thursday, and obviously I do it in Spanish, the English part is traslated with google to save time, and I'm hearing Enchant, Emilie Autumn's album, trying to relax.
Para este viernes debo preparar una exposición acerca de no recuerdo qué tema, y tengo un trabajo final de carrera en curso; adicional a esto, hay dos artículos en inglés que debo escribir para una revista que saldrán en Julio y los cuales aún ni empiezo. ¿Se imaginan el nivel de ansiedad y estrés que cargo encima? Porque yo aún no lo termino de pasar.
I have to prepare to this Friday a presentation on I-don't-know-what-subject, and I have a final "thesis" in progress; additional to this, there are two articles in English that I have to write for a magazine that will appear in July and which I still not start. Can you imagine the anxiety and stress levels over me? Because I still cannot believe it.
Mi pasión, mi verdadero trabajo, escribir, quedó relegado a un quinto plano, porque no llega a segundo, y eso no me ayuda en lo más mínimo. Imaginen que dejan de hacer lo que les gusta por más de un mes, lo que los ayuda a liberarse y sentirse más ligeros en cuanto a responsabilidades. Así estoy yo. My passion, my real work, write, was relegated to fifth level, because it doesn't came to a second one, and that does not help me at all. Imagine you do not do what you love for more than a month, which helps you to feel more free and light as to responsibilities. So I am.
Para mí, escribir en el blog es MIL VECES MÁS IMPORTANTE que para la universidad. ¿Por qué? Porque SÍ ME GUSTA, lo disfruto, me encanta leer así sea un comentario, ver un me gusta en la página de Facebook, saber de alguna reseña, en fin, hacer lo que amo. For me, blogging's A THOUSAND TIMES MORE IMPORTANT than college. Why? Because I DO LIKE IT, I enjoy it, I love reading whatever if it's a comment, a like on my facebook's page, know of any review, in short, do what I love.
Ya tengo mucho tiempo sin poder escribir una entrada, esta la estoy escribiendo a los golpes, y siendo sincero, no es la satisfacción suficiente para poder decir: Estoy en contacto con mis lectores, si es que aún me queda alguno. I have long time unable to write an entry, I'm writing this as a crazy mess, and to be honest, is not enough satisfaction to say: I am in contact with my readers, if I still have any. Les aseguro que para pasar por esto hay que tenerle mucho amor a lo que sea que estés estudiando porque te corta las alas (veo venir un desquite literario por tanto estrés; estoy seguro que retomaré Perfecta Maldición luego de esto). I tell you to go through this you have to have a lot of love for whatever you're studying because it cuts you your wings (I see coming a literary revenge for so much stress, I'm sure I'll return after this with Perfecta Maldición).
Si alguno sabe cómo acelerar el tiempo dígamelo, porque en serio quiero mi vida de vuelta. No me importa lo que digan, cuando salga y tenga mi título seré el ser más feliz de la tierra y cantaré Let it go a todo pulmón. If anyone knows how to accelerate time tell me, because I really want my life back. I don't care what they say, when I go out and get my degree I will be the happiest person on earth and sing Let it go to the top of my lungs.
It was a thought of ours, but the epistolary style is not too popular
today so we thought it would not be all that well accepted. 
Elizabeth Bathory is based on a real historical figure, a few others
are taken from Bram’s list of characters in his notes but were never used in
Dracula like Detective Cotford. The others are just adaptations from Bram’s
original characters in Dracula, although Quincey has a lot of qualities
of Ian. 
Not ready for any other sequels at this time, too much going on with
Dracula.
12. What are you working in right now? 
Después de las -misteriosas- muertes de sus hermanos mayores, Illya
Valinchenko (el tercer hijo de Sergei) es el único que puede tomar las riendas
de una empresa que amenaza con desmoronarse. Lo que el Mando Común no sabe, es
que debajo de la prístina piel del lobo se esconde una bestia aún más feroz con
sus propios ideales. Brutal, certero y decidido, Illya tiene la visión y la
fuerza para hacer cumplir sus planes. No conoce límites.
Ekaterina Tasarova's not afraid of Illya Valinchenko. She doesn't even knows him. But when it comes to Vladivostok a Joint Command's letter telling her that she's one of the candidates to marry him, she chooses to obey. Perhaps being the First Female Alfa's too much, but a village girl does not waste opportunities; especially if that girl has an unstoppable "alpha" spirit and always wanted to do great things.
¡Gente! ¿Qué tal?
Les aseguro que para pasar por esto hay que tenerle mucho amor a lo que sea que estés estudiando porque te corta las alas (veo venir un desquite literario por tanto estrés; estoy seguro que retomaré Perfecta Maldición luego de esto).