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| The cover, with art by Neil Vokes and Thomas Mason |
For the last few years I've been writing movies for the Syfy Channel, with an emphasis on sharksploitation movies. Not that I just love sharks, mind you, but with the success of Sharknado, that's what the network wants. So, every year, I try and come up with some permutation on this strange subgenre of creature features to pitch to Syfy--among them was Dracula vs Great White Shark. Envisioned as an old-fashioned monster rally, where the icon of cinema's classic era of monster movies (Dracula) tangles with a modern day popular monster icon (the shark), I was immediately taken with the sheer ridiculousness of the concept, but also wanted to treat it as a straight-up story. This isn't a parody, but an ode to these two creature feature genres.
Syfy passed on the title (a number of times), but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. My Dracula is in the tradition of Christopher Lee and Tomb of Dracula, and this story is designed as a sort of alternate take of the Demeter chapter of the original Bram Stoker novel. This is a fun "What-if" story, written for kids of all ages and, as such, is the first release under my new MonsterKid Press imprint.
Since I first began my writing career, I've tried so hard to be a "serious" author, writing "serious" fiction. Frankly, I just needed a break. I've always been inspired by the monster movies of my youth, but have always tried to "grow them up". This time around, I've put that aside. I wanted to write a fun monster book that was just that--fun. And what better time to release it than my favorite time of the year? Many of you have mentioned Infernal City, my next "adult" novel. Fear not, it's still on the way, but Dracula vs Great White Shark was a rabbit I had to chase. Expect Infernal City early 2017. For now, in celebration of Halloween, order a copy of Dracula vs Great White Shark, sit back, and have some good old-fashioned monster entertainment.
The book is currently available in print, with no immediate plans for a Kindle release. The cover art, done by veteran comic book artist Neil Vokes (Fright Night, Flesh and Blood), and colorist supreme Thomas Mason (who did both my Rift Jump covers) is simply too beautiful to be relegated to a screen.
And now, ABOUT THE BOOK, from the back copy:
The year is 1897.
Young thief Kamen is on the run, but he believes his luck
has changed for the better when he stows away on board the Russian ship
Demeter, on course for England. He befriends a mysterious black dog, as well as
the captain’s daughter, Yana. But an ominous storm bears down upon the Demeter,
and suddenly crewmen begin to disappear. What’s more, a Great White shark is
stalking the boat, keeping an unnaturally steady watch. Kamen and Yana soon
discover that not everything is as it seems on board the Demeter, and the young
friends find themselves facing not only the notorious Count Dracula, but also a
relentless shark. What will it take to stop the foes challenging the Demeter’s
crew, and will the ship make it to England at all?
