Dracula In Love Contest

Today is the last day to enter the contest for a copy of Dracula In Love by Karen Essex.

Go HERE and leave a comment.

Good luck!

Karen Essex - Interview and Contest

Today is a special treat for PVN readers. Bestselling author Karen Essex is here to talk about her wonderful new book Dracula In Love (Doubleday, August 10, 2010), a story told by Mina Harker about the centuries old romance she has shared with a remarkable man, and the hard choices she has had to make over the years. Karen is also the author of the National Bestseller Leonardo's Swans.

Look for contest details at the end of the post.

Hi Karen and welcome!

What led you to the idea of writing a novel centered on Mina and Dracula?

Ideas for novels are mysterious things having many threads that coalesce.  I have always loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula, mythology, vampires, and interesting female characters, especially those who have been misrepresented in the historical record. I am also intrigued by iconic literary characters like Mina Harker, characters who I believe were “underrepresented” because they were written through the lens of the period in which they were created, and without the benefit of a female perspective.

I believe that characters like Mina are as real, if not more real, in the popular imagination as actual historical figures, and that they, too, merit reexamination.  Stoker’s portrayals of Mina and Lucy Westenra, the “shadow” side of female sexuality, so perfectly fit the paradigm of good girl versus bad girl imposed on women, a paradigm that drives me nuts.  I couldn’t resist getting in there and trying to turn it on its head. 

How long have you had the idea to write Dracula in Love?

This idea came to me in September of 2006.  One day I was sitting in my office staring into space and I thought, hmm, what if I wrote the Dracula tale from Mina’s perspective?  It happened just like that.  I have absolutely no explanation for where the idea came from, but from the second it entered my mind, I knew I would write the book.

Is this your first foray into paranormal fiction? What attracts you to this genre?

All my books are loaded with mythology, and I have long wanted to write a story with supernatural elements, especially something about vampires.  But when you are born and raised in New Orleans and adore Anne Rice’s books, and in fact, know Anne Rice and once adapted one of her books into a screenplay (The Mummy for James Cameron), it’s a tad intimidating to venture into her turf!  I had to wait for the right idea. 

I am also interested in metaphysics.  I think the most interesting dialogue of our time centers around the theories of quantum physics, which I believe will eventually close the gap between physics and metaphysics.  Remember the old Sting lyric, “We are spirits in a material world?”  That sums it up. I always wear crosses, not to protect myself from vampires, but to remind myself to live at the intersection between heaven and earth.  My spiritual life is very important to me.

What is your view on reincarnation?

I believe in the immortality of the soul; that consciousness is eternal.  I believe in some form of reincarnation, but it is probably not as simple as we imagine.  I often hear people say things like, “Oh, I was Julius Caesar in a previous lifetime, and this other person was my stable boy, and that’s why he’s intimidated by me.”  I find that kind of thinking very simplistic, but I also do not see why we cannot project or focus our infinite consciousness into many different physical beings throughout the flow of time (which we all know is just an illusion anyway).

What research did you do for the Victorian background of this book?

Well, I moved to London and got a flat in a neighborhood that was developed in 1890, the year the book takes place.  How’s that for commitment?  I wanted to breathe in the atmosphere as I wrote. I thought that this kind of sensual vivid book demanded it.  I made my usual substantive study of the era, reading as many documents as possible from the period and studying the art, culture, design, sexual and social mores, religious beliefs, customs, and laws concerning the rights, or lack thereof, of women.  Victorian culture is very complex; it’s lush and extravagant, and restrained and contained, all at once. 

I almost never, ever, if I can help it, write about a place I haven’t been to, which is why I am happy that I wrote the book here in London, where much of the late Victorian period can still be seen.  I also traveled to southern Austria, which was Bram Stoker’s original choice for Dracula’s home before he settled on Transylvania.  I also went to Whitby where so much of the original was set, and to the west coast of Ireland, the birthplace of Stoker’s mother.  Strangely, I had set Sligo as Mina’s birthplace before I learned that Stoker’s mother was born there, and that he grew up hearing tales of ghost stories and Irish folklore. 

But for my taste, the most harrowing locations in my book are the treatment rooms of Victorian insane asylums.  I did a lot of research in the archives of these places, and I can assure the reader that my portrayal of those institutions are quite accurate. As far as I’m concerned, that’s where the real horror in the book takes place.

Kate Reed is such a terrific character. Please describe her to PVN readers, and tell why you decided to use her in this novel.

Ah, another bizarre coincidence!  I decided to create a character I named Julia Reed to be Mina’s old school chum, when I read in Stoker’s notes that he had toyed with including a character named Kate Reed who would be Mina’s friend.  I could not resist using the name, though we have no idea what Stoker might have done with “his” Kate.

My Kate is a lady journalist who is a foil to Mina.  Kate is an outspoken feminist, reflecting the dramatic changes that women were pushing for at that time.  She pokes and prods Mina to think beyond the social norms.  Readers are responding very strongly to Kate.  I think that she is a woman of her time but also someone modern readers can relate to.  Without women like Kate Reed, we would not be nearly as advanced in our present day thinking.  All that we take for granted now was earned with a heavy price by those types of women.

What is your writing day like? Where do you work? How do you write?

I ascribe to the “obsessive compulsive” style of delivering a book, which means that when I get into it, I almost don’t let it go until it’s done.  I know people who write a daily quota and then stop.  I cannot do that.  I wring it all out, and when there is no more, I quit.  Sometimes.  I don’t recommend this system, but it works for me.

Whether in Los Angeles or London, I write at home.  I like to get out of my environment and even find it stimulating, but unfortunately, in cafes and public places, people do talk to you, no matter how focused and busy you look.  So I get rather reclusive when I need to work.  It’s can be a lonely business if one is not careful.  On the other hand, some of the best and deepest conversations I have are with myself.  What that says about me, I’m not sure, but it’s the truth.


Karen, I believe this entire interview tells all of us what a very special person you are. Thank you for taking time to be here

CONTEST

One lucky reader will win a copy of Dracula In Love.

*To enter the contest simply ask Karen one question OR leave one pertinent comment - one chance


You may also:

"Like" Dracula in Love on Facebook  

*Link to this contest on any of the social network sites, including Twitter, or your own web page. Let me know the url:  One chance for each link.

*If you are a Google follower (see sidebar on right): One chance

*If you are a member of the PVN Facebook page: One chance

*If you are an email subscriber: One chance


Contest is open WORLWIDE! Contest ends August 20, 2010.

Karen's home page

Review of Dracula In Love

Dracula, My Love - Vampire Book Reveiw

Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker
by Syrie James
Avon  (July 20, 2010)

Romance between Mina Harker and Dracula is not a new concept. It's been done in movies and books. Elaine Bergstrom touched on this subject in Mina and Blood to Blood, James tells the story of Dracula following very closely the plot layed out by Bram Stoker. Whereas Stoker used journals and letters of various characters James tells the story soly from the point of view of Mina Harker. She has married Johathan Harker the hapless young solicitor sent to Transylvania to negotiate with Count Dracula for purchasing land in England. While Jonathan barley survives his nightmarish existence Mina spends time in Whitby with her dearest friend Lucy.  During her stay she learns that a ship, the Demeter, has crashed on shore, with all the crew missing and the dead captain lashed to the helm.

MIna writes her recollection of the events that so drastically changed her life. She and Jonathan have been married for seven years and have a son they named Quincy after a friend who died while chasing after the fiend Dracula.

Mina has a different view of things than that portrayed in Stoker's novel. Although the main plot is basically the same Mina adds additional material from her secret life. She writes in order to come to an understanding of this turbulent time known only to herself.

Mina's Story: While in Whitby with Lucy she meets an intriguing and extraordinarily handsome man who calls himself Mr Wagner. Even though Lucy has always been acknowledged as the pretty one Wagner only has eyes for Mina. The attraction is mutual, although Mina feels very guilty because he has pledge herself to marry Jonathan Harker a man, she reminds herself, she loves very much. Evan after Jonathan returns from his harrowing trip to Dracula's castle and they have married, Mina still has dreams of the mystery man and how it felt that one night they danced together and he held her in his arms.

Mina's attraction does not diminish even when she discovers that Mr Wagner is the monstrous vampire Count Dracula that Dr Van Helsing is convinced must be destroyed. In a tip of the hat to Fred Saberhagen who wrote the marvelous Dracula Tape, author James allows the Count to tell his side of the story rebutting all the nasty accusations made against him. For me this was the most fascination part of the book.
Dracula, My Love with its charming, 19th century writing style tells of a passionate, forbidden romance which of course makes it all the more exciting.

Mina Harker's Story: From the Pen of Elaine Bergstrom

Many authors have explored the world created by Bram Stoker in his classic novel Dracula. One such writer is Elaine Bergstrom who imagines Mina Harker's story in two books - Mina: The Dracula Story Continues. (Berkley, 1994 writing as Marie Kiraly. Reissued in 2007) and Blood to Blood (Ace, 2000)

MINA

Towards the finale of Stoker’s novel Mina Harker, an unwilling victim of the evil count, journeys to Transylvania with Van Helsing and others, including husband Jonathan, determined to destroy the vampire in his lair. In Bergstrom’s novel the story is told through Mina’s eyes. As she travels with the vampire hunters she admits, only to herself, that her encounters with Dracula have awakened passions she never felt before. Even when it is believed that Dracula has been destroyed her longing for his embrace does not end.

Early in the book Mina describes a meeting with Dracula. "He stared at me, and for a moment, I had an astonishing revelation of where his mesmerizing power lay. All his thoughts were fixed on me as no other man's had ever been. Even Jonathan, on the day I agreed to be his wife, had a portion of his mind elsewhere. But with Dracula, I was the center of all his attention, the one who could satisfy his terrible need, give him strength.... This understanding gave me a heady feeling that made me weak with a desire I found horrifying... (quoted from Mina. Berkley, 1994 p. 6-7). As the story unfolds she also finds herself strongly drawn to the hedonistic Lord Gance. There are several clever, unforeseen twists and turns.

BLOOD TO BLOOD

Mina and Jonathan Harker live separately as this novel begins. Mina’s love affair with Lord Gance has ended with his death in Transylvania. She returns to London for the reading of his will. To her astonishment she finds that he has left her his home in Exeter and thus given her a degree of independence known to few women of this era. Her love for Jonathan, however, has not died. Both have had sexual exploits associated with the erotic pull of the vampires. And so they have a certain understanding and sympathy for each other but is it enough to save their marriage?

While trying to sort this out Mina learns that Dracula’s half sister Joanna Tepes has awakened and followed her brother’s trail to England. Although a powerful nosferatu, Joanna has not lost her human soul. She has no desire to kill or harm humans. It is Arthur Holmwood, the man who lost his finance Lucy to Dracula and felt forced to destroy her, who earns Joanna’s trust and offers her the hand of human decency. Mina supports Arthur’s sympathetic view of Joanna, but this lovely picture is spoiled by a mortal killer. He is stalking victims, and all of the protagonist face danger because of this monster.

Both books have an enchanting, erotic air, but the stories are more than that. Each believably describes the thoughts and feelings of every character. I've read and enjoyed Mina and Blood to Blood.