8th November: Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker, author of the original Dracula story, was born on this date in 1847.

1. He was distantly related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
2. He was bedridden with a mystery illness until the age of seven, when he completely recovered and went on to become a star athlete at his university, Trinity College, Dublin.
3. His first writing job was as a theatre critic. A favourable review of Henry Irving's Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin led to a dinner invitation from Irving, and a lifelong friendship.
4. Stoker's first novel was The Snake's Pass in 1890. Dracula followed seven years later.
5. Stoker was an artist as well as a writer and was a founder of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1874.
6. The original manuscript of Dracula was discovered in the 1980s. It was typed, and heavily corrected, but the main difference was the title - it was titled "The Un-Dead" rather than Dracula, suggesting that Stoker had changed his mind about the title at the last minute.
7. Although widely travelled, Stoker never visited Eastern Europe, where his most famous novel was set. Instead, he claimed that the English town of Whitby inspired the work.
8. Stoker's wife, Florence, had previously been courted by Oscar Wilde.
9. The first film adaptation of Dracula was released in 1922 and was named Nosferatu. It was directed by F. W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock.
10. Florence Stoker was still alive then, and sued the producers because they had not asked her permission to make the film, and, having done so, did not pay her any money. She demanded that the negatives and all copies of the film be destroyed. She won the case, but some copies managed to escape the carnage, so the film survived to become well known today.

BTW, my novel, Death and Faxes is out now. 

It's about a young psychic who is asked by a detective to help track down a serial killer. At first, she is reluctant - but the ghosts of the victims won't leave her alone...

Go to Amazon Kindle Store for the e-book and a free "Look inside" excerpt;

CreateSpace or Amazon for the paperback. (The link takes you to Amazon.co.uk, but it should be available in other countries' Amazon sites as well).

There's more information on Goodreads also, and a giveaway with 10 signed copies to be won (closes 28 November 2014).

Or visit my other blog which showcases my writing for an excerpt of Death and Faxes and other stuff. http://juliehowlinwriter.blogspot.co.uk/