The Dead Travel Fast

Net Curtain Lurkers

"you are a Vampire who never knew
what life was until it ran out
in a big gush over your lips."
Originally uploaded by Amadika

A belated but fun review of The Dead Travel Fast on the blog Net Curtain Lurkers.

The best part of the review is getting a chance to look around their blog, which calls itself "A Hilarious Look at the 30 Year Feud Between Paranormal Authors David Farrant and Sean Manchester Over The Highgate Vampire."

For those who've read TDFT, you'll recall a few pages discussing the wackiness surrounding Highgate Cemetery, the infamous vampire hunt that occurred there in 1970, and the odd characters involved. The site has a lot of details and plenty of links to related sites.

Most interesting, the first comment on the review is from David Farrant himself (who says he read and enjoyed TDFT--fancy that).

[Link]

RIP Dr Rasalan

Funeral Wreaths
Originally uploaded by Susannelein

Word came recently that my doctor back in Ohio passed away, Dr. Amador Raslan. He was a great doctor and fondly remembered as a great all-around guy.

Dr. Rasalan was probably completely unaware that he had been immortalized in another way.

One of the stories in my book The Dead Travel Fast, that seemed to be in every review/feature about the book--and people ask me about all the time--was my attempts to drink my own blood.

In the book, I detail that I went on a trip to the doctor's and casually asked the doctor to draw an extra vial of blood. He heard me out and declined. As soon as he left, I simply swiped some supplies from the cart next to me, went home, and did the exact same thing I'd just witnessed him doing an hour earlier.

Though his name was never mentioned, nor any details about him shared, the doctor in that story was Dr. Rasalan.

I will never forget the look on his face when I tried to explain to him why I want the blood. He was a pretty quiet yet straight to the point kinda guy. While I was talking, I could see his face show tiny expressions of surprise, disgust, then impatience.

He did ask me, "Like Billybob?" referring to Billybob Thorton and Angelina Jolie, who had vials of each other's blood around their necks while they were married (give him a break, this was in 2004).

Then he did the right thing. He made a judgment and made it clear to me.

Then I did a very wrong thing, but we don't need to go over that now.

Rest in peace, Dr. Raslan, and thanks for being such a great doctor.

Come see me in Charlottesville

so fast he can't be captured on film
Originally uploaded by ericandkatherine

So if you happen to be reading this blog...and you happen to be in Charlottesville, Virginia...and you happen to have no plans today...you should come see me read as part of the Virginia Festival of the Book. The festival extends across two dozen locations across the University of Virginia campus and downtown Charlottesville. I'm reading and making bad jokes at the Albemarle County Office Building location at 2 p.m.

The author appearing after me is some nobody named...John Grisham (I hear he's written a few legal thrillers that have done okay). I'm sure this John whatever-his-name feels much better about showing up, knowing that the copious crowds who will come to see me read will probably be polite and hang around to hear a bit of him.

Good News

At various points in the past few years, I've been interviewed by many of the greatest news outlets in the world. However, today is a first: being interviewed by a cartoon character. A blue cartoon character, at that. One named Roger.

Too good to be true? It isn't.

You can find a direct link to it here.

There be blogs

More recent blog mentions of The Dead Travel Fast:

• Dead Rotten's Extreme Unction
• Sans Sanity
• Bookgasm
• Loving True Blood in Dallas
• Owl She Wrote
• Swords Against Boredom

 

TheoFantastique interview

A recent short interview with TheoFrantastique.

Quote:

"We make monsters to fit our times. Perhaps, zombies just feel like a better fit for people right now. However, I think it’s a fad. Vampires will be back. The undead are all about comebacks, literally."

Read the rest here.

Forrest Ackerman: 1916 - 2008

Eric and Forrest Ackerman
Originally uploaded by ericandkatherine

I run into a lot of famous and/or noteworthy people (just the other day I rode in a elevator with Toni Morrison). Generally, I'm not terribly impressed with them--it just makes for good stories (like the time I peed next to Issac Hayes, or rather, the time Issac Hayes peed next to me).

While I was putting together The Dead Travel Fast, one of my favorite people that I met was Forrest Ackerman, inventor of the term "sci-fi," ardent enthusiast for horror and science fiction, and a man with hundreds of great stories. He was a blast to talk to and be around because he was just as interested in you and made everyone around him happy.

Forry died Thursday at the age of 92. Here is his obit in the Los Angeles Times.

Here is an excerpt from The Dead Travel Fast about visiting Forry's house:

IN FRONT OF me was a black box and in that black box was a ring.
“Can I pick it up?” I ask.
“Sure.”
I lifted it to my face for a closer inspection.
There are two pieces of jewelry associated with Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Count Dracula in the iconic 1931 film Dracula. A silver medallion and a large signet ring. In the movie, Lugosi is often seen walking with his bent arms extended slightly in front of him, as if the ring was leading the way. The medallion is currently buried six feet under with Lugosi. The ring is nested in the box in my hands.
“How did you ever get this?” I asked.
“Well, he gave me a few things himself, but the ring was given to another friend,” replied Forrest Ackerman. “Then the friend thought it would be better kept with me.”
People have entrusted a lot of precious things to Forrest (who most people just call Forry)—incredible rare and valuable pieces of movie memorabilia—given for him to display in the “Acker Mini-mansion,” a.k.a. his house, in Los Angeles’s Los Feliz neighborhood. The bungalow is tiny, probably no more than 1,200 square feet, and every room is packed with items from his collections. Lugosi’s ring is above the mantel. Life masks of Bela, Lon Chaney, Tor Johnson, Vincent Price, and Boris Karloff hang above the doorway into the dining room. The false teeth and top hat worn by Lon Chaney in the now lost film London After Midnight* sit near the kitchen door. An alien hand used in the original War of the Worlds is sitting on top of a cabinet. Prop pieces from Metropolis sit in his front study. I notice two masks on top of the refrigerator that look like the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
“What’s the story with these?” I ask.
“Well, the one on the left is from the original and the one on the right is from the first sequel,” Forry replied.
“These are the original masks?”
“Yup.”
“Sitting here on top of your refrigerator?”
Forry giggles. “Yes.”

USA Today

Halloween 2008
Originally uploaded by Kent Newsome

Because the movie Twilight is coming out this weekend, some interviews I did around Halloween are just surfacing now.

If you have nothing better to do, watch for me on CNN's American Morning Friday a.m.

The excerpt below from USA Today is about the long and short of my contribution. But hey, they got in the book name, which makes me happy.

"Very rarely are vampire stories about vampires," says Eric Nuzum, author of The Dead Travel Fast, which examines society's enduring fascination with blood suckers. "They are often about desire, love, forbidden pleasures, forbidden fears that people are too scared or embarrassed to admit. Put it in the guise of a vampire, and you can talk about it. They are the perfect metaphor for anything that challenges you or makes you lose control. You create a creature with absolute control."

Link to the whole thing.

1800s Vampire Killing Kit Nabs $14,850 At Stevens Auction

Find out the details here.

However, you--dear readers--do not have to pay $18k to get a vampire protection kit. I will give you one for free--here is how.

Playing catch up

Joanna showing off our party favors
Originally uploaded by klea.scharberg

When you are promoting a vampire book, the week of Halloween is like the Oscars and Super Bowl all in one and spread over seven days. I did 27 interviews and 3 events in the week leading up to October 31st. A lot of stuff happened, here is a partial list of highlights from the week. A lot more will come out in the next two weeks (when the Twilight movie opens).

Media stuff

• Appearance on NPR's All Things Considered
• Article on NPR.org that I authored about the changes in perceptions of Dracula
• Washingtonian Q&A

Some morning shows

• The Mix Morning Show (Baltimore)
• Vermont Mornings

Stuff about my reading in DC on October 30th

• We Love DC
• DCist
• Another DCist mention
• Washingtonian After Hours
• St Petersburg Times (and syndicated nationally)
• Albuquerque Alibi review (syndicated as well)

Flickr photos taken by a reader at the Barnes and Noble event in Georgetown. And another.

Assorted blog mentions:

• Cocktail Party Physics
• Biblioaddict
• Exfanding Your Horizons
• Eclectic Chapbook
• January Magazine
• The Deb-Log
• BPD in OKC
• Bookgasm

San Francisco Vampire Tour

My evening attending the San Francisco Vampire Tour is featured in The Dead Travel Fast. Its host Kitty a.k.a. Countess Mina, was also a fellow tourist on the Dracula-themed tour of Romania that's also featured in the book.

I just ran across this video of the Countess, featuring some highlights of her and her tour. For some reason, they won't let the video be embed in external pages--so just click the link.

Happy Halloween!

Come out to tonight's reading!

dog_vampire
Originally uploaded by carlsoje

Don't forget! If you are in the DC area and want to see one of my readings--this will be the last one for about two years.

Plus with everything going on the world, laughing at me would probably be a welcome distraction.

It's at the Georgetown Barnes & Noble at 7:30.

I'll be bringing plenty of free vampire protection kits for everyone who shows.

Afterward, there will be beers and bullshiting across the street at Garrett's Railroad Tavern.

Hope to see you there!

More info here.

Interview video

When I feel put on the spot--I ramble. And I'm not funny. But then I chill out and say the things they want me to say and am kind of interesting.

Case in point, this video from Verizon's Push Pause series taped last year before an event at Olsson's in Crystal City, Virginia. This was a day time event in an odd location, but it was fun to do. With Halloween just a few days away, I thought now would be a good time to post this.

A near casualty

Below is something I pulled from the book, but eventually put back in. Though some of the self-professed vampires I met are in it, the scene itself has nothing to do with vampires at all. That is why I killed it. I eventually missed it terribly and of all the scenes that hit the cutting room floor--this is the one I truly missed. So I put it back in. I'm the author--I can do that kind of stuff.

It happen while I was hanging out with a group of self-professed vampires (including the below-mentioned "Jay" and "Ali"). They stepped outside for a smoke, I joined them, and that's where we met "Kyle."

Enjoy.

Jay and Ali wanted to jump outside for a cigarette and I decided to tag along. For something to talk about, Jay and I were lamenting the recent death of Washington's only alternative radio station. It had been unceremoniously replaced by Spanish pop music station called "El Sol." After taking a beating in the press, Infinity Broadcasting, the radio glutton that owned WHFS/El Sol, announced the station was returning--or at least the format was returning, during the evenings and weekend schedule on one of its Baltimore stations. There was another guy smoking outside who came up to us and spontaneously joined in our conversation. He said his name was Kyle, his neck had no less than eight fresh hickeys on it, and he was really, really, really excited to have WHFS back on the radio.

Kyle couldn't stop talking about how radio sucks, except for WHFS, and he was hoping that they would sponsor more local events, like the "Girls Gone Wild" night he recently attended at a local bar.

How to get your own free vampire protection kit

Vampire Protection Kit, BLAH
Originally uploaded by revjim5000

Okay, here is how this will work. Several people have written asking about how they can get an official The Dead Travel Fast travel-sized vampire protection kit. There are two ways to make this happen:

1. Come to any of my events/readings this fall.
2. Through the mail.

While this is really meant for readers--if you haven't read my book, and really want one, that's fine too.

If you send a self-addressed stamped envelope with TWO postage stamps on it, I will send you an official The Dead Travel Fast travel-sized vampire protection kit--for free. Each contains a tiny cross, a tiny wooden stake, a vial of holy water (blessed by my friend Simon, a mail-order minister), garlic (in tablet form--good for fighting vampires and cholesterol), and a paper clip (nothing to do with vampires--always handy to have around).

Send your SASE (again, with TWO stamps on the return envelope) to:

Eric Nuzum
NPR
635 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001

I have a pile of them here, so feel free to send in your SASE. Plus, my wife will be happy when our basement no longer smells like garlic tablets!

And if you are ever attacked by a vampire while traveling--you'll have me to thank for saving your life.