17th May 2019 – White Tulip Candles

PUBLISHERS BLURB

This is an overview of the most offbeat and underrated vampire movies spanning nine decades and 23 countries. Strange Blood encompasses well-known hits as well as obscurities that differ from your standard fang fare by turning genre conventions on their head. Here, vampires come in the form of cars, pets, aliens, mechanical objects, gorillas, or floating heads. And when they do look like a demonic monster or an aristocratic Count or Countess, they break the mold in terms of imagery, style, or setting. Leading horror writers, filmmakers, actors, distributors, academics, and programmers present their favorite vampire films through in-depth essays, providing background information, analysis, and trivia regarding the various films. Some of these stories are hilarious, some are terrifying, some are touching, and some are just plain weird. Not all of these movies line up with the critical consensus, yet they have one thing in common: they are unlike anything you’ve ever seen in the world of vampires. Just when you thought that the children of the night had become a tired trope, it turns out they have quite a diverse inventory after all.

MY REVIEW

What a great read.

This is a compendium of essays featuring vampire movies, from El Vampiro to Salem’s Lot, The Hunger and even Fright Night (one of my favourites) and many more obscure and a bit forgotten films.

Each essay is accompanied by stills of the movie and covers not only the details of the film but also a little background.

I found this to be both a fun read and interesting too. A must for fans of the vampire genre..

Thank you to Vanessa Morgan for a copy of the ebook and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

PUBLISHERS BLURB

Years before either becomes a literary legend, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde must overcome their disdain for one another to battle the Black Bishop, a madman wielding supernatural forces to bend the British Empire to his will.

MY REVIEW

I love this book, as a big fan of the original Dracula by Bram Stoker ( I have visited Whitby and Varna), I was intrigued by the premise of Stoker’s Wilde and I’m not disappointed….

“And sometimes a monster is something that does monstrous things like suck the life out of innocent people”

It’s written in the style of Dracula, with chapters in the form of journal entries and letters, by Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and even Theodore Roosevelt…

Stoker and Wilde visit a farm in Ireland after a woman had been killed…this eventually leads them to the Black Bishop and a vampire cult….how will they escape and defeat this foe?

“Thieves boarded the merchant ship Demeter around midnight and stole a large crate of unknown cargo”

This has the humour of Wilde and the horror of Stoker in a tense gothic horror tale. The geek in me loved picking up the references to both characters real books from Dorian Gray to The Lair of the White Worm….it has vampires, werewolves and even mention of a dragon….what’s not to love. Stunningly creative writing by Hopstaken and Prusi and an absolute delight to read….This will be an absolute favourite of book clubs as so much to enjoy and share…brilliant. 5*

Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

you can buy a copy here (click on the image)

About the Authors

Steven Hopstaken was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he spent his formative years watching and reading science fiction and horror. He has a degree in journalism from Northern Michigan University and spends his free time traveling; writing screenplays, short stories and novels; and practicing photography.

Melissa Prusi was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (often mistaken for Canada), and studied video and film production at Northern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. She’s been a video editor, a semi-professional film reviewer, a three-time champion on the quiz show Jeopardy!, and a Guinness world record holder (1990 edition, for directing the longest live television show).

They met in a college screenwriting class and married three years later. They spent a brief time in Los Angeles, where they both worked for Warner Bros. television. They eventually ended up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they love the arts scene but dread the winters. While they both currently make a living as website content managers, they have sold two screenplays, which have been lost to development hell.

They’ve indulged their fascination with Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde through trips to Dublin and London to research their lives and visit sites mentioned in Stoker’s Wilde.

They live in St. Louis Park, Minnesota with their two cats. If they’re not writing, you can usually find them at a movie, local theater production, improv show or pub quiz.
FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

STOKER’S WILDE

Steven Hopstaken, Melissa Prusi

Publication date: May 2019