Book projects

When Powers of Darkness was published, the buzz also reached Sweden and triggered the discovery of an even older Swedish newspaper serialization based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. I got hold of high-resolution scans of the original publication and was surprised to see that these 1899 newspaper editions had been illustrated with pen drawings. The linework did look a bit fuzzy on the scans, though, and it took a lot of work to restore its original vigor and clarity. Coloring the images added atmosphere and vivacity. The book with 55 images, and introductory essay and translated fragments to accompany the images was published in Ocober 2021 as a hardcover volume after a successsful crowdfunding campaign.

This E-book, published by the renowned Cluj University Press (Presa Universitară Clujeană), contains the abstracts of all presentations made at the 'Children of the Night' International Dracula Congress in April 2021. Shortly before the final publication, I did the final editing for text and illustrations. PDF format,  with 154 pages A4, 39 abstracts,  and over 200 illustrations, including portraits of all contributors, selected slides from their presentations, and an illustrated history of the congress series.  ISBN: 978-606-37-1121-3

This was my first book project, presenting Stoker's classic, illustrated with a series of ca. 40 photo compositions I had produced in my studio, together with a group of models and studio interns. In spring 2011 I wrote an introduction, then followed up with searching for the real location of the imaginary Castle Dracula. I finally found it when the book was almost ready for publication; then, I discovered the true lifetime identity of Count Dracula as well. The book was presented at the London Book Fair in April 2012, then at the Bram Stoker Centenary Conference in Keats House, memorating the centenary of Bram's death, where I met Elizabeth Miller, Dacre Stoker, Clive Leatherdale, Bill Hughes, Marius Crisan and Sam George. It was a great start into the world of Dracula Studies; alas, despite efforts by my distributors in Germany and the UK, sales remained at a minimum. A few connoisseurs, however, appreciated the book, such as game designer and Ennie Award Winner Kenneth Hite. It also caught the eye of Daniela Diaconescu, Vice-President and co-founder of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, who rewarded my discoveries with the Research Award of the TSD in August 2014.

24 x 34 cm, 240 pages, 173 color illustrations, section sewn with soft cover.

ISBN: 978-1-468-31336-9

To this book I added only one chapter: "Count Dracula's Lifetime Identity and Address," based on my presentation at the Dracula Workshop of the BBEC Conference in Timișoara, 25-27 June 2015, organized by Marius Crișan. I submitted my manuscript in May 2016; after several rounds of review and editing, the complete volume was published by Palgrave Gothic/Springer in November 2017 under the title Dracula—An International Perspective.

I am happy to have participated in this ambitious project, next to Bill Hughes, Carol Senf, Clive Bloom and other serious researchers. Some pages from my chapter can be previewed on Google Books.

15x x 22 cm, 280 pages, 5 color illustrations, hard cover.

ISBN: 978-3-319-63366-4.