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Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula is an affectionate and revealing biography of the man who created the vampire novel that would define the genre and lead to a new age in Gothic horror literature.Based on decades of painstaking research in libraries, museums, and university archives and privileged access to private collections on both sides of the Atlantic, the private letters of Bram and the reminiscences of those who knew him not only shed new light on Stoker's ancestry, his life, loves and friendships they also reveal more about the places and people who inspired him and how he researched and wrote his books. Bram wrote numerous articles, short stories and poetry for newspapers and magazines, he had a total of eleven novels and two collections of short stories published in his lifetime, but he would only become known for one of them – Dracula. Tragically, he did not live long enough to see it as a huge success.In his heyday as Acting Manager for Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End of London, Bram was a well-known figure in a golden age of British theater. He was a big-framed, ebullient, genial, gentleman, with red hair and beard, who never lost his soft Irish brogue, was blessed with wit, and a host of entertaining stories fit for every occasion. Described as having the paw of Hercules and the smile of Machiavelli, above all he knew what it meant to be a loyal friend.

Chris McAuley has written this with Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew Dacre Stoker and this is the only authorized family sequel which takes place directly after the original novel.Did you know that Bram Stoker stated that Dracula was a true story? In his original preface, Bram stated that every character in the novel was real and that their names needed to be changed as they were prominent individuals in London Victorian society.During the course of the upcoming spooky season, Dacre and Chris will be revealing this secret and making literary history as we reveal who Dracula really was (Bram did not base him on Vlad III!)

Lenore Valentine Kirby’s cryptic gravestone in a derelict cemetery beckons across centuries. The four Botanic Hill Detectives—Lanny, Lexi, Moki, and Rani—stumble upon a mystery revealed by the deceased woman’s descendant, Mr. Nigel Kirby. Can the teens decipher Lenore Kirby's gravestone image and messages? Their unusual, present-day case, incorporating the life and works of Gothic horror writer Edgar Allan Poe, takes the four out to Ravenswood, the Kirby family’s Victorian home. But one solution leads to more puzzles! Will the detectives successfully decode all the special instructions they discover to help restore Mr. Poe’s reputation, damaged by a real-life enemy, and reveal to the world a priceless treasure? Come lend the squad a hand!

Muller is the founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation and is co-programmer of the San Francisco Noir City film festival. Muller is considered a film noir expert and is called on to write and talk about the genre, notably on wry commentary tracks for Fox's series of film noir DVDs and introducing Turner Classic Movies's weekly Saturday night "Noir Alley" movie feature.Laura Sheppard, director of events at Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco, dubbed him "The Czar of Noir" The quote is often misattributed to the novelist James Ellroy.Muller based the character of Billy Nichols in his period crime novel "The Distance" (2002) after his father.The character returned in Muller's 2003 novel Shadow Boxer

What happens when a hunky French-Canadian security executive falls for a feisty Chicago lawyer?Micki Press and JL Martin both have complicated lives, but when they come together, the sparks are undeniable. Micki is trying to make it to the top of one of the most conservative corporate law firms in Chicago. JL is the CEO of WatchDog Inc., a successful security company, and is struggling with his own family complications. When Micki's former lover stalks her, JL steps in to protect her, and the two soon realize their feelings go beyond friendship. But with their complicated pasts and the struggles of the corporate world, are they ready to take the next step, or will the twists and turns have them singing the Chicago blues? If you enjoy a story of complicated love and corporate ambition, you'll love At the Ready. If you enjoy fast-paced action, romance, and a dash of karaoke, you'll fall for At the Ready.Sharon Michalove is the author of At First Sight, and At the Crossroads, the first two novels in the Global Security Unlimited series

An inconvenient alibi…a priceless treasure…an MI6 mole It’s a lethal cocktail Journalist Emmeline Kirby and her jewel thief/ insurance investigator husband Gregory Longdon become targets after a desperate stranger asks them to deliver a fortune in rare red diamonds to hotelier Alexander Colefax. Before they can ask any questions, the man is killed. Driven by dark secrets, Colefax is willing to flirt with treason if it means getting what he wants. His coterie included the son of a Kremlin elite and a Russian mafia boss. When a man’s only loyalty is to money, his enemies become twice as ruthless. After Colefax is bludgeoned to death, Emmeline and Gregory discover that his dangerous games involved not only diamonds, but a stolen Fabergé egg that has vanished and a spy named Snowdrop. The trail of lies and revenge leads to Switzerland, where a treacherous double-cross could cost Emmeline and Gregory their lives.

'The White Witch had foreseen Pecklyn’s death at Grim Watch Tower. If the Queen of the Fae was to be trusted, Pecklyn wasn’t coming back.'Maturing into a confident leader, prepared to take on the world, the rightful heir to the Willow Throne is faced with a fierce battle if she is ever to assume her mother's place.Denied by the infamous dragon, Grimclaw, Ouderling seeks the aid of the King of the Dwarfs. Embarking on a journey to a mysterious castle inhabited by ghosts, she experiences a terrifying encounter with the White Witch.Haunted by the prophecy of the Fae, Ouderling must overcome the fear of an impending tragedy if she is to have any chance of saving the world from the encroaching darkness of the Dragon Witch Wraith.

A surprising look at how medieval etiquette can improve our lives today, from the author of the popular How to Live Like a MonkMedieval people are often portrayed as having poor hygiene and table manners―licking their knives or throwing chicken bones on the floor. In the Middle Ages, however, such behavior was not tolerated. Medieval society cherished order in nearly every facet of life, from regular handwashing to daily prayer. There were consequences if you didn’t adhere to the rules of good behavior: you wouldn’t be invited to the lord’s next dinner, you wouldn’t win the battle, and you wouldn’t win the lady.Author Daniele Cybulskie explores the world of medieval etiquette, encompassing table manners and interpersonal relationships as well as running a household and ruling a kingdom. With wit and insight, Cybulskie draws on a wide variety of primary sources, from handbooks for young knights to romantic poems. Though we may no longer need best practices for things like dueling or ordering about our servants, the principles of generosity, kindness, and respect still apply today. After all, it’s a good reminder to “not talk when you have food in your mouth” and “anything you say should be entertaining, polite, and sophisticated.”Illustrated with original drawings by Anna Lobanova as well as eighty medieval artworks, Chivalry and Courtesy is full of good advice for everyone, whether you are a peasant or a knight, a student or a CEO, a king or a queen.

Undetected by the FBI for three decades until the turn of the twenty-first century, a handful of elusive, transient long-haul trucker serial killers had been murdering hundreds of sex workers and hitchhikers along major US highways. This was not the first time innocent victims were attacked along major US interstate thoroughfares. Nearly lost to history was a similar pattern of carnage that occurred in the late nineteenth century. No less than thirty-nine unsolved murders and nearly forty brutal assaults of women were committed in the United States, but instead of along major highways, these heinous crimes were committed along the railways. At the time, the attacks were termed ‘mysterious,’ since they seemed to be motiveless—meaning there was no evidence of the usual rape or robbery. In cases where an assailant or suspicious person was spotted, his physical description was the same: tall, middle-aged, and wearing a specific gray overcoat. Shockingly, one of Scotland Yard’s prime Jack the Ripper suspects cannot be eliminated as having committed each of these Stateside crimes. That suspect was the tall, transient hater of women, Dr. Francis Tumblety.