Vampire fans flock to kickoff of 'Dracula' sequel book tour

Dacre Stoker held the national launch for "Dracula: The Un-Dead," the sequel to his great-granduncle Bram Stoker's classic "Dracula," at Books-A-Million in Aiken Mall Tuesday.

The presentation and book signing was held concurrently with a similar event held by Stoker's co-author, Ian Holt, in his hometown of Westbury, N.Y. The book had its national release Tuesday by Dutton Publishing, with a hardback cover price of $26.95.

Stoker gave an hour-long PowerPoint presentation on the Stokers' family history, Bram Stoker's personal history and the creation of the sequel. He then signed copies of "Dracula: The Un-Dead" for a throng of vampire fans.

"For us to legitimately say we're a sequel, we felt we had to do things as meticulously as Bram Stoker did," Stoker told the crowd, explaining slides of Bram Stoker's handwritten notes coordinating his characters' movements and their own similar charting for the sequel.

Stoker explained the division of labor among the co-authors. He took on responsibility for researching and writing two subplots: the use of Bram Stoker as a character in the novel, producing a stage version of "Dracula" in the Lyceum Theatre left to him by Henry Irving; and a subplot involving Scotland Yard's Inspector Cotford, part of the original team chasing Jack the Ripper, who is still obsessed with the murders years later.

"Inspector Cotford was a character we found in Bram's notes who didn't make it into the final version of the novel. We've always wondered, all these people being murdered by vampires, why weren't the police involved? Bram thought of it, and we've fixed that in our book," Stoker said.

Meanwhile, Holt took on the sections concerning Dracula himself, a second vampire who figures into the plot, and the subplot involving Jonathan and Mina's grown son Quincey Harker, a reluctant law student and aspiring actor. Stoker called Quincey a combination of Holt's personality and Bram Stoker's.

"We love vampire books, and this is the first book signing I've ever been to," said attendee Darcie Davis.

"The turnout has been great, the presentation went well, and I'm really pleased with how Books-A-Million has handled all this," Stoker said.

The store's general manager, Michael Draper, stage-managed the presentation and book signing Tuesday.

"We're always excited to have authors here, especially with a local author who's got such a big book," Draper said. "The company is very excited about this book, and for us to be able to premiere a book like this, that's a great thing for us and for the community."

Stoker travels to Paris today for the French book launch, and then to the Bram Stoker Film Festival in Whitby, England. His next local signing will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at The Book Stall on Hayne Avenue.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.