Confessions of my Past, Present and Future
by
J.D.Barker
The Past
So… Many people don’t know this about me but
I started my professional writing career with non-fiction, and not the good
kind. Although I wrote fiction as a child, as I entered adulthood and had to
pay bills I began writing for magazines. I’d love to say these publications
included the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, or other high-brow fodder
but that wasn’t the case.
My first writing assignment was with a
magazine called 25th Parallel
where I worked alongside the man who would later become Marilyn Manson. From
there I moved on to Teen Beat, Seventeen, and others. I interviewed
everyone from Tiffany to Debbie Gibson, New Kids on the Block, Bon Jovi, Skid
Row and many others. While this was a fun time in my life, I found writing
non-fiction to feel like work and quickly lost interest. It became a job,
nothing more.
Then I picked up a book called Second Child by John Saul.
There was something about the paperback cover
that just grabbed me. I carried it with me (for the Kindle was just a gleam in
Bezos’ eye at this point) and read it whenever life offered a few moments to
escape. I’m not sure if it was the story itself - a girl who moves to a small
ocean-side town with a haunted secret - or the writing, but the moment I
finished that book, I started over and read it again.
Shortly after, I rediscovered my love of
fiction and began spinning my own tales again. John Saul is a tremendous talent
and I went on to read all his books. He seems to have slipped into
semi-retirement – website and social media haven’t been updated in some time
and I haven’t heard anything regarding a new book but even if he never puts pen
to paper again, he has left quite a legacy behind. If you are a fan of
horror/suspense, I encourage you to check out his work.
The Present
I read…a lot. On average, three to five books
per week (including audio versions which accompany me whenever I’m in the car
or out exercising). Not sure if you’ve heard the latest news on the Barker
writing front but I’ve been asked to co-author a prequel to Dracula with Dacre Stoker (Bram’s great grand-nephew). The Stoker
family has uncovered a treasure throve of material from Bram never before seen
by the public and I believe it could change everything we know about Dracula and vampires. He even provides
the actual location of Dracula’s castle (latitude and longitude) and it’s not
where people think.
As a result of this project, I’ve been
reading anything related to Dracula I
can get my hands on. I just finished the original Dracula yesterday and confirmed a fact that popped out at me when
reviewing Bram’s notes – within the novel, there is no mention of Vlad Tepes.
In fact, he wasn’t included in Bram’s story at all. I’ve since learned this
tie-in was added by Hollywood for a film production in 1953.
Bram details the origins of Dracula in his journals and it’s a very
different story than the one we know. In addition, the original manuscript (now
owned by Microsoft’s Paul Allen) starts at page 102 even though the text is
consistent with the published novel – what happened to the first hundred pages?
Many believe they were the basis for a short story called Dracula’s Guest but Bram treated this story as a separate entity in
his notes, this leads me to believe the first hundred pages are unrelated to
the short and were cut – what did they really contain? As I dig deeper into
Bram’s notes, it’s becoming clear the missing pages detailed Dracula’s true
origin and somebody didn’t want them in the finished book.
The original Dracula preface (recently discovered in
the Icelandic translation) includes the following:
“I am quite convinced that there is no
doubt whatever that the events here described really took place, however
unbelievable and incomprehensible they might appear at first sight.”
This too was cut
from most of the published editions, Bram snuck it into this edition with the
help of a friend in publishing. We’re having a lot of fun with this.
Dracula
is a classic. The novel itself is a fun read and masterfully written. The
entire book is comprised of journal entries, newspaper articles, ship logs, and
recordings organized by Mina Harker. I read this as a kid and was thrilled at
the opportunity to revisit it.
I can’t wait to
write the prequel and share everything we’ve found.
The Future
What will I be reading in 2045? That’s a
tough question. Probably the latest works by Stephen King’s clone and hopefully
a book or two by one of my kids.
I’m curious as to how we’ll be reading in 2045 – the last decade introduced
e-readers; what technology will we have thirty years from now? If you could
“download” a book directly into your brain, would you? What if you could
experience the book in a virtual environment? Maybe pick a character and become
them, actually live the story… there’s no telling.
Regardless of what the future has to offer,
I’ll most likely be reading as I do today; just kick back in my favorite chair
with the hardcover and simply enjoy getting lost within the pages.
You can read my review of Forsaken by J.D. Barker here.
You can buy any of the books mentioned in this feature here:
The
following is from the official press release for the prequel to Dracula that
J.D. is involved in. Exciting stuff!
Prequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula to be written by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker.
Both authors are available for
comment. Additional information can be found at: www.draculabegins.com
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is arguably one of the greatest horror novels ever written.
It has stood the test of time and found life through countless generations. It
has been translated into forty-four languages, sold millions of copies
worldwide, and inspired more than three hundred films.
What if the book we know today was not the
book Bram Stoker submitted to his publisher in 1897?
Dacre Stoker has dedicated the last ten years
of his life to researching his family’s legacy. He has pored through documents
both public and private in an attempt to piece together information on the man,
his great-granduncle who wrote this epic tale, and the events that inspired it.
In doing so, he has discovered a disturbing fact: Bram Stoker may have intended
Dracula to serve as a warning, a
glimpse of a very real evil.
The original Dracula preface (recently discovered in the Icelandic translation)
includes the following:
“I am quite convinced that there is no doubt whatever that the events here described really took place, however unbelievable and incomprehensible they might appear at first sight.”
The Icelandic edition is not the only version
containing alterations and inconsistencies. In 1980, a copy of the original
manuscript was discovered, its pages revealing a different ending. The German,
Italian, and French versions have numerous discrepancies from the original
English. Are these variances errors in translation, or intentional? Could Bram
have concealed a message within this altered text? We know he went to great
lengths to plant the Islandic preface with the help of his friend, Hall Caine.
What else might he have hidden?
“As I delved deeper into his writing,
particularly his journals, it became increasingly clear that Bram meant for
Dracula to be more than just entertainment,” Dacre explains. “There’s a message
here and today’s technology provides the tools we need to decipher it. J.D.
Barker and I plan to do just that.”
More information can be found at: www.draculabegins.com
About The
Authors
J.D.
Barker
J.D. Barker is the international bestselling author of Forsaken (Hampton Creek Press, 2014). A finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Debut Novel, the expertly crafted tale twists both past and present into a fast-paced, suspenseful ride that leaves you hungry for more. His latest novel, The Fourth Monkey, is set to release early in 2016. He currently splits his time between Englewood, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA, with his wife, Dayna.
When asked about this project, Barker had
this to say: “The information uncovered by Dacre is phenomenal. Bram Stoker
truly believed vampires were real. As the world turns the last page of this
book, we may find ourselves wondering if he was right.”
Dacre
Stoker
As the official representative of the Bram Stoker Estate, Dacre Stoker travels the world with his compelling presentation, Stoker on Stoker. The presentation weaves together the details of Dracula’s history, Stoker family history, and Bram Stoker’s life in Dublin and London, then separates fact from popular fiction…revealing the truth about all things Stoker and Dracula. Stoker is the co-author of the bestselling novel Dracula the Un-Dead (Dutton, 2009) and Bram Stoker’s Lost Journal (Robson Press, 2012), a nonfiction book based on Stoker’s unpublished personal journal found in an attic on the Isle of Wight. He currently lives in South Carolina with his wife and children.
Complete
Icelandic Edition Preface
“The
reader of this story will very soon understand how the events outlined in these
pages have been gradually drawn together to make a logical whole. Apart from
excising minor details which I considered unnecessary, I have let the people
involved relate their experiences in their own way; but, for obvious reasons, I
have changed the names of the people and places concerned. In all other
respects I leave the manuscript unaltered, in deference to the wishes of those
who have considered it their duty to present it before the eyes of the public.
I am quite convinced that there is no doubt whatever that the events here
described really took place, however unbelievable and incomprehensible they
might appear at first sight. And I am further convinced that they must always
remain to some extent incomprehensible, although continuing research in
psychology and natural sciences may, in years to come, give logical
explanations of such strange happenings which, at present, neither scientists
nor the secret police can understand. I state again that this mysterious
tragedy which is here described is completely true in all its external
respects, though naturally I have reached a different conclusion on certain
points than those involved in the story. But the events are incontrovertible,
and so many people know of them that they cannot be denied. This series of
crimes has not yet passed from the memory – a series of crimes which appear to
have originated from the same source, and which at the same time created as
much repugnance in people everywhere as the murders of Jack the Ripper, which
came into the story a little later. Various people’s minds will go back to the
remarkable group of foreigners who for many seasons together played a dazzling
part in the life of the aristocracy here in London; and some will remember that
one of them disappeared suddenly without apparent reason, leaving no trace. All
the people who have willingly – or unwillingly – played a part in this
remarkable story are known generally and well respected. Both Jonathan Harker
and his wife (who is a woman of character) and Dr. Seward are my friends and
have been so for many years, and I have never doubted that they were telling
the truth; and the highly respected scientist, who appears here under a
pseudonym, will also be too famous all over the educated world for his real
name, which I have not desired to specify, to be hidden from people – least of
all those who have from experience learnt to value and respect his genius and
accomplishments, though they adhere to his views on life no more than I. But in
our times it ought to be clear to all serious-thinking men that “there are more
things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
London,
Bram Stoker
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