THE WRITING OF

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DRACULA:

A PERSONAL JOURNEY AND TRAVEL GUIDE

By

Steven P. Unger

   My obsession to travel to every site related to either the fictional Count Dracula or his real historical counterpart, Prince Vlad Dracula the Impaler, grew out of a visit to Whitby, England, where part of the novel Dracula takes place.  I stood on the cemetery hill where, in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray spent hour after hour sitting on their "favourite seat" (a bench placed over a suicide's grave near the edge of the cliff), gazing out toward the "headland called Kettleness" and the open North Sea beyond—while Count Dracula slept just beneath them.

In my mind's eye, I could see the un-dead Count Dracula rising at night from the flattened slab of the suicide's gravestone to greedily drink the blood of the living.

       The graveyard where Count Dracula spent his days sleeping in the sepulcher of a suicide looks the part that it plays, with its weathered limestone tombstones blackened by centuries of the everpresent North Sea winds.  That graveyard made the novel more visible, more visceral, to me, and I wondered if the sites in Transylvania and in the remote mountains of southern Romania would evoke the same feelings. As I was to discover—they did.

      At that moment I decided to visit and photograph every site in England and Romania that is closely related to either Bram Stoker's fictional Count Dracula or his historical counterpart, Prince Vlad Dracula the Impaler—to literally walk in their footsteps and to write a book about my experiences.

      Eventually I traveled along the Dracula Trail alone, using only public transportation, to some places that I'd seen before and to others I had only dreamed of, trying my best to systematically strip away the layers of myth about Count Dracula and Prince Vlad the Impaler to find the reality within.  I discovered in broken stones and parchments signed in blood why Prince Vlad's monstrous deeds in life would brand him forever with the name of Vlad Ţepeş (pronounced Tzeh·pish), Romanian for Vlad the Impaler, soon after his death.

     In my research and travels I discovered two fascinating coincidences that link the historical and the literary Draculas.  First and foremost is that Bram Stoker chose to name his villain "Dracula," based on the translation of the Romanian word "dracul" into "devil," never knowing that the historical Voivode (Prince) Dracula he had read about was also Vlad Ţepeş, with a horrific and compelling biography of his own.

     Bram Stoker's Transylvania was the pipe dream of an armchair traveler with a genius for writing:  real enough for the 19th Century reader, but bearing little resemblance to any Romania that ever existed.  For example, Stoker wrote of "hay-ricks [haystacks] in the trees" based on illustrations of Transylvanian haystacks built around stakes, with the ends of the stakes poking out like branches.  Thus, generations of Dracula readers assumed that Transylvanians put their haystacks up in trees.

       The second coincidence is the uncanny resemblance of the real Castle of Dracula—Vlad Ţepeş' fortress at Poenari, which Stoker had no knowledge of—to Count Dracula's fictional castle in Transylvania.  Perched on a remote peak near a glacial moraine in the Făgarăş Mountains of southern Romania and mirroring Count Dracula's fictional castle at the top of the Borgo Pass almost stone for stone, Poenari remains pristine and almost inaccessible.

     One of my favorite places on the Dracula Trail is Sighişoara, in Transylvania, the birthplace of Vlad Ţepeş.  I was enchanted the moment I entered Sighişoara's Upper Town.

     All at once I was in the middle of a perfect storybook medieval village enclosed by thick fortress walls, with cobblestone streets and Easter-egg-colored houses leaning every which way.  Guarding the town square was a spire-roofed and turreted 14th Century clock tower replete with carved wooden figures that circle a track to mark the passage of time.  In one window, a drummer plays to signal the hours; below the drummer, the angel of the night replaces the angel of the day at the final stroke of midnight.  In another window, gods and goddesses appear, changing for each day of the week.

     But let's get back to Poenari, the real Castle of Dracula.  I had traveled to other remote, forbidding places before entering the almost lightless forest of Poenari.  Near Albania's southern border, I hiked the Vikos Gorge, a dozen miles from the nearest stone-housed village.  I baked beneath the unrelenting sun of the Timna Valley close to the Red Sea, where 120º in the shade is considered picnic weather.  But never before or since have I felt the apprehension and isolation I did while climbing to Vlad Ţepeş' mountaintop fortress at Poenari.  The forest was as quiet as a tomb; I can't recall hearing the song of even a single bird.

     The ascent was exhausting.  At last I arrived at the lone approach to the fortress, a wooden footbridge (see top left of photo).  Of all the places I explored that are associated with Vlad Ţepeş, only at Poenari did I feel that he was somehow still keeping watch.  Thousands of boyars and their families had been force-marched there from Tărgovişte to die rebuilding the castle for Prince Vlad; it was here that his treacherous brother Radu stormed the fortress with cannons, reducing the once courtly residence into broken turrets and formless rubble.  And it was here that Prince Dracula's wife cast herself from the highest window of the eastern tower, choosing a swift death over the torture of the stake.

Walk along the top of the thick fortress walls of Poenari, look northward, and you can see part of the Transfăgarăşan Road, leading to a glacial moraine and one of the deepest lakes in the world.  (According to local legend, a dragon sleeps at the bottom of the lake, and the villagers nearby will caution you not to throw stones in the water lest the dragon awake.)  The view south from the fortress is straight down, to the Arges River far in the distance, and even farther, the road to Curtea de Arges.

Parts of this article have previously appeared in Romar Traveler and other online publications.

In the Footsteps of Dracula:  A Personal Journey and Travel Guide, is published and distributed by World Audience Publishers  
On FB: In the Footsteps of Dracula 
In the Footsteps of Dracula available at: www.amazon.com,. www.amazon.co.uk, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.com/Kindle, and with free delivery worldwide from www.bookdepository.co.uk.

Thanksgiving, a bird’s eye view

Traditionally, the holiday season is viewed as a time to reflect on ‘thankfulness’ for the general health and welfare of our communities. Nevertheless, a 21^st century question is, ‘Are we, as communities, contributing to the eco-health or demise of our urban, suburban as well as rural communities?’

Through participating in a series of community meetings related to the reclassification of wetland areas from ‘flood plain’ to ‘hazard area’, I heard person after person describe significant change in the quantity of their community’s flood waters, areas flooding that had never flood before; and even, not once or twice but numerous times, raw sewage which seeped into surrounding creeks, streams and rivers. So, as the present-day caretaker for a ‘generational family owned property’ once labeled the Bolton Estate located in Henrico County Virginia, I am alarmed.

When stable, this property serves as a host site for a variety of wildlife, ranging from fox to the American eagle. In fact, historical records indicate the central lake to be a natural pool; but overtime, it was extended to first support more than 500 acres of agriculture activity and a second time, to support outdoor active recreation facilities. Nevertheless, due to the impact of surrounding urban/suburban development, the area is no longer usable for fresh-water recreation. So, you see, I share with the wildlife a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the impact of urban/suburban runoff and pollution. I’ve watched a so-to-speak once pristine spring-feed wetland become a dumping ground; yet, it is one of the few remaining community green corridors – habitats.

On the other hand, the area similar to other areas does not have to remain a dumping ground, a hazard area. There are alternative land use strategies which will not only recover but prevent future negative impact. First and foremost, there is – related to this property - a County of Henrico sponsored creek restoration program. Still, for it to effectively work, other strategies need to be implemented; for examples, a rethink of how land is developed, use of ‘green build’ construction alternatives; and perhaps, more importantly, an awareness of the eco-consequences of individual life-style choices.

So, while I cringe at the fact we have labeled 21st century green spaces hazard; perhaps, it is an excellent first step. For, it should be the beginning of an evangelistic awakening: a challenge to focus on implementing forms of green land use that not only lessen the impact of urban/suburban development but recover the eco-health of our Nation’s communities. Individually and collectively we do have a pivotal eco opportunity: the option of choosing to implement green land use strategies which enable eco-healthy community landscapes or continue down a path of present-day life-styles which contribute to the decline of eco-systems.

While many view the holiday season as a time to celebrate family and host feasts, I want be thankful for the world’s natural beauty, focus on the recovery of community eco health. Why? In early 2013, members of the Global and National Climate Change Academies will release eco research compiled by member national and global scientists. Then, our newly elected National representatives are legislatively required to review this research and enable eco regulation.

Recovering ‘hazard areas’ – green space corridors, will require the joint effort of all: elected and appointed representation, land use development professionals, governmental regulation and of course, regional businesses and residential communities. So, together, let’s make a commitment to ‘green’ America’s landscape - move ‘hazard areas’ from eco-weak to eco-chic, create a legacy of eco healthy urban, suburban as well as rural green spaces. And, perhaps one day, the birds will look down and think, ‘Whew, those humans, they had a close call; but, thankfully recognized the error of their ways!’

About the author – Spotlighted by Landscape Architect magazine as an Industry ‘mover & shaker’, Glen Allen VA based The Wright Scoop –Sylvia Hoehns Wright, recipient of the ‘Turning America from Eco-weak to Eco-chic’ award sponsored by Hines Horticulture, Project Evergreen and Today’s Garden Center magazine – challenges all to ‘green’ America’s landscapes, create a legacy of healthier urban/suburban communities. For details of Wright's activities, visit web site www.TheWrightScoop.com 

Pix available on request – Pix caption – Generational-family wetland property provides habitat for Wright’s Glen Allen VA community. 

Sylvia Hoehns Wright

Get a GRIP: Four steps to good writing

For Writers Get Together, I thought I would share my approach to writing. I developed this approach through my journalistic career and elucidated it as an English Professor at colleges in Ontario.

As the audience of Writers Get Together are writers as well as sophisticated readers, I know that you know the two most important rules of writing, but I will list them here as the foundation of this description:

1.      Know what you want to say. Be able to sum up your main message, your thesis statement, in one clear sentence.

2.      Know your audience. Know whom you’re writing or speaking to. What motivates them? What are they interested in? What will they likely agree with, and what will they argue about? Why should they care about what you have to say? And if you’re writing advertising or sales messages, why should they do what you will ask them to do?

That sounds simple, but answering the questions “what is your message?” and “whom are you saying it to?” clearly and succinctly is very difficult for most people — professional writers as well as anyone else.

Before you write your next letter, or blog post, or proposal, or novel, before you jot down that spectacular opening sentence that came to you in a dream or in the shower, get a GRIP:

·         Goal—a reason to write, a purpose, something you are trying to achieve

·         Readers—know who they are (see rule #2 above)

·         Idea—your message (see rule #1, above)

·         Plan—make an outline.

Theory

We write to communicate, to get our ideas from our minds into the minds of our audience. Here’s the theory part: we encode our ideas or our thoughts using language in the form of spoken or written words. We then transmit those words over a medium to an audience.

That’s the basic model of communication I was taught way back in stone college. The model holds up for every form of communication from speaking to one person to broadcasting radio to Twitter. The theory has four key elements:

1.      Source—the encoder of the information

2.      Message—the information that’s encoded and sent

3.      Medium—the way the message is sent: speech, written words on paper, bits over the Internet

4.      Receiver—the computer, the radio player, but ultimately, the mind of the audience.

I tend to focus on elements 2 and 4, and accept elements 1 and 3 as givens. The source of my writing is me, or the subject I am writing about, or the client I am writing for.

As communicators, we have to adapt to the medium — unless you want to create the next Facebook or Twitter. Otherwise, learn to adapt your message to the constraints of the medium.

Elements 2 and 4 are other ways of expressing the two rules.


Enough theory. Let’s get a GRIP.

Before you actually start writing your message, whether it’s a memo to the boss, a sales report, an accident report, a proposal, an advertisement or a novel: get a grip.

Writing your document, whatever it is, is like any other major project. You don’t throw your clothes into the laundry with separating whites and colours, you don’t start cooking pasta without boiling the water first and then adding oil and salt, you don’t paint without at least wiping down the wall.

Before you start that beautiful opening sentence that came to you in the shower, write down the answers to the following questions first. You can write them on the computer, but often I find using a nice pen or fine marker on a good pad of paper is more satisfying.

GRIP: goal, reader, idea, plan.

Goal—why are you writing? You could be drinking beer, making love or sweeping the garage. You better have a good reason for writing! Your writing has to have a concrete goal, an aim, something to achieve. You want to sell something? You want people to vote for your candidate? Maybe you just have a story to tell.

Communication is a tool we use to achieve something. Sometimes, the act itself is very satisfying, but writing for ourselves is not really communicating. It’s like masturbation: it feels good, but it doesn’t accomplish anything, and no one will pay attention for long—and those that will, you don’t want to.

Reader—As I said above, you need to understand whom you are writing to. Once you’ve figured out what you’re trying to achieve with your writing, you need to connect your purpose to your audience. For example, if you’re trying to convince your community to elect a particular candidate, you have to be able to tell your readers what’s in it for them. How will they be better off?

The more you know about your audience, the better you can make your message. Do some research. What interests this audience? What makes them pay attention? What do they need that they don’t have? What do they not want to have? What makes them happy, what makes them mad, what makes them turn and stare, goggle-eyed?

There are some things that all people, everywhere, always, want: food, sex, safety, shelter. But the more specific you are, the more effective you can be.

Idea—the message. After you know your goal and your audience, write down your message as one sentence. In high school, I was told that this was the “thesis statement.” I was impressed at the time. “Thesis” sounded like an impressive word. But all it really means is the main idea.

Before you write your undying prose or poetry, you have to be able to sum it all up in one sentence. If you can’t do that, you haven’t clarified it. And if it’s not clear to you, you cannot make it clear to anyone else. Steve Jobs’ message? “Apple computers are fun and cool.” Obama’s message: “We’re on the right path; I just need four more years to prove it.” See?

This is perhaps the hardest part of all. Don’t be afraid to try several times to summarize your main message. Write it down, change it, cross it out, start over, try it from a different angle. Change the order of your words and phrases. Don’t worry if it’s a long sentence. It can be a complex-compound sentence with subordinate clauses and qualifying phrases, but it has to be a single, grammatically-correct, complete sentence. One thought.

Spend some time on it.

It’s hard. But you can do it.

Plan—Now, the part that all my college students hated the most. After you figure out why you’re writing, whom you’re writing for and what your point is, make an outline.

After all, even though your main message, your thesis, is one sentence, you’ll probably need more than one sentence to convince your readers to achieve your goal. If that weren’t necessary, there Apple wouldn’t have such an extensive website.

An outline is like the frame of a house. I always start with a “scratch outline”—just a list, in no particular order, of all the ideas I want to get into the document to support the main idea. I try to make sure I have all the facts that I have found in my research, all the ideas I had as I was working on the other steps, all the arguments for and against the main idea.

Get them all down on paper or screen, then put them into order. Play the Sesame Street game: “some of these things belong together.” Look for categories and items within categories. Then, put them in a logical order.

What order? Well, that depends on your goal, your idea and your audience. You can use a chronological order if you’re writing an accident report: “I pressed on the brake pedal, but the brake did not engage. The car continued until it hit the wall. Then it stopped.”

A lot of proposals use a problem-solution order: “Do you have bad breath? Use Scope!”

In a future post, I’ll present some exercises to help you with making an outline. But for now, I think that’s enough.

Summary
Before you want to write, you have to know what you’re writing and you have to know whom you are writing for.

Before you write the first line, get a GRIP: write down your goal, your reader, your main idea, and your plan.

And when you get stuck (all we writers get stuck from time to time), go back to those first two rules: what am I saying? and whom am I saying it to?

I hope to blog to you again soon! And I hope you’re reading here!
By Scott Bury
www.writtenword.ca 

FFRF News Releases | Freethought Radio | Media Coverage/FFRF in the News Freethought of the Day | From the Headlines

Freethought of the Day

Charles Schulz

November 26, 2012

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On this date in 1922, Charles Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minn. After graduating from high school, Schulz took a correspondence course from Art Instruction Schools, Inc. In 1943, Schulz was drafted into the army, where he served as a staff sergeant in France and Germany until 1945. After the war, Schulz worked as an instructor for Art Instruction Schools and did freelance cartooning. Beginning in 1947, he drew a comic strip, “Li’l Folks,” for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In 1950, the United Feature Syndicate agreed to distribute the strip, although they renamed it “Peanuts.” By 1953, “Peanuts,” with its now-iconic lead character Charlie Brown, was a hit. Over the years, Schulz received many awards and licensing deals for his work, and wrote several “Peanuts” animated television specials and movies. He had married Joyce Halverson in 1951, and the couple had five children before divorcing in 1972. In 1973, Schulz married his second wife, Jean Forsyth Clyde. In 1999, Schulz was diagnosed with colon cancer, and announced that he was retiring, but new strips would run daily until Jan. 3, 2000 and every Sunday until Feb. 13. (Schulz was able to produce strips very quickly and often worked many weeks ahead.) The night of Feb. 12, Schulz died in his sleep.

Schulz was raised a Lutheran and as an adult served as a Methodist Sunday school teacher for ten years. In the 1980s and 90s, however, Schulz began to describe himself as a “secular humanist.” Schulz’s characters continued to quote the bible, discussing religion’s inconsistencies among their other philosophical musings. Some readers have taken Schulz’s repeated Halloween storyline, of the character Linus’s persistent belief in the Great Pumpkin, who is said to bring toys to the most sincere pumpkin patch, but never shows up, as an allegory on religion, although Schulz did not claim any such thing, and often said of “Peanuts” that he was just trying to write funny strips on time, not to expound any profound philosophical points. D. 2000.

“The best theology is probably no theology; just love one another.”

— Charles Schulz, quoted in his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14, 2000

Compiled by Eleanor Wroblewski

The Book Nobody Wanted

Tonight I closed the pages on a book that people said they were looking forward to reading.

After seven months and only three US sales and none in the UK, I bought the book. So that at least it had one sale when the pages shut.

It was a part of the Pat Canella series that started with Dockland murders and was to go on after this book, but there is no point now.

A sad farewell as she sank below the waves.Al           

Chronicles of Mark Johnson Alan Place, Seal No. 10012208 Mark Johnson one time golden boy of the glamour scene, gets tired of the shallow life. Longing for the real people and photographs he turns his back on the world, his only contact being his long time friend and agent Phil Moore. Like all good photographers it isn't long before the real side of photography leads Mark to start taking a new look at his life, one day he sees a girl at the window of an a derelict house. This leads to the first of many mysteries.

http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/

http://yezallstrongheart.weebly.com/2/category/al%20place/1.html

http://indiependents.org/indie-seal-books.html

http://www.amazon.com/Al-Place/e/B0076M5BNG/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Place/e/B0076M5BNG/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

http://indieauthornetwork.weebly.com/alan-w-place.html#.UIvQO2_Ac6M

Missing Flowers

During the night, psychic Julie Seer dreams of the murders of missing women while in the day she has visions where she is in the body of a Chinese prostitute in the late 1800s. Frustrated, Julie goes to a press conference at the Vancouver Police Department where she meets Detective Constable, Santoro Ricci. With the help of an East Side prostitute, the psychic and the cop work to find who is victimizing these women.

 

I have included part of Chapter One as a sample in an attached document.

 

Missing Flowers will be free from November 23 through November 26. Don’t forget to get your copy. If this sample is interesting to you.

Karen Magill

Get your copy on Amazon