DRACULAS (A Novel of Terror)

Out of Whack

J.A. Konrath’s Works Available on Kindle

Jack Daniels thrillers

Whiskey Sour

Bloody Mary

Rusty Nail

Dirty Martini

Fuzzy Navel

Cherry Bomb

Shaken

Shot of Tequila

Banana Hammock

Jack Daniels Stories (collected stories)

SERIAL UNCUT with Blake Crouch

Suckers with Jeff Strand

Planter’s Punch with Tom Schreck

Floaters with Henry Perez

Truck Stop

Other works

Afraid

Endurance

Trapped

Origin

The List

Disturb

55 Proof (short story omnibus)

Crime Stories (collected stories)

Horror Stories (collected stories)

Dumb Jokes & Vulgar Poems

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

Blake Crouch’s Works Available on Kindle

Andrew Z. Thomas thrillers

Desert Places

Locked Doors

Other works

Abandon

Snowbound

Luminous Blue

Perfect Little Town (horror novella)

Serial Uncut with J.A. Konrath and Jack Kilborn

Bad Girl (short story)

Four Live Rounds (collected stories)

Shining Rock (short story)

*69 (short story)

On the Good, Red Road (short story)

Remaking (short story)

Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Making of DRACULAS

This is an exclusive, spoiler-laden, behind-the-scenes look at the writing of DRACULAS. What follows is the chain of emails between Joe, Blake, Jeff, and Paul, from March 27, 2010 through October 2, 2010. This is our back-and-forth to one another as we worked on DRACULAS, detailing the entire writing process, who wrote what, things that were added, cut, switched, and editorial suggestions to each other. These emails were recreated exactly as they were written, so there are typos. This is essentially a window into our co-writing process. It will probably be boring for readers, but for writers interested in collaboration, it offers a peek behind the curtains of how we did it.

It begins with Joe emailing Jeff after confirming the project with Blake over the phone…

March 27, 2010

Jeff—

Our novella SUCKERS has made $$$ this month, and the month isn’t over yet.

In June, Amazon is doubling the royalty rate. Which means we’ll be making about $$$ per month, EACH, on Suckers.

We should do some other collaboration. Maybe a McGlade/Mayhem piece. Or perhaps an original Kindle novel.

I’ve got an idea that could be used for either.

Some scientists find Dracula’s bones in Transylvania (they know it’s Dracula because he’s got a stake in the heart and fangs.) Pulling out the stake does nothing. So they take the bones back home, and accidentally clone him.

Title: DRACULAS.

The word “vampire” has been used to death. But “Dracula” has not. And with PREDATORS coming this summer, adding an “S” to a known monster name makes perfect sense.

We could go the serious route, as an action horror book. Could go comedy. Could go McGlade and Mayhem.

Interested?

Joe

• • •

Holy crap. That’s a lot of frickin’ money for a book with spaghetti sauce as the primary plot driver.

Let me get back to you on the collaboration. You’re right—an original, “major” novel for the Kindle would make us a fortune, and if you had e-mailed me yesterday around noon I would’ve said “Absolutely!” And then I would have e-mailed you back rather sheepishly and said that I might not be able to commit, because my agent got an e-mail about a work-for-hire project that will be potentially huge and will very likely leave me with no free time until 2011.

Jeff

• • •

What if DRACULAS were split three ways? Blake Crouch is involved (he and I just sold movie rights to SERIAL, believe it or not.)

If each of us write 20k, we could do it fast, get it up in a month. That way there’s no big time commitment, and you can still meet your deadlines.

I’m thinking this can be somewhat tongue and cheek, but not satire. Sort of like the first Evil Dead movie. Think 28 Days Later with vampires. And none of that supernatural BS. Crosses, garlic, daylight; none of that stops them. Only way to kill them is to cut off the head. And these aren’t debonair, hypnotizing movie idols. No turning into bats or sleeping in coffins. These draculas are running, screeching, blood sucking dynamos.

We’re talking a balls-to-the-wall screaming vampire invasion novel. Rabid, feral, crazy bloodsuckers, draining everything that moves; people, dogs, cattle, each other. Once gets cut, spills its own blood, the others pounce on him.

Maybe we confine the action to a hospital out in a rural area. One of the doctors there somehow gets Dracula’s bones, does some experiments, suddenly there’s a dracula outbreak. Heroes are a soon-to-be mom and dad in labor in the maternity ward, a lumberjack recovering from a work injury, a nurse at her first week on the job,