Welcome (back) to Collinwood

The sun sets on BRAN CASTLE in Transylvania.

The last two weeks were amazing, but it's good to be home. My new wife and I arrived last night just in time to collect our pets before collapsing into bed for 12 hours. I've lost some tread off the bottom of my feet from walking around Eastern Europe, so it's great to return my ass to it's usual seated position.

I missed a few things while I was away, most notably the DVD/Blu-ray releases of HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS and NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS. My Internet connection was spotty, to say the least. I saw a few messages via Twitter, Facebook, E-mail, etc., but could not respond. A special thanks goes out to BILL BRANCH, who provided me with photos and artwork for this page to keep things lively in my absence.

Here are a few DARK SHADOWS-related notes:

* Author Marty Ross, who joined the DARK SHADOWS fold by penning to script to the audio drama DRESS ME IN DARK DREAMS, has a Kindle book out. DANCES SACRED AND PROFANE: A Gothic Romance was released Oct. 19. I haven't had a chance to read it, but expect it to be added to my Kindle by the end of the day. Here's a summary from Amazon:

Austria, 1912. Young Scottish schoolteacher Isobel MacMurdo travels to Austria, taking up a post as tutor to the daughters of expatriate industrialist Kenneth Barsett. But the girls already have a governess, the mysterious and beautiful Carla – regarding whose influence over his daughters Mr. Barsett has secret fears. For Isobel, this is the beginning of a journey into beauty, passion and terror, and even possibly to the brink of the supernatural, even as the ‘real’ world totters towards violence and chaos and war.

* Speaking of audio dramas: During my travels I listened to both the Big Finish production SPEAK NO EVIL, and the L.A. Theater Works production of DRACULA starring our own David Selby. I actually listened to DRACULA while in Romania, finishing the production as I was leaving Transylvania on Halloween night. Look for reviews of both here during the next week or so.

* Speaking of Transylvania (I need to work on my seques) my trip was a hoot. Romania was a wonderful country that is still rebounding from communism, and is suffering from a lack of government support for tourism. As one man told me, "The only blood suckers in Romania are in government." The country is not as user-friendly as London, but the people are friendly and there are tons of fascinating places to visit. I'll have much to say about my trip in an upcoming VAMPIRES 101 column.