Today, the temperature is in the 70s. For Sunday, they’re talking 30s and snow. Go figure. All I can say is it’s almost spring in Kansas.

So, of course, my mind turns to warmer temps and my container garden. The last couple of years, I’ve planted tomatoes, peppers, basil and oregano. Think it’s about time for me to diversify a bit? Me, too. Which is why it was so great to have Grow Plants in Pots, a book from Martyn Cox and DK Publishing, cross my desk.

This gorgeous, packed book contains a garden’s worth of information and spectacular images. From the opening section on Designing with Containers, I was drawn into this book, and my head is spinning with ideas for my own container garden. I know I don’t have the space or the talent to make my garden look like one in these photographs, but I’m dreaming big, believe me!

 The next two sections focus on specific varieties: Foliage and Flowers, and Fruit and Vegetables. More beautiful photos have me thinking I can expand my containers to include colorful blooms and different veggies. Plant descriptions are accompanied by tips for growing, suggestions for pots and combinations of plants for each pot, and additional varieties. It’s a fascinating book to read, flip through and hoard, just like the tomatoes and peppers I hope to plant this year. Maybe I’ll add lettuce and more herbs this year.

Grow Plants in Pots is scheduled to be released in April – just in time for gardeners pulling out those containers from the garage.

Pre-order your copy of Grow Plants in Potsat Grit's Bookstore.

From Abrams Publishing comes another great-looking book, The Complete Kitchen Garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden. Filled with 14 designs for a variety of kitchen gardens, the book also includes tips on getting a garden started, tips for growing the specific gardens, great illustrations of the gardens, gorgeous photographs and, get this, recipes that make use of the produce found in each garden. It’s a wonderful book to leaf through, and if you have the room and the inclination, I’m sure you’ll find some inspiration in these pages.

One of the gardens is a container garden, and although the plan obviously is for a space larger than mine, I hope to put to use some of the tips. And a couple of the recipes sounded simply divine!

To order a copy of The Complete Kitchen Garden, visit the Grit Bookstore.

While not a gardening book, Diet for a Hot Planet, by Anna Lappe, takes a closer look at our food system with the goal of nudging us all toward growing more of our own food. Not only in response to food security issues and lowering our carbon footprint, but for the simple fact that homegrown produce tastes better.

The eating-local movement is growing, and Lappe drives home the point that locally grown food is better for us healthwise and environment wise. She also points out that changing our views of food, how it’s grown, processed and transported, and how we eat may be just what we need to save the planet – and ourselves.

Diet for a Hot Planet is a dense read with lots of facts and figures, and it paints disturbing images of what we may face in the future. Overall though, the book is a treatise on our future as a community, a nation, a global entity, and a glimpse at what we can do to change that future. I found myself marking something on every other page, and I know there were many more points I could have marked. It’s a fascinating, disturbing and invigorating book.

Check out our Grit Bookstore to order the thought-provoking Diet for a Hot Planet. 

As a companion title to Diet for a Hot Planet, I would recommend Farmer Jane by Temra Costa. An inspiring look at the sustainable food industry, Farmer Jane spotlights 30 women who are making a difference as they go back to the land and connect with food. They each advocate a more nurturing food system, not only for the health of humans but for the health of the planet, and while they each are doing it in slightly different ways, they all ask and answer myriad questions concerning food and farming.

How do you get involved in the local food movement? Here’s the answer. Want to start a community-supported agriculture program? Take a look. Hope to change local policy concerning the raising and selling of locally grown produce? Look for help in these pages. And do you want to learn more about locally grown food, renewable energy, and sustainable food movements? Look no further. You’ll find it in Farmer Jane.

Visit the Grit Bookstore to order Farmer Jane.
 

Enjoy and read a chapter for me! See ya soon.

It’s no secret that books are a passion of mine, and I’ve been occupied reading in recent weeks. All books that have resided on my desk for a while.

Less is More is a new offering from editors Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska. The book’s subtitle just about says it all, “Embracing simplicity for a healthy plant, a caring economy and lasting happiness.”

Within its 280 pages, the book contains a number of essays from various writers – including Ogden Publications’ Publisher and Editorial Director Bryan Welch and our sister publication NATURAL HOME's Editor Robyn Griggs Lawrence – focusing on the Simplicity movement. While it sounds simple, Simplicity is a complex philosophy that argues the only way our planet, our society and each individual will survive the world changes facing us all is for us to focus on less materialistic goals and more inner peace.

As the editors write in the preface, “What do people involved in the Simplicity movement do? Usually, people have focused on individual actions: reducing spending so they can work less and have more time for the things that are important to them. Thus, a life with less – less work, less stuff, less clutter – becomes more: more time for friends, family, community, creativity, civic involvement. Less stress brings more fulfillment and joy. Less rushing brings more satisfaction and balance. Less debt brings more serenity. Less is more.”

The editors, as well as the passionate authors spotlighted in the book, say the movement, though, cannot be limited to individuals. They believe Simplicity works great for each person, and that it would work – and is needed – at every governmental, corporate and societal level.

Again, the editors: “We must create a movement that leads to policy changes. We need policies regulating corporate behavior, work hours, the wealth gap and sustainability.”

Much of what is contained in Less is More makes sense in this age of climate changes, economic recessions and general unhappiness/discontent. Do we really need more things/stuff/acquisitions/junk, or do we as human beings simply require more connectedness, more outlets for creativity, more interaction with our natural world?

It’s a lot to ponder. And I have been, since starting this book. I can see ways to make changes in my own life. I’m not sure, however, that the movement can force the masses change for our own good. The movement, to me, seems to be more of a personal choice, and not one of government and corporations. Although, if we make the individual changes in our own lives, those changes will of necessity affect and reflect on our work lives and the lives of those in the upper echelons of corporations and governments.

So perhaps if we each accept the Simplicity movement into our lives, the world will change. My only reservation is if this book will find a mass audience; Less is More may end up preaching to the choir.

Published by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Less is More will be available by the middle of September; check the GRIT Bookstore for more details.

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Another book to cross my desk is Deborah Vogts’ debut novel Snow Melts in Spring. It was the setting of this book that captured my attention; as a native of the state, I am enthralled by the Flint Hills of Kansas. And Vogts knows of what she writes – while going to college she lived in Emporia, a community found about midway down the eastern side of the Flint Hills. She now lives in Erie, in the southeast corner of the state.

The author has drawn on her love of the area to create a series of books – In the Seasons of the Tallgrass – focusing on ordinary people living and loving in one of the last tallgrass prairies.

Snow Melts features Mattie Evans, a dedicated veterinarian who can’t imagine living anywhere but the Flint Hills. Her life is disrupted not only by a string of bad luck but by the return of Gil McCray, a disillusioned former pro quarterback. One of Mattie’s strongest supporters is rancher John McCray who hasn’t spoken to his son in years. Mattie and John share a love of the land, but Gil’s not exactly on the same page.

An excellent addition to both the genre of contemporary romance and the genre of Christian fiction, Snow Melts in Spring delves into the burgeoning relationship between Mattie and Gil, the secrets hidden within both their families, and how both become the people they are meant to be. And although the problems might be resolved more quickly and more easily if people would simply talk to each other, the novel provides a few nice twists and turns as well as a satisfying ending.

Personally, I’m looking forward to reading the next title in this series and discovering the next person to find her heart’s desire in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

Published by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Snow Melts in Spring is available in a trade paperback; check your local bookstore.

*

It wasn’t my intention to spotlight two authors from Kansas, but here it is.

Prolific author Don Coldsmith wrote more than 40 books, most of them part of his Spanish Bit Saga, and there are now more than 6 million copies of his books in print. While continuing his medical practice in Emporia, Coldsmith began writing in the 1960s. He also taught at Emporia State University and wrote for the Emporia Gazette.

The author suffered a stroke this summer and passed away at the age of 83.

My dad, Gale, read many of Coldsmith’s books and enjoyed each and every one of them. So I was thrilled to pick up two titles, Raven Mocker and Child of the Dead, both part of the Spanish Bit Saga.

Coldsmith described the series in a comment at the back of Raven Mocker: “Readers who have discovered other books of the Spanish Bit Saga will recognize the Elk-dog People as the major culture included in the series. This tribe is a composite, created because in the early books it was impossible to identify the tribes and nations with whom Coronado might have been in contact. In the interests of historical accuracy the People became a theoretical nation of buffalo hunters. They have cultural traits of Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and a bit of Comanche.

“In Raven Mocker the major figure is Cherokee, and I have attempted to depict Cherokee history, customs, and legends to the best of my ability. I have tried to keep my story line within the realm of possibility in depicting the ‘Real People,’ the Cherokees, for whom I have great respect and admiration. I apologize in advance for any errors of offense committed by this humble yoneg.”

Raven Mocker relates the tale of Snakewater, a medicine woman respected and feared by those in her village. An unfounded accusation forces the old woman to make a painful decision, and she soon learns that life can be much more than the narrow confines of a village. With just a hint of otherworldly intrigue, Raven Mocker draws in readers as we cheer for Snakewater and her new life.

Child of the Dead begins with a tragedy – an entire band of people found dead, struck down by the dreaded poch (smallpox), with one small girl, Gray Mouse, struggling to survive. Running Deer, a bitter old woman of the Southern band, makes a startling choice – she will stay and care for the dying young girl as her family continues on their path.

Life, though, as we all know, doesn’t always go according to plan, and Running Deer and Gray Mouse find themselves on a quest, as do Running Deer’s family. What will the future hold for this nomadic band? It’s also Gray Mouse’s story, as she struggles to learn of her own people.

Coldsmith’s style, similar to Louis L’Amour and Tony Hillerman, gently brings his characters to full-bodied life, and it soon becomes clear that this author has an understanding, a respect and an admiration for his subjects.

To order Raven Mocker, Child of the Dead or other titles by Don Coldsmith, visit our GRIT Bookstore.

A recent Recipe Box (“Gathering Recipes,” March/April) focused on social cookbooks and the “receipts” included that put the past on the dining table. Our Comfort Foods article for July/August takes a closer look at the handwritten recipe cards found in so many recipe boxes and cherished by family cooks everywhere.

So it was quite interesting when a new book arrived on my desk this week. Pot Roast, Politics, and Ants in the Pantry by Carol and John Fisher is an insider’s look at Missouri’s cookbook heritage, and it’s an interesting read to boot.

The Fishers quickly draw a reader into the world of Missouri cookbooks, and, even with 10 pages of editions listed in the bibliography, I suspect they barely scratch the surface of cookbooks compiled and published in the Show-Me State. Organized by the producers of such tomes, the book begins with a quick look at the history of cookbooks in the state. Earlier books were published, mainly for the European market, with the first known American cookbooks printed in the mid- to late 1700s. In 1796, according to the Fishers, the first cookbook written by an American author for American cooks was published – American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. More American-specific books arrived in the next century, including The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, written by Fannie Farmer who was with the famous Boston Cooking School at the time.

Pot Roast details where Missouri was during this time, and then continues with some of the early publications of cookbooks in the state, including the Julia Clark Household Memoranda Book, which was reported to be written by the wife of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Researchers, however, have concluded that the true author of the cookbook was probably Clark himself.

Full of such tidbits, the first chapter moves quickly into more detailed chapters such as “Community Cookbooks,” “Missouri Cookbooks Record History,” “Company/Product Cookbooks,” and “Kitchen Medicine, Housekeeping Tips, and Cookbook Literature.”

The extremely popular Joy of Cooking is mentioned in the chapter, “Individually Authored and Edited Cookbooks.” First compiled by Irma Rombauer as a self-published project in 1931, the cookbook has become a phenomenon in its own right. The Fishers suggest that Joy of Cooking has been so popular because Rombauer’s personality shines through on each page. There are personal suggestions strewn throughout the book, and cooks are put at ease by Rombauer’s honesty.

My work reference library includes copies of Joy of Cooking and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

The same chapter mentions Barbecuing and Sausage-Making Secrets by Charlie and Ruthie Knote, written in 1992 in Cape Girardeau, but the majority of barbecue cookbooks – a popular style of cooking, particularly in Kansas City – are mentioned in the chapter titled Company/Product Cookbooks. These books were originally produced as advertising tools by companies as a way to market new products. Some of the include the Aristos Flour Cook Book (published in 1911 by the Southwestern Milling Co. in Kansas City), the Rival Crock-Pot Slow Electric Stoneware Cooker Cookbook (published in the 1970s by the Rival Co.), and the Pet Milk cookbooks (published through the years by the Pet Milk Company specifically to promote their brand of condensed milk).

Authors Carol Fisher and John Fisher know their way around Missouri. Carol’s the author of The American Cookbook: A History, and John wrote Catfish, Fiddles, Mules, and More: Missouri’s State Symbols. They live in Kennett, Missouri.

Chockfull of interesting tidbits, glimpses of life in centuries past, and tastes of old-fashioned cooking and philosophy, Pot Roast, Politics, and Ants in the Pantry is a delicious spread for any cookbook lover’s palate.

Pot Roast, Politics, and Ants in the Pantry: Missouri’s Cookbook Heritage , by Carol Fisher and John Fisher, 2008, University of Missouri Press.

So many books, so little time. I know I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – so many books, so little time!

Not only are my shelves at home overflowing with books I have yet to open, my work space is being threatened by piles of books on my desk. Currently, I have three cookbooks in a stack – Mennonite Country-Style Recipes & Kitchen Secrets, The Good-to-Go Cookbook (Take-Along Foods, Quick Suppers, and Satisfying Snacks for On-the-Go Familes), and The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves – in addition to the copies of Joy of Cooking and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook nestled among my reference materials.

The hope is to review those cookbooks for this blog, though it may take me a while.

Other tomes grace my desk as well: a gorgeous coffee-table book, American Farmer, also to be reviewed at some point in time; Who Laughs Last, a small fictional delight I’m looking forward to digging into; Dirty Bow Wow, a tribute to dogs and the objects of their affection; and The Kitchen Linens Book, by the author of The Apron Book, both of which would make good reviews for GRIT readers. I also have Fish & Tips, a recipe booklet for healthier, delicious seafood that might make a good addition to a future Comfort Foods or Recipe Box.

Book publishers have found my e-mail address, too, and there are several such messages (usually about novels) that I’d like to follow up, both for my own enjoyment and for review purposes.

Of course, my desk would be empty without the catalogs. I’ve lost track of the number that reach my inbox. At the moment, I have catalogs from The Harvard Common Press, Cumberland House Publishing, Firefly Books, Travel Publishers Association, Rodale Books (Fall 2008, Winter 2009 AND Spring 2009), Pelican Publishing Company, Ivan R. Dee, and a postcard from Herald Press that spotlights Simply in Season and Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook. Whew!

The catalogs are the worst – I can’t throw them away, and I have page after page earmarked. I just might want to review that book one of these days! Well, I’ll do that, right after editing articles/pages, selecting photographs, filing recipes, writing food articles/letters/blogs, reading/editing blogs, attending meetings, answering e-mails, etc. And while I enjoy doing everything, it all takes more time than I think it will. So, the catalogs stay in a pile, because I can’t make up my mind as to which books to order review copies and I know I won’t have the time to review them if I do order them.

Wonder if I can set aside a day and go through all these books in one setting? Like I said, so many books, so little time!

It’s a delight to discover a new series of books, filled with great characters, believable, taut and challenging plots, satisfying conclusions, and, of course, the promise of more to come.

This fall, I discovered a new-to-me author and his first series. The first book, The Blue Edge of Midnight, was an Edgar Award winner for new author Jonathon King. I quickly finished it and the second in the series, A Visible Darkness. Then I moved on to other authors, all the while wishing I’d run out to get the next Max Freeman book.

A November trip to my local bookstore garnered the next two titles, Shadow Men and A Killing Night. They didn’t last long after I returned home; I devoured them in short order, and now the fifth in the series awaits me, Acts of Nature.

My favorite genre is the mystery, and among the many facets of the genre, the police procedural has always captured my attention. From Dell Shannon to Ed McBain, from John Sandford to Michael Connelly, from Kay Hooper to Laurie King, the cop on the job is a fascinating character.

That also goes for the private investigator on the case. Sue Grafton, Dianne Day, Laurie King, Janet Evanovich, Dennis Lehane, all feature investigators who don’t wear a uniform. And Jonathon King’s Max Freeman has rapidly become one of my favorite P.I.s.

A former cop, Max moves from the streets of Philadelphia to the marshes of Florida to escape his past. He lives secluded in a shack deep in the Everglades, using a canoe to come out for supplies and to visit his friend and attorney, Billy Manchester, another Philly-born transplant. The two men have built on the friendship begun by their mothers back in Philly: Max’s mom the wife of a cop, Billy’s a domestic.

Written in the first person, the Max Freeman books take you into his mind, following the action and logic of this born-to-investigate sleuth. It’s a fascinating trip, from cover to cover, through Max’s mind and the cases he is drawn into.

In the first book, Max’s past comes back to haunt him, thrusting the still hurting ex-cop into the thick of an investigation surrounding missing and murdered children. Max lives to fight another day, with a lot of help from his friends, old and new.

In A Visible Darkness, Billy asks Max to help investigate the deaths of well-respected, entrepreneurial women who are the backbone of the black community in Miami. Billy believes the seemingly natural deaths of the matriarchs are anything but, and as Max discovers, death comes in all guises.

Billy convinces Max to take yet another case in Shadow Men, after a young man hires the attorney to look into the deaths of a grandfather and two uncles working on the first road built through the Florida Everglades. Letters sent to the young man’s grandmother back in the 1920s lead Max and Billy into a decades-old crime with present-day consequences.

Another friend is the catalyst for A Killing Night, and Max must discover whether another ex-cop – a man who saved Max’s life on a Philadelphia night – is responsible for a string of murders of pretty bartenders.

From near the beginning of A Visible Darkness, I could tell Max wasn’t finished with being a cop, and I figured a P.I.’s license was in his future. That proves true in A Killing Night as Max goes to work for Billy as a full-time investigator. The job takes him away from his beloved river and isolated shack, while it opens up new avenues for Max.

I’m looking forward to Acts of Nature, and I may also pick up King’s standalone novel, Eye of Vengeance with its main character, a crime reporter as caught up in personal tragedy as he is in his work.

What new authors are now gracing your shelves? Any suggestions for this mystery buff?

The inbox on my desk often holds a surprise or two. Recently, it contained a box of goodies from Muir Glen Organic and Cascadian Farm Organic. And were those goodies delicious!

From Muir Glen, there was a can of Chicken Tortilla soup and a jar of Italian Sausage with Peppers pasta sauce. The soup quickly disappeared during lunch that day, and I’m not sure, but I think I was humming “yum” under my breath the entire time. It contains small chunks of green pepper and onion, along with black beans, floating in a creamy and spicy soup. The spices were subtle at the first bite, growing to a delightful bite after a few spoonfuls. I enjoy spicy food, and this was a wonderful experience. A delicious soup, to say the least, and one I’ll be looking for on the shelves of my local market. Visit the website for other products.

The pasta sauce contains tomatoes and organic pork seasoned with sea salt, brown sugar, rosemary and spices. The flavor is further enhanced with onion, garlic, fennel, sweet basil and oregano. I used it over spinach and tomato rotini pasta, enjoying the zesty flavor. There’s just a bit left in the jar. Hmmmm, I think I know what I’m having for dinner tonight!

From Cascadian Farm came a box of Sweet & Salty Peanut Pretzel Chewy Granola Bars and a box of Dark Chocolate Almond Granola.

The granola bars were shared with the others on the Grit staff, and we all enjoyed them. The box calls them “chewy organic granola bars with peanuts and pretzels dipped in rich chocolate flavored coating.” The box emptied quickly. The bars were yummy, nice and chewy, with that great salt and chocolate combination.

I took the cereal home – didn’t want to share any dark chocolate goodness! It was another box that emptied quickly. While I didn’t taste too much chocolate (I’m not sure I really want my granola cereal to be that sweet, although I am more than a little enamored with the thought of chocolate for breakfast!), I did taste the almonds and the granola. It was an excellent combination, and with a spot of soy milk, made for an excellent breakfast.

We’ve received other items from Cascadian Farm, and I’ve enjoyed every item from their shelves. Great additions to the family pantry. Check out other products on the company’s website.

Another recent surprise in my inbox was from LightWedge Products. A catalog was accompanied by an original LightWedge in Ocean, the perfect color for me! The original LightWedge fits hardcover books and trade paperbacks.

Now, I’ve been thinking about purchasing a LightWedge for quite some time, and I couldn’t have asked for a better surprise. I’ve always wondered if the product would actually work for me, because I’m extremely nearsighted, and I prefer a high light level in which to read.

The original LightWedge fits well over a page, and even over two pages of a paperback, and it’s lightweight with an easy to reach and use light switch. While it works well in dark situations, it’s not quite enough light for my nearsighted self. The company, however, makes a few products for those of us with low vision, including a couple of lighted magnifiers I will have to check out.

A number of attachable lights are included in the catalog, from Great Point Light, all of interesting design and in nifty colors. A few are designed for youngsters with baseball or soccer ball bases and great colors. There’s even a Harry Potter LUMOS Book Light, an original LightWedge with Harry Potter graphics and replaceable switch covers.

I would recommend a visit to the LightWedge website or call toll-free 877-777-9334 for a catalog.

Another great book gadget I recently discovered didn’t come in the mail. I found them at my local independent bookstore, The Raven. The round container of Book Darts has revolutionized my reading time.

The back label says, “Book Darts (book dartz), n. 1. a bookmark for exactly where you stopped. 2. a linemarker for discoveries you want to find easily. Achivally correct. A safe alternative to paperclips, underlining and highlighting. Will not stain.”

I love bookmarks and even collect them. I also carry a book in my purse or bag at all times, and those bookmarks often fall out and get lost. With a single Book Dart, I no longer worry about losing my place or my bookmark. The small bronze arrow fits over a single page, marking my place or even a quote I want to use for a future blog. The container holds 50 of the little darlings.

Check with your local bookstore, visit the website or call 800-366-2230. A delightful find for any bookworm!

I wonder what tomorrow’s mail will bring?

Quite a few books starring vampires live on my bookshelves. Anita Blake, the heroine of Laurell K. Hamilton’s series, loves a vampire named Jean-Claude and a werewolf named Richard. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher features vampires from the Red Court, the Black Court and the White Court. Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty series stars a shapeshifter while a few vampires make appearances, too. A number of authors, including Maggie Shayne and Charlaine Harris, combine love and mystery with a healthy (unhealthy?) dose of the undead. And of course, Ann Rice’s Vampire Chronicles are classics.

On television, I still miss the recently cancelled Moonlight, which I understand is to be repeated in the near future on Sci-Fi Channel. Lots of us watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, both series featuring Angel, the vampire with a soul, and Spike, a not-so-nice vampire we loved anyway, as well as a host of others.  Forever Knight, a cop drama with a vampire on the night shift trying to atone for his un-life and yearning to become human, was a favorite of mine back in the day. TV’s love of vampires goes back to the daytime drama Dark Shadows, at least in my memory. I’m sure there were other such programs in television’s early years.

Nowadays, the Winchester brothers in Supernatural have been known to stake a few vampires, among other things that go bump in the night. And HBO’s new series (based on books written by Charlaine Harris with protagonist Sookie Stackhouse) True Blood captures new fans each and every week.

At the movies, who can forget Interview With the Vampire, a hit for Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt? Or the classics with Bela Lugosi? There are too many movies to mention, including parodies made famous by George Hamilton and Leslie Nielsen.

Now we have the latest vampire phenomenon, a series of books beginning with Twilight and written by novice author Stephenie Meyer. The movie from the first book, released last weekend and starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, grossed nearly $70 million in its first weekend, almost twice what it cost to make. Summit Entertainment immediately announced plans to film New Moon, the second book in the series.

What’s the fascination with vampires? No matter the medium, vampires draw attention, keeping their secrets in the midst of human communities, whether they be the villain of the tale or an anti-hero like Edward Cullen in Twilight. Even in the two Twilights – both of which, unfortunately, move too slowly and left me wishing for something other than what they are –vampires enthrall readers and moviegoers.

A quick study on Wikipedia shows the vampire phenomenon began long ago, probably with the story of Vlad III, born in Transylvania and the ruler of Wallachia (a region of Romania) from 1456 to 1462. Vlad was known as Dracula and Vlad the Impaler. He killed tens of thousands of people, impaling most on a sharp pole, with some accounts saying his victims included up to 100,000 Turkish Muslims. At the time Romania was fighting off an invasion from Turkey, and Vlad was a folk hero to many Romanians.

The name Dracula means son of Dracul. That term is the title given to Vlad II by a secret order of knights known as the Order of the Dragon, an order that vowed to uphold Christianity and defend Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire from the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and as ruler of Wallachia, his coins bore the dragon symbol.

Many stories have used the Dracula theme, including an 1819 short story by John Polidori, The Vampyre, and an 1871 story, Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fanu. Then Bram Stoker, in his research of Romanian history, found the name and used it for his villain in his 1897 novel of the same name. The rest, as they say, is history.

The vampire quickly bewitched his way into mainstream literature, spawning discussions in every medium, college classes and websites. The undead remain, to the delight and horror of millions of readers, moviegoers and television fanatics, promising to lure each of us into their spell. I consider myself under such a spell, so vampire novels will continue to appear on my bookshelves. I just can’t help myself!