K.E. Skedgell

Coat of arms of King Mátyás (center left) and Queen Beatrice (center right). T oday marks the 570 th anniversary of the birth of one the most revered kings of Hungary, King Mátyás (Hunyadi) Corvin. Born this day in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca) on 23 February in 1443, second son to one of the greatest of Hungary's military heroes, János Hunyadi , and his wife Erzsébet Szilágyi , little did either of them know their pink, wrinkly infant boy would one day become the first native born Hungarian without royal ancestry to take the throne in centuries. The honor, if he hadn't died by the axeman of King Ladislas V Posthumous, would have went to his older brother and only sibling, László Hunyadi . On Easter of 1490, after biting into a rotten fig, spurring a fury of foul words from his lips, a sharp, searing pain struck Mátyás's brain and sensations worse than the taste of a spoiled fruit overwhelmed him, and two days later on the 6 th of April, the Hungarian Renaissance k...

 Lakeview Cemetery, Nash ville MI. Photo by Rhonda Cook   V ampires have been a passion of mine for twenty plus years, ever since my friend Jennifer introduced them to me in our early teens (and to Ouija boards and ghosts and other fun things). Her and I would go for walks through the local cemetery, a place we often hung out since it was so quiet and peaceful, and one of the prettier small town cemeteries I've been in, but I could just be partial. Another friend, Samantha, and I often walked the cemetery too, and it was her and I who wrote vampire stories together and stories about many other things, spook and non-spook alike. Something about the mythical creature has always allured me, perhaps it is my fear of blood (and needles) that, in some ironic way, has kept me intrigued with them. Or maybe it's their immortality, or strong yet weak nature. Maybe because they are denizens of the night. Whatever it is, I don't think about why I like them, I just do. Lake...

W hen most people hear of Castle Dracula, an image of a dark, many-towered castle perched upon a mountaintop with bats flying about and wolves howling in the distance is what usually comes to mind. Often there is a drawbridge with a great gorge beneath it, wind howling ready to take one off and impale them upon the craggy rocks below, vultures swirling in wait, and a nearby village of peasants (who you wonder why they just don't pack up and move) in constant fear of the castle's resident. You know, something like this: An artist's (not mine) portrayal of Castle Dracula. That is the image of Bram Stoker's vampire Dracula's castle often portrayed in the movies and video games. Romania, home to the historical Dracula, Vlad Țepeș (the Impaler), wants you to believe this is the real Castle Dracula: Bran Castle, in all its restored medieval glory. Bran Castle , located outside of the town of Bran in southeastern Transylvania, or central...

O ne of the places I would love to go before I die -- Romania. Below are links to a web forum for photographs I found one day dinking around. Many many gorgeous photos to browse through. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a virtual tour of one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. Romania In Pictures Romanian Castles View of Poenari Castle (top left on cliff, barely noticeable), the Castle Dracula, and surrounding area, the place where several scenes of my novel take place. Just, try to picture no road or bridge there and the river with more water. Click on photo for better view.

I have been working on my novel that I have long titled (subject to change, of course) Draculești, which has the meaning of "house" or "family of the dragon/devil", for quite some time. In the last few years I have been rewriting the novel from the previous draft, because quite frankly, it was dreadful. I've been using this story as practice to learn to write, and so far I can see how I have improved. It is one reason why it is taking me so long to finish it. Another reason I just need to sit down and write it. Order Of The Dragon My infatuation with 15th century Eastern Europe and the historical people of the era started way back when I was thirteen or fourteen, when I had first discovered my love of vampires, thanks to a friend of mine. Playing the Castlevania games on the Nintendo also contributed to my curiosity of the vampire/Dracula lore, and, if that weren't geeky enough, I started making crappily drawn and even more crappily written Captain...