Welcome! ​
(You previously downloaded Glimmer of Hope by J.A. Helling, a collection of my science fiction short stories, and gave your consent to receive this newsletter.)​
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I have been thinking a lot about vampires because of the three-part novella I am currently writing about Sapphic Vampires in Space for my Substack channel Stories of Magnitude. I regularly release FREE short stories of science fiction, fantasy & sapphic pride on Substack.

Part One of "April 15 in Space" (my vampire story) is already available for FREE on my Substack channel--AND I have also attached Part One of the novella to this newsletter as a surprise gift to show my appreciation for you!

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Vampires came to Earth long ago. Where did they come from and why are they here? Can new vampires be made? If the entire Terran Command answers to the Nosferatu, what can Captain Livia Harker (female human) and First Officer Skip Threepaws (male blue humanoid) possibly do to fight the vampires?

The answers await you in "April 15 in Space."

One of the Children of the Night, the Elder Nosferatu
featured in "April 15 in Space" by J.A. Helling
(photo from Unsplash)

Researching the Vampyre​
​Dracula by Bram Stoker was the first novel I read that was told through journal entries, letters and other documents (known as an epistolary novel). I really enjoyed the structure because it allowed insight into the thoughts of many different characters.

In preparation for writing "April 15 in Space," I watched a lot of TV shows and films about vampires to refresh myself on the tropes of the genre and different takes on the topic. My list included:

--Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Duh. A Classic. Life-changing!)

--Young Dracula (British comedy show about a young vampire that doesn't want to kill people)

--Nosferatu (the original version from 1920s)

--Nosferatu (modern version, saw about a third of it, I find the sense of helpless woman drawn without hope to evil vampire a bit much--we all have agency, for gosh sakes)

--Daybreakers (Ethan Hawke with science fiction vampires in the future)

--Vamps (comedy film with Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter)

--Netflix Limited Series "Midnight Mass" (enjoyed this one--a priest is bitten--good food for thought)

--Audio Drama "Dracula" by Gabriel Urbina (I find the character of Renfield problematic in almost every version and also that the sound of bone breaking can be worse in audio than video--but I very much admired the strong woman hero in this audio drama)

--Previous favorites include films The Lost Boys, Fright Night (saw both versions), 30 Days of Night

--Of course, I was a fan of Stephen King's The Shining when I read it, and the connections explored between purity of faith and protection from evil

The question currently on my Substack chat page:

What is your favorite vampire story? (book, TV show, film, audio drama, graphic novel, etc all count!). So, what is your very FAVORITE VAMPIRE STORY?

Please provide the name, type of media, author, and one or two sentences why this is the vampire story for you in this new CHAT THREAD on my SUBSTACK Channel (Stories of Magnitude).

There are some really interesting vampire stories out there:

​FUN FACT:​

From Wikipedia:

"Carmilla is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is one of the earliest known works of vampire literature, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 25 years. First published as a serial in The Dark Blue (1871–72),[1][2] the story is narrated by a young woman who is preyed upon by a female vampire named "Carmilla". The titular character is the prototypical example of the fictional lesbian vampire, expressing romantic desires toward the protagonist. Since its publication, Carmilla has often been regarded as one of the most influential vampire stories of all time.[3]"​
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SO, PLEASE JOIN MY SUBSTACK CHAT THREAD (or if you're more shy, hit reply on this email), and let me know what your favorite vampire story is and why (in one or two sentences)?

I am looking forward to learning more about all the vampire stories out there!

My email is: author@jahelling.com​

and I always appreciate feedback and questions from readers.

Enjoy reading Part One of April 15 in Space:

​April 15 in Space--Part ONE. Aug 2025.pdf​​
​​April 15 in Space--Part ONE Aug 2025.epub​

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(Do you like getting an epub AND a pdf, or should I just be sending pdf files?)

Keep reading the Good Stuff,

(and by "Good Stuff," I mean Science Fiction, Fantasy & Sapphic Pride 🏳️‍🌈),
J.A.