What is Jason Henderson reading?

Today's featured contributor at Writers Read: Jason Henderson, author of Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising and Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead.

His entry begins:

I believe the axiom that you have to read if you want to write. For me it’s true because reading exposes me to the different ways other writers tackle the everyday challenges of storytelling-- with every book I pick up new methods of conveying pace, tone, point of view, voice, and on and on. Does it work, though, this utilitarian purpose for reading? Who knows? I can’t report whether it has made me a better writer, but it can’t have made me a worse one, and I got to spend all that time reading.

I always have a little parade of books I’m working my way through.

For several years nonfiction dominated my reading list until it began to overwhelm me; I was reading a lot of cynical war histories and after a while it was seeping into my everyday thoughts: everything in life was a cluster**** like the wars I was spending all my time reading about. This brings up another important point: no reader gets out of a book completely untouched; you will be affected by what you read. This means you should think carefully before spending time with a work. I still read some depressing nonfic, but I try to mix it up a little more.

I read a lot of books about movies, and the most recent I’m looking at is Paul Meehan’s Horror Noir, a look at horror movies with film noir elements. I’m loving Meehan’s book, because often when...[read on]

Among the praise for the Alex Van Helsing series:

“Henderson references Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to weave a great story line full of action, suspense, and adventure. The satisfying story captivates readers with a modern-day spin of James Bond meets Dracula. It has lots of bite that will have readers thirsting for more.”
—School Library Journal (starred review)

“Trouble seems to follow Alex Van Helsing wherever he goes... Invigorated by likable teen heroes with believable interests (one loves vampire lore, the other manga). This first book in the Alex Van Helsing series seriously doesn’t suck.”
—ALA Booklist

“This wonderful series opener is a compelling action, fantasy, horror story ... This book will engage readers easily and many will not be able to put it down. This excellent book is a must-have purchase ... will make readers eager for the next in the series.”
—Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

Learn more about Jason Henderson and his work at Alex Van Helsing: The Blog.

Writers Read: Jason Henderson.

--Marshal Zeringue