June 25, 2010

More Vampire Book News: New summer serial tied to Facebook and Twitter

More vampire book news:

I just discovered that Slate is running a YA vampire serial that began June 4. My Darklyng runs each Friday through August. (It was on chapters 7-9 as of this posting).

YA writers Laura Moser and Lauren Mechling, culture editor at the Wall Street Journal, also are running an interesting experiment: having the characters post to their own Facebook pages and Twitter as part of the story.

Natalie's Facebook page has daily updates, including photos of '70s album covers, sheet music, and old Hollywood starlets that also serve as clues. Natalie, her friends, and fictional best-selling vampire writer Fiona St. Claire also have their own Twitter accounts.

About the Book:

Natalie Pollock is a normal-enough 10th-grade girl who happens to be obsessed with a certain vampire series. From the moment she tries out to be the next cover model for one of the Dark Shadows books, her fantasy turns into a nightmare replete with solicitous NYC models, dead squirrels, a psych ward, and little orange pills.

Interesting concept as it makes online posting and promo a regular, ongoing event.

** What do you think?

Writers: Is this something you'd do for your next book?

Readers: Does this make you more interested in a book? Or is it just more online stuff to do?