Creating a "Vampocalypse"

A few years ago, novelist Justin Cronin surprised his agent with a "apocalyptic vampire epic" that he had written in secret.

The writer's two previous novels had nothing to do with the fantastic world he created for THE PASSAGE, the book that set off a bidding war between major publishers and then Hollywood producers.

Cronin talks about the real-life environment that inspired the end-of-the-world scenario of his bestseller.

LISTEN: JUSTIN CRONIN - THE PASSAGE

Lincoln vs. Vampires vs. History

What's more popular than Abraham Lincoln? Vampires! Or at least that's what one's perception might be from the shelves of the local bookseller.

Abe's 200th birthday year and the ongoing love of bloodsuckers have produced many hot-selling titles lately. Seth Grahame-Smith, the mind behind PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES has combined the two sure-fire subjects in his latest effort ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER. His books is a faux-historical retelling of Abe's secret drive to take out the bloodsuckers. Grahame-Smith took his inspiration from the many recent bios of the 16th president.

LISTEN: SETH GRAHAME-SMITH - ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER

National Geographic Historian Mark Collins Jenkins is also looking through old letters and records for a new take on the undead. In Jenkins' case, though, he is taking a new look at some old conceptions. VAMPIRE FORENSICS looks to the birthplace of many of the supernatural myths that were given iconic status in the fictional world. The author examines folklore with a new scientific eye and explains how so many came to believe the dead walked the Earth...

LISTEN: MARK COLLINS JENKINS - VAMPIRE FORENSICS

Young Money: Gen Y Consumers

Consumer power is shifting as a generation of under-30 spenders take control of the marketplace. Consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow examines how young people are spending money differently than their parents. Yarrow is the co-author of GEN BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail.

LISTEN: KIT YARROW

The Southern Vampire Romance of Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris includes healthy dollops of humor, social commentary and satire in her Sookie Stackhouse series of books. The "southern vampire romance" novels are the inspiration for the HBO series TRUE BLOOD.

Harris finds inspiration for the supernatural subculture of her fictional world by "people watching" in her home town in Arkansas.

LISTEN: CHARLAINE HARRIS