Once Upon a Time in Transylvania

by Cameron A. Straughan

A blood-soaked, surrealistic saga set in the early 1900's. When two ruthless American businessmen bring the promise of progress to a small Transylvanian village, violence and greed follow close behind. The target of their ruthless ambition is the lifeblood of the inhabitants - the forest. When company employees meet horrible fates, local superstition becomes all too real. An army of heavily armed bounty hunters is unleashed with two main targets: the Count, a vampire teetering on the last branch of his family tree, and Cedru - leader of the werewolves - whose ancient hunting grounds are under threat. As the violence escalates, the Count faces multiple threats including a century long feud with the werewolves, the return of his estranged wife and extinction beneath the march of capitalism. With the odds stacked high against him, the Count fights to save what he holds dearest in epic "Once Upon a Time in the West" fashion.

3 pages, ebook

First published August 25, 2014

About the author

Cameron A. Straughan is an award-winning writer. He was born in a small, conservative lake-side town whose motto was “don’t change anything” and its social machinations - and their impact upon him - would not be out of place in any given Morrissey lyric. A loner by nature, his endless hours spent fishing and exploring the local woods and waterways led him to a career as a fisheries biologist.

His career led him across Canada and down into New York – where he provided outdoor education for at-risk-youth. He slowly became more interested in the social and cultural aspects of science – in particular science communication. This led him to pursue two additional degrees - a Master of Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Education. For his Master’s Degree, he made a documentary on Algonquin Park wolves. As a teacher, he taught secondary science and biology, and primary school, for 12 years in England. He now works as a STEM teacher in a Northern Ontario First Nations school.

His vivid dreams, fascination with surrealism, love of photography and film-making, and professional experience with both scientific and technical writing helped develop his unique, clean, matter-of-fact visual style – where the commonplace is juxtaposed with the fantastic.

His blog, “Trapped on a Rock Floating in Space”, is a perfect encapsulation of his view of life and his desire to reach out and share ideas with similar-minded individuals. The blog’s tagline sums him up well: “The singular adventures of a lone traveller drifting through time, searching for peace, comfort and meaning.”