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Will Hill
Will Hill spends a lot of his time in California but he grew up around the North East of England, moving from Skegness to Gateshead to Tynemouth. The area is steeped in vampire mythology, irresistible to the young Will. Mr. Hill is a former publishing professional who lives in England. Department 19 is his first novel. Learn more about it at the Department 19 website.
Department 19
Department 19 — (2011-2013) Young adult. Publisher: Jamie Carpenter’s life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein. Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula. Aided by Frankenstein’s monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire. Department 19 takes us through history, across Europe, and beyond — from the cobbled streets of Victorian London to prohibition-era New York, from the icy wastes of Arctic Russia to the treacherous mountains of Transylvania. Part modern thriller, part classic horror, it’s packed with mystery, mayhem, and a level of suspense that makes a Darren Shan novel look like a romantic comedy.
Department Nineteen, by Will Hill, is the beginning to a new young adult series involving a top-secret organization dedicated to destroying the vampires that have infiltrated society, along with the rare but occasional monster. It’s a kind of James Bond/Alex Rider meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, fast-paced, action-filled coming of age story with some flaws — a few implausible moments, some predictability — but a strong backstory, a likable main character, and its fast pace will more than make up for those flaws with its young adult audience.
The deep, historical premise of the book is that Bram Stoker’s Dracula was not an imaginative novel, but a mildly fictionalized true-life account (as was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but more on that later). The basic plot actuall... Read More
I'd love to see a transcript of this as I'd guess we're missing the nuances of the discussion. Of course one writes "the Other," if by "Other" one means not oneself. Even a white guy writing about a white guy is likely to be writing about an "Other"--one's married, one's single; one's a liberal, one […]
In my non-SFF reading, I recently finished "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" by Katherine Boo. It's an excellent narrative non-fiction account of life in an Mumbai slum, but written by a white American woman. As I read, I couldn't help but wonder how the story might be different if written by an Indian. But unless you're writing either […]
Of course there is always the danger that people will purposefully or unwittingly disparage or propagate stereotypes and that is definitely not something that is good in any way. But, if you don't explore you'll never expand your knowledge. I think that exploring the other should be done with eyes wide open and with thoughtful research. But you can […]
One concern the panelists had was about bad writing of the other; that stereotypical writing is worse than not reaching out at all. There's also a concern that people unconsciously (or consciously) write the alien, the other, in a way to support their own belief systems. What do you think? […]
I have to agree with Marion. Even when an author writes human characters they are writting something other than themselves. Any fiction is going to be based on the writers experiences and imagination. […]
Stormbreaker: What more can you want?: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
You're never too young to die...
After a friend recommended the Alex Rider books, and the movie adaptation pricked my interest, I settled down with Stormbreaker,...
Horrible Monday: I Travel by Night by Robert McCammon: I Travel By Night by Robert McCammon
Trevor Lawson is a vampire, made by a scavenger on a Civil War battlefield. Now, more than 20 years since he was turned, he continues to fight his nature as har...
Once Upon a Winter’s Night: We don't need this anymore: Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis L. McKiernan
have a thing for retold fairy tales. There was a time when I had even more of a thing for retold fairy tales. I was obsessed. I combed bookstores f...
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Will Hill spends a lot of his time in California but he grew up around the North East of England, moving from Skegness to Gateshead to Tynemouth. The area is steeped in vampire mythology, irresistible to the young Will. Mr. Hill is a former publishing professional who lives in England. Department 19 is his first novel. Learn more about it at the 
Department 19 by Will Hill
Stormbreaker: What more can you want?
Horrible Monday: I Travel by Night by Robert McCammon
Once Upon a Winter’s Night: We don't need this anymore
