The Vampire Hunter - Story Related Links
The following are links to sites I've found while doing research for this story. The list isn't exhaustive, since I've intentionally left out sites I think might give spoilers, but my hope is that there's enough here to let you figure out if the story is right for you (or give you something extra to read afterwards). However, I ask that you try not to infer too many specifics based on what you find on these sites. I write fiction, not fact, and will completely ignore reality if I think it'll make the story better.
The Links
Great jumping off point for research into the crime statistics of New York City, as well as how the police department works (number of patrol officers, training, etc.), which is what I based the VHA on.
I've only been to New York City a couple times (and I didn't go sight-seeing), so to get a feel for the environment when I first started writing TVH, I mostly had to rely on movies and Internet searches. In one such search, I found this site of photographs, which were way better than most I'd seen up to that point. Now, I tend to use the 360 View feature of MapQuest and Google Maps to see what is actually at any locations I might want to use (when it's available; it isn't always).
The Disaster Center - U.S. Crime Statistics for 1960 to 2009
U.S. DoJ/FBI - Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics
I used these sites to figure out a realistic murder rate for my vampire-infested world (if a predator population doesn't have a sufficient prey population, the predator dies out, hence the number of predators (vampires) depends on how many prey (humans) they can get away with killing). I looked for the highest recorded murder rate. I figured whatever it was is what humans will tolerate before they really do something about it. I found a lot of likely candidates hovering around the 80 murders per 100,000 people rate, but the highest was 111.9 (Gary, IN in 1995; 129 murders for a population of 115,269), which when extrapolated for a much larger population (say 9.5 million for a future NYC) produces a nice high body count of around 10,500/year. I'll just ignore the progress NYC has made in lowering their murder rate (5.6 in 2009; it was 30.65 in 1990). So anyway, these sites helped me figure that out (after I found statistics reported in news articles and forums, I used the sites to verify the info).
Just about any weapon or gear I mention in the story I found on these sites, with a few exceptions (mainly swords), though I have used other sites (for special items). These are just the most comprehensive. However, I haven't bought anything from them, so please don't take this as a recommendation.
Spectradome - The smallest GPS tracker in the world
This isn't exactly the item I based the GPS tracker on, but this is the site where I found similar ones, which convinced me the size I allude to in the story is realistic (the story does take place in the near future, after all, and everything keeps getting smaller).
International Armoring Corporation - Armor Specifications
I don't think it's explicitly stated in the current/old version, but in my rewrites, Dana drives an old black Hummer H2 that she's had rebuilt to be "damn near bomb proof" and this site is where I got my info. They even have a couple black Hummer H2's in their photo gallery (http://www.iacarmormax.com/gallery/photo/ - you'll have to click on the images to get to the Hummers).
This isn't the only site I've used to try to get a feel for what it would be like to stand between the paws of the Sphinx (as well as understand how close the pyramids are to the city of Cairo), but it's probably the best jumping off point I've found. If you click on the outline for "The Great Sphinx +" you'll see some great photos of the Sphinx.
The Pronunciation of Ancient Egyptian
This is an awesome little essay regarding what we do and do not know regarding the pronunciation of Ancient Egyptian. It even includes .wav files with examples of possible pronunciations.
Jim Loy's Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Egyptology Page
This site was my first introduction to learning to read hieroglyphs (still can't, but it's fun to practice). I still think it's the most comprehensive site out there regarding hieroglyphs. But here's a few more:
Egyptian Hieroglyphs on GreatScott.com - basic primer on hieroglyphs
Hieroglyphs.net's English-Egyptian Dictionary - look up a word and see how the Ancient Egyptians wrote/drew it
Pyramid Texts Online - Language Tools - fonts, sign lists, software, and more
Thaitsuki Nihonto - Japanese Sword References
Nicely detailed diagram of the parts of a katana using both Japanese and English terms. For even more info, visit the site the images appear to have originated from: The Japanese Sword Index (basically everything you ever wanted to know about Japanese swords). Another great image: Ninja Information Database.
The Art of Tsuka-maki by Thomas L. Buck, Ph.D.
Tsuka-maki is the art of wrapping the handle of a sword in Japan (the handle is called the tsuka). If you've ever wondered how the diamond pattern is created on the handle of a katana, this will explain it to you in full detail. And here's another great drawing of a 'deconstruction' of the handle and its parts: Sword Terminology (the rest of the site is awesome, as well).
Chinese Symbols Clip-art Collection
The site name is a little misleading. It's basically a place to look up a word in English and find the kanji for it. And even though it says it's for Chinese, I've checked with an online Japanese dictionary (see below), and the symbols are pretty much the same. The symbols just look way better on this site. Anyway, Dana's scabbard has the kanji symbols for the Bushido code on it and this is where I found what they look like (along with other important words, like 'vampire', which apparently translates as 'suck, blood, ghost').
Mostly just use it to double-check there isn't something wrong with what I find on the previous site.