AoW: Anne Rice

Anne Rice. I'm sure most of you have heard of, if not read, her works. I've been a huge fan of her writing since I was a tiny tween, and I can honestly say that her books helped mold me into the bibliophile I am today.

I could have sworn sunlight
would kill me.

Most people know her for her groundbreaking Vampire Chronicles; one of the first to create the 'lovable' bloodsucker that so floods our bookstores now. She is an author where quality trumps quantity every time, never releasing more than a book a year and rarely even that frequently. Her books can always manage to sweep you into a world away; a world where you don't exist and you live every moment through the hero or heroine, even when they are so drastically different than you yourself are. While reading  you can't help but be what she wrote until you turn that last page, which can be a bit alarming; after all, her characters do, say, and want things that are, by definition, supernatural, so don't be surprised if you start calling your friends 'mon ami', get a slight aversion to sunlight and are uncharacteristically thirsty. If you haven't read any of her work and aren't a fan of horror/preternatural fiction, don't write her off quite yet. Anne has also put her stamp on a number of other genres, everything from historical fiction to Christian fiction and even an erotica series(oh my!).


It isn't just her writing that I am such a fan of. Mrs. Rice is a true role model; as an author, and as a strong woman. She stands firm with her beliefs no matter the controversy that may be behind them. I may not agree with everything she believes but I truly respect her. Check out her Facebook page sometime. She and her fans are always posting news articles of various topics, and she is great about adding her two cents whenever possible.


Now, Anne already has an auto-biography out there so I'm not going to go over her full life story for you. I will, however, tell you some of the more interesting points.

• Her given name is actually Howard, after her father. It wasn't until she started school that she ditched it and started going by 'Anne', a name she picked because it was pretty.
• Her mother was an alcoholic
• She married her high school sweetheart, poet (and painter) Stan Rice, having two children and 41 yrs together until his death of brain cancer 2002.
• Interview with the Vampire started life as a short story.
• Her first child, a daughter name Michele, died in 1972 at age five due to leukemia. A few months previous to her diagnoses Anne had a dream that her daughter was dying because there was "something wrong with her blood". Her character Claudia in Interview with the Vampire is said to have been created to help overcome the loss, since she rewrote the original short story into a bestselling novel while grieving.
• After this tragedy, Anne and Stan relied heavily on drinking; a habit they stopped when their son, Christopher, was born.
• Her father, Howard O'brien wrote a children's book called The Impulsive Imp. Anne has fond memories of her father reading chapters of this book to her and her sister as he wrote them.
• Alice Borchardt, her sister, was also a talented writer (and one of my favorites). Unfortunately she died in 2007.
• Writing is certainly a family occupation, because her son Christopher Rice is also a bestselling author, and is a contributor to the LGBT-related magazine, The Advocate.
• Anne is a diabetic, and has had two near death experiences.
• She considered herself an atheist for most of her adult life, having left religion behind when she turned 18. She returned to Catholicism in 1998, though she didn't agree with the church on several social issues. In 2002 Anne stop writing the Vampire Chronicles, instead dedicating her writing entirely to Christ.
• In 2010 Anne very publicly renounced her dedication to Christianity, though she remains committed to Christ, stating that:

"My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become." 

•  Anne lived in New Orleans until age 16, when she moved to Texas with her family. She didn't return to live there until 1988, and wrote The Witching Hour to celebrate her homecoming. New Orleans is the setting for many of her books, another fad she started in the genre (I can name at least 2 other Vamp authors who base their stories here).
• Anne moved to California in 2005 to be closer to her son, selling her Garden District home.

Clearly this remarkable woman has had more bumps in the road than anyone deserves, and those were just a few notes on the remarkable journey that has been her life. A true artist and storyteller, she is the Queen of Horror, but isn't limited to that. She's been a vocal advocate for many causes, including gay rights/equality, women rights, and the rights of children, especially when concerning persecution from traditional/outdated religious views. You don't have to agree with her views, but unlike so many famous (and not so famous) people who seem to only be occupied by their own lives, she tries to initiate change from the problems she sees in the world by keeping informed and informing others. She has earned my respect, and I hope yours as well.

Irrefutable proof that vampires sparkle burn in the sun.

To sum it all up, Anne Rice is the bee's knees. You either love her, or you just haven't read her work yet. Well, that may not be true, but to me she is an inspiration and anyone who doesn't think so... well you're weird. I mean, she wrote about vampires who suffered through the same issues we face: loneliness, morality, love, meaning of life, and religion back when it was taboo; she made them conscientious, romantic, and terrifying... and she did it all without a single sun-inspired sparkle!