Can you tell us a bit about how the Southern Vampire Mysteries were optioned and eventually turned into a TV series?
A producer had an option on the books. When his option was about to expire, my agent told me there were three offers on the table. There were pros and cons to each offer, but when I found one was from Alan Ball, I was intensely happy. He is such a great talent, and I knew from watching Six Feet Under that he totally got the mixture of humor and horror that is life – at least, life as I know it. I was sure he would do the books justice.
What has your personal response been to how Sookie and the rest of the Southern Vampire characters have translated to screen?
Sometimes I have the impulse to cover my eyes, since the sex is more explicit on screen than it is in the books. But I am so pleased with Anna’s portrayal of Sookie, and all the other characters are just amazing. Of course, Alan had to flesh out the stories of the other characters, since the books focus on Sookie, but I love the feeling that even I don’t know what’s going to happen next.
Do you consider yourself a plot, or character-driven author?
Character. I never know what the plot will be until I turn on my computer. That’s both my strength and my weakness.
You're having a dinner party! If you could invite any three authors, alive or dead, who would they be and what would you ask them?
Gack. I know so many writers, this is really, really, hard to answer. Okay, I’m going to cheat. If I could invite only live women writers, I’d have my friends Toni L.P. Kelner, Dana Cameron, and Elaine Viets. Live male writers – oh, gosh. Steve Brewer, Harlan Coben, and Jeff Abbott.
Dead writers. Jane Austen, of course. Charles Dickens, because I bet he’d be a lot of fun. I don’t think Poe would be a great dinner companion, so I’d leave him out. I’d ask Mark Twain, I think.
What do you always have in your fridge?
Milk. Tomatoes. Lettuce. Yogurt. The usual stuff. Nothing exotic about our food tastes.
Do you consider writing a peculiar way of earning a living?
Yes, and that’s one reason I love it. When my kids were little, they would never tell people I wrote, because it was different. My oldest son told his teacher I was a house cleaner.
What are some of the most-asked questions you receive from fans?
Where do you get your inspiration? (I HATE that question.) Where do you get your ideas? Where does the name ‘Sookie’ come from? (Old southern nickname.) Will you tell us who Sookie will end up with?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
What are you currently working on?
Right now I’m working on a Sookie short story for Toni and mine’s next anthology, DEATH’S EXCELLENT VACATION. I just finished a short story for a Mystery Writers of America anthology. Next, I’ll write the next Sookie, then I’ll work on a novella for the Sookie companion book. Then I’m going to write something completely different.
Are you superstitious? Isn't this a disposition that comes naturally to those living in the Deep South?
You know, it’s not the first time I’ve been asked that, and it was news to me that people from the South had a reputation for being superstitious. No, I’m really no more superstitious than a woman from Michigan, say, or Oregon. Or Australia.
Why is writing important—to you and to the world out there?
Writing is important because people need to read. It’s awful to me that more people don’t read regularly. I really don’t understand how they can get through their day, and I’m quite sincere. It’s a mystery to me what people do if they don’t read. How do they fill in the cracks in their day? Stare into space?
Writing is important to me because it’s the way I exorcise my demons, or at least give them a good workout! Mystery writers are very genial because they get to kill people any time they want to, and horror writers are the goofiest people you could hope to meet. They work it out through their writing. I wish more people did that!
Read the first part of the interview HERE
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