Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris' new Sookie Stackhouse novel is Dead in the Family.

From her Q & A with Deborah Solomon:

Why do you think vampires are omnipresent in popular culture?

People are really interested in the concept of eternal youth in this plastic-surgery culture. Vampires never die.

But they do evolve. How has the typical vampire changed since 1897, when Bram Stoker created Count Dracula, a blood-drinking Transylvanian aristocrat?

Oh, my gosh. My vampires are trying desperately to be contemporary so they can blend in. They have an alternative food source, which has emboldened them to try to join mainstream society. Synthetic blood, created by a Japanese company, satisfies their nutritional needs.

I suppose that’s social progress. At least your vampires can’t be described as misogynists who prey on defenseless women.

Well, mine are more sympathetic than Dracula. He had disgusting personal habits. He...[read on]

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Charlaine Harris & Scrunch, Rocky, and Oscar.

--Marshal Zeringue