Charlaine Harris

Charlaine, I want to take a moment to congratulate you on your success. I have to say I feel very privileged to be doing this interview with you and celebrate your newest book ALL TOGETHER DEAD.

I wish my children felt that lucky to talk to me. They would pay me to shut up.

1. What made you decide to become an author?
That's all I've ever wanted to be. Really. From the time I could hold a pencil.

2. How long have you been writing?
Since I could spell. Probably since the fourth grade.

3. What was your first book?
SWEET AND DEADLY, a mystery that came out 26 years ago. It's back in print now. If you read it you can certainly track my growth and maturity as a writer . . . I hope.

4. How do you come your with your characters? Which is your favorite character or characters to write about?
My characters are usually built around function. I need a character to serve a specific purpose, so I form the character around that need. I enjoy writing about all my characters, but I especially enjoy Pam.

5. What do you like to do in your spare time?
What spare time? No, I thought you might have some you could loan me. When I'm not busy working, watching my daughter play softball, cooking, doing laundry, or worrying about my sons (since they've left home, that's all I can do for them), I read.

6. Do you have a set schedule when you write or do you write when you are feel the need?
I write every morning from about seven-thirty to about eleven-thirty, and then I work a little most afternoons, too.

7. How did you come up with Sookie and the men in her life?
Pretty much as I said above. The concept of Sookie began with the nubbin of an idea -- a young woman who dated a vampire -- and everything built from that.

8. How long did it take you to get your first book published from the time you finished it?
Not long; I had a contract within maybe six months or so.

9. How did you go about choosing your publisher?
I sent the book to the publisher my creative writing teacher recommended. She was a former employee of Houghton Mifflin. They took the book.

10. Do you feel a calling toward a specific genre or style of writing?
I prefer genre writing to mainstream fiction. Mysteries and Science Fiction are my favorites. I like to write in the first person, though that's not a given.

11. Is the new blood tie between Eric and Sookie in ALL TOGETHER DEAD going to play even more havoc in their lives?
Oh, by all means.

12. How do you feel about the True Blood HBO series? Do you have any comments you would like to make about it?
I'm very happy that a major talent like Alan Ball is in charge. I'm looking forward to seeing it. Of course, it won't follow the plot and characters of the books in every detail. It will be its own thing. I'm very excited.

13. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Please keep reading my books!

I want to thank you again for your time today and hope to see more work from you in the near future. Thank you for choosing Enchanting Reviews.

Interviewed by Dee
July 2007