Interview: Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris is a hard-working author who has found amazing success with her 'Sookie Stackhouse' series of paranormal fiction novels. So successful, in fact, that she is one of the leading lights of today's bestselling paranormal fiction authors and her books have been the inspiration for the hit new TV series True Blood (starring Anna Paquin). Charlaine Harris is continuing to find success with her latest 'Harper Connelly' paranormal mystery series.

Charlaine generously took a break from her schedule to speak to HorrorScope Managing Editor Shane Jiraiya Cummings for this interview.

HorrorScope: The Sookie Stackhouse books have been amazingly successful. Did you foresee this success - and in a broader sense, the success of paranormal fiction in general?
Charlaine Harris: No, I never imagined this level of success would come my way. Of course, after 26 years in the field, it’s very welcome. I’m delighted I was in the vanguard of the paranormal fiction parade. I’m only surprised it took this long for the sub-genre to become popular. It’s so much fun to write and to read.

HS: Have we seen the pinnacle of the paranormal fiction genre or is the best yet to come?
CH: I am no trend predictor, so I don’t know. Probably there’ll be some other popular fiction movement that’ll attract many of the authors who like to write what’s current, and once they’ve gone somewhere else, there’ll be a solid core of paranormal writers left standing. That could happen, right?

HS: What do you think makes the Sookie books so popular?
CH: If I knew, I would have done it long ago. Seriously, I think I just wrote the right thing at the right time, for once. The “beauty part” is that now all my old stuff is selling much better than it did when it was first published.

HS: Similarly, True Blood has become HBO's most popular series since The Sopranos and Sex and the City. Have you had much creative input into the show? Has the show's depiction of your characters and storylines met your expectations?
CH: My creative input is confined to my writing the books the show is based on. And that’s as it should be. Alan (Ball) doesn’t tell me how to write my books; I don’t tell him how to write the television series. In some ways, True Blood has exceeded my expectations. It’s so visually rich and exciting, and Alan has such talent for picking the right actor for the right role. It’s fun to find even I can be surprised at the twists and turns in the story lines involving the side characters.

HS: Which writers have influenced your work, especially the Sookie and Harper Connelly series?
CH: There have been so many. I have to say mystery writer Elizabeth Peters was a huge influence, since she’s a great example of a writer who can combine humor with excellent writing. I also admire writers who can do vastly different things very well, like Barbara Hambly, Connie Willis, Neil Gaiman, and the late, great, Shirley Jackson.

HS: Sookie or Harper - who is your favourite?
CH: When I’m writing Harper, Sookie is my favourite. When I’m writing Sookie, I love Harper.

HS: Which series would you recommend as an introduction to readers new to your work?
CH: If readers are coming from a straight mystery background, probably Harper would be the better choice. But so many people who never read other vampire books still enjoy Sookie, because she’s funny ... just depends on your tolerance level, I guess.

HS: Is there a book you have read by another author that made you think 'I wish I had written that!'?
CH: Oh, gosh, yes. Oddly enough, “Jurassic Park” was one such book, because the idea of dinosaurs in the here and now was just perfect.

HS: There was a recent media spat with Stephen King accusing Stephanie Meyer of being a poor writer. Do you think books can become popular successes without being well written?
CH: I think we ALL know that books can become popular successes without being well written. You don’t have to be a great writer to be a bestseller; you have to be a great storyteller, and those are (or can be) two different things. Of course, I can think of a dozen examples, and so can you. But since I’m not Stephen King, I think I’ll keep my mouth shut.

HS: What advice would you give aspiring writers of paranormal fiction?
CH: Read. Write. There’s no substitute for those two essential activities. Many people spend so much time dreaming about the book they’ll write someday that they never put the work into actually writing it. Also, some people just don’t furnish their mind with the necessary equipment to write, and you acquire that by reading.

HS: What lies in store for you after Sookie Stackhouse?
CH: I really wish I could tell you. I have a few more Sookies in me, I think. I’ll come up with something else, and maybe it’ll be even more fun.