Charlaine Harris has been a busy bee during her European Book Tour. While in the UK, Charlaine was interviewed by Brit television channel Sky TV to talk about her Sookie Stackhouse series, True Blood, the upcoming release of Dead in the Family, and the current popularity of vampires. In the first clip of the interview, Charlaine discussed her reasons for writing the Southern Vampire Mystery novels. She stated that she was at a crossroads in her writing career-having written more conventional mystery novels, she thought it would be fun to write mystery stories involving supernatural creatures, and add a "dash of explicit sex." However, Charlaine did not want to write from the vampire point of view, but rather thought it would be more entertaining to write from the perspective of a young woman trying to date a vampire and the problems she'd face. Regarding True Blood, Charlaine had nothing but glowing remarks to say about Alan Ball's direction with the show and treatment of the characters. Charlaine mentioned that she'd received many other offers to develop the books into a series; however, she admired Alan's work and it was a thrill for her that he wanted to work with the Sookie books. She trusted him and felt comfortable with him. For that matter, Charlaine remarked that she has enjoyed what Alan's creative team has cooked up to "amplify the characters and bring them forward." Charlaine was particularly envious of the creation of the character of Jessica, and said, "I wish I'd thought of that." As for casting, Charlaine stated that not only do they have to cast people who look good, but who can also act, and "Ball got 'em right." Charlaine was quick to mention that Chris Bauer who plays Bon Temps' police detective Andy Bellefleur looked exactly as she imagined the character in the book. Additionally, Kristin Bauer, who plays tough-as-nails Pam, is very close to the Pam from the novels and that both Chris and Kristin were fantastic casting choices! When asked about the next installment in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Dead in the Family, Charlaine commented that it's all about family - Sookie's "strange and extended family," Bill's family, and Eric's. It will be a complicated book and involves a lot of history. When discussing the rise in popularity of vampires in pop culture, Charlaine observed that in today's culture we worship youth and fitness - eternal perfection - which while unattainable to us mere humans, vampires can possess these qualities. Additionally, the economy has played a role in the type of entertainment people consume. Charlaine added that people traditionally turn to fantasy when there is an economic slump like the one that most of the world has been experiencing for the past couple of years. Inevitably, the question of how Charlaine's novels compare with other series such as Twilight and The Vampire Diaries came up. Charlaine offered that her books pre-date Stephenie Meyer's books, but more importantly, target a different kind of audience. Although she'd never read or watched The Vampire Diaries, Charlaine pointed out that the series, much like Laurel K. Hamilton's series, target different audiences as well. People can read all the different series and come away with different entertainment experiences. To watch the interview with Charlaine with Sky TV click here. To enter Sky TV's competition to win one of five signed sets of Charlaine's books click here. (Note: This promotion is open to all UK, Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Republic of Ireland residents only). SOURCE: SkyTV (Photo credit: charlaineharris.com) http://truebloodnet.com http://truebloodnet.com/community http://truebloodnet.com/forums
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