Charlaine Harris: Possible Spin-off After Sookie

Charlaine Harris, author of the Southern Vampire series, tells Metro Spirit of Augusta, GA, about Sookie's journey, and her own. Ten years ago, she set out to write about a darker subject matter, like the supernatural, with her own comic twist. The result was Dead Until Dark, the first book about a telepathic waitress in rural Louisiana who falls in love with a vampire and has her world changed completely. It took a couple years to sell it, getting turned down many times, but as Charlaine says now, "I think it worked out OK." The success of the HBO series True Blood has certainly shined a light on Charlaine and increased the popularity of the books, but they were doing well even before:

"You know, my books were on the New York Times bestseller list before the show, so I think I would have been fine."

But she is quick to praise True Blood. She loves the show, even the storylines that are different from the way she wrote them. Charlaine speaks very highly of creator and executive producer Alan Ball. Not only did he understand what Sookie was about--a balance between "humor, violence, awakenings"--but he also is polite and considerate, a rare Hollywood quality that makes him great to work with. Charlaine has already committed to writing a 13th Sookie book, but beyond that she still isn't sure whether she would want to continue the universe by spinning off and exploring one of the other characters. She should know for sure by the time she finishes Book 11:

"I'll know by then if I'm ready to head towards the stable with Sookie or not. I've loved writing her adventures, but I don't want it to get stale."

As readers, there is that conflict between not wanting the stories to be over and wanting to know how it all ends! At least we have a few more years, at least, to look forward to! SOURCE: metrospirit.com (Photo credit: arkansaswriters.com)

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