Recently, FearNet got to talk to Charlaine Harris about the remainder of her Southern Vampire Mysteries novels (the books that HBO’s True Blood are based on). She also talks about how much she likes the changes Alan Ball has made to her characters in his show.
While Harris feels there are certainly differences between her Sookieverse and Alan Ball’s, she appears to like what she sees. She believes that Ball simply emphasizes different aspects of the same world. And she is glad for this:
“It would bore me to tears if it were exactly like the books. And I hate to bored, ever. I have a really low boredom threshold.”
As for characters, she believes that Sookie is a lot angrier on TV than how she portrays the blonde waitress in her books. She surmises that this may be what makes her more attractive to the True Blood audience.
On the subject of characters, while we have heard Harris say before that she had wished that she had come up with the character of Jessica, since she enjoys watching her so much, FearNet asked if there were any characters she liked less on TV. While no names were mentioned by Harris, she did mention that she loved what Lafayette has become. Since he loses his life so early on in the books, she puts it down to Nelsan Ellis (the actor who plays Lafayette Reynolds) being so fabulous at what he does, as being the reason his character was saved in the TV series.
Charlaine Harris was also asked whether she thought the TV series, True Blood, was now affecting her story line for the remainder of the books. Since there are only two more to go, this was an interesting question, to which she replied:
“Not really so much because I’m so far ahead. But every now and then I wonder if I’m in danger of being confused between the two. Sometimes when I write characters, I think, ‘Wait a minute –- am I writing TV Sookie or book Sookie?’ Then I think, ‘Let’s get back to our roots and remember what we’re doing, young lady.’ So it is possible for me to be influenced I guess, but I didn’t think so until real recently. So I think it’s probably best I’m winding it up then, before I get really confused.” [Laughs.]
With the next book only months away from release, how many of you prefer the books over the TV series, or vice versa? Make sure you let us know your favorite!
Source: FearNet – Exclusive: Sookie Stackhouse Creator Charlaine Harris Talks ‘True Blood’
(Photo Credit: HBO, Inc.)
