Charlaine Harris In SciFiNow Magazine

In my Day 2 of my fangalicious FangAThon posts, I figured I’d focus once more on the Southern Vampire Mysteries, but this could be based on True Blood as well! I guess you get a 2-4-1 deal this time ’round!

Charlaine Harris was featured in the latest issue of  the UK magazine, SciFi Now. In the interview, she revealed some very interesting things about the Sookie series and Alan Ball, which you might find extremely interesting after reading her answers!

Below, are only some highlights from the interview!

Is there a book in the series you’re most proud of?

I really enjoyed All Together Dead when the hotel collapses. That was a lot of fun to write because Sookie wasn’t in her comfort zone, and I enjoyed doing all the research for it. I had to talk to a lot of people about construction, elevator shafts, roof angles, the thickness of safety glass and so on, stuff that I never thought I’d need to know! Even though there were a few plot holes, it was still a good book to write, and I thought it achieved what I wanted it to.

How has Sookie developed throughout the series?

I think Sookie has matured a lot. She has had to do some terrible things, and that has changed her. She’s gotten somewhat harder, but she’s still determined to do the right thing if she can.

We hear you wrote a death scene for Bill during Dead And Gone (in the hospital during the Fae War) but abandoned it?

If Alan Ball had kept his mouth shut, no one would have ever known about it. I was talking to him about that one-on-one, and he just turned around and said it at a press conference. When I heard it I went “Oh no! Why did you do that?!” I’d only thought about doing it, and then I thought “No, that’s just not right. That really isn’t the arc that I had created for him.” So I took it and put in the right material. I didn’t know where the characters would be in the middle of the series, but I pretty much knew how they would end up.

Can you tell us how Bill died?

I don’t even want to get into it because every time I think about it, I get mad at Alan. We’ve had such a great relationship, and that’s the only time I’ve ever gotten peeved at him. I keep things under wraps now! No one knows how the books are going to end up except me and my assistant.

Do you read feedback from readers on the internet?

I try and stay away from it because even though I like to hear what readers think, it’s not going to change my decisions. I think the TV series has had an influence over how people want it to end, because some readers are really in love with the TV depiction, and that may not match the characters that I actually wrote.

Are they leaning more towards Bill or Eric at the moment?

Why limit it to just Bill and Eric? It could be neither, or it could be nobody!

Have you started the last book yet (due out 2013)?

I’m way into the last book; I’ve got to turn it in in July. It’s been fun so far because that’s my job; to have fun, and it’s interesting trying to pull together all the threads and make it better than the last book – that’s always my goal. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t, but I always try.

If you would like to check out the full interview, please click on the scans below for larger view.

This interview is very interesting…isn’t it?  I guess the relationship between Charlaine and Alan Ball isn’t as happy as we once thought…? I really don’t blame her…most writers don’t want their “secrets” revealed to the general public until they choose to make them known.  The fact Alan Ball dropped one of her “bombshells”  without permission and forewarning – is proof that he really doesn’t understand the way things really are.

Here’s my thoughts on what she said about the questions I quoted above.

1. I think All Together Dead was one of my favorite books in the series too. I loved the Rhodes explosion! It’s interesting to find out she did research on the technical aspects of the bombing.
2. I definitely think the series is mostly about the character growth and maturity of Sookie Stackhouse.
3. What I find interesting about her comments on the re-write of Bill’s death (other than her comments about Alan Ball) is the fact she mentions, “I didn’t know where the characters would be in the middle of the series, but I pretty much knew how they would end up.” This makes me think that Bill will for sure die at the end of the series, but because Dead And Gone was in the middle, she didn’t want the character to die in that particular book.
4. I’m relieved she thinks reader reactions won’t make a difference to her writing decisions. That’s good news for us, right? Except when we tell her we want Eric and Sookie to end up together. I guess we can’t change what happens either way, but I’m still confident that we don’t have anything to worry about.
5. Don’t be worried by the next answer to the question right below the one up above. She’s only playing ‘coy’. She has to keep everyone guessing.
6. She’ll have Dead Ever After finished in July? This makes me really excited!

That’s it for another day and another post in the 2012 FangAThon! Expect one devoted to True Blood tomorrow!

What are your thoughts? Please share them below!

Special thanks to LuvTheViking for the scans and the Sookieverseblog for the head’s up!