WARNING: she mentions some spoilers about the next novel, Deadlocked – please read at your own risk!
Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
How far into the thirteenth Stackhouse novel are you?
Zero! [Laughs.] That’s my next project. When I get home I have to go over the copy-edited pages of Sookie 12, which will be out in May. That will freshen up my memory about what I need to do in Sookie 13, to tie everything together. A seemingly impossible task.
I’m sure you’ve been asked this before, but could you talk about what the twelfth novel will involve?
It’s called Deadlocked. It’s another extension of her adventures, moving a step forward to resolve many of the issues that are brought up in previous books. She gets kidnapped – you know, the usual mayhem. She gets kidnapped, she has to get out of it. The Fey entry into her life is pretty much wrapped up. She learns a lot more about everything really. She learns a lot in this book, the truth. So it was a challenging book to write, and I tried to keep it on track more as a mystery. But there are just so many loose ends to tie up, it’s just incredible. [Laughs.]
Wow, the Fey are OVER? I wonder how that comes about? And what truth is she speaking of?
Even though Sookie is a mature woman, do you view the entire series, on one level, as a coming-of-age story?
The growth of her character is definitely a major part of the novels, but I wouldn’t call it coming-of-age. She’s a twenty-six year-old woman. But she certainly becomes worldlier, more aware of the other worlds around her. She’s always known what human nature was like, because she’s telepathic. Which is kind of a bitter pill to swallow. But she learns how to live with a lot of things, and what she can’t live with.
Hmmm…not sure of that last sentence. What do you think?
The Stackhouse books are, as billed, mysteries. But you blend other genres into them. Without sounding too clinical, is there an unofficial recipe for much of each genre you add to the mix?
Not really, because it varies from book to book.
So it’s what the story calls for?
Some books are quite romantic. Some books are all about the mystery. Some books are just adventure, because Sookie’s moving forward with her life and it’s really complicated. Things happen in the werewolf world, the vampire world, the Fey world that impact her directly. So it’s just an adventure getting through her day. [Laughs.]
Do you never really know what the genre will be until you begin the book?
That’s true. I just see where the story takes me and go with that.
Do you not use an outline when you write?
Well, that might be stretching it a bit. But as long as I’ve got my basic characters, I just set them in motion and we just see what happens.
Wait a minute…did she say what I thought she said? It sounds like her stories just ‘come to her’ as she writes. It kind of answers her ‘continuity issues’, doesn’t it?
You can read some more of her thoughts about True Blood, her graphic novel Cemetery Girl and more here!
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