I was really excited to see that one of our favorite bloggers had posted her thoughts on Charlaine Harris’s interview with the Orlando Sentinel, which we posted here last week.
I thought you might enjoy reading what she had to say about it.
Here’s a glimpse (and some of my favorite quotes) from her post;
Did the success of the TV show take her book sales to new heights? OF COURSE it did. This happens to ANY book series that is adapted into a movie or TV show.
I have NO problem with people that like a certain character or story arc on the TV show and, when they find out that characterization is not present in the source material, decide not to read the books. However, I DO have a problem when people decide to trash novels they have not read and make crap up that makes no sense whatsoever.
Believe it or not, people DO trash the novels, mostly because of what they heard about them. They take the word of someone who ‘claims’ to have read the books, instead of finding out for themselves. They state things that happen in the books as FACTS, even though they haven’t read them. Does this sound familiar?
This is not to say that there is not suitor discussion, and panic attacks, amongst book readers. I think a large reason this exists is because of Alan Ball’s revelation at Paley in 2009 that Harris had to be talked out of killing Bill in Dead&Gone. I think Ball’s comments led to the perception that Harris can let events in the TV show influence her writing.
Harris has long said, and she reiterated in this interview, that she has known how the series will end since about the second book. However, there is a BIG difference between knowing how the series will end and knowing the exact path you are going to take to get to the end.
True, when Alan Ball revealed this at Paley…it was one of the most talked about topics of conversation. It’s not that Charlaine changed the overall plot of the story, or who Sookie’s HEA will be – she just changed something minor in comparison to the rest of the story. What this means is…Bill is really a minor part of the story.
“I don’t write Anna Paquin, I write Sookie Stackhouse.”
This quote got the biggest smile from me. I can’t count the number of times I have tried to sit down and write ALL my frustrations with TB Sookie and have stopped because it is simply too damn depressing.
It’s very disappointing and depressing for a lot of people…she’s not alone in this. And this quote from the interview made many of us very happy, and reassured us that Charlaine may not be able to say how she really feels…but she is fully aware of it, and understands our frustrations.
If you would like to read the rest of her thoughts, please click on the link below.
TB Rants & Raves: Will the Maker of the Real Sookie Stackhouse Please Stand Up
Thanks TB Rants & Raves! You brought up many great points that needed to be said!
What are your thoughts? Share them below, and/or over at her blog!
