Charlaine Harris, author of the Southern Vampire series of books, sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the end of Sookie’s story. ‘Dead Ever After’ is the 13th, and final book in the series that inspired HBO’s True Blood, and Ms. Harris says this is the conclusion she had always planned to write. Despite reader complaints or requests, Ms. Harris remained true to her own vision of the universe she created.
While Ms. Harris enjoyed the world she built around the town of Bon Temp, Louisiana, she feels that she has told all of Sookie’s story there is to tell. While she received much reader feedback, Ms. Harris knows her characters best and remained true to her vision. She is very excited to be moving on to new projects now.
“I’m sorry, this is the universe I’m the queen of. The readers can get pretty angry and tell me I’m writing the characters wrong. I hardly see how that could be possible. They’re my characters!”
Eric is a Fully Developed Character and Ms. Harris Loves How True Blood is Different from Her Novels
When asked about the sometimes angry reaction to how she has occasionally written the character of Eric, Ms. Harris responds that she believes she created a fully developed character, with both good and bad traits. Readers don’t always react well when one of Eric’s less attractive traits plays into the story she is telling.
Ms. Harris enjoys the True Blood series, especially in the way it differs from her books. She admires the writers of the show, and doesn’t believe she could ever successfully write a script for True Blood.
“But at the same time, True Blood gives you the same characters in a completely new environment.”
As far as future projects go, Ms. Harris has begun a brand new series. She has also written a graphic novel with Christopher Golden that is due to be released in December of this year. Currently, she is working on another anthology with Toni Kelner, and is editing a number of stories. As for what type of project Ms. Harris would like to work on if she had the chance, she would like to have one of her books made into a movie. Having learned how television works, that seems to be a logical next step.
For fans of the original books that inspired the series, True Blood, ‘Dead Ever After’ releases May 7th.
Source: Entertainment Weekly