Audiobook:
Posted 1/26/10
Dear Anne,
I am writing to you because I wanted to tell you that Angel Time is one of the best novels I have ever read. Toby O'Dare is an extraordinary character, and his spiritual journey can only leave one speechless and in amazement. What strikes you about Toby from the beginning is his clarity of mind, the painful, lucid manner in which he scrutinizes himself, and this makes him similar to Dostoyevsky's character Raskolnikov. He never tries to lie to himself about what he does, or to accept the false consolation that The Right Man gives him, when he tells him that he is working for the good guys. What I love about Toby is exactly what Malchiah sees in him: "a bright and shining goodness that nothing could completely efface, a great glowing sense of right and wrong that had never been forfeit to the lie" And of course, Malchiah's apparition is as wondrous to me as a reader, as it is to Toby himself. I for one, would have found it difficult to believe that an angel could enter one's life and offer salvation when one least expects it, and yet in reading about Malchiah a sense of the miraculous overcame me. Every word he says to Toby inspires faith and hope, and I think there has never been a more appropriate description of an angel than the one you gave Malchiah .
Before ending this email I just want to thank you for writing this book that has given me hope above all, and has made me meditate on things that I often avoid thinking about. I can't wait for the second book of the series.
Your admirer always and forever,
Roxana
Posted 1/22/10
Hi Anne,
You can publish this letter if you want.
First I want to give thanks for the opportunity you have give all your fans to give feedback about your books.
Angel Time is a GREAT BOOK.
I have always liked your books, and the way you present the stories. For me your books always have a main theme and a second theme, usually very deep. Angel Time is one of those books with a main theme: Redemption/Salvation. But a second theme could be found if the book is analyzed. For me, the second theme is God Loves You No Matter what Religion You Believe.
Other themes found could be: Justice vs. Unjustice, Faith, Beauty in the heart, Fair.
I looked on the internet information about Norwich, and I found Brilliant your idea on how bringing justice to two people could save a lot other.
Hope to read another great story from you soon.
Gladys Figarella
Posted 1/22/10
Good day Anne,
I just wanted to take a few moments and let you know my thoughts on Angel Time. I finished reading the novel this morning and fell in love with the story. I thought you did a tremendous job of bringing in the past and present to in order to change a character's path. While I have been a fan of yours I was not expecting anything less than greatness from the novel. And you did not disappoint, you have such a way with words that I only can hope to be as articulate as you some day. Being a new writer I find myself constantly struggling with the words. Throughout the reading of Angel Time, I noticed my almost immediate compassion for Toby and what the character had to endure. While the death of his family was very hard to read it deemednecessary to progress his character and gave validation for what was to come. I especially liked your lines about Jezebel due to the fact while in church yesterday the Pastor specifically spoke of her and it was fresh on my mind. The novel made me laugh and cry and most importantly think. Keep up the great work (which you don't need me to tell you that) and I look forward to reading your next work.
Thank you and many blessings to you and your family,
LeChelle Smith
Posted 1/22/10
Dear Anne, you may not remember our past exchanges or me, surely your fan base is large enough to render such correspondences inconsequential, still I thank you for your past kindness. This is one more impudent request for your indulgence of time.
I have just finished reading “Angel Time” and I could not help but feel you wrote in metaphor and that the salvation found was yours alone. Perhaps I read too much into a simple and yet more modern allegory then you intended, but then what author does not betray themselves in their writings? I can understand the pride you feel in your body of work, and understand that you feel a new direction and
impetus for a higher calling then simple story telling. But then, you never truly wrote simple stories did you? You wrote of goodness and of a possible goodness even among the godless, a god you doubted at certain points and, if I read this story correctly, were at odds with on many counts. I could not help but notice the line where you mention that the truly faithful can often be seen as simple. In a world where logic is the knifes edge to the blade of intellect, faith cannot compete.
I am not among the faithful nor am I believer in what I perceive as nothing more than early mythos wrapped in vary colored packaging. Never the less, I truly understand the desire for salvation and higher destiny then my own limited intelligence is able to supply. Perhaps it is from my own protestant fundamentalist background, or maybe from my journey from faith into the darkness of self-despair which engendered a life of anger and often violence. I will admit to being drawn to your solitary killers who are not evil in and of themselves yet monsters they are mostassuredly. My own evils are not nearly a large when weighted against your characters seeking to redeem themselves, but irrevocable and unchangeable they remain just the same.
I did not miss the point that redemption is not for other humans to grant and pardon unto grace is the province of god. That is an old evangelism is it not? I am sure that even now you receive missives from the faithful who laud your turning away from your past fictions for a more wholesome and lets face it apologetics for the faith most
Christian. I am also sure that your earlier devotes of your Vampires and creatures of libido and hunger find your transition less than appealing. But you are no longer so concerned with mere human accolades it would seem, and that gives you the power your writing has almost always had, courage.
Do you feel redeemed? That was a silly question, of course you do, you have started a new and quieter character out who is freed from himself and unambiguously bound himself over to the Lord. Once again perhaps I read more into your latest work then you intended and thereby misseverything yet I feel as if that is not the case. I have enjoyed you and your art for sometime now and I have watched you work through your spiritual quest through specters and other ageless characters to rotate back to the faith of your youth. Thus, I am not surprised nor repelled at your latest turn of works as it seems you maybe happiernow then you have been in a very long time. I truly hope this is so.
May peace be your reward and a quiet heart your inner Eden.
Sincerely, Tucker
Posted 1/12/10
Hi Anne.
I have finished reading Angel Time. I know you don't have to be a Christian, or believe in God, to enjoy this book, but I felt it was all the richer because of my belief..
I have never really thought about angels, but I am coming across the subject increasingly. I was watching Joyce Meyer, and she said that one man, who went to hear her speak, along with his wife, broke down and wept half way through. When his wife asked him why he was sobbing, he asked her, couldn't she see the tall figures in white who surrounded Joyce on the stage - at first he had thought they were the choir!
In your book, you paint it so beautifully. I especially loved the part when Toby rises from the earth, and hears such beautiful singing and sees the active messengers of God. Then he hears the chorus of whispers, which is prayer rising up from the earth. I often think about that when I pray. There is an old hymn which we have in the UK, with a line in it that goes: 'the voice of prayer is never silent,' and that passage made me think of it again.
I loved the story of Lea and Rosa. I didn't expect to love or care for those characters, but I did. I live near to Lincoln, and you have sparked my interest about the Jews in this area.
But by far the best passage in your book, for me, was the following: 'That's the glory of it; thousands of years have passed, and yet you can follow Him so close!' That's the one great truth. That we can reach out and touch Him.
Thank you for another wonderful book. What a blessing! Alison
Posted 1/12/10
Dear Anne,
You told me that you feel "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana" is the best thing you've written. I read that, and followed it with "Angel Time". For me, "Angel Time" might be the best thing you've ever written!
The entire theme of "Angel Time" captures with such tenderness and yearning that need and hope for perfect love and heavenly intervention in human affairs. To be reconciled with God, to call upon one's guardian angel and have him appear, to take part in events that alter history and to know one has acted (for once) entirely for the
good...who doesn't long for these things?
To have captured it all in a work of fiction that leaves the reader feeling an emotional echo of the best things that might be possible in a well-lived life...well, I can't imagine a better book that this!
I hope the affairs of angels in the world of men becomes a regular theme of your work. If ever the world needed to be reminded of hope and the ability to reconcile with God, it's in our time, now.
Thanks again for your wonderful gifts shared in your books,
Barb Healy
Posted 1/12/10
Dear Anne,
I have finished reading Angel Time and would like to mention in light of recent discussions and comments on your Facebook page, that this is a novel which can be enjoyed by any reader, whether Christian, Pagan, Jewish or Buddhist. And especially by any Anne Rice fan.
Angel Time was every bit as entertaining and beautifully written as The Vampire Lestat or Memnoch the Devil. In fact I was reminded of both while reading it. The relationship between Malchiah and Toby was very reminiscent of Memnoch and Lestat’s, while your Paris of the Middle Ages recalled Lestat’s youth. Toby O’Dare has much in common with Lestat: “Despair might be the name he sang to himself about what he did, but a deep, polished vanity lay beneath it.”
Just as I was never inclined to label your earlier work as “atheist” novels, I see no need to define Angel Time as Christian. It’s an Anne Rice novel – no further definition is necessary.
Your trademark mastery of detail, unhurried description and remarkable specificity of language are all wrapped up in a lovely story about a man coming to terms with his mistakes in life and being offered a choice to change his path. Yes, the Christian elements and themes are there (as they always were), but as with all your work you offer ideas for reflection, not dogma hurled from a pulpit. I loved Toby’s journey to redemption and his conclusions about the mysteries of evil.
Again, you’ve created characters fully committed to their individual beliefs and choices. I especially love Godwin and the detailed description of his Dominican life in Paris. I shared Toby’s awe of his surroundings and noted it’s “remote yet familiar time”. Angel Time felt more like the Vampire Chronicles for it’s sense of supernatural adventure, and has an utterly distinct tone and essence from the Christ the Lord series. While there is a comforting familiarity that distinguishes an Anne Rice novel, each one has it’s own unique voice and defies labelling of any kind (much like your fans). That’s why I continue to read, discuss and discover each new world you create.
Thank you for your rare gifts of darkness pierced by light.
Much love,
Amy Starkey
Posted 1/6/10
Anne,
I want to tell you that all of your books have entertained and enlightened me over the years. None have touched me as much as Angel Time. I grew up a child of an alcoholic mother. Your portrayal of Toby's plight to make up forwhat his mother could not be, and mask her ugly addiction from his brother and sister mimicked my own life in such a way that I felt as though I was witnessing my own struggle on the page in front of me. You wrote this as though you experienced the life of a child who was raised by an alcoholic parent. If you suffered through that life as many of us have done, I am sorry that you too had to go through that. If you have never actually witnessed the life we/these children go through, you have captured it on paper remarkably well.
Toby's feelings toward his mother were the exact feelings that every child of an alcoholic parent, there is even a syndrome named for those of us who have gone down that road and emerged scathed but alive. It is called Adult Children of Alcoholic syndrome. Children of alcoholics all tend to have the same personality traits such as, low
self esteem, over achievers, people pleasers, obsessive compulsive disorder, manic depression, etc. The list goes on and on. A child will love his/her parent unconditionally no matter the circumstance. Alcoholic parents, like you portrayed Toby's mom, will inflict physical and emotional abuse on their own children with relentless rage all due to the venom disguised as a liquor that flows in their blood. Adult Children of Alcoholics suffer insurmountable guilt forfeelings of hatred and humiliation that have toward their alcoholic parent. These children, like Toby, are robbed of their innocence because they are the caretakers of the parent who is supposed to be taking care of them. They live a life of uncertainty, not knowing whether or not their parent will kill themselves, burn down the house,
have a car accident, leave and not come back, or as inToby's circumstance kill their own children. Those types of obsessive fears should never enter a child's mind. Only children of alcoholics understand what it is like to witnessed his/her own parent passed out in a chair, with a lit cigarette dangling in their hand, watching for the ash to drop but too afraid to remove the cigarette lest wake up
the sleeping demon. Or watch as their mom falls down a flight of stairs, breaking a leg and then having to run to a neighbors house to ask what he/she can do for their mom because they are too small to use the phone. A person who has experienced such things, can not understand the emptiness and despair that takes over in the soul of a child.
Thankfully, throughout the trials and tribulations of my childhood that I lived out in secret, just like Toby, I always knew that God was with me. I went to a preppy school, was head cheerleader, honor society, etc. and no one knew the true nature of my home life except my dad and me. My Granny was a beautiful southern Christian woman, who had worked hard in a factory most of her life and my mom was the last of 5 children. She was saddened by my mom's lifestyle and nurtured me in place of my mother. It was through my Granny that I learned about Jesus, and the Bible. She kept a little devotional called The Daily Word in her house and I would read it cover to cover. God sent many angels to me, and the greatest of all was myGranny,just as He did for Toby.
Angels are truly among us, I know it because I have felt mine give me strength when I needed it the most. When I turned from God and decided that I was against all religion, He was never far from my thoughts. I came back to Him, as I know He knew that I would. Now I tell Him thank you every night for carrying me through my childhood and blessing me with the life I have today. Now that I am an adult I have a strong bond with God, not just a relationship, but a bond made of something unworldly. I feel as though my sufferings have actually been blessings
in that I was able to witness God's strength inside of me on the nights when I was in the deepest despair.
As I was reading your words on the pages, telling of Toby's life with his mother, memories of my childhood came back to me with such force that I had to catch my breath and steady myself from crying. Reading about Toby's Angel helped me remember my own Angel and to be thankful
to him for serving God being with me on those nights when all I could pray for was the sun to come up. If I listen closely, I can still hear him whispering to me in my memories reminding me that "Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong".
Thank you Anne. You too, are a blessing from God to all of us who you touch on a daily basis through your words.
May God continue to Bless you and Keep you.
~ April Boswell
Posted 1/6/10
Dear Anne,
I have just finished listening to Angel Time and the tears are still in my eyes so moved was I by this tale. My people fled the Inquisition in Spain in 1492 and settled in Morocco. I grew up there myself tho I was born in Boston. My mother's people left Russia in 1916 or 17. But I have always been much more influenced by my Sephardic heritage as that was all I knew.
Because I have been steeped for so many years in medieval history, starting with the works of Sharon Penman, Edith Pargeter, Nigel Tranter, and Philippa Gregory. Thosehistorical novels aroused such interest that I then went on to read nonfiction books about Medieval history, from the 10th, 11th and 12th Century on. Because of my reading I went to Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
My father's library also had many books such as the Guide for the Perplexed in French (Le Guide des Egares) which I now have, a full set of the Jewish Encyclopedia which I have consulted often, and many other books. So you can understand how I was moved by your book. Now
that I have listened to it, I will buy it and read it. Mydaughter wants to read it as well. We were in my car together for a drive and she listened to one of the discs with me and was spellbound. She read the back of the cd case and was particularly interested in the Jewish portion. She, by the way, is half Irish and was born in Dublin (I was
married to an irishman, hence the name Shaw - his father was Protestant and his mother Catholic - Oy vay!)
Have you ever read The Witch of Cologne by Tobsha Learner?
Anne, are you going to do a book tour for Angel Time?
Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this moving and beautiful tale. I am not a crack pot, believe me, but a psychic once told me I had a guardian angel and gave me her name. She told me that this angel was not one that became an angel after a mortal life on earth, but one born to that state and that she has a full set of wings. I believe it because I have been in so many scrapes in my life, that only an angel could have protected me from disaster! Now I am 63, but I know she is still there. I also have a sense of
protection from grandparents from both sides.
Vicki
PS: Sorry for being such a pain, Anne, but there is something I want to say about an aspect of your tales I have not touched on before, and that is your generosity to your characters. You offer redemption to even the most evil. No matter what they have done, from blood drinking, killing innocents or killing criminals, from Toby O'Dare to
Lestat, to Marius, to Armand, you show to each a path to redemption and salvation. In this way you are telling us, your readers, that this path exists to all of us and we need only make a choice. We all have a dark side. Whether our crimes are pecadillos or more serious, we all carry around guilt for our dark deeds and thoughts. And you show there is a way to redeem ourselves. Thank you for that!
Posted 12/1/09
Dear Anne,
I finished Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim late last night. I enjoyed every minute of my reading experience. I have to admit though; I was bothered just a bit by how much I related to the inner turmoil of an assassin! But it was Toby O’dare’s redemption from his past, and his emergence from his own shadows that resonated with me so much. I have so often found myself wondering how God could ever use a wretch like me, and being a gay Christian, those sentiments were only exacerbated by the dogmatic teachings of my protestant faith. But it was the sorrow that Toby expressed in his prayers to God, begging forgiveness for separating himself from the Lord that brought me to
tears. I still struggle with understanding why I AM who I AM and why I live in THIS PARTICULAR moment in history. So, it was a cathartic experience for me to travel with Toby and Malchiah beyond the confines of time and see God working actively throughout history, in the past
and the present. We all want to serve a higher purpose, and though my purpose might not end up being as flashy as Toby’s time traveling adventure, Angel Time gave me hope that the things I feel burdened to do while here on earth might have more meaning and purpose than I realize.
Thanks again,
Jeremy
Posted 12/1/09
Anne,
I just finished reading "Angel Time" and absolutely loved it!!!! Your description of Malchiah taking Toby through Angel time brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful! You are truly a gifted writer...the way everything just ties in together, it's amazing. Thank you so much for a wonderful story. It really made me stop and think about my own life and sins I've committed and how I have felt so ashamed of them, and then to be reminded of how wonderful God is and how forgiving He is, is just beyond words. It also made me take more notice of my Guardian Angel. What a wonderful feeling to know that my Guardian
Angel is with me now and always has been. I can't wait to read the next book!!
Thank you,
Tracie Jones
Posted 12/1/09
Dear Anne Rice -
Thank you so much for writing Angel Time, it was a page turner that was not put down. Long time fans will be so pleased to realize that when you are the author, the story will be enchanting as well as a good history lesson. I includeChrist the Lord and Cana as part of my favorites in my book collection. In addition, to the signed copy ofInterview that I recieved one year as a Christmas gift from an employee, you are the only writer from whom every book must be in the library.
Also, thank you for sending the three autographed bookplates - it was pure delight when I happened to check out your website (I work part-time at Borders and saw it on our new releases) and signed up for e-mails, (not usually one for celebrity blogs, etc.) then a few weeks later recieved a package in the mail - from you! How cool is that? It's Awesome. Toby is a great character. Like you stated in your essay, Lestat was all about redemption, sometimes he made his own rules, however I agree that the underlying motive was he was always trying to figure it out, and rise above....sometimes literally. Now, hopefully Toby has provided a real opportunity for you to flex your writing chops, the world is his to discover.
Finally, to answer your questions -
1. Toby will be an incredible helper for Malchiah specifically because of his lurid past. As a Catholic, it is imperative that he does not leave this world in a state of mortal sin, he has alot of work to do in order to forgive himself and understand his past, so that he can fullfill his destiny. With Malchiah as his mentor, he has the ability to "do good works" and experience the incredible "Fullness of Time" that us mere mortals cannot. He has alot of work to do so hopefully there are thousands of pages in your head.................no pressure tho - ha-ha.
2. To me, the dominant theme in Angel Time is that the Lord God is the forgiving God and wants us to understand and Obey his laws. He is also our Redeemer and wants His children to be Redeemed. In order to do that we must begin to have a personal, intimate relationship with God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Only then, when we seek Him first, can we truly know that forgiveness and peace can be ours - although we must remember that it's God's Plan not our plan. That's the hard part............Malchiah knows this and has a new student in Toby.
3. Kairos - all that time is not, was a concept that I understood, because like you, I have returned to my Catholic roots and have been immersed in study, although I make no claims to be able to truly experience it or understand fully.....again, mere human.... This concept may be one that other readers confuse with the concept of immortality that many popular books are now making commonplace. This may be an excellent way for you to help your enormus readership develop a true understanding of how the universe works without being "preachy" and to entice them to discover their own true destiny.
Thanks again for asking for our opinoin, please keep Toby alive, curious and strong. Malchiah has much work to do with him and bookworms need a new Hero that doesn't suck blood. FYI, Marius has always been my favorite vampire.
May God Bless You and Yours and Keep You always.
Have a beautiful Thanksgiving.
Sincerely -
Linda Zygmunt
Posted 11/25/09
Hello Anne,
I will start off by saying that I am a huge fan of your work. I was introduced to your writings off handedly a little over 10 years ago while rooming in a bookstore. At the time I was a beatnik college student walking the isles in a local bookstore for more than an hour looking for something new and exciting to read. One of the bookstore attendants handed me Interview with a Vampire and told me I would fall in love with the characters. After that first reading, I did indeed fall in love with the characters and have since followed the entire vampire series as well as the witch series. I found myself engrossed with the storylines, the time periods which each story took place, the histories of the characters, and the flowing ease of each tale told in each book.
When you announced that you would not be continuing on with the vampire series, I like many of your readers, was dismayed. I must tell you after reading Christ the Lord I found myself in tears. Through your book I gained a whole new perspective of our Lord Jesus Christ. The book is more than a wonderful story is a more of a guide that lets
you in on how life may have began for our Lord. I was so enamored by your book I implored my Mom and my favorite Aunt to pick up the book and read it. I must interject here and say we are of the AME faith (African Methodist Episcopal church). The church doesn’t exactly frown on us reading other works but they can be a wee bit stiff in my opinion. Well, my Mom could not wrap her mind around the idea of Anne Rice the writer of the vampire series now writing about Christ (don’t worry I am still working on her). After my Aunt read the book, she
called me in a fit and said she couldn’t put the book down. She was reading the book at work, at home, while cooking dinner (burnt only one meal…..I still ate it, made her feel better by telling her it was Cajun, HA!), etc. After reading the book my Aunt became a new fan of yours.
When I found out that you had written a new book, Angel Time, I ran out and bought it (well I waited for the weekend as I am now in this new economy a stay-at-home Mom and had to wait until all the bills were paid). I think I read the book in 3 days. I loved it! I could relate to Toby O’Dare on so many levels. I loved the prayers recited and the tale of a fellow human coming to terms with having fallen from grace and asking the Lord for forgiveness for having separated himself from Him.
I wish you continued success with the Songs of the Seraphim. I look forward to reading the next novel you release. I also thank you for continually taking me to wonderful worlds of your and my imagination with awesome abandon.
Very truly yours,
TBC
Posted 11/25/09
Anne,
I don't honestly know how to describe how much I love Angel Time other then the fact that I read it in two days. I have never read a book that quickly in my life and as they say "I could not put it down" I own all of your books and would place it in the top five if I had to pick favorites.
On a completely different subject, it seems as though my life is in a way a shadow of yours(minus the famous author part). I too have had many battles with faith and have up until very recently walked a path of denial and disbelief. I would not so much as touch a Bible or any religious emblem for that matter because I truly believed that God had forsaken me. your Christ the Lord and Journey through Darkness books though fiction have reopened my eyes to the endless possibilities for forgiveness that not only lie within God but within myself also. I have not entirely found my faith but thanks in part to you, I have dropped my total rejection of religion. I must say Anne that I am very glad you became a writer but if you would have been a religious leader of some sort, the church(whichever one) would have been much better for it.
I will eagerly be awaiting the publication of your next Songs of the Seraphim installment along with wishing you a happy life because that is what you give to people even if it is only for a few monents while reading one of your wonderful books.
yours truly,
Adam
Posted 11/25/09
Dear Anne,
I just finished reading Angel Time, and I have to admit, it was one of the finest books I've ever read. After reading and enjoying nearly every book you've ever written, it was marvelous to have one of your characters actually find redemption, instead of merely seeking it and bemoaning its loss. Most importantly, the novel was still an Annne
Rice novel, with your amzing ability to describe historical settings in a way that makes the squalid seem glorious. I hope your readers who complained when you decided to stop writing your vampire series will give it a chance. I think it equals, if not surpasses the stories told in that series and has such a positive message (and some great
suspenseful moments that your readers have come to expect). Thank you for writing this book, and may God bless you, and keep you so that you may continue Toby's tales for a long time to come.
Joseph Burkholder
Posted 11/25/09
Hello Anne. My name is Michelle. I have been reading your books since I was 12 and now I am almost 29 =).I turn 29 on January 2nd. I've always been an avid reader and writer and I thank authors like you for inspiring me along the way. As a public school teacher in NYC, I try everyday to inspire my children to love to read and write by expressing my own passion for them. It just seems like these future
generations are more interested in video games thanreading, writing, or even playing outdoors!! Hmph! It's unbelievable!
But I digress... I just finished Angel Time (in just 3 nights) and it was a gripping read. It kept my interest and had a great storyline. I am not what you would call a religious person by any means, but your story is full of hope that all can be forgiven and that we all choose which path to follow. It inspired Faith in me in the non-religioussense. I think this has been your best book in recent years. I read
the Christ series and thoroughly enjoyed it, but this was just better in that I think it would appeal to a greater mass of people because it covers so many genres.
I have a question/comment about one part of your book that really caught my attention. It was this paragraph that made me pause to think: " It was almost as if he had become, in his inveterate goodness, a little bit of a simpleton as is bound to happen, I think, if and when one gives oneself absolutely to God. Again and again, he trusted God would make everything right. " page 233
Can you elaborate on what you were thinking when you were writing this? I read it as this: If such a strong faith in God causes you to put all your faith into one being and not have your own doubts, fears, suspicions, hopes, etc.. it makes you a simple person. Now I know that Godwin is a "good" character and an "inspiring" character, and I was
just wondering how this fit in. I believe you are referring to his lack of fear about what could happen to Rosa because he trusts God will take care of it. But are you also referring to his innocence? Do you see a simpleton as a positive or negative aspect of being so religious? I'd like to get your take on that paragraph as it is surprising to read that from someone who is Catholic/Christian.
I was also curious if you know how I could get my hands on Interview with the Vampire, Vampire Lestat, and Queen of the Damned hardcovers for a fair price. I only find paperbacks and the barnes and noble leatherbound classic book, but I never see the hardcover of these books available. It seems I started book shopping rather than using the library after I finished those 3 books and don't have those copies. I have pretty much everything else.
The only book I have not read of yours is The Feast of All Saints. I have it my bookcase waiting to be read. I'm looking forward to it. Any thoughts on it before I dive in? =)
On a final note, in August of 2002, I was in New Orleans and passed by your house. I had spoken to your gardener Bruce. Is he still with you? What a nice man. You arrived home, but it was a very bad time for you as your husband was very ill at that time. I was hoping to meet you,
but Bruce was kind enough to give me a signed picture of you. I have it in a nice frame. So thanks for that. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. I lost my father to lung cancer in 2006 after a grueling year of illness, doctors, radiation, etc...and it was the hardest time of my family's life. I'm sure your husband's spirit thrives through you and your son now much as my father's does through
mine. Talking to you on facebook and through email is as if I'm standing by your house all over again and you invited me in for a cup of a tea. Thanks for opening up to your fans and making yourself available for discussion. I enjoy reading your posts on facebook and really am impressed that you lay everything on the table the way you do. Thank you for sending the book plates to me as well. What a
treasure. There is no other author I like that does this. You are one of a kind.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Michelle Glorioso
Posted 11/22/09
Dear Anne,
Many thanks for the wonderful book plates! They were a marvellous surprise at my post office box today and really made my day. They are beautiful. It's really an honour to have your autograph. Thank-you for thinking of your overseas readers, like myself, all the way out here in the colonies.
I've admired your writing for many years now andhave been a long-time reader of your work, including your writing under your pseudonyms. I must say, though, that I'm behind in my reading and look forward to starting your 'Christ the Lord' novels. Actually, that applies toChristopher's novels, too. So little time, so many books!
I read 'Angel Time' the weekend before last. It was so engaging that I had to take the afternoon off from my chores to finish it! Your writing is always elegant and enthralling and this novel was no different. I hope that there will be more Toby O'Dare novels in the future.
Thank-you for giving the world so many wonderful stories, mythologies and characters. I hope to be reading your novels for many years to come.
All the best,
Aaron
Posted 10/5/09
I very much appreciated Angel Time. It was a wonderful story and the first of your books I’ve read outside of the Christ the Lord series. You did an excellent job of creating Toby and bringing to him many of the emotions we all have. He was easy to relate too and I know I’ve often cried variations of his same prayer, “Lord forgive me that I
ever separated myself from you”. It’s a beautiful story with some wonderfully memorable lines and a great demonstration of God’s grace. Thank you so much for the time you put into crafting this story and I look forward to future books in the series.
Melissa
Posted 9/8/09
I loved Angel time, I couldn't put it down. I felt so sad for Tobey, and can't wait to read more about him! I loved all of it, it's the best book I've ever read. Only Anne Rice could have thought up and wrote such an interesting story! There are no words to describe how awesome this book is, I could read it a hundred times and still love it.
Saudia Mohamed, Brampton (GTA)