11/07/1996

Hello there guys, heads, freaks, geniuses, and loyal readers:

This is my very first entry on my very own Anne Rice Home Page. I'm excited about talking to you directly. I'm still out on the road promoting Servant of the Bones, a novel which is tremendously exciting to me because, as you know, it is my first novel involving a ghost. Vampires and witches I have loved with great devotion but Azriel, the hero of this book, is a true ghost and there are things that Azriel can do that Lestat can't do and I have the eerie feeling that I am falling in love with Azriel the way I was in love with Lestat.

What do you think about future books with Azriel? Of course, I never write a book unless it comes to me like a swarm of bees surrounding my head, but I find myself haunted by the idea that Azriel's adventures should continue. He has all of Lestat's courage but is liberated from the curse of the vampires. He is locked out of heaven, an outcast among us in search of his own soul. (For those of you who don't know, I've based this character on Antonio Banderas.) I thought 'if you can't cast your own movie, you can cast your own book'! So Azriel's beautiful black hair and loving smile are a tribute to Antonio. By the way, Antonio and Melanie Griffith have had their little baby girl, and we at 1239 First Street are busy scurrying around trying to find a set in our unique pattern of silver so the little princess can dine in style!

Other news from the road - there is some real action in Hollywood - however it does not involve movies. It has more to do with television and with ghosts but I'll tell you more when I'm allowed to do so. At this very minute, I'm on my way to an important meeting!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your many letters. I promise to answer questions in much greater detail as soon as I get home. I can't tell you how much I love you and I can't tell you how much I need you. Keep giving me your feedback and look forward to the radio show of Servant of the Bones. As you know, we have not offered this book for sale in Hollywood. We are interested in doing our own live radio series out of New Orleans with a once-a-week episode broadcast before a live audience. There would be tape follow-ups later in the week for people to hear during the commuting hour. We are in the process of finding the great old geniuses of radio. We hope to bring you a show which is more exciting than Lone Ranger, more breathtaking than Suspense, as wonderful as the Lux Radio Theater.

Stay tuned - literally - for more information. All we need is time to develop these projects.

Meanwhile, as you know, the next book is Violin and it is also a ghost story. This ghost is very, very different from Azriel, but possessed of the same charm. I think it's ghosts for me now for a while - I like to think of it as progress on the astral plane.

By the way, at this point, Servant of the Bones should be available in any bookstore anywhere in the United States and Canada. However, if you have any trouble finding the book, you can always order direct from my good friend, Britton Trice at Garden District Book Shop here in New Orleans (telephone 504-895-2266; fax 504-895-0622; address 2727 Prytania Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130). Britton not only carries my newest books but specializes in the whole collection of my books and in first editions of all my books. If this sounds like a sales pitch, what can I do but burst into tears! I'd love you to read the book -- I want you to love my ghost!

Love to all again. Over and out.

Anne Rice
November 7, 1996

On November 8, Anne added a P.S. to this letter:

MORE ON AZRIEL FROM ANNE.

Guys, dolls, transsexuals, extraterrestrials and all of the readers: This is a P.S. to my letter of yesterday to you, which was my first letter on the home page. Please, please don't send me any suggestions, ideas or plot ideas for Azriel or any of my beloved heros. I am one of those Catholic girls who is immediately blocked by someone's else's suggestions.

Just let me know if you love Azriel, if you want to see him again and let me think up the confabulations to astonish you. I already see my angel walking of several new paths.

Please forgive me for being so sticky about the ideas from others. But I need feedback as to love and hatred desperately.

By the way, on the road I have met many people who have been inspired to write their own supernatural novels. Fabulous response!

I'm jumping up and down with joy that President Clinton is in the White House again for four more years! His creative attitudes and sensitivity to art really foster a good atmosphere for all of us, even the most transgressive.

Let me answer a few questions. THE MUMMY is the only movie in development. Jim Cameron is the director. But I am trying very hard to free the vampires and the witches from their prison cells at Warner Bros. New producers have entered the picture and maybe new passion will be coming along any day.

Regarding Stan's books -- I get lots of requests on how to find them. They're in any bookstore. They're published by Knopf, my own publisher, but stay tuned for something really exciting in the world of books regarding Stan and his paintings which I think will be revolutionary.

Let me give you the environment scope from Hollywood. The Four Seasons Hotel was filled with whispering, plotting showbiz people, clustered at tables in candlelight. The inevitable Mercedes Benzes still choke the driveway. We visited networks on a whirlwind tour. Again, as I mentioned before, the idea has to do with ghosts and I'm very proud of it. And the amazing thing about Hollywood is this - that the people at the very top, the heads of studios, the heads of networks, the well known writers, the truly creative crowd are all absolutely casual and very much fun. It's the ladder to the top that is patrolled by the fashion police. I ran around the whole time dripping with red velvet or sequins or gold lame, feeling perfectly at home as a person who is no longer expected to look like anyone else on the planet.

Remember guys, I love your feedback on everybody from Azriel to Louis and Armand, but when it comes to ideas about plots and things of that nature, those are things you really should use to create your own wonderful literary world.

Goodbye and love from the beautiful Mansion Hotel in Dallas tonight, where I am reading my Bible and watching CNN simultaneously, marvelling as always at how similar the news is to Biblical events. No wonder we love that sacred book so much - so little has changed. As soon as I reach New Orleans I will set about answering the numerous questions you have sent me. Having this home page of my very own is one of the dreams of my life. God bless you and keep you.

Anne Rice.
November 8, 1996

P.S. there will be a new message on the fan line soon.