Born: 4 October 1941 (age 75), New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Spouse: Stan Rice (m. 1961–2002) Children: Christopher Rice, Michele Rice Awards: World Horror Convention Grand Master Award, more Education: San Francisco State University, Richardson High School, University of North Texas, Texas Woman's University Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in English and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. Anne has spent more of her life in California than in New Orleans, but New Orleans is her true home and provides the back drop for many of her famous novels. The French Quarter provided the setting for her first novel, Interview with the Vampire. And her ante-bellum house in the Garden District was the fictional home of her imaginary Mayfair Witches. Anne is very active on her Facebook Fan Page and has over one million followers! She answers questions every day on the page, and also posts on a variety of topics, including literature, film, music, politics, religion, and her own writings. She welcomes discussion there on numerous topics. She is the author of over 30 novels. Her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was published in 1976 and has gone on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time. She continued her saga of the Vampire Lestat in a series of books, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles, which have had both great mainstream and cult followings. Interview with the Vampire was made into a motion picture in 1994, directed by Neil Jordan, and starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst and Antonio Banderas. Anne's novel, Feast of All Saints about the free people of color of ante-bellum New Orleans became a Showtime mini series in 2001 and is available now on DVD. The script for the mini series by John Wilder was a faithful adaptation of the novel. Anne Rice is also the author of other novels, including The Witching Hour, Servant of the Bones, Merrick, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle, Violin, and Cry to Heaven. Her latest novel, Prince Lestat, is the continuation of the Vampire Chronicles, published on October 27, 2014. With the old queen of the vampires, Akasha, long dead, the Undead are in chaos all over the world. Rice’s fabled Brat Prince, Lestat, is the only immortal known by name to all vampires young and old and many appeal to him to come out of his long exile and bring order as wanton destruction plagues revenants in city after city around the globe. With a return of some of Rice’s most memorable characters, such as the melancholic Louis, the childlike Armand, the twins Maharet and Mekare, the former Talamasca scholar David Talbot, the ancient Romans Pandora and the noble Marius, and even Lestat's distant mother Gabrielle, the reader will meet many new vampires, all of whom must cooperate in guiding the vampire kinship with technology and ritual toward the path of unity, building a new vampire kingdom in the modern world. www.annerice.com 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
My two primary female horror writing influences are Anne Rice and Mary Shelly. But when it comes down to it, I have to admit, I’m an Edgar Allan Poe fanatic (I know, I know, but I love him). When I was 19, I visited London and found a book of his complete collection. It was heavy and bulky, and I knew I would have to haul it around for a couple of weeks of travel. I’m so glad I did. The book sits next to my desk, and when I need to go into horror-writing mode, I read a few of his stories. His prose is intoxicating. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I suppose there is some truth to a gender preference when it comes to horror, with the assumption women mostly write (and read) psychological and men like gore. I write in both. My horror-apocalyptic novel, Mechaniclism, combines both sub-genres. It’s fun to have some flying blood and guts woven into a story. My novel Lullaby of the Dead leans more towards a realistic, psychological scare, but there are also moments when gore rules. I find it to be a nice balance. 3. Do you have a main subject that you write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? One of the primary themes throughout my work (including my apocalyptic series, Survivor Diaries), is that women don’t need saving. My strong, competent female protagonists usually take the bull by the horns and don’t wait for the proverbial knight to ride in on a white horse. Why should they? They’ve got it! Never be a princess, when you can be the Queen! 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? Edgar Allan Poe, no question about it! 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? Anne Rice. She has a wide body of distinctive work. Lynn Lamb is the author of the post-apocalyptic Survivor Diaries Series, Opus of the Dead Series, Mechaniclism, and The Oxymoron of Still Life. She is also an independent filmmaker, graphic designer, and scriptwriter. The explosive Survivor Diaries, the chilling Mechaniclism, and the terrifying Lullaby of the Dead, have made a big bang and a scream on the literary scene. Grab these titles, and don’t miss out on this chart-topping author! Author's Website: www.lynnlamb.com/ Facebook Page: on.fb.me/1Je5New Author Page: amazon.com/author/lynnlamb Twitter: @DiariesSurvivor Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/SurvivorDiaries Excerpts: www.lynnlamb.com/press-release.html 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
My mother, she loved reading horror, crime and fantasy books and I still have her library. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I write paranormal/fantasy horror so I am all about psychological elements to the genre but I have a fair amount of ew… gore. I grew up reading Graham Masterton so I also take influence from him. Stephen King is also very psychological in his writing so I don’t think there is a defining difference. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? Not really, I take mythology and society’s stigmas and mix them up into their own meaning. I try to have a moral to all my books, but it is for the readers to see, not for me to tell them what they should take from my books. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? I have been compared to Lovecraft, and J, R, R Tolkien, I grew up watching the Hammer Horrors and lots of other horror movies, I read Dean Koontz and Graham Masterton too. I would love to go to a horror themed dinner with all of these writers and talk horror. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? Barbara Erskine is my favourite female horror writer, she is great with historical details, psychology and most of all her scene setting is second to none. Nicolajayne Taylor is a British erotic, fantasy horror author. Signed by Vamptasy in 2014, she has gone on to the Bestsellers list for The Curse of Mary, Call of the Moon and The Fallen Ones before taking a break and re-releasing the biggest releases and some new ones. The prequel to the Curse of Mary is titled, All Legends, The Chronicles of being Isisti and has steadily sold to loyal readers. This author was signed on her debut sub to the publishing giant Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly. Her first ever published works hit the bestsellers list in the anthology Bloody Sexy, her book The Fallen Ones was the most reviewed and left readers wanting more. https://goo.gl/e90hPC https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNicolajayneTaylor/ https://twitter.com/EnjayTaylor https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBcBW4Mt5rG_3h2r4eXzl_A http://acessive.wixsite.com/nicolajaynetaylor 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer? I honestly don't know. I have written horror since I was a child, love the genre, and never once thought that it was odd that I was a woman who wanted to write horror. I never knew it was a male-dominated genre because I didn't care. I have a lot of influences, but to say they influenced me just because of my gender would be lying. I never thought of myself as "a female horror author", just as "a horror author". And I still do. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? Maybe once, sure. Men wrote gore and women wrote psychological. But now things are different. I can name ten horror authors off the top of my head who are women who write gore with the best of them. And also name at least five males who write excellent psychological horror. The indie community has really shattered the gender norms in this genre and it is wonderful to see. For me, personally, I love psychological horror but I am better at writing violence and torture. I have scenes in my book Right To Silence that made readers feel sick, which I am very proud of. I have a psychological horror short coming soon as well, in the anthology Lurking In The Mind, but I think I'll always stick with violence. I like it. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? I love vampires. I have since I was a toddler according to my mother. So oftentimes my books and shorts will focus on them. Other themes I enjoy working into my books are those of being true to oneself, those of mental illness, and social issues like racism and xenophobia. While my stories will often focus on mythical creatures, they will always have a sense of reality grounding them. In the Paranormal Detectives Series, I have characters with mental illness (depression, anxiety, and PTSD), I have characters who are victims of false judgment due to their appearance, and characters who are xenophobic. I believe adding in real issues to horror can make it a bit easier to get into as a reader and also enhance some of the motives of the characters. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? This is going to be a repeated response, I bet, but Stephen King. Not only has he had a career that spanned over forty years, more than fifty books and hundreds of short stories, but he has remained true to himself. Nothing changed him, nothing got to him to modernize him. I love that. He has the same style he always did and still managed to become famous while being himself and writing what he wants. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? You know, it's funny, I never really read female horror authors (not counting the Big Three: Rice, Shelley, and Jackson) until recently. The first woman who wrote creepy fiction I read was Terri Garey, though her books weren't strictly horror. The frightening scenes, however, almost made you forget that they were romance books. They gave me chills and still do even when I reread them. For strictly horror, I really love A. Giacomi, a new indie author I have the privilege of working with. Her books always manage to freak me out while making me care for the characters and want more after each book ends. http://lilyluchesibooks.wix.com/lilyluchesi http://amazon.com/author/lilyluchesi http://facebook.com/lilyluchesi http://twitter.com/LilyLuchesi http://instagram.com/lilyluchesi http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7369101.Lily_Luchesi This month we are celebrating the 8th annunal Women in Horror Month. The event was started to support and showcase women in the horror industry whether it is as writers, actors or filmmakers.
Throughout Februrary we will be interviewing some top female indie horror writers. Maybe you have heard of them or maybe they are completely new to you, but each one is passionate about horror. We will also look at some of the top authors including Mary Shelley, Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris. There will be giveaways too. Enjoy! For more info and events check out: www.womeninhorrormonth.com |
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About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” Archives
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