The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

stories.
     
     
    What inspired you to bring in characters on the show that were not in the books, such as Jessica and Daphne, as well as to keep Lafayette? (We are grateful for these characters, as they are awesome; just curious.)
    —KIMBERLEE TUCKER
     
    Again, it all comes down to creating stories for characters who are not Sookie, and in Lafayette’s case, loving what Nelsan Ellis was doing so much that I wanted to keep him in the show.
     
     
    My question is regarding the character Bill Compton. I really liked the character in the books and hated to see him pushed to the side so often, so I must say I really enjoy him being a front-burner character in the show. What was it about the character on the page that made you connect with him? What were you looking for in the actors who auditioned for the part, and how did you feel when you finally found the talented and gorgeous Stephen Moyer to fill the role?
    —BARBI BARRIER
     
    Well, just like you, I loved the idea of a man who had basically lost everything ; who, because of his and Sookie’s circumstances (him being vampire, her being telepathic), is suddenly given a second chance at love and meaning in his life. When casting, I kept looking for a man who seemed like he was from another time, who knew how to play that undercurrent of sadness, and also was dashing and handsome, like a true romantic hero. When we found Stephen, I was thrilled, because we had been looking for a long time prior.
     
     
    I really enjoy watching the show, but never watch the opening credits, as I find them unnerving. How and why did you come to decide on such a thought-provoking opening sequence?
    —OLIVIA PAVEY
     
    I wanted something primal, something that really communicated Southern gothic, something that alluded to the twin polarities of sex and religion as a means for transcendence, something that was really rooted deeply in nature.

    I’d like to thank Alan for taking time out of his very hectic schedule to answer these wonderful questions, and thanks also to all of the fans who submitted them!

From Mystery to Mayhem
    The Works of Charlaine Harris
    BY BEVERLY BATTILLO
     
     
     
     
     
    L ong before a telepathic waitress served the first beverage to a handsome vampire at Merlotte’s Bar, Charlaine Harris was creating compelling characters and plots that have excited her fans’ imaginations and fueled their fantasies.
    Ever since the fourth grade, when she began composing poems about ghosts, Charlaine wanted to write. Her formal writing career began, however, after her marriage in 1978 to her second husband, Hal. As a wedding present, the understanding groom presented his bride with an electric typewriter and encouraged her to follow her longtime dream of becoming an author. Charlaine’s first novel, the mystery Sweet and Deadly , was published in 1981 and marked the beginning of a distinguished career that has now spanned thirty years.

FIRST STEPS
    With the publication of her first novel, Charlaine was described as “a strong new talent whose writing has verve and originality” and as “an author of rare talent,” but it was the release of her second stand-alone mystery, A Secret Rage , in 1984 that led to more critical acclaim and a “cultlike” fan following. The story of a small Southern university town terrorized by a serial rapist “makes brilliant use of the rapidly changing Southern background and handles a difficult theme with sensitivity and insight,” according to critics. Fans in the mystery community embraced this new talent and eagerly looked forward to more from her.
    Motherhood took up much of Charlaine’s attention during these early years, and she quit writing for a while to focus on beginning a family. After the birth of her second child, “she ached to get back to writing, she missed it so.” It was at this time that she signed with Joshua Bilmes, who would become her longtime agent and friend. After the five-year hiatus, it was difficult to get back into the publishing world, but, with renewed energy, Charlaine burst back upon the scene with the first of her new mystery series.

THE AURORA TEAGARDEN AND LILY BARD SERIES
    Real Murders , the first book in Charlaine’s Aurora Teagarden series, was published in 1990. About a small-town Georgia librarian and amateur sleuth whose life doesn’t turn out the way she expected, the books have been described as “cozies with teeth.” Real Murders garnered Charlaine her first Agatha Award