The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

through growth and change.
     
     
     
    Through all the books, anything seems possible to the imagination. Did you ever think of a story line that made you think again and not include it because it was too far-fetched?
    —ESTHER SCHMIDT
     
    Yes, I did. I had worked out a fantastic story line in which Niall was actually Sookie’s father instead of her great-grandfather, but I’d already said too much that contradicted that for it to be a viable part of the mythology. I had a happy two hours thinking it through, though, before “reality” set in. I’ve also written some passages that my editor deemed too gross to include. No, don’t ask!
     
     
    If Sookie inherited her telepathy as a fairy power from her grandmother’s foray into fairy blood, how is it that her cousin Hunter has it, too, unless Gran had another child of fairy descent? Who are Hadley’s parents? There’s virtually no reference to them in the books, yet Hunter must have fairy blood.
    —EILEEN PRESCOTT
     
    Though Sookie didn’t exactly inherit the telepathy from her grandmother’s lover (there is more about this in Dead Reckoning and possibly in the books to come after), Hunter has a dash of fairy blood through his mom, Hadley, Sookie’s first cousin. Hunter’s parents are Remy Savoy and Hadley Delahoussaye. Hadley is the daughter of Adele Stackhouse’s daughter, Linda (who died of uterine cancer), and Linda’s husband, Carey Delahoussaye. Hunter is Adele’s great-grandson. This has been asked so frequently I felt I had to address it.
     
     
    You adapted the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina into Sookie’s story. Do you feel that this event drastically changed your vision of the story? How much of a challenge was it to adapt if necessary?
    —JENNIFER MORGAN
    The main effect of the inclusion of Hurricane Katrina has been the changes in the timeline of the books. Now they’re taking place in the past instead of in an indeterminate present, since Sookie’s life is anchored to a real-time event. You’ll see timelines in the “Life in Bon Temps” section of this book. When Katrina occurred, I decided it would be disrespectful to the many people affected by it if I left such a disaster out of the narrative of the books. I stick by that decision.
     
     
    As a pagan and practicing witch, I was very happy to see Wiccans portrayed in a positive light in your books, and not as Satan-worshipping crazy people, which has been my experience. What kind of research did you do to develop your Wiccan characters in the book, and did it change your view of non-Christians, being a Christian yourself?
    —WENDY CARROLL
     
    I did a lot of research into both witchcraft and Wicca so I could write about them with some authenticity. There are differences in the two, and I wanted to be accurate. Since I’m a Christian, I feel obliged to try hard to be fair, open-minded, and nonjudgmental; that’s my interpretation of our creed. I’m convinced that there are people who are both good and evil in every classification, whether it be racial, political, or spiritual—and quite often these contradictory traits are combined in one person.
     
     
    There seems to be so many vampire mythologies. Some can walk in the sun, some can’t; some don’t have a problem with garlic, some do; etc. How did you choose which mythologies to take inspiration from? Why are the vampires in your series the way they are?
    —LUCIA MATEO
     
    The glib answer is, “Because that’s the way I needed them to be.” It’s true that there are a lot of vampire mythologies, and in general I followed the classical Dracula pattern, with a dash of Anne Rice’s and Laurell K. Hamilton’s. However, I had to pick and choose among these other mythologies for what would work for my own storytelling purposes. I hope I’ve come up with my very own version. My vampires are the way they are because that’s what moves Sookie’s story forward.
     
     
    When you started writing this series—which started off as one book—did you have in mind a story arc for Sookie to go on?
    —BARBARA CRAMER
     
    When I wrote the first Sookie book, I had no idea I’d ever get to write another one. I did have ideas about things I’d like to do with the characters, and most of those ideas I’ve been able to incorporate into her story. I have a few surprises left, I hope. From early in the series, I have known how I’ll end it.
     
     
    Eric’s character seems to resonate so very well with the female