Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Bestselling author Charlaine Harris
Bestselling author Charlaine Harris moved to Hood County without fanfare 10 years ago after a real estate lawyer familiar with the area “sang the praises of Granbury.”
In an email interview with the Hood County News, Harris explained that the location “fit our criteria: on the water, near enough to DFW, but not in a city, and within easy driving distance of our children. We’ve never been sorry.”
According to a Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau online article, Harris is the only author ever to have nine books at the same time on the “New York Times” bestseller list. The first time she had a book that debuted in the No. 1 spot on the “NYT” bestseller list was in 2009 with “Dead and Gone.”
A series of vampire novels Harris wrote (published from 2001 through 2014), known as The Southern Vampire Mysteries, featured the central character Sookie Stackhouse. Stories from those books were adapted into the over-the-top HBO television series “True Blood,” which aired from 2008-2014. After the wildly successful first season of “True Blood,” it ranked only behind the blockbuster hit “The Sopranos” as HBO’s most popular series.
Two other television series were adapted from works written by Harris — “Midnight Texas” (two seasons, 2017-2018, on NBC) and the Aurora Teagarden series (starting in 2014) on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.
Harris noted, “I have two that have been optioned, the Harper Connelly books and the newer Gunnie Rose series I’m writing, but who knows how that will shake out?”
TEXAS CONNECTION
The Mississippi native was already familiar with the Lone Star State because her mother was from Rocksprings. As a result, Harris said, she “came to Texas every summer as a child.”
Her husband, Hal, is a retired chemical engineer and an avid bridge player. They attend a local church and have two rescue dogs — not to mention three adult children and two “spectacular” grandchildren.
“One of our kids is local, and the other two live (within) an hour’s drive, which is great,” Harris said.
When asked about her impression of the area after a decade living here, Harris said, “I’ve almost always lived in small towns in the south, so the ways of people in Granbury are very much like the ways in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and Tunica (her birthplace in Mississippi), and Magnolia, Arkansas, all places I’ve lived. In general, southern people are polite, helpful, and interested in the lives of those around them.”
WRITERS WRITE
Harris soaked up writing influences as a youngster from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen, along with the Nancy Drew mystery book series.
Harris said that while she has written mysteries, urban fantasy and one romance novel, she would love to write a horror book “because it would be so hard.”
Last month, ranker.com had “True Blood” as No. 16 on its list of “Greatest HBO TV Shows of All Time.” It ran for seven seasons, with 80 episodes in all.
But the novels that led to the remarkable success of “True Blood” were only a small portion of the work Harris has created in her career — a total of 41 novels, plus what she described as “many” short stories. Here are responses Harris gave to questions from the Hood County News:
Q: What was your impression of the way the “True Blood” story and series turned out, compared to the way your original “Southern Vampire Mysteries” were written?
A: I learned a lot with “True Blood.” I’d never met film crews or actors, or been on a set. I did a red carpet, which is completely stressful but exhilarating. I had no control over the characters once I signed the contract. Sometimes I loved the show, sometimes not, but I am ever grateful that the show boosted sales of the books astronomically.
Q: When did you first begin thinking about writing as a profession, and what inspired you to start on that path?
A: I always wanted to be writer. I have always been a voracious reader, in part because my parents and my brother were great readers. Best example I could have had growing up.
I was very fortunate that when I married my husband, Hal, he gave me an electric typewriter and the offer to stay home and try to write a book, instead of working in an office. So I wrote my first full-length book, and eventually it sold to Houghton Mifflin in Boston. It was “Sweet and Deadly,” a murder mystery. I have been published ever since except for a five-year hiatus for having babies.
Q: What else do you enjoy doing the most when you aren’t writing, as either hobbies or just relaxation?
A: I read and I watch television. I enjoy baking. I wish I could say I was a marathon runner or something equally impressive, but that’s not true! I love meeting with friends for lunch, and seeing my grandchildren.
Q: Do you have any advice for other people who are either starting out as writers, or may be considering that?
A: The best advice for beginning writers? It starts early; reading, reading, reading. Next, decide what you want to say with your writing. You may be all about entertainment, which is great. But you may have an agenda. You cannot throw your own beliefs at readers to engage them. Thirdly, FINISH THE BOOK. Stick to your characters and getting them out of the frightening situation. Do your research.
Q: What do you have planned next for your career?
A: I’m working on the fourth Gunnie Rose, as yet untitled. The series gained some traction with the third book, “The Russian Cage.” I’m really pleased about that.
