I’m confident all the Hot Topics and indie Goth Stores will have their flags at half mast for a while. I also wonder if Anne ever got a settlement for all the money White Wolf games owed her for ripping off her books to make their game at least half interesting. It’s cool that they published a game in which you can play the monster, but until the Twitard crap made vampires even lamer, White Wolf made a character who’s tragic into a mopey-ass nuisance. You know, like many Goth kids if they’re not assholes as per the ones I knew at Marquette.
I never read Anne’s stuff and I probably won’t. Anne’s stuff isn’t my thing. However, in 1995 I did get to meet her at a book-signing held at Book People. It was and continues to be the biggest event I’ve ever been to at this well-loved store. The closest competitor in turn-out and craziness? Believe it or not, Alton Brown. I would’ve thought the smart money would’ve been Elvis Costello or Geddy Lee but they only drew people over 40.
Anyway, the book signing for Anne Rice was an all-day affair. As most of these go, you had to buy the latest novel in advance and you received a ticket in queue. This was limited to 1000. On the day of the event, there was a band playing outside. Scores of people were there waiting. Other than former President Carter, she’s the only guest I’ve seen to have a police escort into Book People.
Thankfully the weather was pleasant because my friend (Kim) and I showed up around 1 PM and we didn’t get to be in queue until 8-9 PM. Yeah, my number was crappy, I think the 800-900 range. When I got my FaceTime with Anne, I had two copies and both were for friends (Steve and Les, both fans), and I let her know about their fandom and what they did for a living, they were both working for FASA and TSR respectively. She wanted to know if either were involved with Vampire: the Masquerade. I said no, but Dark Conspiracy and their other work were influenced by her.
Thank you for everything Mrs. Rice. Again, I may not have read your works yet I see their impact all the time in Film (Near Dark), TV (True Blood), Comic Books (nothing comes to mind right now), Comedy (What We Do in the Shadows), Music (“Bloodletting” by Concrete Blonde), New Orleans (more to see than just Mardi Gras now) and of course, roleplaying games as Vampire: the Masquerade has a new publisher and D&D’s Count von Strahd was more than a straw foe with his debut in 1983’s Ravenloft; he also made the transition to 5E.