@ ARice BFF # Lestat
Anne Rice’s iconic vamp is moving into the modern age
The world has changed quite a bit since Anne Rice last wrote about Lestat de Lioncourt in Blood Canticle ( 2003), and the way he and his vampire trine is dealing with new technology forms the core of her new book, Prince Lestat. “It’s about vampires right now, in 2013 and 2014,” she explains. “It’s about how they’re dealing with all of the challenges of this age, just like the rest of us – satellite photography, cable TV, iPhones, email… how is it all impacting their world?”
Rice describes the new novel as a sequel to everything that went before. “It deals with a lot of the same characters. And it deals with the question of the Ancient Ones; will they help the young members of the tribe or will they continue to live in a kind of exile?”
Rice is clearly excited about the return of her most enduring creation and explains the long break was partly due to trauma in her own life. “I was in a period of grief. I left New Orleans, my native city, and I left my home of 15 years. I had lost my husband of 41 years… that was a lot to digest. Lestat just wasn’t with me during that period. But he’s back now.
“I’m always thinking about what he’s doing in a way. He’s like a part of me. If I see a movie, I think, ‘ What would he think of this?’ I really believe in writing by instinct, in trusting and surrendering to it, and he is one of those characters who came to life on his own, no question about it.”
Rice began by re- reading the previous books in The Vampire Chronicles. “I went back more than anything just to hear his voice again. I wanted to see if I could relate to him again and if he could come alive for me. And he did immediately.”
Prince Lestat is published on Thursday 30 October.