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Anne Rice answers Salon readers' questions



August 14, 1996


I sit on the marble steps of a small, cleanly-kept guest house in Vermont, looking
at the ancient cemetery opposite, filled with those straight, stalwart
gravestones, so beloved in the north, and the church beside them.


Our signings continue to be long and blissful, but it seems fitting that the
graveyard, spread out in the morning sun, reminds us that all is vanity.


Our huge bus, with ANNE RICE SERVANT OF THE BONES 1996 INTERSTATE TOUR on the side, looks
delightfully out of place here.  I wonder if the spirits of the dead can muse
on our desperate desire to live life to the max.


Soon we'll pull out for Albany, New York, but I have time now to answer some
questions sent into SALON. 





 You seem to have an inherent ability to give anything you write about
a subtle yet pervasive sense of sensuality...and downright quirky
sensuality at that!  Nothing commonplace about it, thank God!  I like to
call it "swimming in sensuality."  My question is:  Are there particular
images you call up in your mind that never fail to put you "in the mood"
to write that way? In other words, what does Anne Rice fantasize about?

                                -- Carolyn S. Hillard


 What do I fantasize about?  These days it's almost purely
my novels;  I listen incessantly to Beethoven because it puts me in a swoon;
and I devour Shakespeare for the utter gush of language in Hamlet and Macbeth -- 
and for a psychological understanding in Shakespeare that was so deep, he
needed no Freud or Jung to inspire him.


 I have a question about your upcoming novellas.  Since you said you
would have short stories for your characters, I was wondering if you were
going to have novellas for Claudia and Madeleine?  They were only with us
for such a short time and I want to know more about them.  Good luck on
the tour, see you at your Michigan stop!

                                -- Paul Abela


 For the short novels on the Vampire, I see Pandora before all,
and perhaps Louis, I don't know what will come. It's a thrilling venture.


Anne, I heard you say in a recent interview that "Servant of the
Bones" was written exclusively with Antonio Banderas in mind.  Here's my
question:  If you were locked with him (Antonio) in a room for 24 hours,
what would you want to do?  Be as honest and open as you can, this is
after all, only make-believe.

                                -- Jo Anne Yost


 Locked in a room for 24 hours with Antonio Banderas? What
would
I want to do?  Talk. Ask him why, being as beautiful as he is, he still has
become a great and serious actor.  I'd ask him how he had the courage to play
the Tom Hanks' gay lover in "Philadelphia." 


I might ask to hug him once, feel
his silky hair and perhaps press my lips to his neck like a timid vampire.
Then, if we lay together in a big bed and talked softly about my husband and
his wife, about our goals, about despair and joy, I'd be content -- more than
content. I'd leave the room feeling we knew each other. That's the whole
thing:  To see him, and to know him.  He is my Azriel.


I am enjoying "Servant of the Bones" immensely. It's especially
intriguing because I have three Hasidic cousins -- one in L.A. and the other
two in Jerusalem. I was wondering what Hasidic/Jewish texts you read for
research. I've only read, or tried to read, some of the more religious
texts my cousins have sent me, but they are quite difficult unless you're a
member of the faith.
 
                               -- Hillary Meister


On the Hasidim, I read everything I could find,
particularly the most responsible news books discussing their way of life. I
immersed myself in Hebrew history and religious history in general. I have to
figure all of this out. I frequently read the brilliant historian Norman
Cantor, who teaches at New York University. I'm a novice. I love the Hasidim
for their spirituality and their courage.


The Wall Street Journal seems to feel that since your current
bestseller "Servant of the Bones" (which I enjoyed immensely, I might add)
is about a "Jewish ghost," that your Garden District neighbors won't be so
offended about the Catholic property purchases you've made. How is this
relevant?

                               -- Brett Holstrom


The article in The Wall Street Journal was a piece of
trash. But the ending did imply that a Jewish ghost in my new novel wouldn't
offend my rich neighbors because they are anti-Semitic. I was horrified and
amused at the stupidity of that remark. It seems to say, "If she writes about
Jews, they won't care." I loathe and despise the bigots of the Garden District. 
 The Jewish community in New Orleans is vigorous and generous. The
Wall Street Journal should stick to stocks and bonds, or at least to the
truth.


Those are the questions I have for now, but the constant feedback from readers
starts fires in my mind for new works. There's so much I want to write!





We challenge you to commit your most searching queries for Anne Rice to text, then send them to us.  Each
week SALON editors will select the five most provocative, creative,
erotic or surrealistic questions and forward them to Anne for her amusement
and reaction.


The chosen questions (and the answers) -- no matter how revealing -- will appear in upcoming issues of SALON.


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