...ANNE RICE...
November 1994- I went to see Interview
with The Vampire with two of my friends, not knowing the
author, but I went to be with my friends and also because I
cannot resist a good vampire movie.
November 1994 (later that night)- I leave the movie theater
wondering who this author is... Who is Anne Rice? And more
importantly, where can I get a copy of the novel?
Christmas 1994- I receive Interview with the Vampire and
The Vampire Lestat.
Spring 1995- I receive The Queen of the Damned and The
Tale of the Body Thief
Summer 1995- I am lent The Witching Hour, (I still have it,
so shhh!!!)
December 5th 1995- I receive Memnoch the Devil for my
birthday.
February 1997- I receive The Vampire Companion The Official
Guide to Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles.
November 1997 (A day I will never forget)- I meet Anne Rice at
the Miami Book Fair. She personalizes two of my books, The
Vampire Companion and Violin.
March 1998- I receive Pandora, the first of Anne's
series to chronicle other vampires via David Talbot. Pandora
strikes me and it quickly becomes one of my fave Anne Rice
novels.
July 1998- I receive Prism of the Night A biography of Anne
Rice.
December 5th 1998- I receive The Vampire Armand. I love
this book for its sadomasochistic themes.
April 1999- I receive Servant of the Bones.
March 13 1999- I am given Taltos by someone who I have
given my heart for as long as he wants it.
March 20 1999- I receive Vittorio The Vampire.
Christmas 1999- I receive Lasher...
December 5th 2000- I receive Merrick...
Christmas 2001- I receive Blood & Gold...
And so began my journey into the world of Anne Rice. The world
where I am continuously enchanted each time I open one of her
novels to read. The world that gave us (my personal fave)
Monseiur Lestat de Lioncourt and the despairing Louis de Pointe
du Lac, the elusive Pandora, the mysterious Azriel and so many
more enchanting characters that make us think and remind us of
ourselves.
However, this chronology of books goes
back further in time than 1994. In fact, the entire Anne Rice
mystique traces back to October 4th 1941... but she wasn't Anne
then, she was Howard...
October 4 1941- Howard Allen born.
1946- Howard begins to write.
1947- Howard changes her name to Anne. She was named after her
father who had been taunted as a boy. He was called a girl by the
other children at school and so he chose the name Howard for his
second daughter because it reminded him of girls. Anne on the
other hand, disliked the name because she was often taunted in
school for being the girl with the boy's name. So, on the first
day of first grade, she changed her name to Anne.
1951- Anne writes a novella about two beings from Mars.
1953- Anne writes many plays.
1956- Anne's mother, Katherine O'Brien, dies.
1957- Anne meets Stan Rice in a journalism class. They become
friends.
1959- Anne grauates high school and enrolls in Texas Woman's
University. She completes two years of college in one year.
1960- Anne moves to San Francisco but corresponds with Stan.
1961- Stan proposes to Anne by telegram and she accepts. She
marries him on October 14, in Texas.
1962- Anne and Stan move to San Francisco and reside in
Haight-Ashbury.
1963- Anne writes The Suffering of Charlotte and Nicholas
and Jean.
1964- Stan and Anne graduate from San Francisco State University.
1965- Anne publishes a short story, "October 4, 1948"
in Transfer.
1966- Anne gives birth to Michele Rice. Anne publishes the first
chapter of Nicholas and Jean in Transfer and
she enrolls in graduate school.
1969- Anne, Stan and Michele move to Berkeley, California. She
writes a short story entitiled Interview with the Vampire.
She also writes a novella, Katherine and Jean, which she
sends off to publication.
1970- Anne decides to complete a master's program in creative
writing at San Francisco State University after her
disatisfaction with the University of California. They move to an
apartment in North Berkeley where Anne writes Tales of Rhoda.
Michele is diagnosed with leukemia.
1972- Michele Rice dies on August 5.
1973- Anne quits her job to write full time. She turns Interview
into a novel in five weeks, however it is rejected.
1974- Interview with the Vampire is finally accepted and
is contracted by Knopf.
1976- Interview is published.
1978- Christopher Rice is born on March 11.
1979- Anne and Stan decide to stop drinking on Memorial Day. The
Feast of All Saints is published by Simon & Schuster.
Anne's short vampire story is published in Playboy.
1980- Anne, Stan and Christoper move to the Castro District where
Anne writes Cry to Heaven.
1982- Cry to Heaven is published by Knopf.
1983- The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by 'A.N.
Roquelaure' is published by Dutton. Anne writes an article on
gender and it appears in Vogue.
1984- Beauty's Punishment published by 'A.N.
Roquelaure'.
1985- Exit to Eden by 'Anne Rampling' published by Arbor
House. Beauty's Release is published. The Vampire
Lestat Hardcover makes the best-seller's list.
1986- Belinda by 'Anne Rampling' is published by Arbor
House.
1987- Anne writes parts of The Queen of the Damned in
her house in Sonoma County, California.
1988- The Queen of the Damned published.
1989- Anne, Stan and Christopher move to New Orleans permanently,
they buy a grand mansion in the Garden District. A place where
Anne had always dreamed of living. This house becomes the setting for the Mayfair house in The Witching Hour.The Mummy or Ramses the
Damned is published. (No relation to the 1999 movie, The
Mummy.)
1990- The Witching Hour published by Knopf.
1991- Anne writes The Tale of the Body Thief. Anne's
father, Howard O'Brien, dies.
1992- The Tale of the Body Thief published by Knopf. Anne writes
the script for the film based on Interview with the Vampire.
Anne also writes Lasher.
1993- Anne and Stan purchase St. Elizabeth's, a former Catholic
girls' orphanage. Lasher is published. The Vampire
Companion: The Official Guide to Anne Rice's "The Vampire
Chronicles" is published.
1994- Anne writes Memnoch the Devil. Exit to Eden
is made into a film. Interview with the Vampire is made
into a film. Taltos is published. The Witches
Companion: The Official Guide to Anne Rice's "Lives of the
Mayfair Witches" is published.
1996- Servant of the Bones is published by Knopf.
1997- Violin is published by Knopf.
1998- Pandora and The Vampire Armand are
published by Knopf. Anne is diagnosed with diabetes.
1999- Vittorio The Vampire is published by Knopf.
2000- Merrick is published by Knopf.
2001- Blood & Gold is published by Knopf.
Onward? Who knows, only time will tell. But one thing is certain,
these books are unforgettable as is the woman who wrote them...
...ANNE RICE...