When you think of literary vampires, two authors should come to mind: Bram Stoker and Anne Rice.  (Because really, let’s all pretend the Stephanie Myers stuff never happened.)  Anne has been a longstanding powerhouse in fantasy literature, whether it be her STILL BEST SELLING Vampire Chronicles, The Mayfair Witches, or Sleeping Beauty series (some under the nom de plumes A.N. Roquelaure and Anne Rampling).

While yes I was probably too young to be reading her works when I encountered my first copy of “Interview With A Vampire”, I immediately fell in love with her lush style and passionate characters.  I tore through every possible thing I could find with her name on it, long nights spent in front of a tiny lamp in my room reading.   I’ll even go so far as to say I was heartbroken when she announced her leaving the nightrealm of vampires, and absolutely ELATED when rumors of “Prince Lestat” hit the trades.  On October 27th I waited for midnight to hit so I could purchase it for my Kindle!

As luck would have it with the publication of “Prince Lestat”, Anne embarked on a book tour.  One of the stops happened to be in my city of San Francisco where so many years ago Louis sat with Daniel to tell his tale.  I jumped at the chance to be in the same room with one of the pagemasters of my idolatry.  Little did I know how wonderfully warm she would be, and how amazing her support staff is!  I mean I follow her presence on social media and knew some of the personalities running her Twitter and Facebook, but they were truly lovely people.

The signing took place at Books, Inc. at Opera Plaza right off Van Ness and was well attended.  The folks standing in line maintained a level of excitement that was infectious, and kindness abounded.  The crowd was varied in terms of age, sex, race, and fashion, making people watching a definite perk.  I had only intended to stay for a little while to take some photos and possibly get some interview time, but was invited to stay for the remainder of the time.  I’m so glad I did.  Here are my favorite photos I took during the evening:

I was ecstatic to have my photo taken with Anne, and even more so when I got to say thankyou for her “Merrick” and “Pandora”, my favorites of the Vampire Chronicles.  Seriously, if you are familiar with the series but haven’t read those, do so, then pick up a copy of “Prince Lestat”.   And I still long for the day we see a film adaptation of “Ramses the Damned” and “The Witching Hour”.