10 Questions for Anne Rice

Are your novels about Jesus Christ the end of your evolution as a writer or merely the beginning? —Kyle McCartney, Huntington Beach, Calif.
It's the beginning of a new epoch. It was a big shift and the great thing about it was that it allowed me to draw on all of my experiences as a writer—I realized that my experience as a story teller could be used for a new vocation. I thought, 'I'm going to write about you and bring you to life in novels for people who don't believe in you.'

Has your newfound Christianity—and turn to religious writing—affected your book sales? —Dan Karns, Denver, Colo.
Book sales are a situation where you find out things over time. As far as I know, Christ the Lord has done very well—perhaps even better than the last two Vampires novels. I don't think there has been any effect. It has been a fairly smooth transition.

If Jesus was born today do you think he would have the same impact he had 2000 years ago? —Matt Simpson, Melbourne, Australia
I think he is everywhere. In all my years I have never seen America as religious as it is right now. There are people of all religions talking about their faith and for the first time—in my memory—faith is a question in the general election for president. Jesus is with us now as much as ever and is as magnetic today as he was 2000 years ago.

When the motion picture adaptation of Interview with the Vampire came out you expressed some initial concerns about casting. Were you pleased with the overall movie and casting? —Luke Buckman, Wichita, Kans.
I was ultimately very pleased. I had doubts in the beginning, but I think Tom Cruise did a terrific job playing the vampire Lestat. The characters didn't always fit the characters in the book, but it worked.

What frightens you? —Michael O'Brien, Chandler, Ariz.
I can't say that there is anything specific that frightens me except these questions as to whether life has meaning and whether God is really with us. My worst fear is that the world is meaningless and I'm deluded—that I won't ever see people that I have lost again, my daughter who died when she was a little girl and my husband who died in 2002. I think all Christians face that fear.