Cary from Barnes & Noble.com: Good evening, Anne Rice! Welcome to Barnes & Noble.com! How are you? Where do we find you tonight? 

Anne Rice: Well, I'm doing very well. I'm in Manhattan, on the 48th floor of a beautiful hotel looking out at skyscrapers and twinkling lights. It's a wonderfully clear night. 

Cary from B&N.com: For those out in the virtual hinterland who have not yet had the pleasure of picking up, much less reading, Merrick, perhaps you might tell us just a bit about it. 

AR: Merrick is part of The Vampire Chronicles. It's one of a long chain of books I've written that now total nine, if you include the one that is coming out next year, which is finished, so Merrick is the eighth. 

The main characters are David Talbot and Louis, the hero of Interview With the Vampire. He and David come together to try to persuade a human witch of genuine medium to raise the spirit of the dead child vampire, Claudia. Louis is virtually haunted by her death, obsessed with it. He believes that if he can contact her spirit and find she's at rest, he'll have the courage to go into the morning sun and destroy himself. David knows from his experience at the Order of Psychic Scholars, that the most powerful witch is Merrick Mayfair. So David approaches her and asks if she'll use her powers. From then on, it's about Merrick and about how the people around her perceive and underestimate her. There is real suspense as to what David will do with this request, and what Merrick will do. As with many of my novels, there is a long flashback in which David explains to Louis the whole life of Merrick, i.e., "Sit down and let me tell you about Merrick." I do this kind of flashback in many of my books. 

Danielle T. from New York/Connecticut: Anne, it's wonderful to see you back! I've enjoyed the new book immensely. My question is this: Knowing how larger-than-life Lestat has been for you in the past, and even now, was it difficult to keep him under wraps for almost five years? Knowing the character the way most readers do from the books, it seems like he would have a hard time staying out of the spotlight for so long. 

AR: Lestat is basically one of those characters who does what he wants. I can't make him come into a story until he's ready. I love him more than any character I've created. He has a mind of his own. He controls me. He obsesses me. 

Gerard Hall from San Diego, CA: Greetings, Anne! I want to tell you that I absolutely loved Merrick. It was great to bring back Lestat and Louis (and, of course, David), but what I wanted to know about the book: Was Claudia actually present for the conjuring or was it another spirit impersonating her? And if it was Claudia present, did she really lie to Louis? 

AR: That is really a very important mystery. You just don't know what you get. Merrick says so herself. I feel I have to leave it there. 

Hrd2SayGby from Alabama: Wow, Anne! You really change Louis in the new novel! Outstanding! Do you anticipate that he will continue to be a leading character in future novels about the vampires? It was hard to watch him take a back seat for so long and it is wonderful to see him get such a great storyline at long last! 

AR: I think Louis will be more in the forefront from now on. He was ready for his story to be told. Some characters are more stubborn than others. 

Doug from New London, CT: In the span of your works, you delve quite heavily into the psychology of the characters. How pervasive is your involvement with your characters in your daily life, and how do you manage to put them aside while working on them? I know they stay with me like a gossamer cobweb! 

AR: You know, I don't put them aside. I think about them all the time. If they leave me, and go away to where I feel that they are not a warm presence in my mind, I panic. I count on them. If I go to a new city, I think what would they think of it? I count on them being with me. When I go to Rome or Florence or Venice, I think about how they might see it. If I go into a hotel Lestat would love, I bring him in. My mind carries them along in a voluptuous daydream. 

Christine Johnson from Butner, NC: Are you excited to finally combine the witches and vampires, and will you write more about the two together in any more novels? 

AR: I don't feel that I have fully combined them. Merrick Mayfair is from a shadow side. I haven't brought the chief witches together with the vampires. I don't know in advance. 

David Delcroix from Paris, France: Good evening, Anne! First of all, thanks again for a wonderful signing at Saint Elizabeth in New Orleans. I have always been fascinated by the mysterious organization featured in many of your books: The Talamasca. I was wondering if you intended to write soon a book about the history of this organization and its mysterious origins to which you alluded in several books. 

AR: I will, some day. It will be titled The Talamasca. I'm still talking about the mystery of their origins and the possibility of corruption in the Talamasca, but I'm not ready. 

Tiffany from San Francisco, CA: I read that you started to dislike the character of Louis because you felt he was too needy and that is why you started to focus more on Lestat. I was wondering how you feel about his character now, and if you think that the Vampire Armand is much more needy than Louis ever has been? Or at least that is my opinion! 

AR: I don't know if I thought that. I felt that he was a sad character, so profoundly sad that he couldn't be fully tragic. Lestat could be truly tragic. It was easy to focus on him because of his strength. Lestat feels Armand is needy. Armand was only 17 when he was made a vampire. Naturally, he appears needy, but these are strictly the needs of a growing child. 

Anna from Oregon: Happy belated birthday! I haven't had the pleasure of reading Merrick yet, but I have read almost all of the rest. I would like to know what the first seed of thought was when you decided to write the vampire series? 

AR: The first idea was exactly what the title of the first book makes clear. What would it be like to interview a vampire? What would he have to say about human life? That was exactly it. 

James from Coos Bay, OR: Something you probably get often, but it is still a question in my mind: Do you have a belief in the supernatural? And if so, does that give you a background for some of your characters? 

AR: Yes, I do believe in the supernatural. I am a practicing Roman Catholic, so I believe in the supernatural. I also believe there is strong evidence for the existence of ghosts. But I also have a profound fear that life may be meaningless, a biological horror story, and I'm goaded by that fear no matter how strong my curiosity or faith about the supernatural. 

Jennifer Hoover from Idaho: First off, let me say that I absolutely love your writings. You are one of my favorite authors (along with Robin McKinley). Anyway, the spells that Merrick performed in the book, were they real, made up, based on real spells? 

AR: I did a great deal of research for them. I read what I could about Coptic magic, and was inspired by Coptic spell, referring to people who lived in Northern Egypt. The spells were compilations made from the material I read. You can go to your library and research ancient magic yourself and find them. I researched Voodoo in New Orleans; and Robert Tallant, a scholar, some of what Merrick does is inspired by his research. 

William from Dayton, OH: Anne, I just have a few quick comments. I wanted to let you know I enjoy your works incredibly and was so excited to see that Christopher shares such a great talent as you. Wishes for continued success! 

AR: What a generous comment. I appreciate that a lot. I am overjoyed that he has written a novel. I have read the book, A Density of Souls. It is doing very, very well. If I didn't think it was great, I'd pretend I hadn't read it, but I did and I recommend it wholeheartedly. He has a voice of his own. 

Suzy Rahman from Parsippany, NJ: Your stories are incredibly intriguing, but why do you have to make your heroines so engagingly perfect? 

AR: I don't know that they are perfect. I'm not sure Merrick is perfect. Merrick has a penchant for getting drunk; that's not perfection. Merrick has her flaws. She wants very much to use her magic for her own purposes. She might even be a little self-centered. And I think Pandora is melancholy and in despair, and that's sad. But I can't seem to bring her out of it for very long. She lapsed back into it after she wrote her story. 

Barbara Williams from San Francisco, CA: I love your Vampire Chronicles. Coming from San Francisco, where you are somewhat of an icon, I was curious: How do you prepare for writing each novel? Do you necessarily do a significant amount of research, or is it based on your own personal experiences, i.e. traveling? I haven't found many authors of late who can match the clear and convincing way you describe and build your characters and scenery. 

AR: My methods change all the time. Sometimes, I plunge into a novel; other times, I do research first. In the research, I find inspiration. If I can't be at my computer, I'll take bits of notes in my diary. There is no set way; each novel sets its own pattern. Each person makes his own rules with a novel. Merrick was a novel where I plunged in, then I did my research as I was writing. 

Millette Burgos from Manila, Philippines: Finally! I got a chance to visit New Orleans two weeks ago and a local tour guide took us to your house. Does it bother you that fans and tourists alike ogle your home? My only regret is missing your book launch. The Garden District is as you have described it in your books. One day I'll come back to New Orleans and hopefully catch a glimpse of you in your house. I really love your books! 

AR: It doesn't bother me one bit. My house was built in the 1850s and '60s and it should be shared. There were tourists going through the district and looking at my house before I lived there. The architecture demands that. When I go out the gate, if I have time, I love to sign autographs. I don't mind. 

Rosie O`Donnell from New York: How did you like being on my show? 

AR: I absolutely loved it! Rosie, you are one of the most generous people I have ever known! I adored the whole the experience. I think you've set a very good example with your kindness. 

Cary from B&N.com: As part of a project we are doing here at Barnes & Noble.com, we'd like to ask: Who are some of your favorite authors, and why? 

AR: The old guys, the classics. This year it would be Emily Bronte and Charlotte Bronte. I've been asking my readers who they like best. I re-read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre and was knocked out for the third, fourth, and fifth time. And I never get tired of reading Dickens. When I feel dry, I go to Dickens to make my juices flow. He's always good for getting me back to work. 

Linda from Amsterdam, the Netherlands: I was very excited to hear there will be another book about Lestat. Do you think it will be hard to follow up a tale like Memnoch the Devil, which seems the ultimate adventure in the way it deals with very big subjects such as the creation and Heaven and Hell? 

AR: No, I don't think so. I think it will be a challenge to follow it, but a good challenge. I've given him some time to recoup from that and left some mystery to see whether Memnoch told the truth. I have two novels I plan on writing. I just have to get home and write them. 

Deserie Vercher from New Jersey: First, let me say: You go, Ms. Thing. I am totally captivated and spell bound by your Vampire Chronicles. You are truly (in my modest opinion) one of the greats. I would like to ask if you feel the younger generations (myself, 23) of your readers brought up on Wes Craven movies and Freddy Krueger breakfast cereal misinterpret the meaning of your novels. Do you feel they are drawn in by the blood flow, but miss all of the self loathing, emotion, and eternal search for redemption your characters bring forth? These are true, powerful feelings that only someone who has lived and loved, hated and feared can possess. I would imagine a lot of yourself went into these novels, and I would like to know if you embrace or resent the Elvira-esque image created by works I'm sure you keep close to your heart. 

AR: No, I don't resent the Elvira-esque images. I really think that even my youngest readers get something worthwhile from my books and it brings me joy. I think it is wonderful that kids today care about reading -- that little kids care about reading Harry Potter. I think kids get it all. My books are so blatantly subject to a whole variety of interpretations. I do it deliberately and am delighted by that variety. 

Anne Robey from Oklahoma: Do you consider yourself to have a muse of some sort or is that something you do not believe in? 

AR: I don't know what that means. I have mentors that I invoke, like Emily and Charlotte Bronte or Mary Shelley. I was spellbound by the youthful exuberance of the original Frankenstein. I only read it ten years ago. But that's the nearest thing I have to a muse. 

Wonderwallz411 from Dallas, TX: Please tell us more about the comic books, are they available yet? I am an avid collector of all your writings and look forward to adding these to my collection. 

AR: Okay, this is what's happening: My assistant, Ross Tafaro, created a company called Sicilian Dregs to publish The Tale of the Body Thief as a graphic novel. It has just come out. I presided over the art and tried to give feedback about the image of Lestat. It is distributed by Diamond Distribution. If it breaks even, I think Ross will go on to do Memnoch the Devil. We just got our shipment before we left. It should be in comic book stores. 

Julie from New Orleans, LA: What's your opinion of people who live as "vampires?" Sometimes they go so far as to have fangs implanted surgically! I've met them in New Orleans, but now they are in other cities as well. 

AR: I think the Goths who love to dress up and dance and see and be seen -- they are wonderful, romantic and sensuous. They are putting some romance into a world that is secular. When it comes to people engaging in blood drinking -- that is insane, too dangerous to be discussible. But I think the Goth culture is a peace-loving culture, and I love to see anyone in costume at my signings. If I had any small part in inspiring it, I'm thrilled. My heavens, look what fashion is today! It is sterile compared to the time of Louis XIV. Goths give color to the world. 

Michael Pickering from Saudi Arabia: Hello, Anne! I've been thinking of a question to ask you, and here it is: If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Remember, you could only travel back in time to one place. Oh, and have you listened to The Pines of Rome by Respighi? If so, what did the music make you feel? And if not, well, you need to listen to something by Respighi at some point in time! It's really so inspiring! I love you Anne! 

AR: I think the answer is obvious: I'd go to Galilee and try to meet Jesus Christ. That's the obvious answer for a Catholic. That's what I tried to do with Memnoch the Devil. 

Reilly from New York: Well, Anne, I love all your books and have a wonderful collection of them sitting next to me right now. But my question is, why is your fan club, after so many years of great service to your fan base, closing down? 

AR: That's a question I can't answer, only they can. I've been pondering it too. It has always been a separate entity. I believe that they will answer that in their newsletter. I can't speak for them. I'm grateful for all they've done. I enjoy their parties and balls, but I don't play an active role. 

Corinna from Middelburg, the Netherlands: If the Dark Gift was offered to you, would you except it? 

AR: I think I'd have to accept. I don't think I could resist it. I couldn't turn my back on immortality. I'd like to be a witness to the world. 

Cary from B&N.com: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. Before we sign off, do you have any final thoughts for your online fans? 

AR: For any young writers out there, I would like to say: "Stick to it!" Write in your own voice. Don't imitate anybody. Make your own rules. Declare that you are a writer, whether published or not, and defend yourself against anyone who attacks you for your faith. 

Thank you so much, the chat has been very enjoyable. I think the variety of questions and locales was wonderful. I love that someone wrote in from Saudi Arabia!