...women of letters & vampires...

“I was a newborn vampire,

weeping at the beauty of the night.”

~ Anne Rice

Interview with the Vampire

 

My mother always has given amazing gifts. She just has a talent for it. Sometimes they’re extravagant; sometimes they require a great deal of effort; sometimes they’re weird; sometimes they’re last minute trinkets that show how well she knows you. They’re always thoughtful.

Today I was browsing my bookshelves and I stumbled upon a memory, a really, really great memory.

My folks have always instilled in me a strong work ethic. If you say you’re going to do it, you have to do it and you have to do it right. I was in high school when Queen of the Damned (1988) was released. A few years later I was in the Vampire Lestat Fan Club and there was the Vampire Ball. My mother said that she would take me to New Orleans and I was so excited. It was going to be amazing! Then we discovered that I had some silly ol’ band competition that weekend. It was an obligation; it was a commitment that I had made; it translated to me giving my word and following through so we never made the ball that year (or any year since). I was devastated in the way that only a teen can be hurt by such a thing.

So, my mother set out to give me the next best thing. She did not tell me that she was writing a letter. I knew nothing of this until my birthday, which is at the end of February. When I opened the envelope, I received signed messages from Anne Rice on sticker paper that I could insert in each of her books… and forthcoming publications. It was such a thoughtful gift that I still have today, although some of those stickers live inside books now… and some of those books were borrowed and not returned *insert stink eye* but they were gifted to me by my most thoughtful mother who understands that some gifts require time, patience, and hope that a pretty-darn-famous author would take the time to respond to a young fan’s mother.