Anne Rice passed away on Saturday. She was one of my favorite authors. I started reading her books when I was 13 or 14; my grandmother was a fan and she gave me my first copy of Interview with the Vampire. I've read the early books in The Vampire Chronicles, the first three books in The Mayfair Witches series, and a few of her other non-series books. I used to love walking past her house in New Orleans and I think her connection to the city was one of the things I enjoyed most about her books.
I met her once in 1995 at a book signing for Memnoch the Devil. It was the Super Crown at Springfield Mall. My brother came with me so we could get a book for our grandma as well (he has her signed copy). I remember her being very kind and very efficient in the way bestselling authors at books signings have to be. My grandma loved the signed book, although I don't know if she actually liked the book itself. It's possible we talked about it, but I don't remember. She really loved the fact that we got Anne Rice to sign the book. I think it's the only gift I ever gave my grandma that truly delighted and surprised her.
Rice as was always an interesting figure in the literary world and around New Orleans. One of my favorite stories about her was about her feud with Al Copeland, the founder of Popeye's Chicken. Copeland opened Straya on St. Charles Avenue in 1997, the year I moved back to New Orleans to attend college. It was a to-do. Straya was ugly and seemed very out of place on the avenue, and Anne Rice hated it. The location was the site of the end of Memnoch the Devil, so you can imagine how angry she'd be to see a such a place built there. Copeland sued Rice for libel, but the suit was dismissed. It's just one of those random New Orleans stories.
Today's piece is a quote of Rice's I like a lot. It came up in something I was reading about her over the weekend, and it really hit me. I felt it, and not just about writing, but creating in general. I think about this a lot when I share each piece and draw the next one. I don't know that this project was risky, but it certainly is one of the more uncomfortable things I've done in my life, which of course, makes it incredibly satisfying.
Thanks, Anne Rice, for the encouragement as I meander to the finish of this project.
Details:
Stitches: back stitch, French knots
Thread palette: DMC C820 (2,3)
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