Charlaine Harris: “Younger readers like it when Sookie has sex”
By Lividity on May 18 2010 | 14 Comments »
Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris, the author of the super popular Sookie Stackhouse books has been interviewed by Metro.co.uk. In this interview, Ms. Harris discusses the difference between Alan Ball’s approach and her own, how she is might be growing tired with her characters and how her younger readers like it when Sookie has sex.
Metro: What do the readers expect from your books?
CH: They want vampires, of course, and don’t mind seeing werewolves and fairies too. The younger readers like it when Sookie gets to have sex but that doesn’t happen in every book.
Metro: You wouldn’t know that from the TV show.
CH: No, you wouldn’t. That’s where Alan Ball [True Blood’s producer] and I have a different approach.
Metro: What are the other differences between the books and the TV show?
CH: There are extra characters on the show. We had to bring the other characters forward because Sookie can’t be on the screen all the time. Alan’s very talented. I had several offers to adapt the books and feel I went with the right person.
Metro: You’re very prolific – is it easy to churn them out?
CH: I wrote two books a year for three years, which was hard. A book a year is easy. Some are hard no matter how many years’ experience you have. They become hard when I’m growing tired of the characters or can’t think of new things to do with them.
Read the rest here.
i wonder which characters she’s getting tired of? this may lead 2 klling them off, if she cant think of what to do with them…
Some of us older readers like it when Sookie has sex, too…….especially when she has sex with Eric…..we get this vicarious thrill……..:D
Please, she doesn’t have any say in what happens on “True Blood.” That’s AB’s show, not hers. Her ego never ceases to annoy me.
Agreed!
Doesn’t everyone like to have sex? To say otherwise seems… well… silly/naive/misinformed/prudish… I read and enjoyed SVM before True Blood, and I can honestly say that I’ll never read another one of her books. (And I seriously need to stop reading her interviews because they just irritate me.) While I don’t envy the situation she finds herself in, SHE’S the one who sold the rights to her books, so she can dry her tears of “I wouldn’t have done it like that” on the fat-checks. (See, I’m usually a fairly nice person; CH seems to bring out my worst.)
A curious comment for sure (the one about young people and Sookie sex). Also, the comment, “No, you wouldn’t. That’s where Alan Ball [True Blood’s producer] and I have a different approach.” That seems odd because we’re only through book 2 and both those books had Sookie getting down with VB didn’t they? So, um what’s the difference in the amount of Sookie sex so far?
Knowing the calibre of some British journalism, that comment might have been taken out of context, but still. The first two books had A LOT of sex and they were very good indeed. After that, not so much. I find myself insulted by the woman yet again. Its damn hard to write a good sex scene that stirs people, and it is not a sign of immaturity or a preference for trash literature if you like reading such scenes. I think she should read Dead Until Dark again and compare it with her latest offering, to remind herself how disappointing her books have become.
I agree, the first 3 books had alot of GREAT sex. After that, it went down hill.
Well that was a little condescending, I hope unintentionally or taken, as CE said, out of context. I likes me some freaky deaky and I’m sooo not young! And moreso, I like her sex scenes. Not all of them, but I was thinking after ten books she’s running out of positions? I could loan her my copy of the Kamasutram *shrug*
I have a gal at work I loaned the book to and she couldn’t finish the first one because she found it too racy for her taste. So sex is THERE, just not in your face, behind the dumpter while high on V sex.
Oddly enough…if you like Eric…her books are anything but disappointing.
Do respects Cranky, but several of the posters do like Eric. It doesn’t mean that they’ll accept whatever CH pens just because Erik is the protagonistic sexual focus. We all demand better writing. Can you honestly say the last one really was as good as the first 5?
I haven’t read the last book yet…10. But a close friend…whose opinions I respect…has…and found it quite enjoyable. She liked it better than 9…but now that she’s read 10 see’s the purpose behind 9 which she’s labeled as “transitional”.
I found the first two books rather boring….actually. But “better writing”? CH has her own style…and if you want something better…don’t read her books.
I definitely think CH is an Eric fan and that is her right. She did consider Killing Bill in book 9 I believe…but was persuaded it would not be good for her or TB’s profit margins. I don’t have a single argument with the way Alan Ball has written his show…to support Bill at Eric’s expense either. AB knows what he’s doing with the characters Charlaine Harris has created and from what I understand she doesn’t argue with his choices either.
We should really work harder on not feeding this particular troll.
This woman drives me crazy.
She had other options for her books? She contracted them before AB and the company didn’t do anything with them. As soon as the contract ran out she immediately sold them to AB. $$$$$$
She’s disciplined? That’s not what she’s said in past interviews, unless I totally missed something here.
Her family enjoyed reading her stories when she was young? Hell, I enjoyed reading my kids first sentence too and cooed over it for days.
The first two seasons of TB have more sex then the books? Don’t think so….much more in the books.
Does this woman have dementia?