Anne Rice has "found God."

[Maddy McCall]

snip/

In two weeks, Anne Rice, the chronicler of vampires, witches and—under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure—of soft-core S&M encounters, will publish "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt," a novel about the 7-year-old Jesus, narrated by Christ himself. "I promised," she says, "that from now on I would write only for the Lord." It's the most startling public turnaround since Bob Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" announced that he'd been born again.

Meeting the still youthful-looking Rice, you'd never suspect she'd been ill—except that on a warm October afternoon she's chilly enough to have a fire blazing. And if you were expecting Morticia Addams with a strange new light in her eyes, forget it. "We make good coffee," she says, beckoning you to where a silver pot sits on the white tablecloth. "We're from New Orleans." Rice knows "Out of Egypt" and its projected sequels—three, she thinks—could alienate her following; as she writes in the afterword, "I was ready to do violence to my career." But she sees a continuity with her old books, whose compulsive, conscience-stricken evildoers reflect her long spiritual unease. "I mean, I was in despair." In that afterword she calls Christ "the ultimate supernatural hero ... the ultimate immortal of them all."

snip/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9785289/site/newsweek/

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Well.

Huh.




How about that?




I just don't know what to say, except that I hope she hasn't turned into a fuckbag Christian, and has embraced sane, moral Christianity.

[jonnyblitz]

2. for the sake of her out gay son , Christopher, I hope the same.

he writes books, too. I just read one, it was quite over the top and very "unchristian", if you are a fundie that is..

[Guy Fawkes]

63. Any good?

the book, that is.

[frogmarch]

3. I think she's always been

religious...a Catholic with some New Orleans-style voodoo beliefs thrown in, as many NOers are, so I've heard.

[Maddy McCall]

5. She wrestled with religion in all of her books.

But I don't think she was a practicing Catholic in the past 30 years.

[terrya]

12. I'm wondering if maybe the death of her husband may be a part of this.

Yes, religion has been a theme in some of her books. But perhaps it interests her even more since the death of her husband, Stan Rice. I know they had a very happy and long lasting marriage.

I'm not sure if I would read these books. Her writing has become...more...flowery, to grasp at an adjective...in each of her successive books. The last good book of hers that I could really enjoy was "The Mayfair Witches"

[philosophie_en_rose]

4. Well, I think it'd take Jesus to make her dreck readable.

Her first books were written well, in my opinion. However, once she placed herself above editorial feedback, her books became progressively self-indulgent and difficult to read.

I'm pretty much an atheist, but I hope that Jesus is able to produce a miracle and deflate Ms. Rice's ego.

[Maddy McCall]

6. I agree with you 100%

[hfojvt]

9. I did not make it through 'interview'

and liked Lestat even less (although I wonder why I was even reading Lestat if I did not finish 'interview')

[BlueIris]

15. Hee. I feel bad for laughing, since her issues have been so serious...

religious devotion, and reconnection to one's faith, can be healing to those who have suffered great loss. But...

I grew to hate Anne Rice's later fiction. And I'm talking about everything post-"Queen of the Damned." HATE it. She went from a skilled professional writer showing true streaks of inspiration to producing some of the worst, most bloated pro-fic of anyone on the bestseller list.

[Sequoia]

50. That was her last book that I read also.

[Dukkha]

21. she's turned into an embarassing no talent hack

Her latest books make harlequin romance novels look like classic literature. :puke:

[pitohui]

22. perhaps but it's still sad

will admit i have not read much of the work other than her porn efforts but she did quite a bit for new orleans preservation & also quite a bit to make halloween the big holiday it now is in new orleans

a nice lady, respectful & appreciative to her fans, concerned abt her community, it is sad to hear that she has more or less taken to her bed after her husband's death

[philosophie_en_rose]

25. I don't think she's respectful and appreciative of her fans.

I appreciate her efforts in New Orleans, but her rants on Amazon.com were over the top and truly, embarassingly arrogant.

[RubyDuby in GA]

42. I'm with you.

I stood in line for hours to have that crap Merrick autographed. I finally got up there and decided to casually ask if she was thinking of doing anything else with the Mayfair Witches (her best series imho). She stops writing, looks me dead in the face and says "if I wanted to write about those people anymore, you'd be buying a book about them now wouldn't you?" I actually said "oh that's nice, as a matter of fact I'm not buying your book today so you can take this one and shove it up your ass" and I walked away. What a snotty bitch. Don't anger the people who are trying to give you money.

Anyway, her work got seriously crappy in the last few years. Finally got out of the habit of reading her stuff. And I will say that it usually took making myself read the first 100 pages for me to even get into the story of each book.

[philosophie_en_rose]

79. I've tried to read a few new ones, but they're unreadable.

No redeeming qualities whatsoever. I liked Interview with the Vampire, Lestat, and Queen of the Damned. I dislike everything else.

I read on her website that she stopped using an editor after Queen of the Damned. It shows.

[skypilot]

91. Wow!!!

I never knew she was like that. I loved the part of "The Witching Hour" that chronicledd the history of the Mayfair Witches. That could have been me asking her the question you asked. I'm usually good with a snappy comeback but the attitude you described might have stopped me dead in my tracks.

[mitchum]

81. That is what she has always been

[NashVegas]

60. Maybe He'll Help Her Find a Plot

..

[long_green]

68. took the words right out of my mouth (or hands)

I love Anne as a fellow New Orleanian (if that applies to her anymore) but as a writer she's a third-rate Barbara Cartland. Barbara Cartland is herself fifth-rate.

[Fenris]

7. I'd be interested in reading that.

And I don't like her writing generally.

[Fox Mulder]

8. You think Akasha and Enkil will make an appearance?

:silly:

[Maine-ah]

10. I just read one of her S&M books, Sleeping Beauty.

Put quite a twist on that childhood story. Jeez, the Prince didn't even wake her up with a kiss before he "claimed" her.

[pitohui]

20. ever read belinda?

i suppose it wouldn't even be legal to publish that one now, it's "child porn"

[skygazer]

11. Huh... I didn't know he was lost

:shrug:

[Shine]

16. SHE isn't.

:evilgrin:

[arwalden]

13. Where Was He Hiding?

[terrya]

27. Oh, He's a big prankster, all right.

:-)

[Theres-a]

34. He was behind the couch all along.

[wovenpaint]

14. Wow

I loved the all the Mayfair witch stories...this is a switch.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. she should return him to me

i lost him a few years ago and i was wondering where he went

[ghostsofgiants]

36. lionesspriyanka wins the thread.

[Ladyhawk]

52. I agree....bwahahahahaha! Good one!

:thumbsup:

But Lioness, can you prove he's yours? Was he wearing an ID (pun intended) collar or implanted with an AVID chip?

One thing I like about DU is I can be as irreverent as I want and for the most part even the religious folks won't give me grief. :D :D :D :D

[La Lioness Priyanka]

78. he has my name tattooed

on his butt

ofcourse he is mine...and i KNOW i lost him...and now she finds him


he should be returned


finders keepers is not a law

[peekaloo]

18. What if God turns out to be a vampire?

:scared:

[pitohui]

23. he is, that's what the whole drinking my blood thing is abt EOM

,

[peekaloo]

30. Ah, I forgot about that. He must be a good vampire though

cuz you get crackers with your blood, too.

:dunce:

[pitohui]

19. it's hell getting old

she sounds like she is suffering from severe clinical depression, i suppose who wouldn't be after the last few yrs

[skygazer]

26. Clinical depression isn't caused by sad events

Makes me wish they'd come up with another name for it because calling it depression makes it sound like if you could just find something to be happy about, you'd be all better.

Catastrophic events will trigger depression in people who already have a proclivity to it but many people manage to survive disaster or heartache without ever suffering from depression. Some people have bouts of temporary depression, such as post-partum depression but that's a different sort of thing than true clinical depression.

She may suffer from depression - I don't know. But it wouldn't be because of outside events - they would only exacerbate what she already had.

[Ladyhawk]

54. Actually, a sad event can trigger a clinical depression.

When a person is sad, brain chemistry changes. For those prone to clinical depression--such as, for example, my entire paternal family--a situational depression can turn into a clinical depression.

I've gone down the road way too many times. At this point my "norm" is a constant depression, which I fight every single day with drugs, vitamins, exercise, a cranio-electro stimulator, etc. I have therapy once a week. Still, I feel that with each passing year, my "norm" is lower and lower. Treatment-resistant depression is so blasted hard to live with...ugh.

[REP]

67. Sounds Like Dysthymic Disorder

"In dysthymic disorder, depressive symptoms typically begin insidiously in childhood or adolescence and pursue an intermittent or low-grade course over many years or decades; major depressive episodes may complicate it (double depression). In pure dysthymia, depressive manifestations occur at a subthreshold level and overlap considerably with those of a depressive temperament: habitually gloomy, pessimistic, humorless, or incapable of fun; passive and lethargic; introverted; skeptical, hypercritical, or complaining; self-critical, self-reproaching, and self-derogatory; and preoccupied with inadequacy, failure, and negative events."

http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section15/chapter189/189c.jsp

[Ladyhawk]

70. I have severe depressive episodes, too.

I don't know what can be done about it. I'm still looking. :shrug:

[REP]

73. I Provided a Link

It describes treatment options.

The part I posted mentions dysthymic disorder is often complicated by periods of serious depression, called "double depression." You might discuss this with your doctor, or not, as you wish.

[Ladyhawk]

74. Thanks, I think I will.

As you can imagine, I've done a lot of my own research over the years to try to find new ways to combat the problem. I've discussed dysthymia on occasion with various doctors, etc. I think it's time to bring it up again.

Thank you for the info. :D

[Lilith Velkor]

84. I have that

Dysthymic disorder + PTSD.

If I found God, I'd probably punch her right in her grille.

[skygazer]

77. That's what I was trying to say

It doesn't CAUSE depression in and of itself but it can trigger it in people already prone.

I've fought depression for over 35 years and I've found that very few people who haven't experienced it have any clear understanding of what it is. They think it's the same as having a bad day or being "depressed" because something happened. They don't realize that you can be deeply depressed even when things are going well in your life (though it's usually hard to keep things going well because of the crippling nature of depression).

One thing people don't realize is that it's not just sadness - emotions in general are difficult to control. I have as much trouble with joy or anger or excitement or love as I do with grief or sadness. It's a matter of being unable to control my emotions. I don't have the coping mechanisms so-called "normal" people have. All those everyday emotions that most people don't even notice overwhelm me.

But you know all about that. :hug: No fun at all, is it?

[khashka]

24. She has always been deeply religious

and very very Catholic. "Interview" was about her anger at God and her feeling of spiritual alienation after her daughter's death.

Not much has changed - all her books have been about religion, one way or another. If she found a little peace and a way out of despair.... I hope she's happy :)

Khash.

[Tallison]

56. I agree

Sounds like she's entered another chapter in her lifelong spiritual quest. Power to her for continuing to move forward despite her decision's potential effect on book sales.

[RevCheesehead]

28. JC - "the ultimate supernatural hero."

Not quite sure that's how the disciples would describe him, but hey - more power to her. :)

[mr blur]

29. Now, if she could find some talent... (nt)

[leftofthedial]

31. she's always been nuts

just a new flavor

[msanthrope]

64. Exactly!!! n/t

[Walt Starr]

32. Maybe this will be better than her Vampire stuff

I never much cared for her effete feminine wimpy dreary vampires. Always preferred the truly evil bunch that Brian Lumley created for the Necroscope series.

[Magrittes Pipe]

33. Well, you know -- Jesus rose from the dead.

Maybe he's a VAMPIRE! :o

[GirlinContempt]

35. Well...

actually vampires apparently don't rise from the dead, they just are the dead. You're thinking of zombies dude ;)

[ghostsofgiants]

37. Which has been my contention for years.

[anarch]

55. here's a fun title for you:

The Last Days of Christ the Vampire by J.G. Eccarius


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D188662500X/postfundamentaliA/002-6745478-9963267

[RandomKoolzip]

38. I wish she'd "find" an MLA Style Manual, too.

Fuckin' awful writer, she is. And responsible for loosing more insufferable goth dorks upon this world than Bauhaus and Christian Death put together.

[GirlinContempt]

40. I think I just fell in love

:applause: :woohoo: :rofl: :spray: etc.

[RandomKoolzip]

41. Is there an echo in here?

:hi::evilgrin: :hug: :toast: :toast:

[GirlinContempt]

44. Our awesomeness

echo's all over the globe

[terrya]

45. As long as her insufferable writing style doesn't get passed on to her son

Christopher Rice has turned into a pretty decent writer.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

47. Why you hatin'?

[jonnyblitz]

53. I might start a persecuted goth poll. nt

[Chovexani]

69. Help help! I'm being oppressed!

I'll be over here in the corner crying with a bottle of absinthe. :cry:

[RandomKoolzip]

58. Please PLEASE tell me you don't actually like that shit.

Honestly now.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

71. Of course not, Reef Blastbody.

[jonnyblitz]

51. LMFAO!!

that was funny and I consider myself about 1/3 goth dork, too. ans speaking of the bauhaus they are, or will be, on tour!:hi:
" alt

[Loonman]

39. She seems way to full of herself, lately.

Too bad, i like a good amount of her books.

[WCGreen]

43. I didn't know he/she/it was lost....

[cssmall]

46. And, like T.S. Eliot before her.

Except that Eliot could actually write.

[Bridget Burke]

48. Perhaps God will send her an Editor.

I liked some of her early stuff but find her bloated later works almost unreadable.

Perhaps her new direction will help her spiritually. Her grief, illnesses & depression are real problems. But--is the luxurious isolation made possible by her wealth really the best way for her to live?

[Ladyhawk]

49. I thought maybe she was losing it when I saw her on Crossing Over

with John Edwards. Ugh.

It looks like I won't be reading any more Anne Rice. Even if she doesn't turn into a right-wing "christian," I have no interest in christian mythology because it was force-fed to me every day in school from 2nd grade through high-school. I probably won't even bother to see the Chronicles of Narnia even though it looks visually appealing. Even allegory of Christian mythology doesn't even appeal to me. In fact, I'm not even sure I like allegory at all anymore.

:wtf:

I'm worried that the fundies will use the movies to further push their agenda even though C.S. Lewis was no fundy.

[Bridget Burke]

66. Yes, the Fundies are trying to co-opt Narnia.

These guys advertise on the movie's official site: www.thesoulofthelion.com/

And Christianbook.com has a whole page of books "explaining" the series.
www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=938096&sp=80623&event=8000NAR|967390|80623

I'm sure C S Lewis would be appalled.

[Az]

82. Um, not likely

CS is one of the more quoted believers from the apologists. He wrote some strong arguments (in their opinion) for Christianity.

Mr Lewis had this to say about the aspects of Christianity in the work:

Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument, then collected information about child psychology and decided what age group I'd write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out 'allegories' to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn't write in that way. It all began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord.

[Lilith Velkor]

86. I always thought Narnia was pagan-friendly

I was a little surprised when I found out it was supposed to be meant for Christians. Maybe the allegory was too subtle for me or something.

[Bridget Burke]

88. C S Lewis was a complicated man.

There is some Christian allegory in the Narnia tales. But Lewis had the Classical education so common in those days & also liked a ripping yarn.

He was definitely no Fundamentalist--although the Fundamentalists are trying to co-opt his works.

[Lilith Velkor]

92. Ah, that explains it.

When one has a Classical education, one is expected to study the works of pagan philosophers. So some of the imagery one uses is pagan.

[MN ChimpH8R]

57. So where was S/He?

Behind the refrigerator? Hiding up in the attic? :P

[IMOK_UROK2]

87. I was wondering the same thing.

I didn't realise He was missing.

[afdip]

59. almost as good as when she found popeye's fried chicken

[bertha katzenengel]

61. Bullshit. This CAN'T be true. It's a Halloween prank -- has to be.

I have never read one of her novels but I know what's in them.

This HAS to be bs. :scared:

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

62. .

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp10232005.shtml

[MissMillie]

65. I didn't know he was missing....

:hide:

[RedCloud]

72. Simple way to find god.

Take the word dog and reverse it! Works every time!

[Atlas Mugged]

75. Has she been hanging around with Jane Fonda?

I suspect that their form of Christianity is of the "new age" variety.

[bleedingheart]

76. The poor woman lost her husband and a child ...God may be her

consolation...

her daughter died at 5 back in '72 and her husband just passed away about 3 years ago....

[mitchum]

80. Well, she will still be a ridiculous hack

And what's with this "still youthful-looking" nonsense?

[eyepaddle]

85. Wow, you are so right on several counts.

I hated te Vampire stuff and STILL youthful looking?!? :shrug:

[uppityperson]

83. That's good.

I couldn't remember where I'd put God after my last bath.

[noonwitch]

89. "The Witching Hour" is still one of the best books I've ever read

Some of her stuff if lame, especially recent novels and any sequels to "The Witching Hour". But that book is so addictive, I even forgive the unsatisfactory ending because the characters throughout the story are so amazing.

"The Feast Of All Saints" and the first 3 or 4 vampire novels are also really good.

I think that Anne has always been somewhat spiritual. Her vampire novels deal with deep issues of being a creature denied God's mercy. In addition, they were about the death of her own daughter of leukemia as a very young child, and blaming God for illness and suffering.

I don't think she's renounced her liberalism, I think she has probably embraced liberal christianity. She loves her kid and is very proud of him-just go to her website, and you can see that.

I did laugh very hard at a comment a freeper made a few months ago, when discussing her upcoming book- "Don't tell me-Jesus is gay and french". I don't know which one said it, but it is very funny.

[jonnyblitz]

90. I liked " a cry to heaven" about the "castrati " by her also. nt