Anne Rice brings 'Prince Lestat' to Santa Rosa

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, Anne Rice and her son, Christopher Rice, spoke to a crowd of 500 at Santa Rosa High School in Santa Rosa at an event sponsored by Copperfield's Books.

Rice is most known for her series, "The Vampire Chronicles," which included novels "Interview with the Vampire" and "Queen of the Damned," both of which became popular when they were later adapted into films.

No stranger to loss, Rice seemed to channel her own pain of losing her mother at a young age, and later her young daughter, through characters who gave up their human lives to live life as immortals.

Rice considered herself an atheist as a young adult, and as she penned sequels to "Interview with the Vampire." In the mid-2000s she made a public return to Catholicism, distancing herself from vampires when she produced two fictional accounts on the life of Jesus. Her devotion to the Church abruptly ended a few years later when she decided she couldn't agree with the Church's stance on social issues. While she severed ties with the Church, however, Rice proclaimed her faith in God was strong.

Much to her fans' delight, Rice has returned to the "Vampire Chronicles" with the release of her new book, "Prince Lestat," the eleventh installment of the vampire series.

At Tuesday's event, Rice's conversations with her son included talk of this latest release, as well as Christopher's eighth novel, "The Vines," a gothic story that shares a similar fascination with the undead.

Were you at the Anne Rice and Christopher Rice event on Tuesday? What are your thoughts on the event?