Goth Meets the Brady Bunch? Must Be An Anne Rice Signing

by Cindy Crosby, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 11/16/2005

It was a dark and stormy night…just the right atmosphere for former gothic novelist Anne Rice's booksigning at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill., on Monday. It was Rice's seventh bookstore event on a multi-city tour for Christ the Lord, and a chance to see how her change-of-genre gamble from horror to faith fiction is playing with her fans. Was she nervous when she started the tour? "No, determined," Rice told RBL. "Whatever happens, happens."

The downpour didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the estimated 400 fans that packed Anderson's. It was a mixed crowd: Goth meets the Brady Bunch. Middle-aged housewives with kids and businessmen in suits lined up next to teens with skull t-shirts, nose rings, and black fishnets. Some purchased Rice's backlist, but Anderson's pre-sold more than 200 copies of Christ the Lord, and sales built from that at a steady clip.

"She's cool," said 18-year-old Antonio Del Toro, clad in a black leather jacket and sporting various body piercings. His friend, Wal-Mart mechanic Cody Schopp, said, "I'm not a Christian but I like to read about Christian thought." Yolanda Pilch, a teacher who has read all of Rice's novels, was delighted; "I love it that she's gone back to Christ." Another long-time fan, Michelle Rose, said she was unsure about the change. "I'm waiting to read the book and see what it looks like."

Rice signed for more than two hours, chatting with her fans while a CBS news crew shot footage for an upcoming segment. "Congratulations on your new life," one fan said, while another asked, "Would you sign this for my husband in seminary?" An older teen burst into tears, telling Rice, "I've driven 300 miles to meet you." Said another woman, "Will you sign this for my mom? She's really—I mean really—Catholic."

Dana Parker, who drove three hours from Michigan to meet Rice, said she'd read a few chapters and liked the novel. "I'm not fond of organized religion, but she's helping me understand Jesus a little more." Of comments like Parker's, Rice said, "What more could I ask for?"

"She has a very loyal following," owner Becky Anderson said. "Anne's new novel has the same great writing as before with a very different perspective. If readers give it a chance, they'll be hooked."