I remember as a teen I first read Interview With the Vampire which transformed me into a very realistic portrayal of who and what vampires are. I was babysitting for the woman at the time and was going to watch an old vampire flick when she told me about the book and lent me her copy.
I still have to read the entire series, although I did see the movie with Brad Pitt in it. I also want to read her series about the Witches and collect all of her other books.
Anne Rice was an atheist until she converted to Catholicism in 1998. She stated then she would not write any more vampire or witch stories and started writing a series about the life of Jesus.
Then Ms Rice decided organized Christianity was not her route although she still follows the teachings of Jesus.
Ms Rice has just published a book about werewolves called The Wolf Gift. An up coming title is called interestingly "Born For Atlantis".
One of the more interesting authors out there and from New Orleans to boot.
If there are any fans of Anne Rice out there or other novelists in the same style, please put them here so I can add them to my wish list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Ricehttp://www.annerice.com/