Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
PocketCasts
Pandora
iHeartRadio
RSSCharlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris is one of the biggest names in dark fantasy and cozy mysteries, responsible for an impressive number of long-running series since the early 90s, including the smash hit Southern Vampire Mysteries, which were adapted into HBO’s critically acclaimed show True Blood. Her first mystery series, Aurora Teagarden, has been adapted into 21 beloved TV films at last count, and her more recent Midnight, Texas trilogy was made into a wonderful series on NBC. In addition to other great series such as Lily Bard and Harper Connelly, she’s done numerous short stories for highly enjoyable anthologies featuring many of the most popular writers in her genres, and her latest alternate history series, the wild-west-meets-the-Romanovs Gunnie Rose, is concluding this month, with the final volume, The Last Wizards’ Ball, coming out on July 22nd. Charlaine is a wonderful worldbuilder and a lovely person, and it was so nice speaking with her today about her long-running and exciting career.
Links
Keep up with Charlaine’s latest work and events on her official site.
The Last Wizards’ Ball can be pre-ordered on Kobo or Amazon now. The full series is available on Kobo and Amazon as well.
Charlaine has contributed to and edited many great anthologies, but my personal favorite will always be Wolfsbane and Mistletoe. I cannot recommend this one enough.
I also absolutely love and highly recommend the Southern Vampire Mystery series, which has such a great Southern Gothic paranormal vibe, so if you haven’t read it (even if you’ve seen True Blood), it’s an absolute must-read. Find hard copies at any bookstore or the ebooks on Kobo and Amazon.
And of course she’s got many other books, series, and stories to enjoy, with hard copies also available in bookstores or on Kobo and Amazon.
Happy reading!
She’s my favorite strong Southern lady.
You tell em Charlaine! Cozies are hot chocolate in book form. Never stop!
charlaine harris freakin rules
It broke my heart when I found out Bon Temps isn’t a real place 😭
Not that I expected vampires or anything but I loved the idea of the town itself
Fantastic conversation between two awesome women! Thank you for doing this!
I feel like I’m alone in this but I thought Midnight Texas was even better than Sookie. But in fairness I had a major crush on Manfred…
I enjoyed this! You guys got along so well and were able to talk like old friends, it’s so relaxing!
Charlaine is life. Charlaine is love.
This woman has massive talent and is like most writers totally underappreciated. I thoroughly enjoyed this!
Ladies and gents, living proof that you can be a massive celeb and still be a good person!
Thank you for giving a voice to women writers and fighting for respect in mainstream publishing!
I met her at a book signing ages ago and she’s still the friendliest and most gracious celebrity I ever met
Omg I love this woman so much.
My favorite author!
My mom lives on cozy mysteries too and describes them as a hug lol
Man I love me some Charlaine Harris!
Can you post an update with the title once they release more information about the valkyrie anthology?
It’s called Death Maidens: Tales of Off-Duty Valkyries, scheduled for release in January.
aww charlaine has such an infectious laugh!
No offense to the actors but I will never understand why they totally miscast the show. The only actor who was actually like their character was Lafayette–and they totally changed his story! I’m not complaining because he was great in the show, but it’s so frustrating how they changed everything. Anna Paquin as Sookie? Really? 🙁
I’m listening to this now and realizing how little I actually knew about Charlaine Harris. I like her even more now. She’s wonderful!
OMG YES. No one ever mentions the werewolves and Christmas anthology. I’m so glad you brought that up! Highly recommend!
I’m thrilled you featured Charlaine! I’ve worked with her at conventions and she was just lovely to everyone.
Thanks for being so supportive of other women in literature, Charlaine! We appreciate you!
Jeeeez. I would never ever survive the pressure she was under during the end of Sookie. Holy shit. Much respect to her for getting through it stronger.
I can’t believe how god awful some people were to her over the end of Sookie!!! Guys, come on, be better than that! It’s HER book!
Sorry to be vulgar but the show runners basically shit on the amazing source material. How do you take something as good as these books and turn it into a nasty mess like True Blood? I’m glad it got new people into the books but ugh.
Charlaine’s books are delightful. I never knew she was too LOL.
It WAS Alexander Skarsgard’s fault. All the Skarsgard fangirls flipped out over book Sookie not ending up with Eric, even though Harris clearly set it up to be Sam and, hello, they’re not the same characters at all as in the tv show anyway.
It’s sacrilege that True Blood never featured Eric in his flamboyant outfits. And he had short hair in show too. Why?
Southern Vampire Mysteries is possibly my favorite series of all time! I read the entire thing every year or two and enjoy it just as much every time.
not to sound dramatic but i think authors like this make the world better. things can be so dark in real life, having stories like a librarian solving mysteries makes things feel better
Yeah! Charlaine has such a good sense of humor and ability to see the good in things. She’s worked so hard to bring us great stories over the years and I’ve enjoyed them all, without exception.
Legend!
You two have a great connection! And she’s such a wonderful human being, I love that you got to talk to her!
Sookie & Sam forever. Anyone who has a problem with that can go write fanfic.
She’s so sweet and positive about things. We need more famous writers to act like this.
Charlaine, your encouragement and support of other authors, especially new authors, and especially women, is an inspiration to many of us. I hope you know how much you’re loved!
Charlaine has such a special place in my heart❤️❤️❤️
Charlaine Harris! My heart!
Charlaine is *such* a sweetheart. I’ve met her a few times and she deserves all the good things in the world. She was incredibly kind to me
I love that you pointed out the whole disrespect toward cozies, like it’s somehow less good than garbage like James Patterson. Cozy mysteries have kept me sane and positive when my life got rough and I’ll forever respect authors who write the genre well.
Honestly, I’m not normally into vampires and all that, but Sookie and Midnight Texas were both extremely addictive.
Having been lucky enough to meet Charlaine at different conventions and signings over the years, I can attest to the fact that she’s never been anything but extremely kind and grateful to her readers. She’s someone I’d love to sit down for a proper talk with like this!
My favorite dark fantasy authors are writing an anthology about VAKLYRIES?! YES, I WILL TAKE ONE PLEASE!
Zero ego. No pretentious nonsense. Charlaine FTW.
Hahaha I can’t believe you brought up Shapeshifters Anonymous. That’s one of my favorite short stories ever and I feel like no one ever talks about that anthology!
I like that you talked about cozies not being taken seriously in the literary world, because it’s definitely been an ongoing battle. Charlaine’s books may be ‘easier reads’, but to me that’s always sounded like a snobby way of diminishing books that aren’t all about the language, as if the talent to tell a story concisely and in a relatable way is somehow less impressive. Her world-building and range of characters are bloody exceptional, and there’s a reason so many people love her work.
Charlaine Harris is wonderful!
Sookie is still my favorite fictional character. I’m from Louisiana and the books absolutely nailed the personality of so many women I grew up around. Makes me so nostalgic!
I’ve never heard a bad thing about Charlaine Harris, which is pretty incredible given the success of True Blood. She’s a gem! I really like hearing her talk like this too, relaxed and having fun. I wish nothing but the best for her!