Anne Rice's vampire world could soon have its own fragrance
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Anne Rice in 1992, left, and in 1995. Photos: Bryce Lankard/Liaison; Gene Shaw/Getty Images
Novelist Anne Rice put New Orleans on the map for vampire fans.
Why it matters: Nearly five years after her death, her son and a longtime friend are exploring ways of "taking people to New Orleans by way of Anne."
The big picture: You can already see her former homes and watch TV and movie adaptations of her work, but what if you could buy perfume?
- "She loved scented products, and I just believe there is a candle, there is a scent that can transport people to Anne Rice's New Orleans even if they can't get on a plane," her son, Christopher Rice, tells Axios in an exclusive interview this week.
- What does New Orleans smell like to him? Vetiver and sweet olive.
- The ideas are in the early stages, he says.
Zoom in: It's the next step in connecting Rice's fictional world with New Orleans, where she grew up before moving to suburban Dallas at 14.
- "New Orleans chose her," Rice says. "She was constantly craving the lushness of New Orleans and the atmosphere of it and the spirituality of it."
- Her words took on a life of their own in New Orleans.
- "As far as I know, we didn't have any vampires in New Orleans until Anne Rice wrote 'Interview With the Vampire,' and now vampires are everywhere you go," architect Robert Cangelosi told Architectural Digest recently.
Case in point: You can eat at the Vampire Cafe, shop at the Boutique du Vampyre, take a vampire tour, attend a vampire ball and see the filming locations of various vampire shows and movies.
- "Every book signing that we ever do, at least one person will say, 'I moved to New Orleans cause I read these books,'" says the novelist's longtime friend Eric Shaw Quinn, who is also business partners with Christopher Rice.
Zoom out: Rice and Quinn are in New Orleans this week to cap off their book tour for the 50th anniversary of "Interview With the Vampire."
- They'll be at her fan club's sold-out vampire ball Friday and then host a ticketed event Saturday with Leigh Bardugo, author of the popular "Shadow and Bone" series.
- They are also hosting content creators as a nod to Anne Rice's new generation of fans on social media. Thank you, #booktok.
State of play: Anne Rice revolutionized vampire fiction by telling the story from the vampire's perspective, Quinn says.
- The novel was initially a flop, Christopher Rice writes in the afterword of the new edition, but it eventually found its audience and grew into a 15-book series.
- "Ultimately, 'Interview With the Vampire' isn't a book about vampires," Quinn says. "It's a book about self-acceptance."
- She used vampires and supernatural creatures as the "metaphors for the outsider in us all," Rice says.
Reality check: "I think she believed there was more beyond this realm, but she did not believe vampires were real," Rice says.
Shop till you drop: There's new merch for the 50th anniversary online and coming soon to Dirty Coast, Fleurty Girl, Boutique du Vampyre and Garden District Books.
- There's a separate book-themed line through OutofPrint.com. Plus, AMC has its own products, featuring Sam Reid's popular portrayal of Lestat.
The bottom line: The focus is on keeping her legacy alive.
- "We're aided in the fact that there's an entire city that's determined to remembering her every year," Rice says.
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