Phone Message Transcript: Jan. 6, 1997
[appearing on Anne's fan phone line]

"Hi, Everybody. It's January 6th, Little Christmas, the official end of the Christmas season. This is Anne Rice. I want to plug a book tonight. I want to give an out and out plug for the best of reasons--I think it's a marvelous book. The book is a novel written by my sister. Her name is Alice Borchardt, B-O-R-C-H-A-R-D-T. She didn't have the sense to marry somebody with four syllables in his last name, so every time she signs a book she has to sign Alice Borchardt but, nevertheless, the book is called BEGUILED, and it's absolutely wonderful. I think it's out now in hardcover, it's at all the big bookstores. There was a book before it called DEVOTED. I think the covers on both books are very misleading. DEVOTED has one of those quasi-romantic paperback covers. It doesn't really let you know about the grit and blood and the beauty and the muscularity of Alice's writing. It's the same with BEGUILED. They have a very beautiful painting, I think by Dante, what's the name, Dante Gabrielle Rosetti but, again, it doesn't give you the toughness that's inside. I really think Alice's novels, they are about Vikings, they're about people in the ninth century, they're about battles, but above all they're about all the important, the truly important, things. I really think they're beautifully written. In fact, I don't read her because I have a horrible suspicion that she writes better than I do. I read a few pages and I just sit there and feel, My God, I'm not, and this is my older sister, Alice, she was the one who was always, when we were kids, reading my writing and encouraging me and now she's got these two novels out. So I really plug them. I plug the paperback of DEVOTED and I plug the hardcover of DENIAL, I mean BEGUILED. And BEGUILED, which is B-E-G-U-I-L-E-D, does not have to be read second. You can read them, they're both complete novels. They're both about the same group of people in the ninth century that are warding off a Viking attack. I know it's just an up-and-front plug, but for the best of reasons. I think she's terrific. If I didn't think she was terrific, I wouldn't even mention it.

Thank you for all your messages and I appreciate the person who's been calling and telling me to lighten up. I have no intention of lightening up. I consider myself already completely light, and I know that you mentioned that I ought to watch GRUMPY OLD MEN, BLAZING SADDLES, LIFE OF BRIAN and HEAVEN CAN WAIT and a lot of others. Well, I have watched BLAZING SADDLES and THE PRODUCERS and STEEL MAGNOLIAS and, you know, I really don't intend to lighten up anymore than I already am. But thank you for your advice and thank you for extending it over two long messages. You do mention one thing. You say reread CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. I've never read CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. I don't read very much. I do go to the movies a lot, though. And I don't need to call Oprah Winfrey about weight. I think I know all the tricks that Oprah does.

But enough on personal answers. I appreciated all the enthusiastic calls from those of you who went through the open house this weekend. Appreciated calls from people out of town, from David in Chicago, from Andy--I always appreciate hearing from you Andy, and you know, answer some more questions for me tonight. Let me know what you thought of the movies HEAT. It was a movie with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro and I thought it was very morally complex. Let me know what you think, it was really good. Also SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. Did you see that? And what do you think about that movie? I thought it was really magnificent, but I'd love to hear your opinion. There's a one minute message--that's enough time to tell me about it I think. And also let's remember that this January 8th there's a new series about New Orleans premiering. I don't know whether they'll get it right. They call it ORLEANS, which we do call the Parish, Orleans Parish, and it's got J.R. in it, the famous J.R. who otherwise is now nameless. Let me know what you think about that too. I'm pulling for them just because I pull for everybody and always pull for things set in New Orleans, but I don't really know how it's going to go.

Well, I think I'd better go before my own machine cuts me off. I love you all, and thanks for coming to the open house yesterday. And thanks for being so wonderful and so charming. There was not one item hurt, there was not one item in any way askew, everybody was just absolutely blissful. I think the staff, the police, everyone who handled the open houses at our three houses, was utterly amazed. And I wasn't amazed because I know you, and I know what you're like and I know what you're like at every signing. Thank you for being your wonderful selves. Good night and love."