I woke up to the news in my Instagram feed and was flooded from memories of my teenage years. There are certainly books I remember reading over and over again in elementary school but as I moved into middle school Anne Rice was the author woman for me.

I don’t remember which book I started with but I have a sneaking suspicion it was The Witching Hour because while her career was made famous through writing about vampires, her witches trilogy I remember being taken away with. But I did read every one of her books on vampires too. And I know I’ll have a few who agree and many who won’t, but I dare say that Interview with the Vampire was better on screen than it was in the pages of the book. It doesn’t diminish the worlds she created, the character development, sharing deep desires and longings, and what immortality could look like. She built them with skill and passion. She embodied her work. I’m sad to have never met her. But 80 is a fabulous life in which most knew her name and the work she produced.

Is it any wonder that a newer batch of writers like Holly Black and Cat Winters are among my favorites as well? Probably not because they both wrote messages of heartbreak over the loss.

While you’ll have to buy me a drink to get my best Anne Rice reading story, rest assured I owe my teenage reading life to the many checkouts at the local public library of the queen of vampires, Anne Rice.