My first breach into a different world came in 1964 when a favorite teacher introduced me to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were literature the likes of which I had never experienced—a realm filled with astounding characters and a new language of its own. Dipping into fantasy a bit in later years, I happened upon a book by a new writer named Laurell K. Hamilton. Hamilton’s first book, Nightseer, caught my fancy, and I still believe it to be one of her best works. I discovered Hamilton’s Web board and began to explore her Anita Blake series. These books were part of what was being described as an emerging new fictional genre. Booksellers didn’t quite know where to put them—some placed them in horror, some in fantasy, and even a few in the romance section. Identifying their place in literature became something of a conundrum. Although I enjoyed the early books in the series, I found the later ones not to my taste and began to look for something new. While I was perusing the horror section in a nearby Barnes & Noble bookstore, my eye was caught by a book with a charming, almost folk art, cover. The book was Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. The rest is, as they say, history.

Dead Until Dark was unlike anything I had read in my long history of reading. Since it was written in the first person from the perspective of the heroine, I felt that I actually became Sookie and experienced events through her eyes. I had read first-person perspective in the past, but these books seemed completely fresh, and the world was new and absolutely believable. Following my usual pattern, I visited the author’s website, searching to find other readers with whom to discuss the wonders of this new universe. I did not expect to meet the author there!

Charlaine established her website in 2001 and updated it in March 2004 to handle the ever-increasing usage. Charlaine was an active participant, who encouraged discussion and became involved on a personal level with the readers who visited her site. I first visited her board early in 2004 and was able to share in the development of the new site. Imagine my thrill and astonishment the first time Charlaine commented directly to me on the board.