Just Happened to Tune Into Anne Rice

I awoke early, and not feeling well, hung out with my dog and turned on the t.v. The bio. of Anne Rice was on and I was compelled to watch it... Such inspiration...

I believe that there are no coincidences in life. Although we may not understand the reasons for something -- there are most definitely reasons. It's all part of the Divine plan, if you ask me, even when we are at our lowest or most confused times in life.

"And a purpose for everything under Heaven."

I awoke very early this morning. Not feeling too well, I decided I'd go downstairs, let the dog out and hang with him in the den and watch some television. First, I wanted to see what the Weather Channel had to say about any more major snow dumpings heading our way. I then surfed and found myself watching A & E. The bio. of Anne Rice was on and I felt compelled to watch it.

Typically, I don't turn on A & E first thing in the morning, but I am glad that I did.

I saw the story of Ms. Rice's life. Her struggles as a child with a mother who died young and abused alcohol. I cried when I heard of the devastating loss she and Stan, (her husband), suffered when their daughter, "Mouse", died of leukemia at the age of nearly six.

I was touched by her husband's success as a poet and was moved by Anne Rice's struggle, along with her husband's, with alcohol to numb the pain of their loss.

What moved me the most was the time in her life when her writing truly blossomed. She was 34, (just like me), when Interview With a Vampire was finally accepted by a publisher. She was shunned by many a critic, who thought her work was "cultish" and was of no literary value. Yet, she was developing a strong base of fans and I am sure those same critics weren't laughing when the movie rights for the book brought her in a huge chunk of change. She'd worked on it many years before, dug it out and wrote with a vengeance. It was a very dark period in her life and she used that darkness to her advantage.

*Interesting note: She did not want Tom Cruise to play the lead and made that very clear. After seeing the movie, she wrote a public retraction because she was so pleased with his performance. At first she thought he was too "All American" to play the role. I saw the movie myself and thought he did a great job.

Writing has always served as an outlet for me, as I am sure it has with most writers. Unfortunately, (or maybe not), some of the best writings come as a result of tremendous adversity or pain.

It's as if you channel that pain into something positive -- you create positive energy out of negative energy and are driven by a 'need' to do so. The passion is reflected in the words.

After watching the rest of her story; her move after thirty years back to the south, New Orleans, her near loss of life due to Juvenile Diabetes, and her continued writings and successes, I was suddenly driven to go upstairs and work on my own book. My one, measly little book that isn't done yet.

But, neither was hers at one time.

She finished it.

So will I.

Was it coincidence that I caught the show and it effected me the way it did?

Nope. I don't think so.

You know what I think it was? The Muse in action. The one I wrote about earlier. The one I was asking for. The one I thought abandoned me.

I have a new appreciation for Anne Rice now. I have read "The Witching Hour" and now plan on reading more of her works.

She is a writer, no matter what, and has managed through it all to keep doing what she loves and is best at.

An inspiration to me for certain.