Charlaine Harris

Jean Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in mysteries. She is best known for her book series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, which was adapted as the TV series True Blood. The television show was a critical and financial success for HBO, running seven seasons, from 2008 through 2014.

Harris was born and raised in Tunica, Mississippi. She lives in Texas with her husband; they have three children. She began writing from an early age, and changed from playwriting in college to writing and publishing mysteries, including several long series featuring recurring characters.

Life and career Harris was born and grew up in Tunica, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta. In her early work she wrote poems about ghosts and teenage angst. She began writing plays while attending Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Her most recent mysteries have been in the urban fantasy genre.

After publishing two stand-alone mysteries, Harris began the lighthearted Aurora Teagarden books with Real Murders, nominated as a Best Novel 1990 for the Agatha Awards. Harris wrote several books in the series before the mid-1990s, when she began branching out into other works.Deborah Solomon, "Questions for Charlene Harris: Once Bitten: The writer talks about her 10th vampire novel and the hit TV series it inspired," New York Times Magazine, May 2, 2010, p. 18. She did not resume the series until 1999, with the exception of one short story in an anthology titled "Murder, They Wrote".

In 1996, Harris published the first in the Shakespeare series, featuring cleaning lady detective Lily Bard, set in rural Arkansas. At the time, a New York Times interview with Harris noted that she "live[d] in small-town Arkansas". The fifth book in the series, Shakespeare's Counselor, was published in fall 2001, followed by the short story "Dead Giveaway", published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in December 2001. Harris has said she is finished with that series.

Next Harris created The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, about a telepathic waitress named Sookie Stackhouse who works in a Northern Louisiana bar. The first book, Dead Until Dark, won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001. Each book follows Sookie as she tries to solve mysteries involving vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. The series has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Argentina, Poland, Serbia, Brazil, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Portugal, Iceland, Czech Republic, Romania, Estonia, and Israel. Harris wrote thirteen novels in the series; the last, Dead Ever After, was published in May 2013. A supplemental book, After Dead, was published in October 2013. The second novel, Living Dead in Dallas, won the 2003 Lord Ruthven Award for Fiction, and the anthology The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories won the 2018 Ruthven Award for Fiction.

October 2005 marked the debut of Harris's new series, entitled Harper Connelly Mysteries, with the release of Grave Sight. The series is told by a young woman named Harper Connelly, who after being struck by lightning, is able to locate dead bodies and to see their last moments through the eyes of the deceased. In October 2010, it was announced Harper Connelly's series had been optioned for a television series named Grave Sight.

The year 2014 marked the debut of the Cemetery Girl series, a graphic novel series co-written with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Don Kramer.

Harris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the American Crime Writers League, and has served as a member of the board of Sisters in Crime and as president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance.

Personal life Harris has long been married. She and her husband have three grown children and two grandchildren. She is a former weightlifter and karate student. "Charlaine Harris: Putting the Bite on Cozy Mysteries" , retrieved on 2009-10-27. She is also an avid reader and cinemaphile. Harris formerly resided in Magnolia, Arkansas, where she was the senior warden of St. James Episcopal Church, and as of 2017 lives in Texas. She has recounted that, at age 25, she was sexually assaulted at knifepoint by an intruder in her home. This led to her pursuing Karate and weightlifting. It's also why the protagonists of her novels are "women who strike back."

Adaptations Audio Harris' novels have often been adapted as full-cast dramatised productions by GraphicAudio, starting with their adaptation of her Cemetery Girl graphic novels. The company also adapted her Midnight Texas series, and her Gunnie Rose novels.

Television

Her series of novels The Southern Vampire Mysteries was adapted into the show True Blood. The series lasted seven seasons and totaled 80 episodes. It was nominated for dozens of awards. True Blood aired on HBO. The show was also the most viewed show on HBO since The Sopranos.

In 2014, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries began adapting Harris' Aurora Teagarden novels into a series of television films, starring Candace Cameron Bure.

Harris's series Midnight, Texas was developed as a TV series by NBC and began airing on their network in 2017.

Video games Dying for Daylight (February 2011) The first all new video game written by Charlaine Harris, released by iPlay Games; starring Dahlia Based on Book 10: Dead in the Family Shakespeare's Landlord - an interactive game (January 2018) Video game adapted from Charlaine Harris' novel of the same name, developed by One More Story Games Based on Book 1: Shakespeare's Landlord

Published works

Aurora Teagarden series (1990–present) Real Murders (1990) A Bone to Pick (1992) Three Bedrooms, One Corpse (1994) The Julius House (1995) Dead Over Heels (1996) "Deeply Dead" in Murder, They Wrote A Fool and His Honey (1999) Last Scene Alive (2002) Poppy Done to Death (2003) All the Little Liars (2016) Sleep Like a Baby (2017)

Lily Bard (Shakespeare) series (1996–2001) Shakespeare's Landlord (1996) Shakespeare's Champion (1997) Shakespeare's Christmas (1998) Shakespeare's Trollop (2000) Shakespeare's Counselor (2001) 0-312-27762-8 5.1. "Dead Giveaway" published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (December 2001)

Sookie Stackhouse series (2001–14) For more detailed information see The Southern Vampire Mysteries/True Blood. #TitleAlso InPublication DateISBNComments1Dead Until Dark Sookie Stackhouse 8 Copy Boxed SetMay 20012Living Dead in DallasMar 20023Club DeadMay 20034Dead to the WorldMar 20044.1Fairy DustPowers of Detection

A Touch of Dead

The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories4.2Dracula NightMany Bloody Returns

A Touch of Dead

The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories4.3Dancers in the DarkNight's Edgenovella5Dead as a DoornailSookie Stackhouse 8 Copy Boxed SetMay 20055.1One Word AnswerBite

A Touch of Dead

The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories6Definitely DeadSookie Stackhouse 8 Copy Boxed SetMay 20066.1TackyMy Big, Fat Supernatural WeddingDahlia short storyA Southern Vampire story without the character of Sookie Stackhouse.7All Together DeadSookie Stackhouse 8 Copy Boxed SetMay 20077.1LuckyUnusual Suspects

Between the Dark and Daylight

A Touch of Dead

The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories8From Dead to WorseSookie Stackhouse 8 Copy Boxed SetMay 20088.1Gift WrapWolfsbane and Mistletoe

A Touch of Dead

The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories8.2BaconStrange Brewmakes an offhand reference to Jim Butcher's wizard, Harry Dresden; a Dahlia short story9Dead and GoneMay 20099.1The Britlingens Go to HellMust Love Hellhounds9.2Dahlia Underground Crimes by Moonlighttakes place during All Together Dead;

a Dahlia short story10Dead in the FamilyMay 201010.1Two BlondesDeath's Excellent Vacation The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories10.2Small-Town WeddingThe Sookie Stackhouse Companion'' The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Storiesnovella10.3A Very Vampire ChristmasGlamour MagazineDec 2010a Dahlia short story11Dead ReckoningMay 201111.1Death by DahliaDown These Strange Streetsa Dahlia short story12DeadlockedMay 201212.1If I Had a HammerHome Improvement: Undead Edition The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories12.2Playing PossumAn Apple for the Creature The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories13Dead Ever AfterMay 2013The final Sookie Stackhouse novel13.1The Blue HereafterGames Creatures Play The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories14After Dead: What Came NextThe World of Sookie StackhouseOctober 29, 201315Dead But Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie StackhouseNovember 25, 2014

Harper Connelly series (2005–2009) Grave Sight (2005) Grave Surprise (2006) An Ice Cold Grave (2007) Grave Secret (2009) ;

Graphic novels Grave Sight Part 1 (June 2011) Grave Sight Part 2 (November 2011) Grave Sight Part 3 (March 2012)

Cemetery Girl series (with Christopher Golden) Book One: The Pretenders (2014) . Book Two: Inheritance (2015) Book Three: Haunted (2018)

Midnight, Texas Trilogy (2014–2016) Midnight Crossroad (May 2014) Day Shift (May 2015) Night Shift (May 2016)

Gunnie Rose series An Easy Death (2018) A Longer Fall (2020) The Russian Cage (2021) The Serpent in Heaven (2022) All the Dead Shall Weep (2023) The Last Wizard's Ball (2025)

Stand-alones Sweet and Deadly (1981) . Republished in the UK as Dead Dog A Secret Rage (1984) Layla Steps Up (2010) A Taste of True Blood (2010) Indigo (2017)

Anthologies and collections Anthology or CollectionContentsPublication DateISBNCommentsMurder, They Wrote"Deeply Dead"1997Powers of Detection"Fairy Dust"Oct 2004Night's Edge"Dancers in the Dark"Oct 2004Bite"One Word Answer"Sep 2005My Big, Fat Supernatural WeddingTackyOct 2006Many Bloody Returns"Dracula Night"Sep 2007Blood Lite"An Evening with Al Gore"Oct 2008Wolfsbane and Mistletoe"Gift Wrap"Oct 2008Unusual Suspects"Lucky"Dec 2008Strange Brew "Bacon"Jul 2009Must Love Hellhounds"The Britlingens Go to Hell"Sep 2009Sookie Stackhouse 8 Copy Boxed SetDead Until Dark

Living Dead in Dallas

Club Dead

Dead to the World

Dead as a Doornail

Definitely Dead

All Together Dead

From Dead to WorseSep 2009Between the Dark and Daylight"Lucky"Sep 2009A Touch of Dead"Fairy Dust"

"Dracula Night"

"One Word Answer"

"Lucky"

"Gift Wrap"Oct 2009Crimes by Moonlight"Dahlia Underground"Apr 2010Death's Excellent Vacation"Two Blondes"Aug 2010Delta Blues"Crossroads Bargain"2010Home Improvement: Undead Edition"If I Had a Hammer"Aug 2011The Sookie Stackhouse Companion"Small-Town Wedding"Aug 2011An Apple for the Creature"Playing Possum"Sep 2012Down These Strange Streets"Death by Dahlia"Oct/Nov 2011The World of Sookie Stackhouse"After Dead: What Came Next"Oct 2013An anthology with interviews, FAQ, recipes, and moreGames Creatures Play"The Blue Hereafter"Apr 2014Inherit the Dead"Five"2014Urban Allies"Blood for Blood"2016Matchup"Dig Here"2017The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories"Fairy Dust" (2004)

"Dracula Night" (2007)

"One Word Answer" (2005)

"Lucky" (2008)

"Gift Wrap" (2008)

"Two Blondes" (2010)

"Small-Town Wedding" (2011)

"If I Had a Hammer" (2011)

"Playing Possum" (2012)

"In the Blue Hereafter" (2014)Nov 2017 (hardcover), (ebook)Heroic Hearts"The Return of the Mage"2022

As editor Many Bloody Returns (September 2007; co-editor with Toni LP Kelner) Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (October 2008; co-editor with Toni LP Kelner) Crimes by Moonlight (April 2010) Death's Excellent Vacation (August 2010; co-editor with Toni LP Kelner) Home Improvement: Undead Edition (August 2011; co-editor with Toni LP Kelner) An Apple for the Creature (September 2012; co-editor with Toni LP Kelner)

Charlaine Harris

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