Her books have sold over a hundred million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in the modern era.  Until recently, Anne Rice’s name was synonymous with “popular vampire fiction.”  Her gorey gothic romances have been adapted into Hollywood films and television productions.

More recently, however, to the chagrin of many of her fans, Rice announced her conversion (or re-conversion) to the Roman Catholic faith of her childhood.  No longer a writer of baroque horror stories populated with blood-sucking fiends, she has dedicated the rest of her life to writing about her Lord, Jesus Christ.

Many Christians were skeptical when they learned that Rice plans to produce a series of novels on the life of Jesus.  The first two installments have already become best-sellers (Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana) and she’s only getting started.

You might be surprised, as I was, that she’s remarkably reverent and orthodox as she weaves plausible and deeply researched narratives about Jesus.  Rice has explained her path back to Christianity from atheism in numerous interviews.  She offers a taste of her upcoming memoir on her website.  It’s entitled “Called Out of Darkness” and I have high expectations.

Few, if any popular authors are as well informed about biblical studies as Anne Rice.  Certainly, she has read much more in the field than most LCMS pastors.  In First Things magazine online, Father Dwight Longenecker interviews Rice about her vampires, her Christian faith, and her books on Jesus.  I commend it to you.