Rice, who relishes living in what she calls “the golden age of fantasy and horror,” admits that keeping fans happy can be tricky, especially in the Internet age, when readers can respond swiftly and savagely to developments they don’t like.

“Readers today are ready to fight with you over a character,” she says. “They’re vocal. If an author has betrayed a character they love, they get mad. I can post that Lestat is a fan of Honey Boo Boo, and it sets off a firestorm. They’ll wrestle you to the ground over it. It’s wonderful, but it can go bad for some authors. In the end you’re obligated to write the best book you can write. You can’t deliver what groups of people want you to write.”