One day in 1972, Anne Rice had an eerie dream in which her five-year-old daughter Michele died as a result of an unusual blood disorder. Shortly thereafter, Michele Rice was diagnosed with leukemia.

[In the five weeks following Michele's death, Rice -- in a grief-ridden haze -- completed Interview with the Vampilre. Claudia, the book's six year-old immortal vampire child, was inspired by her beloved daughter. "I want people to carry dog-eared copies of Interview with the Vampire in their backpacks," Rice once said. "I want my books to live, to be read. That will be justification enough for all the pain and work and struggling and doubt."]

[The plot of Anne Rice's first creative effort? Two kids from Mars commit suicide. (Rice wrote it in the fifth grade.)]