Christopher Rice on his new suspense novel
'A Density of Souls'

(CNN) -- In his first book, "A Density of Souls," Christopher Rice explores the
fragility of friendships. Set in Rice's hometown of New Orleans, it is the story of the anger and betrayal of four friends, who were once inseparable, as they begin to pursue separate lives and form new relationships upon entering high school.  The plot thickens with family feuds and two violent deaths.

Christopher Rice, 22, attended Brown University and NYU's Tisch School of Arts before venturing to Los Angeles to try screenwriting. He returned to New Orleans when his mother, author Anne Rice, became ill and was hospitalized.  During her convalescence, Chris began work on a short story, which eventually led to this book.

Chat Moderator: Welcome to the Book chat room, Christopher Rice.

Christopher Rice: Hello, chat audience. This is the first type of chat that I've ever done, so I'm kind of excited about the format.

Chat Moderator: Please tell us about your book, "A Density of Souls."

Christopher Rice: The book is about four children growing up together in New Orleans, where I am from. It basically chronicles their lives as they move into high school. The first part of the book is dedicated to showing how their friendships basically begin to dissolve in high school as they enter various social groups. What happens is that the book jumps forward in time to two years after they've graduated. The remaining friends come to find out that their friend's suicide was actually a murder.

At that point the book basically turns into a murder mystery. It has a huge cast of characters, many different intertwining plot lines and some major secrets that get revealed up to the last page.

Question from Sass: Did the story stem from anything biographical?

Christopher Rice: No, it did not. What I did was basically take the environment that I grew up in, and I turned the temperature up on it about 80 degrees. So the story is grounded in what I know and what I'm familiar with, but it's basically a fantasy from start to finish.

Question from Jeff-CNN: How is your mother feeling and did her illness inspire you in any way?

Christopher Rice: My mother is feeling fine now. She is completely recovered. She has wonderful blood-sugar levels. Her doctors are astonished at how well she maintains her levels. She became very ill very quickly, because she didn't know that she had diabetes.

So when she was hospitalized, I had to return from L.A., where I was living at the time. And as a result, I began to work on the book as a form of escape, sort of, from the trauma of her hospitalization.

Question from Rabidchicken: Do you feel overtly scrutinized by critics because of your mother or that you are somehow in her shadow? Does this frustrate you?

Christopher Rice: Well, I think the only way for me to move out of her shadow is to continue focusing on subject matter that interests me as a writer. My interests are quite different from my mother's interests, which are the supernatural.

Chat Moderator: Your story is set in New Orleans, where you grew up. How do you feel about that city? Why did you set your story there?

Christopher Rice: Well, I had to start with what I knew, and I know the city very well. I've lived there since I was 10 years old. I have a love-hate relationship with the city, which I think everyone who lives there has -- the beauty of the city and its party atmosphere. But both of those qualities make it easy to turn a blind eye to the city's rampant problems.

Question from Rumi: What do you hate about New Orleans?

Christopher Rice: The absolutely miserable public school system. I think it fosters a cycle of poverty and crime. And it is in need of a major overhaul.

Question from Rumi: How much homophobia and gay bashing is there in U.S. high schools?

Christopher Rice: I think the situation has improved vastly over the past several years. I think the kind of homophobia that we see in high school is not normally physical violence. It is more verbal abuse and name-calling.

Question from TJMilletics: Do you believe that your sexual preference will influence the sales of your novel?

Christopher Rice: That remains to be seen. Because there are so many characters in the book gay and straight it is easy for readers who are not gay to find a character to identify with.

Question from Rigoberto: How did last night's reading go? Are you looking forward to the grind of the tour? Do you think you'll have the energy to keep writing while on the road?

Christopher Rice: I think its almost impossible to write while on the road, but last nights reading at Spoken Interludes in L.A. went wonderful, it's a wonderful and unique event especially in a city like LA.

Authors and actors present their original material or their works in progress and the result is a very friendly and intimate evening.

Question from Lee: What was your father's, who is a wonderful poet, response to the book like?

Christopher Rice: Phenomenal. He was the first one to read it. He read it in manuscript form, and he called me as soon as he finished and told me that I had to do something with it.

Question from Nels: How long did it take to write your book?

Christopher Rice: It took three months to write the first draft of the manuscript, and then the entire editing process took about a year and a half.

Chat Moderator: You come from a literary family, but has writing always been an important art form or outlet for you, personally?

Christopher Rice: Actually, in high school, I always believed I was going to be an actor. And I had hoped that someday I would be able to perform in plays or screenplays that I had written. And I certainly never planned to write a novel.

Question from What: Is your novel more of a "coming of age" or suspense novel? How close is the released novel from what you sat down to write?

Christopher Rice: The novel is, in my opinion, more of a suspense novel. The story is exactly the same as the one I set out to write. The editing process focused on the language of the book, as opposed to the content.

Question from Rumi: What is your favorite gay-themed book or novel, other than your own?

Christopher Rice: I think it's not my favorite gay-themed novel, but it was influential on me as a writer and a gay man. It was a book called "Like People In History" by Picano.

Comment from Rigoberto: Chris, just to let you know, the friends I've bought your book for have started giving me feedback and so far, it is all A+!

Christopher Rice: Wow.

Question from Jtyler: Do you have any future plans to act?

Christopher Rice: I'm so out of practice, I feel I need more acting training if I were going to embark on an acting career. But my attitude towards the future is that I'm still young enough to not rule anything out.

Question from Wishbone: Will you be coming out with another book in the near future?

Christopher Rice: I am currently working on a second novel that will be published by Talk Miramax Books some time in late 2001 or early 2002.

Chat Moderator: What can you tell us about the next book?

Christopher Rice: It is a murder mystery set on a northeastern college campus and it begins with the mysterious disappearance of a handsome philandering freshman.

Question from Rclawson: Many authors become celebrities after their novels become popular. You have reversed that trend somewhat. Does it frustrate you that more focus tends to be on you, rather than your book?

Christopher Rice: No, it does not frustrate me, because it’s a deeply personal book. I feel that it's not easy to separate who I am as a person from who I am as an author. It is somewhat frustrating to have to field the questions of what it's like to be Anne Rice's son.

Question from Rabidchicken: So murder is your genre of choice? Why?

Christopher Rice: Not just murder. But I don't have any interest in a story that involves characters that don't have big secrets. And my main thrill as a writer is to speculate on what would happen when those secrets are exposed.

Question from Jen: I saw on your Web page that you were going to appear on "The Real World." Which episode are you on?

Christopher Rice: From what MTV has told me, I will be appearing on tonight’s episode, which is the Mardi Gras episode. I am terrified. I have no idea what they're going to use, or how I'm going to be portrayed. I will be watching the episode in a hotel room in Portland, Oregon, probably with a drink in hand.

Question from VanyelinSD: Will you be visiting San Diego?

Christopher Rice: No, I will not.

Question from Wishbone: Are the underlying themes in your book a reflection of your childhood?

Christopher Rice: Somewhat, yes.

Question from Wishbone: In what manner please?

Christopher Rice: Yes, I tried to portray the sense of isolation that young gay men feel during high school.

Question from VanyelinSD: How important do you think it is for people to know you are gay?

Christopher Rice: I believe that it's important for people to know, only because I have chosen to write about gay themes. So people need to know that they can trust me when I bring up those issues. I am not a big fan of outing celebrities or public officials, unless they want to out themselves.

Question from Rclawson: The Advocate cover story was very nice. Are any other publications going to feature you in the near future?

Christopher Rice: Yes. New York Magazine will be doing a story on me in the coming months. US Weekly will feature me in their spotlight section. And I have already been a Teen People success story, even though I'm 22.

Chat Moderator: We've enjoyed having you today, Chris Rice. Do you have any final thoughts for us today?

Christopher Rice: My hope for this book is that it reaches an audience of readers in their late teens and early twenties, who feel that there is a lack of good books about that age group on the shelves. And my wish is that it touches young gay men out there, who feel a sense of hopelessness and isolation, and that they can draw on the story to gain a sense of hope that there is life beyond the pain of high school.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today!

Christopher Rice: Goodbye, chat audience. Thank you for coming. This was fun.

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A Density of Soul

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