"Author Christopher Rice follows in his mother's scary footsteps with A Density of Souls"

"If youre mother's a best-selling horror novelist and your father's a poet, chances are writing is in your blood. It's no suprise, then, that Christopher Rice penned his first book, about the Golden Gate Bridge catching fire, when he was just five. 'My mother told me afterward that the bridge was made of metal and can't catch fire, so I was kind of crushed,' he says. Mom, in this case, is Anne Rice, 58, author of terrifying fantasies like Inteview with the Vampire. And Christopher, now 22, is continuing the family legacy and winning attention for his first novel, A Density of Souls.

"Growing up in New Orleans, Christopher-whose father is poet Stan Rice, 57-dreamed of becoming an actor. But during a year and a half at Brown University and New York University, he says,'I was rejected from every audition.' In 1998 he moved to Los Angeles to try screenwriting but soon returned home to be closer to his mother as she recovered from complications related to diabetes.

"The familiar surroundings of New Orleans inspiredA Density of Souls. Christopher's characters-popular Meredith; jocks Greg and Brandon; and Stephen, whose homosexuality separates him from the others-are old friends who grew apart in high school. But when a hurricane strikes a few years later, some of them are forced tom come together, face the past-and discover the truth about a mysterious death. Christopher, who is gay, says he identifies with Stephen the most, but adds, 'I don't call it a gay book because it's about so many different people. It's about how long you can hold back the pain in your past before it catches up with you.'

"Christopher churned out pages for four months. 'I think anyone has a potential book in them,'he says.'If you don't write it, you never know.' He spent three months pitching his completed manuscript to publishers before A Density of Souls was purchased by Talk Miramax books. 'Obviously I was aware of who he was,' says editor Jonathan Burnham. 'But the story kept me spellbound. I stayed up late, thinking,"I'll just read one more chapter, then go to sleep." That's really a rare gift.' "After a year of editing, the book was ready to go to the printers-and Christopher was finally ready to show it to his mother.'I value her opinion the most,'he says.'That's probably why I waited so long. I didn't want her reaction changing what went into the book.' He needn't have worried. 'She read it in a day and left me this beautiful note under my door, calling it "brave, couragous and beautiful."'

"With the book on sale this month, Christopher looks forward to feedback from readers who are dealing with the same issues that challenge his characters. 'I want to offer hope to teenagers who have considered suicide, to bulimic girls who think their body will never be perfect,'he says. 'I want to show them that there will be a chance to work through all that later in life. I'm hoping a reader will come away thinking that these characters won-and that you can win.'"

BY SHANNON McCORMICK

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