Anne Rice. She has written many books that have inspired many people for so many reasons. I have read ALL of her books written under her own name. (she has two other pen names). She is most well known for her vampire series. The main character in most of these books is Lestat, the Brat Prince. Most people fall in love with Lestat for any of a variety of reasons. For me, it would have to be his charm. He has a way of speaking directly to the reader. he also romances everything and anything in life. Hell, he can even make death beautiful. And when you start reading these books, you can't stop. Anne has a writing style which I have yet to find any author COMPARABLE to her. Nobody yet has come even close. I have read other vampire books by other authors and nothing compares. Anybody who is a Ricean fan knows exactly what I'm talking about. Among her more popular (ok, all) books are:

1. Interview With the Vampire
2. The Vampire Lestat
3. Queen of the Damned
4. Tale of the Body Thief
5. Memnoch the Devil
6. Pandora
7. Armand
8. Merrick
9. Vittorio the Vampire
10. Blood and Gold
11. The Witching Hour
12. Lasher
13. Taltos
14. Violin
15. Servant of the Bones
16. The Mummy (Or Ramses the Damned)
17. Cry to Heaven
18. Feast of All Saints
    under the name Anne Rampling:
19. Belinda
20. Exit to Eden
    under the name A.N. Roquelaure:
21. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
22. Beauty's Punishment
23. Beauty's Release