Sookie and I have been living here at the beach for a year now. This is what I had hoped for when we first discovered this house and this beach. I knew that I could stay here and be content. The first nine months without Sookie were tough for both of us of course, but this past year has certainly made up for it. You would think that we would get bored, but we never do. We built a workshop under the house for Sookie when she discovered a love for driftwood and wanted to make tables and such out of it. The first one she made is now our coffee table. The driftwood is the base under a thick piece of glass that showcases the lines of the wood. She has sold several pieces locally, but really does it for the fun of it and not the money. Every morning before I turn in, I scour the beach for Sookie's driftwood, and finding just the right piece is as satisfying as finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I take the wood back to her workshop and include the news in her daily note. Then when I wake, I go downstairs to see what she has in mind for our new find.
Sookie is in touch with her friends back in Louisiana and I am able to get a fair amount of information through her conversations with Pam and Compton. I also read on the internet about vamp politics, but that information is not always reliable. I am fairly confident that Victor won't sit on his ill-gained throne for long. He doesn't have the respect of the Louisiana vampires that Sophie-Anne Leclerq had or even that DeCastro had. I predict a short reign. Depending where the pieces land after that catastrophe in the making, I may be able to return to Louisiana someday. I am almost certain that Madden was the one responsible for killing all of the sitting sheriffs during the takeover. I often wonder who took credit for my final death. Did the seven vampire henchmen that I witnessed in my house admit their failure to find me? Right now I honestly don't care about all of that political crap, but I know that it would be easier for Sookie if she didn't have to lie about my existence to all of her friends. There also may come a day when she wants to do some traveling and see the sights beyond our perfect beach, and having a ghost for a companion may put a damper on those plans. It is legal for humans to marry vampires in the state of South Carolina, but of course, I can't have my name on such a legal document while I am staying under the radar. Neither of us is particularly worried about any of these issues right now though. We are both so grateful to just be together that now that is all we need.
After I posted my short story on the fanfiction website, Sookie encouraged me to continue writing, and I will admit that I do find it to be a rewarding pastime. My first book is selling well, and it is very fortunate that we are making money with our first endeavor. The checks go to Charlaine's agent, Sookie Stackhouse (the publisher thought it was so funny that I named my main character after my real life agent.)—that way we can deposit the checks without questions. After my final legal death, my finances were split between Pam and Sookie, of course. Even though she has only half of what I owned before, Sookie and I will never need more money.
When I started writing what looks like will be a series of books, I decided to write a story based on Sookie's interesting and very short young life. Telepaths are quite rare, and I thought that her story would make for interesting reading. When I chose the pseudonym Charlaine Harris, Sookie had the brilliant idea of providing the publisher with a photo of her grandmother as a young woman. Any business done on the phone, Sookie takes care of and speaks for me (as Charlaine Harris, of course). I haven't told Sookie yet, but I chose the name as a tribute to a woman with whom I fell in love in the late 1800's.