Anne Rice's House (former)

Anne Rice was the New Orleans novelist behind Interview with the Vampire, published in 1976, and the Vampire Chronicles that followed. After returning to the Catholic Church in 1998, she turned to novels about the life of Jesus.

This hillside was once called Thunderbird Ranch Estates and is now known as Thunderbird Heights. According to Rancho Mirage's 50th-anniversary history, Bing Crosby was among the first to build here, and building went on until 1970.

The name goes back to a ranch. Frank Bogert bought 663 acres for $34,000 in 1946, and in 1951 it opened as Thunderbird Country Club, with Bob Hope, Desi Arnaz, and Lucille Ball among the early investors.

Rice's house came much later than the hill's midcentury first wave. Real estate columnist Lauren Beale dated it to 1995 and noted a detached guesthouse with its own kitchen.

Rice bought in 2005 and left her mark outdoors and in: new flagstones around the pool, fruit trees and oleanders, a fireplace in the den, and an air-conditioned garage, according to Beale.

Beale's column credits the house with 3 books: the 2008 novel Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, the 2008 memoir Called Out of Darkness, and the 2009 thriller Angel Time.

The same year the house went on the market, Rice made a public break. On July 28, 2010, she told her Facebook followers, “Today I quit being a Christian,” while saying she remained committed to Christ.