Author Charlaine Harris Reacts To Joe Manganiello’s ‘True Blood’ Exit

Viewers of HBO’s “True Blood” weren’t the only ones sad to see Joe Manganiello exit the drama series last Sunday night. Charlaine Harris — author of the book series the show is inspired by — was sad to see Joe, and his character Alcide Herveaux, exit the show too.

“I did [watch] because I’m very fond of him,” Charlaine told AccessHollywood.com of Joe. “He’s a lovely guy, inwardly and outwardly, and I was very surprised, because, of course, that isn’t how my books end, but then, I didn’t really expect them to go out the way my books did. They haven’t really followed them significantly, which is fine, but it just leaves me wondering who else will bite the dust before the series is over.”

Anna Paquin Tweeted that Wednesday is the final day of shooting the show, which is ending later this summer after a seven-season run. When Access asked about how she’d like to see the series end, Charlaine said however producers want it to.

WATCH: Joe Manganiello On How ‘True Blood’ Changed His Life

“The show is their thing and they’ve never tried to tell me how to write the books and I wouldn’t presume to tell them how to write the show,” she said.

But, she’ll be tuning in to see “True Blood” take its final bow, without a doubt.

“Oh, yes. Absolutely. I watch every week,” she said.

Up next, Charlaine’s “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries” book series, about a librarian/crime solver of the same name, is turning into a movie series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Hallmark Movies is being rebranded), starring Candace Cameron Bure.

“Couldn’t be a bigger contrast, could there? Unless I was on NatGeo or something,” Charlaine told Access at Hallmark’s Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night. “I know it’s going to be completely different and I look forward to learning more about the television process with a station that definitely has its own point of view, just as clearly as HBO has its.”

And the author said she has been asked for her help as her books transition to the small screen.

“They have been very quick to tell me they want me to be quite involved in the process,” she said.

“Of course that’s always an intoxicating feeling and I would like to learn more about the process of creating television, so I’m really looking forward to it,” she added.

— Jolie Lash