Character Name

Anita Katerine Blake

Also Known As

The Executioner, Ma Petite, Lupa, Nimir-Ra, Bolverk , Anita Lee (alias in OB)

First Seen in

Guilty Pleasures

Character Description

Height, about 5'3"; Long, curly black hair that has grown longer as the series progresses; it approaches her waist in DM. Dark brown eyes and black hair attributed to her mother's Mexican heritage while her pale skin comes from her father's Germanic lineage; extensive scarring on her left arm and other parts of her body, including a large scar on her collarbone where a vampire bit through it and a cross burn on her forearm. She has another scar on her back from a stake being used against her as well as various stab wounds.

Character Casting Picture

Singer/Songwriter/Musician/Actress Norah Jones has been selected to portray Anita Blake.

Character Occupation

Animator, Vampire Executioner, Preternatural expert for RPIT* (GP), Federal Marshal (CS), Jean-Claude's Human Servant (GP through CotD, then tKD through current), Lupa (tKD) and Bolverk of the Thronnos Rokke Clan (NiC), Nimir-Ra of the Blooddrinkers Clan (BM), Chairman of 'The Coalition'**

Character Race

Human to begin with, though, no one is quite so sure anymore -- Necromancer, Human Servant (3 marks to date), Master Vampire characteristics (carries ardeur, has her own vampire servant, and has several animals to call), Lycanthropic characteristics as well (carries several different strains--wolf, leopard, lion, and tiger--however she has never shifted, she just gets really close to it),

Character Status

Living . Anita is 24 years old at the beginning of the series (GP) and is 28 in BN.

Character Associations and Ties

• As a preternatural expert she has an association with various law enforcement agencies. She mainly acts as a consultant to the St. Louis police. (GP) However she is involved with cases outside of the STPD.
• She is a mentor to Larry Kirkland, a fellow animator and Vampire Executioner. (CotD)
• She is a Federal Marshall. (CS)
• Ronnie Sims is/was her best friend. (GP)
• She and Edward are 'soul-mates'. (OB)
• Anita is tied to almost every were group socially through the Coalition. She has direct connections to several of the other bigger groups: Wererats, Wereswans, Werehyenas. (BO, NiC)
• She is, metaphysically, part of two triumvirates (One with Jean-Claude and Richard in which Jean-Claude is the master; the other with Damian and Nathaniel -- she formed this one and is the master; she also has Jason as an animal to call).(tKD, ID, BN)
• Her 'leopard' has a 'true mate' tie to Micah as Nimir-Ra to Nimir-Raj. She is Queen of the wereleopards. (BM, NiC)
• She has also shared her 'wolf' with Richard, true lupa to Ulfric. She is the protector/lupa of the werewolves, and she is also the Bolverk -- doer of evil deeds -- of the pack.(NiC)

Also seen in

As the main character of the story, Anita is seen in Every Book!

Character Factoids

General

• The books are told in first person perspective from Anita's POV.

Powers

• Discovered the ability to call the beasts of were-animals to the surface, forcing them to shift. (NiC)
• Can share her beast with a were causing them to shift. (ID, DM)
• Very old vampires can ‘smell’ like their animal to call to Anita. (TH)
• Animator - a zombie raiser. She can use an innate ability/power to raise the dead. She later discovers that this control can extend to all the dead.

Background

• In GP, we learn that the vampire that was responsible for her cross burn/brand on her left arm had killed over 23 people, and that she killed him.
• In GP, we learn that as a result of Valentine's earlier attack, she had to have extensive physical therapy to retain the full use of her left arm and it will always be just a little weak at the elbow.
• Anita can act as a focus between two or more animators allowing them to pool/combine their power to raise a zombie that would normally be beyond either individual. Prior to GP, she had only done it with her mentor, Manny Rodriguez. In GP, she combines her talent with Zachary to raise a one hundred plus year old zombie. In BB she and Larry combine to raise the ancient zombies in the disputed graveyard.
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Her Family

• In GP, we are told that she has a stepmother, Judith, and a stepbrother, Josh. (This is a YAABI, as we later learn that Josh is her HALF brother.)
• Her mother died in a car crash when she was eight -- this loss devastated her. (BB)
• Anita's insistence that everyone use a seat belt when in her car is a result of this accident.
• She still remembers the smell of her mothers perfume: Hypnotique. (BB)
• Her father's mother, Grandmother Blake came to stay with them after her mother's death. She was very strict and very religious. Her teachings color many of Anita's beliefs. (?ref?)
• Her father remarried two years later to Judith, a blue-eyed blond. This felt like a betrayal to Anita and it made her, with her darker coloring, feel left out. (?ref?)
• She has a stepsister Andria, and a half-brother Josh. (?ref?)
• When she was 13, her dog Jenny died. Anita raised it inadvertently three days later and woke to find the dog curled next to her in bed. (?ref?)
• Her father sent her off to her maternal grandmother, Grandma Flores, to learn to control the 'gift'. She was a vaudun priestess and encouraged Anita to follow Christianity because she was afraid for her soul.
• Her family is devout Catholic, and she was raised in this faith. Unfortunately, the Pope excommunicated all animators, thus Anita is now Episcopalian. (GP)
• She was born and raised in a small farming town in Indiana. (?ref?)
• Her stepmother despairs of her ever getting married. (GP)
• She also has a stepsister, Andrea who is a lawyer and engaged to a lawyer. (BN)
  

Her Guns

• Anita has two main guns throughout most of the books. The Browning Hi-Power, a 9mm that weighs two pounds when fully loaded (13 rounds) with silver-plated bullets, and the Firestar, a compact 9mm with a 7 shot magazine. She wears the Browning in a shoulder holster and the Firestar in an inner pants holder.
• small gun from Edward in tKD, the mini uzi (details required)
• sawed off shotgun (details required)
  
• She gets a new gun in TH. (details required)

About her

• In GP, we are told that Anita has a weak/bad knee, and stairs can be a problem. The knee is mentioned again in CotD when she climbs more stairs behind Stephen.
• Anita receives a professional journal. It is called The Animator.

• In GP, we learn that Anita weighs 106 pounds (until BO when she gains four more); she has a small waist and is slender with muscular legs that she feels are too short. She can bench press 100 pounds.
• Anita's car in GP is a Chevy Nova. She still has that in tLaC.
• Anita is not a fan of hairy chested men. She much prefers them smooth and defined. (GP at the Freak Party)
• Anita says grace before eating. (GP)
• She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with emphasis on the supernatural and a minor in Creatures of Legend. She attended University of California, Berkeley. (?ref?)
• In college, Anita accidentally raised one of her college professors after he committed suicide. Her roommate and her woke to find him in their room one night -- the roommate moved out shortly afterwards. (?ref?)
• Bert Vaughn recruited her directly out of college to be part of his 'animation for hire' business.
• She has specifically stipulated in her will that she is to be cremated so there is no chance of her coming back as a zombie. (multiple refeances Main one in tLC)
• She had actually never been shot until The Laughing Corpse, before that she had been beaten, stabbed, burned and bitten. (TLaC)
• She has numerous scars. The list in BO: On her right arm - two knife cuts, one old and one newer. On her left arm - a bullet wound on the upper arm, a cross shaped burn on the lower arm, slashes on the lower arm from a shapeshifter witch, scar mound at the bend from a vampire attack. On her lower back - Gabriel's claw marks. On her upper back - a stake scar. On her neck/collarbone - a mound of scars from a vampire attack. In NiC, she adds a large scar on her left shoulder and one on her abdomen just under her sternum. In TH she adds deep claw marks on her (right?) side from a weretiger attack.
• Is known for loving her penguins (particularly Sigmund) and is teased for it by Zerbrowski
• After a plane she was on hit an air-pocket and suddenly dropped a few thousand feet she became afraid of flying (BB). A diving accident is partly to blame for her claustrophobia, that and in BB she was locked in a coffin with a dead vampire. (BO) She is also afraid of sharp, pointy metal objects (i.e. syringe needles) (?ref?)
• We are told that she is 24 years old at the start of Guilty Pleasures. Her birthday is in April. This age is confirmed again in tLaC.

• Anita loves her coffee. She buys it at V.J.'s Tea&Spice shop on Ballas. (BO)

• On any bad day, Anita always has a cup of coffee with her. Anita also has an extensive collection of mugs. Many purchased with the specific intent to bug her boss Bert. (mentioned throughout)
• She doesn't drink alcohol, nor does she really approve of it. (GP)
• She started wearing a lot of black in her teenage years to piss off her stepmother and it just stuck with her through most of her life. (BN)

Her relationships

• In college she fell in love and was engaged, but he broke the relationship off when his mother felt that she was too "Mexican" for his family. This betrayal is one of the reasons why she is so skittish about her relationships. (?ref?)
• Briefly engaged to Richard Zeeman (he proposed in tLuC)
• Last count in DM there were 6 men she was 'dating': Jean-Claude, Richard, Micah, Asher, Nathaniel, and Damian. This does not include ardeur snacks: Jason (CS, DM, BN), Byron (ID), Requiem (ID & DM), London (DM), Auggie (DM), Rafael (TH), Donovan Reece (TH), Crispin (BN), Alex (BN).
• After TH she may or may not be dating Richard; he believes that she and her lovers are evil and refused to help her and Jean-Claude protect the others against the Harlequin.
• In TH she says that she has known Edward for seven years.

Character Quotes

Popular sayings, quotes and quips attributed to this character can be viewed here .

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