Rachel will be a guest soon on the "Dinner Partners with Chris and Eric" podcast. Christopher is and author and author Anne Rice's son.
Christopher has replied to fans online that Anne loved young Francois and would have loved Heated Rivalry. "Heartily agree. Anne would go anywhere [Francois Arnaud] went. And she would have adored/thirsted for Connor and [Hudson] too." Someone already found an old post from her on Facebook where she basically offered Francois one of her characters if he had wanted it.
Unless it was on premium cable, I don't think a network at the time would have done her work justice. Probably as bad or worse than the US executives not wanting any kissing in Heated Rivalry until episode 5.
I was a Borgias and Midnight Texas fan when they were originally on and have loved Interview with the Vampire. So, this was a fun little imaginary crossover.