Q. For the Immortal anthology, edited by P.C. Cast, you wrote a great story, "Free," featuring Patrice, a character from your Evernight series. But while Evernight is set in the present day, "Free" is set in New Orleans more than a hundred years ago. How is Patrice involved in the Evernight series?

A: Patrice is the vampire roommate of Bianca, Evernight's main character. In Evernight, Patrice comes across as somewhat self-absorbed, even shallow at times, and we get only a peek at the deeper secrets she hides. "Free" takes us back to her life as a human being and sheds more light on why she behaves the way she does. Despite her love of clothes and makeup, Patrice has real steel in her spirit.

Q. New Orleans is ripe with vampire legends. Is that why you chose it for the setting of your story?

A: Not really-- I used to live in New Orleans, so I learned a lot about the city's history then. That history inspired Patrice's character, more as who she was when she was still alive than as the vampire she became.

Q. Do you have any favorite literary vampires?

A: So many! I'm especially fond of the many variants of Dracula, who is really more interesting than he gets credit for these days, when he's mostly known as a Halloween costume or the inspiration for Count Chocula. My favorite from TV or film would be Angel on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and his own show.

Q. There's a lot of variation in vampires these days. Some of them aren't undead, or can go out in the daylight, though they usually do still like blood. What do you think is absolutely necessary in order for a vampire to be a vampire?

A: I think the only "must-have" is drinking blood. Without that hunger for blood, you've got a different kind of creature. It's the blood-drinking that makes vampirism such a wonderful metaphor for so many things.

Q. Do you think of vampires as monstrous or romantic?

A: Depends on the vampire in question! My books have plenty of both kinds.

Q. If you had the choice, would you become a vampire?

A: Probably not. It would depend on what kind of vampire I'd be turning into-- are we talking about the creepy, smelly, Romanian-style vampires? That's a definite no. If we're talking about the more glamorous, self-controlled type, I'd have to think about it, but I still suspect immortality would get terribly old after a few dozen centuries.

Q. You have both a LiveJournal and a MySpace page. What kind of impact do you think the Internet has had on how readers find books, and how they interact with authors?

A: I don't know that I can analyze it, but I love it! Hearing from readers is just the ultimate thrill. They e-mail me to talk about what they liked, what they didn't like, dreams they had about the story, and I feel like I learn so much from all of it about what parts of Evernight have really resonated with people.

Q. You mention on your Web site that you love travelling. What's your favorite thing about it?

A: The best thing about traveling is finding new ways to experience the world. That can be a new cityscape, or a new view, or foods you've never tried before, or music you're not familiar with, or even the different character of the light in another part of the globe. There is so much out there to discover, and I feel so privileged to see even a small part of it all.

(For what it's worth, I buy carbon offsets for every airline flight I take.)

Q. What are you working on right now?

A: Right now I am revising Hourglass, the third novel in the Evernight series, and developing outlines for some future YA projects I hope to publish in the future.

Q. If you could tell us to read one book this year, what would it be?

A: Besides mine? I'd say, keep a lookout this fall for Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. It's dark, it's intense, and it's amazing.