Q: Since we're talking about the Twilight series, we have to ask the obvious question: Edward or Jacob?

A: Definitely Jacob. I was never really attracted to pretty boys, and the whole idea of climbing into bed with somebody who's stone cold is … let's just say sometimes I make my husband wear socks to bed.

Q: Do you have a favorite character or moment in the Twilight series?

A: I am rather fascinated by Carlisle. To be a vampire, and yet choose to practice medicine, where every moment is temptation, embodied? And for him to find the necessary self-control over the blood lust central to what he is? All men, alive or undead, should be so strong, and so noble!

Q: You were hesitant to read the Twilight series at first. Was there anything you found in the book that you didn't expect?

A: Relationships, and uneasy ones at that, yet relationships that mean more than instinct. The Cullen family, helping each other beyond their most basic need. Ditto the Quileute werewolves, whose pack means more than the hunt.

Q: A few of the essays in A New Dawn talk about why vampires are so popular. Ellen Steiber talks about them as a metaphor for what scares us as a society; Rachel Caine talks about Twilight's vampires in particular as appealing because they represent everything our society is not. What do you think is so appealing—or so frightening—about vampires?

A: Well, as a woman, there's something very appealing about being the object of lust. Lust for blood or lust for body is less important than being so desired. I imagine it is no different for men. And for a good number of people, experiencing fear seems to titillate. Why else the preponderance of hardcore adventure seekers?

Q: Stephenie Meyer has mentioned Jane Austen as one of her influences. What authors have influenced or inspired you?

A: Many of the great classic authors—J.D. Salinger. Edgar Allan Poe. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Robert Louis Stevenson. John Steinbeck. As for more modern authors, Stephen King, a master of character. And for me, character is everything.

Q: Are there any similarities between Stephenie's writing and your own?

A: Not many, at least if you look specifically at style. Stephenie's books are lush with language. Like a rainforest, after the rainy season. Thick and heavy. Perfumed. Put down on paper to give readers an exact view of the author's intent. My writing is spare, as poets would have it. More high desert, like where I live. Beautiful, in its own right. But certainly different. Its beauty relies on how the reader interprets each word, carefully chosen.

Q: How do you think Kristina (from your books Crank and Glass) would get along with Bella, were they to meet?

A: Kristina would probably like Bella. Bree, however, would totally disdain Bella's passivity. Bella, conversely, would probably think Kristina was just another face. And she'd probably be a little intrigued by Bree, who also chooses a monster (although a totally different kind) over just getting by.

Q: Why do you write your books in the form of poems? Do you ever think about branching out into prose?

A: Poetry pulls me deeply inside each character's head and heart. Many of my readers comment about how they are "right on the page," becoming the character, or at least becoming the character's best friend. I also like how poetry forces me to make each word count. Some of my readers are "non-readers," now drawn to books because my language does not interfere with the story. Prose? Sure. No doubt. But not right away, at least not with my novels.

Q: What are you working on right now?

A: I have several upcoming projects. I'm writing my next novel, Tricks, about five teens who fall into prostitution, for very different reasons. I've also got a novella coming up in an anthology, and a nonfiction expose, sort of a high school confidential. And maybe—still working out the details—a collection of short horror. Oh yeah. I once thought I'd be the next Stephen King. Maybe … .

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

A: Well, of course I have to say my next novel, Identical, due out in August. I'm so proud of this book! It's my best yet. Everything a good read should be. Beyond that, a very good friend has an incredible novel out in October. It's called Freeze Frame, by Heidi Ayarbe. I watched the book take shape over a couple of years and am amazed to see what it has become.