Stephenie Meyer is no stranger to comparisons with JK Rowling: the obsessive fans, the midnight bookshop openings, the eye-watering sales figures. Now she can add another: accusations of plagiarism.
The Twilight author has been served with a "cease and desist" order sent to her publisher, Hachette Book Group USA, by lawyers acting for Jordan Scott. The letter claims that the latest volume in Meyer's Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, which was published last year, "shows a striking and substantial similarity" to Scott's book The Nocturne, and asks the publisher how it intends "to cease and desist from any further copyright infringement and to compensate my client for her damages".
Hachette called the claim "completely without merit" and said that any lawsuit would be "defended vigorously".
Scott's lawyer, J Craig Williams, claims that Scott's book was published and posted on the internet in 2006 and cites similarities. Among these are that both books include an after-wedding sex scene on a beach, that both contain a scene about a woman who is sick because she's pregnant with a child with evil powers, that both feature a scene in which the pregnant wife is dying, that both include a scene in which the main character sees their baby for the first time, and that both see the main character turn into a vampire. Scott also points out that in both books the main character refers to his wife as "love".
Breaking Dawn follows the story of the vampire Edward Cullen and his girlfriend, the human teenager Bella Swan.
The news of the plagiarism accusation was broken by website TMZ, which posted Scott's letter online.
Hachette responded with a statement which said that that neither Meyer nor her representatives "had any knowledge of this writer or her supposed book prior to this claim".
"Ms Scott's attorney has yet to furnish us with a copy of the book to support this claim as requested," the statement said. "The world of The Twilight Saga and the stories within it are entirely the creation of Ms Meyer. Her books have been a phenomenal sensation, and perhaps it shouldn't be surprising to hear that other people may seek to ride the coattails of such success. This claim is frivolous and any lawsuit will be defended vigorously."
In 2001, American author Nancy Stouffer claimed that JK Rowling stole her ideas for Harry Potter from a series of books she written between 1984 and 1988, starring one Larry Potter and featuring "muggles". The court found in favour of Rowling.
The Nocturne is not available from Amazon, and Scott's website lists it as "temporarily sold out". The site says she started writing the book when she was 15, after she "took some time away from writing music and working in film and television".
"I wrote The Nocturne with the intent of bringing readers into a completely new world of the fantasy and romance genres," Scott writes. "I have an award-winning script, and three other scripts in various stages. Wow. I love school, writing, music, and of course Boys."