The publishers of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer have dismissed a claim of plagiarism as a publicity stunt aimed at furthering the career of an aspiring screenwriter.
Jordan Scott, who wrote an obscure vampire book as a teenager, is suing the Twilight creator, accusing her of stealing ideas from the work for the fourth book in her vampire series, Breaking Dawn.
The lawsuit argues that, as Scott wrote her vampire novel The Nocturne, she posted passages online, and that Meyer stole ideas from Scott's work for her own book.
The Nocturne and Breaking Dawn, which was published in 2008, show similarities in language, plot lines, characters and other points, Scott's lawsuit stated.
For instance, the lawsuit said both books contain a wedding passage and an after-wedding scene of sex on the beach.
Hachette Book Group, Meyer's publisher, says the alleged similarities are "wholly lacking in substance," and Meyer based Breaking Dawn on an earlier, unpublished sequel to Twilight that she wrote.
It calls the suit a meritless claim, adding that it expects it to be dismissed.
Meyer's Breaking Dawn is the fourth book in the Twilight series, which has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide and become the basis of a Hollywood movie series.
