Richelle Mead: The anti-'Twilight'?

Not that bestselling novelist Richelle Mead, author of the world's second-most-popular young-adult vampire series, hasn't worked hard to get where she is. But she does seem to lead a bit of a charmed life.

Consider that striking mane of red hair. It's logical to assume Mead gained a feeling for alienated outsiders like the characters in her "Vampire Academy" series -- from being teased as a ginger child. Nope.

"It really didn't turn red until high school," Mead says by phone from her home in Seattle. "By then, it wasn't an issue. Before that, it was a dark blond. But now, it's a badge of honor. People remember me when I come in the door."

Likewise, Mead can honestly say she wasn't influenced by Stephenie Meyer, author of the massively popular "Twilight" series. But Mead, who will appear Thursday at Books and Books in Fort Lauderdale, did benefit from the other author's success.

"When I wrote 'Vampire Academy,' " Mead says, "Stephenie Meyer was not a household name yet. But by the time my agent pitched it to publishers, 'Twilight' was becoming a phenomenon. They were looking for the next 'Twilight.' "

Actually, Mead's take on vampire mythology has very little in common with Meyer's.

"You hear 'teens,' you hear 'vampires,' it's natural to assume they're similar all the way," Mead says. "The vampire story is a big umbrella. Everyone has their own take, their own mythologies."

Mead's vampires don't sparkle in the sun, but that's only the most-obvious difference. Drawing on Eastern European folklore, especially from Romania, Mead divides her vampires into two species.

The good vamps, she explains, are alive, born like people, though they need blood to survive. The bad vampires, the dreaded Strigoi, are undead and up to no good.

After six much-loved books in the "Vampire Academy" series, Mead made the risky decision to start a new series, "Bloodline," bringing minor characters from the earlier books to the forefront.

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Richelle Mead: The anti-'Twilight'?