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It's almost enough to get your blood boiling -- Stephenie Meyer, author of the "Twilight" books, is ranked only second on Forbes' 2010 list of the highest-paid authors, behind the prolific James Patterson.
Think it had something to do with not publishing a new book during the period the mag evaluated? Though "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" was available free in June and for sale starting in early July, Forbes assembled its list based on earnings for the 12 months ending June 1.
Combine that with list-leader Patterson's breakneck writing pace -- he had nine books in calendar 2009 and has put out seven so far this year -- and it seems safe enough to keep the faith when it comes to Twihards' devotion to Meyer's works.
Meyer pulled in $40 million, Forbes estimates, with about $7 million coming from "The Twilight Saga" movies. She ranks between Patterson at $70 million and Stephen King at $34 million.
Rounding out the top 10: Danielle Steel, Ken Follett, Dean Koontz, Janet Evanovich, ...
... John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks and "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling, with a mere $10-million year. Don't feel too bad for Rowling though -- she had $300 million rolling in when she topped the 2008 list, on which Patterson came in second and Meyer didn't appear.Who did Meyer bump off the 2008 roster? None other than Tom Clancy.
Cold-blooded vampires, 1; post-Cold War thrillers, 0?
-- Christie D'Zurilla
Photo: Stephenie Meyer and Peter Facinelli at "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" premiere in Los Angeles on June 23. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:
'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' premiere pictures from the red -- er, black -- carpet
Stephenie Meyer flexes Forbes power, saves U.S. from terrorists?
