Stephen King has served up a fright for 'Twilight' author Stephenie Meyers insisting she "can't write worth a darn".
King, the writer of classics like 'Carrie' and 'Misery', has gone public with his critique of in-vogue Utah-based novelist Meyers in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend magazine.
He starts by complimenting J.K. Rowling on her Harry Potter books, and then slates Meyer.
He says: "Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people... The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.
"It’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because it’s not overtly sexual.
"A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet."