Oh, and I came across this through a link chain I doubt I can retrace, and remembered your curiosity earlier: What makes vampires sexy? (http://paranormalromanceblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/why-are-vampires-such-popular-heroes/)

It, um, doesn't really convince me. But it's a discussion among published authors, so you get the answer to a pondered, "What the hell are they thinking?"