Reflections: A Book

Day 5: Vampire/Immortal Jive!!!

My midnight bus from GA went without a hitch, then the craziness started. I got in around 9:20 am.
My éver reliable sister *tongue a tiny bit in cheek* picked me up off the street around 10am.
For whatever reason, apparently traffic, we got to Dayton around noon.
My gambling Granny had kidnapped my car and taken it to her Saturday poker game.
Granny returned my vehicle around 2:30pm.
After spending time with her, granddad and my cousin I sleep drive home.
Spent time loving on my kitty Monkey (My neighbor watched her but I'll never leave her alone for 3 weeks again! Neighbor said she actually started crying around middle of week 2, she NEVER cries!)
Crashed out around 3:30pm
Lounged around today, went to Kroger (all the Cuties are gone?! what?! missing my baby oranges....and I forgot to get more Emergen-C!!!) and Library (rented 11 movies and picked up Maya Banks' Rush), it's miserable out and I can't find my wallet *facepalm* sooooo that sucks.

O my begoodness what an amazing prompt!

Even though there's no legal/copyright protection for ideas themselves, do you think it's morally acceptable to take another writer's idea and write your own version of it without permission or giving them credit? Would you find it more or less acceptable if that person weren't a writer or artist themselves? Why?

Why is this amazing?! BECAUSE I think about this on a fairly regular basis when it comes to FanFiction, more specifically, my FanFiction. I don't do it often because I prefer my own ideas BUT I am infinitely enthralled/curious about Lynsay Sands take on the traditional vampire.

If you're not familiar with the Argeneau Vamps, here's a quick rundown:
They aren't "vampires", they're immortals.

The genetic basis for their fangs, super speed, longevity and long list of awesome powers stems from BIOMEDICALLY ENGINEERED NANOS!

kewl right?! It continues....

The nanos were created in ATLANTIS thousands of years ago.

Atlantis fell, the nanos matured and then the people evolved into 'vamps'.

Source: http://www.lynsaysands.net/

Anywho, I love the idea of writing a NON-Fanfic Vampire Action/Romance novel using the Atlantean-Immortal background. NOW Does this constitute stealing? I have no problem giving Sands credit but I'm afraid to ask....(ask for forgiveness not permission allowed?).

Before you answer: think about it. Does one need to ask Anne Rice or Bram Stoker to use their medieval vampire ideals? What about Twilight? Say I want to write an unrelated novel about shiny diamond vegetarian vamps; aside from the Twihards reeming me over the digital coals in all the message boards, could it be published without financial/moral backlash?!

I don't know the answer but either way it shouldn't matter if the mother/father of the original concept is an artist/writer or not.