"If you copy from one work, that's plagerism. If you copy from thirty different works, that's research." Alas, I forget where the quote came from. The essence of creativity is taking something and altering it to make something new. Nobody creates something out of nothing. (Except god, according to some religions, but I think everyone in this forum is human, so we probably don't want to go there.) Story ideas are NOT copyrightable. Steal all the plots you want. Shakespeare did. :) Character types are not copyrightable. Situations are not copyrightable. It isn't really all that hard to avoid breaking the copyright laws if you try. Don't copy anyone else's words. That's it. If you use their situation and characters, change them enough that they are YOUR creations now, not someone elses -- they've got a different color hair, no longer have pointy ears, and a new name. Rename everything. It's that easy, and it makes the story yours and not halfway someone else's. After this quick an easy file job no one can say that you "stole" anything, they'll be forced into just calling you "derivative". Lots of bestselling authors are deriviative, so that doesn't have to worry you, if you don't let it. ;) And your legal situation will be SO much more sound.