Your last novel, Endangered Species, featured a spectacular return for Faith. Was her return something you wanted, or a suggestion by the publishers?

Jeff: Faith's return was, if I remember correctly, our idea. But I could be wrong. Age, you know...

What do you think is Faith's enduring appeal and could/should she carry Buffy should Sarah leave this year?

Jeff: I've never tried to analyse Faith's appeal, but I suppose it boils down to a few simple roots (boy, what a sadly mixed metaphor that is!):

• 1) Eliza is a tremendously talented actor.
• 2) She ain't hard to look at.
• 3) She's kind of the dark-Buffy, like when Elizabeth Montgomery played Samantha Stevens's evil cousin Serena, only more so.

I am not sure she could sustain a series in the way that Sarah does, because part of the appeal is that Sarah plays against type - she's a tiny blonde cheerleader who can destroy powerful vampires. Looking at Faith, you have almost no doubt that she could destroy vamps, even without the Slayer powers. But at the same time, if Joss decides to go that way, I'm certain he can pull it off.

Nancy: We wanted to bust Faith out. I also wanted to write about a dark Slayer in The Evil That Men Do, but The Powers That Be told me that Faith was going to be coming, so I had to change a few things. I'm sure Faith could hold her own as the protag/antagonist of the show. Eliza Dushku is electrifying, gorgeous, and a fantastic actor.

What about that scene with Angel in the rain when she surrenders? She pulls off the real emotions, just like Sarah. As Jeff points out, they're the two sides of the same consciousness - dark and light, champion and berserker.