It makes me wonder just how close could you get to mocking her in an original work? How close could you get to exploring a similar world? Would it have to be a strict parody?

Well, I read the first one or two of the Charlene Harris books and I think they were partially a commentary/paradoy of LKH's Anita series. The were-dog, the rather inept vampire, the 'special' heroine who's a waitress, etc. etc. She did go on, as her work became independently popular, in her own direction but I'm pretty sure the first, if not the first couple, were parodies.