Stephenie Meyer has received a lot of media attention as the late author of a vampire romance series known as ‘Twilight’. Before the book’s publication, Meyer had been a homemaker and mother of three young children. Prior to her motherhood, her work history consisted of a brief stint as a receptionist. She claims that the plot and characters of the original Twilight series book came to her in a convincing dream.
The first book was ignored or rejected by various agents before being picked up by Writers House and subsequently picked up at auction by Little, Brown and Co. The publisher signed a three-quarter million dollar deal for three books. Fame and fortune followed. By 2009, Meyer had won awards such as the British Book Award, the New York Times bestseller list, and the USA Today list. The Twilight series held the top four spots on USA Today’s year-end list in both 2008 and 2009.
The books have sold more than 100 million copies and are published in 37 languages. The author cites her Mormon faith as a direct influence on the value espoused in the books, though critics dispute the issue. Other critics call the male lead in her Twilight stalker, spouse abuser, and similar epithets and define the heroine as codependent.
The story he wrote after the 2003 dream eventually became a chapter in the book “Twilight” published in 2005. The original book was eventually expanded into a four-novel series consisting of Twilight (2005), New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008). The series is classified as young adult vampire romance fiction. A later book known as Midnight Sun was protected after a plot leak occurred. Midnight Sun was going to be related to the Twilight characters but told from a different perspective, that of Edward Cullen.
A non-Twilight related book known as ‘The Host’ was published in 2008 and is expected to be followed by ‘The Soul’ and perhaps a third book to be known as ‘The Seeker’. The Host is science fiction for adults. Several other books or stories are in the works of this author. ‘Summer House’ is a ghost story. She also has a mermaid novel and a time travel novel.
Except for the vampire basis of the story, the plot of Twilight resembles the characteristics of many of the earlier novelists, such as Bronte, Austen, and even William Shakespeare. Some of the characters, particularly Edward, give off a strong flavor of Bronte’s novel. To understand some plot twists and turns, you’ll need to have some experience with vampire theory.
The Twilight series is now in movie form, with the first two in the series already released and the third scheduled for release in June 2010. No decision has yet been made on the final book in this series. It is possible that it will be released separately as a two-part film.
There’s no question that Stephenie Meyer’s books and movie set pieces are a popular draw for a generation of young adults who grew up on Harry Potter books and movies. The vast majority of readers in the Twilight books are female, rather than both genders as in the Potter books.
