She’s telling Edward’s story, even if it makes her anxious
Twilight author speaks about the pressure of releasing a new book
When Stephenie Meyer decided this year to release “Midnight Sun,” a retelling of her bestselling “Twilight” novel from the vampire’s point of view, she thought: “No one can possibly care about it anymore.”
She put the book on hold after several chapters leaked online in 2008. Now, more than a decade later, her fans will finally be able to read it. She had hoped for a low-key release but, when she announced the publication date, so many fans flocked to her website that it quickly crashed.
“That’s really flattering but also nerve-racking,” Meyer said in an interview last month. “I’m pretty sure people aren’t going to get exactly what they think they’re getting. Because of all the time that’s passed, they’ve built up in their minds what they thought it was going to be and so no one can live up to those kinds of expectations.”
The “Twilight” saga, which follows teenage Bella Swan’s romance with Edward Cullen, a century-old vampire, turned into a multimillion-dollar brand following the first book’s release in 2005, producing five movies and millions of devotees around the world.
Before its publication, Meyer talked about the stress of releasing a book during a pandemic, what readers can expect and why they shouldn’t be waiting for another one in Edward’s voice. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. Why did you decide to publish the book now?
Because I finished it. The reason it wasn’t published earlier was because it was not done, and when I did see the light at the end of the tunnel — when I saw that I was actually going to be able to finish it — I started the publication process right away because I knew there were people who had been waiting really kindly and patiently, but also anxiously, for quite a while. What happened back then? Why did you decide to postpone the book indefinitely?
I don’t know exactly what happened, which is one of the reasons it shook me. I don’t think there was any bad intent. I think people made copies instead of returning it to me when they had been asked to read it. But that wasn’t as scary. It was when I thought that maybe someone was reading things on my computer that I was more frightened by it. The real reason the book took so long to write is because this was just a huge, pain-in-thebutt book to write. With some of my books, it was like they were writing themselves and I was just working to keep up with dictation. That kind of writing is fun and exciting. This was like, every single word was a struggle. What do readers have to look forward to in this new instalment?
I think the part that people won’t expect is: Edward is a very anxious character. Writing him made me more anxious and that’s one of the reasons it was hard to be in that story. His anxiety combined with mine was potent. He starts off fairly confident, but boy does he get broken down by the end. Bella really breaks him into pieces. Without giving away any spoilers, is there anything you can say about what readers will learn about Edward or what new perspectives they’ll gain on moments in the “Twilight” book?
I mean, it’s difficult to spoil this book because, spoiler: Edward falls in love with Bella. That’s all known, so it’s difficult to spoil it. The stuff they’re going to get that’s new is, like I said, the inhuman point of view and then the time away. The best parts to write, hands down, were the times that Bella was not present, and I wasn’t locked into a certain set of dialogues and actions. That was when I felt he could be more himself. Do you plan to write the whole series through Edward’s eyes?
No. Not at all. This is it for Edward. What do you plan on writing next?
I have three candidates right now. I work on them occasionally. When “Midnight Sun” is out and that’s passed, then I’ll see which one is pulling me in. I’d like to do something in fantasy, where you have to have a map in the beginning of the book, but we’ll see if that’s the one that gets picked.