Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is the author of the New York Times best-selling Twilight series of fantasy books, popular with both young adult and adult readers. In November 2009 Time magazine reported, "Altogether (Meyer's) books have spent 235 weeks[2] on the New York Times best-seller list, 136 of them at No. 1. [3] The success of the books created a pop culture surrounding the stories, as what happened with the Harry Potter series. Meyer quickly became a literary phenomenon.
Additionally, The Twilight series of four books was made into a five-movie adaptation known as The Twilight Saga, which has grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide in box office ticket sales. The Host was also made into a feature film, and it grossed $64 million worldwide.
Stephenie Meyer was born December 24, 1973, in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the author of the books The Host and Twilight, along with Twilight's sequels New Moon and Eclipse. Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book, is written primarily from Bella's perspective (Bella is the main character in all the books), with sections written from different character lenses. She also wrote Midnight Sun, a companion novel in the series retelling Twilight from the perspective of Edward Cullen. [1]
Meyer grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, a member of a large Latter-day Saint family. She attended Brigham Young University, where she received a BA degree in English in 1997. She married Christian Meyer in 1994, and together they have three sons. They continue to be active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Meyer claims to have never seen an "R" rated movie.
According to Meyer, the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003, about a girl and a sparkling vampire sitting in a meadow, the transcript of which is now chapter 13 of the book. Meyer had to fill in background leading up to the dream-event. After finishing the first novel, Meyer signed a three-book contract with Little, Brown and Company. Meyer had not written anything before her dream caused her to write. Her main creative outlets were scrapbooking and making elaborate Halloween costumes for her children. [2]
Meyer initially wrote an alternative sequel to Twilight, called Forever Dawn, which she then used as an outline for the remainder of the series. She has stated that the novel will never be published, as it doesn't fall into the genre of young adult. [3] The third book in the series, Eclipse, was released on August 7, 2007. The fourth book, Breaking Dawn, was released on August 2, 2008, in the United States and Canada and on August 4, 2008, outside of North America. She is also the author of Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella.
In May 2020, Meyer announced the August 2020 release of the sequel book Midnight Sun. The publisher stated: “This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting beautiful, mysterious Bella is both the most intriguing and unnerving event he has experienced in his long life as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he let himself fall in love with Bella when he knows that he is endangering her life?”[4]
Meyer's beliefs are key to understanding the characters in her books, as well as their decisions and behavior. Resisting temptation is a recurring theme. There is no smoking or drinking among the characters in the books; they have what Time Magazine calls "fine moral hygiene." Sexual tension is just that—tension. It is desire combined with restraint. The characters exercise what Time Magazine calls "the erotics of abstinence." That abstinence can be erotic is in actuality a fact of life and is what people have defined as "romance." Romance disappears when sexuality steps in. Abstinence in the face of desire has had an addictive attraction for Meyer's readers. In addition, Meyer has displayed a virtuosity in maintaining tension and holding back the flow of information, creating suspense.
At the Sundance film festival of January 2013, Meyer appeared as a producer of the film Austenland, which was distributed by Sony Pictures. All three of the film's female creators are Latter-day Saints. [5]
The Chemist, an adult spy thriller, was released in 2016. The book features her first adult protagonist. In 2018, it was announced that Meyer's production company Fickle Fish would be working with Tomorrow Studios to produce a television series based on The Chemist.
