I Support Stephenie Meyer--(selfish reasons)!

Before I leave the Twilight saga obsession and return to more mundane topics like my own life, I thought I'd voice my own version of support for Stephenie Meyer. I only discovered the Twilight series during my summer vacation to Utah. I heard about them from a woman I visit teach here in Camarillo. She said she was reading a series of teenaged books about vampires and thoroughly enjoyed them. I only listened half heartedly wondering if she'd slipped a gear.

When I went to Utah, my nieces sang the praises of the Twilight books. Drooling in fact! I was curious, even went so far as to check them out at the Deseret Book clearance store on 109th south in Salt Lake City. But I'm on a strict budget and when I saw the books were not discounted even at the clearance center, I decided to wait.

Upon returning to Camarillo, I went about my business and then noticed all three books on sale at Target. Oh, joy, rapture! I work full time so it took me a week to read the first 3 books. And wouldn't you know, the very next day was the Saturday of the release of "Breaking Dawn". Could I have been more lucky than that? (Don't answer that.)

I fell in love with every character in the books from Bella and Edward to his brothers and sisters, parental figures, Jacob and Charley. I couldn't get down with Renee. She seemed flighty and more of child figure than a parent.

I wasn't too crazy about James, Victoria and the Volturi. But what would a good love story be without conflict, rejection, broken hearts and the anti-heroes. Good stuff! An emotion roller coaster. Magic!

Me--Similar to Stephenie?

My life is very similar to Stephenie's. I am and L.D.S. mom, however a little older than Stephenie. My 25 year old baby just moved out of the house a few weeks ago. I almost attended BYU. I opted for a local college. I adored English and American lit and love to write. In my youth, I wrote short stories and poems. And just like Stephenie I had a dream about a story I needed to write. It was about a young woman driving on the 15 freeway to Utah to marry a man she's never met in order to free her mother from a jam.

This year I completed that book and have written 3 others with starts of 4 more. It's unbelievable the freedom, the rush and the ecstasy of soaring in the clouds that comes from being able to put pen to paper, or in my case, fingers to keys. It's become my obsession, (next to Twilight), my passion and my release. I can't find enough time in my already overly booked day to write, but when I do, I'm totally blissed out, (as Bella would say).

Praise, adulation, jealousy?

Anyway, back to Stephenie and my original premise. What a marvelous talent this woman has! Don't you agree? A true proclivity to express in the written word awe-inspiring, magical stories that lead the reader on a journey of resplendent youthful romance, tragedy and ultimate triumph and unconditional love. Bravo, Stephenie Meyer! Bravo!

There are few books in the world that have inspired a greater love for the characters than what Stephenie has written for us. She truly has been endowed with creativity, ingenuity, a rare charisma and genius that few people have.

Stephenie has weaved a mesmerizing spell that has bewitched, charmed and captivated millions. God bless you Stephenie. Long may you live! I'm one of the enchanted Twi-Hards.

Midnight Sun - will it see the light of day?

I, like millions of her fans, was waiting with bated breath for the next installment of the Twilight series, Midnight Sun, which tells the Twilight story from the perspective of Edward. Though patience isn't one of my virtues, I was horribly stricken to learn that someone near and dear and trusted as a friend, illegally and unethically stole one of her copies of her manuscript and greedily posted it on the internet. What was the purpose of that? Do it bring this person fame and fortune or condemnation and disparaging remarks from Stephenie's legitimate and fiercely loyal fans?

Given the duress of betrayal that Stephenie was put under because of the actions of one close and trusted, Stephenie has decided to put the project on hold---indefinitely! Could this be a bigger tragedy to Twilight fans? Absolutely not! A million times no! It's like denying her fans the ability to breathe or function as normal human beings. Her fans are walking around zombie-like until we have the final installment of Edward's. I personally felt like I'd been sucker punched in the stomach. Unimaginable! Criminal! Without honor!

Gentle persuasion!

I would like to tell Stephenie, if she would ever feel to change her mind, don't stop writing in behalf of Edward. I'd like to remind her about a story of a young man that we both know intimately.

This young man had a "trusted" friend, one who worked with him, loved him and gave him money for a book project. When the manuscript was partially completed, this "trusted" friend begged the young man to show it to his doubting, jealous and skeptical wife. The friend begged, cajoled, and pleaded for a chance to show his wife the manuscript to prove to her he wasn't wasting his time or money.

Against his better judgment, the young man allowed his "trusted" friend to borrow the manuscript. He even went so far as to have him make a covenant with him and sign a promissory note for the return of it. He also made his friend promise to show it only to his caterwauling wife. However, to make a long, miserable story short, the "trusted" friend's wife misappropriated the manuscript, change the text and then lost it all together.

Can you image how the young man felt--Betrayed, desolate, deceived, and hurt? He was left with the feeling that he couldn't trust any one, not even his closest friends. His work, his time, and a promise to God to complete something that would rock the world, all stood at a crossroad.

But this young man persevered. He never went back, never started over but continued on from the point of the missing and stolen pages, realizing that they would be lost to the world forever. However, this same book that was completed has been read by tens of millions of people.


Please, Please, Please--I'm not too proud to beg!!!

Just like the young man in the story, please don't give up, Stephenie. Don't lose heart regarding Midnight Sun. Please don't disappoint your fans. Thousands, if not millions of people wish with all their hearts and offer a constant prayer that you will finish Edward's tale.

We know you have other projects and we look forward to them as well with great anticipation. But somewhere, somehow we hope you will find the time and the desire to complete Midnight Sun. Your fans will be eternally grateful if you do.

And I'm not so unselfish and self-sacrificing to admit that I'm among the most avid of people waiting on pins and needles for the completed work. Please finish Edward's tale in spite of the criminal and imbecilic acts of others. You deserve to triumph over adversity. And by golly, I just can't wait to read it!

A vampire in love with a human--Okay I'll Bite!

I know I'm coming a little bit late to the blood bath that is known as the Twilight Novel Series, three books written by Stephenie Meyer. I finally found them. It only took me three years to discover them. I finally saw the three books on sale at Target and snuck in behind three twittering teen-aged girls who were ogling over them and snagged the last copy of Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. I admit that at first the thought of reading a book about vampires put me off. Secondly, I didn't think I'd enjoy a book written for the teen-aged set.

But, then I read it. I was sucked in, bitten by a splendid tale of teen-aged angst, first love and blood sucking vampires. What fun!
The story is told from the perspective of a tormented yet quirky, accident prone, unsophisticated and guileless seventeen year old girl, Bella, who moves from Phoenix to live with her divorced father in Forks, Washington. Watching the story unfold through her eyes, I was drawn back to my own teenage years. I remembered vividly what it was like to be the new girl in a strange high school. I remember those pressures of trying to fit in, to be acceptable to the populous and to find that first blood-boiling heart-stopping love. It brought back memories of humiliation and apprehension as well as my own thirst for acceptance and romance. I could almost imagine myself as Bella.

Bella discovers a group of teenagers that are unlike any of the other "normal" crowd of teenagers at her high school and a fascination begins with one angelic-like figure named Edward. Her fascination turns to obsession and when a friend from the Indian reservation intimates that Edward is part of a group called the "Cold Ones", Bella soon discovers for herself that Edward and his family are--bloodthirsty vampires!

But does this information scare Bella? Certainly not! When she should have run screaming for her life, she falls in love with this enigmatic, perfect, devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful boy-man-old guy. Really, really old guy. She asks him how old he is and he responds by telling her he's seventeen. Then she has the courage to ask him how long he's been seventeen. And he replies, a very long time.

I am so thankful that I came to the blood lust obsession late. Now I can read all the books at one time instead of waiting breathless, dripping in gory anxious agony waiting for the next installment to be written and printed. I raced through Twilight and New Moon faster than Edward can race through the forest with Bella on his back. Now I'm starting Eclipse. On Saturday, August 2, the last book in the series hits the stores, Breaking Dawn. How will it end? Boy I'm so thirsty to find out, I may just have to go on a hunt! At least to Costco to pick up the next book.

I remember my first love in high school. I can picture him now. Not unlike the unflinching stunning beauty of Edward, this young man may not have had pale cold skin, or amber eyes, or run like a gazelle, but the shock to my system whenever he was near was like having my life sustaining blood drained out of me and my heart removed from my chest. I felt like an undead creature when I was around him. Gorgeous, athletic, divertingly handsome, this young man held such a fascination for me that I followed him around like a love sick puppy dog for four years.

When he graduated from the junior college we attended together and disappeared, I felt the exact same empty hole in the chest pain that Bella experienced. Even now, some thirty three years later, I can picture this young man in my mind, tall, handsome, with exquisitely bright blue eyes and tussled reddish brown hair smiling at me with straight white teeth amidst the glow of his scarlet cheeks that flamed when he was engaged in activities. I even dream of him still. Always running toward him, wanting him to stay with me. Wanting him to love me with an eternal never-ending love. But that's a story for another time and has nothing to do with reality.

I digress. Back to Edward and Bella. My only heart stopping blood curdling fear is that when the Twilight movie opens on 12-12-08, that the Edward and Bella characters I have already seen clearly in my mind, won't be portrayed on the screen sufficiently for my taste. From the movie trailer, I don't get a really good image of either of them. See if you agree.



I also hope that the producers of the movie will stick to the essence of the book and not take too much creative license with the story line. For those of us who read the books, we've already seen the movie in our minds and know Edward and Bella intimately.

If you haven't read the Twilight series, you should, even if nothing more than for the entertainment value. You may find the idea of a human girl in love with a vampire boy that thirsts for her blood repugnant. I did. But after reading the first two books, what stood out the most was the relationship between the two main characters. The taste of love budding for the first time for both of them and the excruciating and intense love story that grips your heart and doesn't let up through dangers and threats of blood shedding and death are extremely exciting.

But if you don't lose your soul to Edward and Bella after reading the books, then you really aren't an imaginative fanciful romantic who believes in the whimsical and mythical spell of love that can transcend boundaries of unthinkable differences. Like the trailer says, "Forbidden fruit if the most sweet." Go on, try it, taste it, thirst for it.