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“Twilight” time: Stephenie Meyer in Alpharetta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stephenie Meyer’s author appearances are more like mini-Beatlemania re-enactments. Her fans — largely female, ranging from teens to 30somethings — mob whatever bookstore she is appearing at, hoisting handmade signs and banners, wearing homemade T-shirts, and indulging in bouts of shrieking, shaking and general hyper-ventilating.
The reason for this giddiness is Meyer’s “Twilight” trilogy of Young Adult vampire romances. The third book, “Eclipse,” came out in August and peaked at No. 2 on Amazon.com (Harry Potter was still No. 1), making Meyer arguably the most popular author today who doesn’t get much mainstream media attention.
But the fans know. And they’re going to be coming out like eye-spinning crazies during a full moon on Friday night, when Meyer makes her first metro Atlanta stop ever, to sign her books and meet her fans. She’ll be at the Alpharetta Barnes & Noble (7660 Northpoint Parkway) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Twilight” at its core is a Gothic romance between Bella, a normal girl who transfers to a new high school in Washington state, and Edward Cullen, a vampire who is a student there and who falls for Bella. That’s the bare bones, but Meyer doesn’t really go in for the usual vampire conventions; these novels are romances, closer in feel to something like “Wuthering Heights” than “Interview With the Vampire.”
I had a chance to talk to Meyer on the phone while she was on the road promoting “Eclipse.” She’s a stay-at-home mother of three in Arizona and a Latter Day Saint. Here are some excerpts of what she had to say:
“When you hear about someone writing about vampires, you have certain expectations. I think my publisher was surprised. I’m kind of a girly girl. I don’t wear black. I’m not into horror novels. I’m not Goth, I don’t have any tattoos or any piercings. I’m kind of a goofy, kick-back person.”
“My vampires are very light. Since I started writing, I’ve learned more about how other vampires roll, so to speak, and it’s a very sensual thing, the blood-drinking, the sex and violence. Mine is more about attraction.
“When I was writing ‘Twilight’ I didn’t really have a target audience. It was a very personal thing. I wasn’t letting anyone see it. When it was done, I was kind of shocked. As I kept writing, I got a better idea of how these books were marketed.”
(Her next novel, due out next year, is “The Host,” and is not part of the “Twilight” series.) “I wrote this book as a diversion while I was waiting for Book 3 to be edited. I am afraid my fans are going to get it and start flipping through and say ‘Where is Edward? Why am I reading this without Edward?’”
Yes, Hollywood wants to make a movie out of “Twilight.” No, they have not cast Bella or Edward yet. Meyer said she’ll be happy if they just don’t screw it up entirely.
I thought Meyer was totally cool, and her Atlanta fans are going to love her almost as much as they love Edward. Oh, and if you’ve checked her website, you know that “Eclipse” is not the last book; more are planned.
Are you a “Twilight” fan? Are you going to see Meyer? Can anyone post a report on what happens in Alpharetta to this blog?
Permalink | Comments (11) | Categories: Atlanta Events
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By Maria
September 13, 2007 10:48 AM | Link to this
Yup, I’m going! And one of the other ladies I’m going with is a pretty rabid Twilight series fan who’s taking the whole day off work on Friday for the event. I suspect she’ll be in costume. Me, I’ll be leaving work a bit early on Friday to make the trek from intown to Alpharetta.
Her books are terrifically addictive, and I’ve known more than one working adult who’s stayed up very late on a weeknight to finish reading Twilight or New Moon. I mostly got into her books due to my YA lit fangirlishness, and because, as a writer, I was fascinated by her journey to publication. The idea for Twilight came to her in a dream, and from there she began writing the novel. I believe it was 6 months from page one to book contract. It’s rare to hear a success story like that!
Anyway, I’m super excited about the event tomorrow, and I’ll be happy to post a report to the blog. I’ll have my camera with me, too!
By RUChinaDoll
September 13, 2007 3:36 PM | Link to this
I am a pretty rabid fan, I have to admit; I am also a 20 something young professional with a graduate degree. When I first heard about Twilight nearly a month ago, I picked up the first book out of curiousity. Both the girl and the older gentleman working at the bookstore told me I might as well save myself a trip and get all three books. I didn’t think it could be that good. Needless to say, I was back at the store getting the New Moon and Eclipse the next day & I’m hooked. I was one of those people Maria mentioned staying up until 6am on a weeknight reading and I can’t wait for The Host* and the rest of the series to come out. I’ve even read everything on Stephanie Meyer’s webpage.
Rest assured I will be there tomorrow with the teenagers and adults alike. I will be more than happy to report!
By thera
September 13, 2007 8:54 PM | Link to this
I’m most interested to read Edward’s POV of events from the first novel.
I’ve never understood why adults balk at reading fiction outside their age catagories. I will enjoy Green Eggs And Ham at seventy as much as I do the latest work of a contempary. I place no restrictions on myself as to genre, either.
By comp133xi7y
September 13, 2007 10:45 PM | Link to this
Ever since I read the review of the latest book in the New York Times Review of Books a few weeks ago, I’ve been tempted…
I’m a guilty fan of urban fantasies like this series, and the more I read comments from older (as in, not teenage) readers, the more tempted I’ve become to read this series.
I guess I’ll have to give it a try, now.
By Phil Kloer
September 14, 2007 7:40 AM | Link to this
OK, now you guys promised you would report back here for the ones who can’t go, so keep your promise. Have fun tonight.
By michelle
September 14, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this
You say her fans range from teens to 30 somethings…try older than that! I picked up Twilight because my niece was reading it and I wanted to read it so I could discuss it with her. I carried it on a trip. With nothing to do one evening in the hotel room, I began to read it. What a sweet, good story. I finished it that night and went out the next day and purchased New Moon. I am half thru it. I understand the appeal. Two thumbs up to Meyers for a book that is sweet and engaging. It is not my typical read, but at my age I need to broaden my horizons. My niece and I have a lot to talk about.
By Maria
September 15, 2007 9:44 PM | Link to this
Okay. I think my feet are still recovering from the wait to have my book signed by Stephenie Meyer… but I think my head is finally straight after the craziness that was last night.
I have been to my share of readings and signings, but I had never seen anything like the scene at the Alpharetta B&N last night. Stephenie Meyer was elevated to rock star levels hours before she even arrived in Atlanta. One of my companions got to the B&N early in the morning to get our signing passes. She got there to stand in line before the bookstore even opened, and we still wound up in the fourth group. She said that people (parents of younger girls, likely) were sitting under blankets on the sidewalk, as though they’d been there since early morning.
I got to the bookstore for the Q&A around 5:45 — still an hour and 15 minutes before the Q&A was to begin. The place was packed already. I found my friends in the middle of the crowd, which was much more like your average Tabernacle, Roxy, or Variety Playhouse concert floor than any booksigning crowd I’d ever experienced. The biggest difference was that I was taller than a good portion of the crowd. Ha. There were lots of homemade t-shirts (“I don’t do drugs. I do Edward Cullen.” — permanent marker on tie-dye), including some really, really well-made screenprinted shirts. Some girls in front of us all had matching shirts sporting the Japanese cover of Twilight. There was lots of face paint, too.
After an hour of barely being able to move our legs or arms, we were glad when Stephenie Meyer came out (to a scream from the crowd that could have surely been heard across Alpharetta). She answered questions for about 30 minutes. Some highlights: she wrote Twilight in 3 months (!!! This is me gaping). She likes to write about “pretty things” (heh. Hence all those descriptions of the very, very beautiful vampires throughout her books). She hasn’t read very much vampire literature (not even Dracula) and she doesn’t care for horror novels. The mythological world in in the Twilight series is largely her own creation. When she began her first novel, she was largely writing down the details of a dream she’d had. She encouraged other would-be writers in the room to follow her path — i.e., write what interests you, write the book you’d want to read, and don’t write specifically for the marketplace.
Someone asked what she was like in high school. She said she was shy, a good student, and a big geek. (There was a cheer from the crowd when she identified herself as a geek. There was an even bigger cheer when she identified herself as a My Chemical Romance fan. And then I felt old.)
When she finished the talk, the book signing line began to form. There were about ten signing groups, all with different colored tickets. This was very well organized, I can tell you that. They had certainly anticipated the crowd, and had plenty of staff members on hand to handle it. We got in line, which wrapped all the way around the bookstore. I can’t complain, as it gave me a chance to get up close and personal with plenty of the B&N sections I don’t usually remember to look at (religion, history, women’s studies). Lucky for all of us, the line also passed through the rather ravaged teen section, which gave my companions and me a chance to rave about the YA books we’d read recently. The crowd was really noisy — lots of Marco Polo-style shouting back and forth. “STEPHENIE!” “MEYER!” “EDWARD!” “CULLEN!” Yeah. That got old fast. A bookstore employee told them to quit it after a while. Apparently Meyer herself was getting annoyed at hearing her name shouted back and forth.
When we got to the front of the line, B&N was no longer allowing photos to be taken. I got my one book signed, said hello and thanks, and was shooed away by an employee. Can’t complain about their efficiency. She chatted a little longer with my friends who had several books to be signed, but they were ushered out pretty quickly, too. Had to be done, or she would have been there until 5 in the morning. I got the impression, though, that she would have loved to have chatted longer with fans had there been more time and a lot fewer of us.
The bookstore was in a bad state when we left — lots of books out of place, displays in total disarray. There had been a few disrespectful fans during the Q&A who just had to get a bird’s eye view of the place, and so decided to climb on shelves and displays. I think some of the bookstore employees had a long night. I hope they continue to book YA authors in the future.
Me, I was glad to get outside, glad I had a signed book, and glad to get off my feet.
By Phil Kloer
September 17, 2007 7:36 AM | Link to this
Wow, Maria, thanks for that excellent report. You really made us all feel like we were there. I was at the same store quite a while ago for another YA pandemonium scene, this one surrounding Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, who came out and put on a whole wacko performance before signing, including playing the accordion! Even though the fans were pretty stoked for that one, it sounds like Stephenie was even more intense.
By Meg
September 17, 2007 11:07 AM | Link to this
Don’t stop at 30something women! I am a 40something female and my husband and I both LOVE the Twilight series!!
We attended the signing in Alpharetta also and Maria’s descriptions were right on. Stephenie has definitely become a rock star author!! What was thrilling to me was to see so many young people so excited to see an author!! I’m used to seeing the frenzy over music, TV and film stars but to see this much excitement over a set of books was incredible!
We were 778 in line and we were about half way through. There was no limit on the number of books Ms. Meyer would sign and many people had all 3 and sometimes multiple copies. She was still smiling and had a kind word for my group, though she must have been exhausted.
She is truly one classy lady with an amazing talent for painting amazing pictures for the mind. I can’t wait for more!!
By Maria
September 17, 2007 12:18 PM | Link to this
Thanks, Phil! That was the first event I’d attended at that particular B&N, but they definitely seem to know how to handle a crowd.
Meg, I totally agree that it was wonderful to see so many young people excited about books! I also liked that, during the Q&A session, more people asked questions about Stephenie’s characters than about Stephenie herself. Oftentimes, when I go to author events, people seem more interested in the author him/herself (“How did you get published?” “Which character is most like you?”) than the author’s work. At the event on Friday, everybody seemed to be very much into the stories and characters themselves. A nice change.
By Phil Kloer
September 17, 2007 1:19 PM | Link to this
Stephenie told me when we talked that the fans ask almost exclusively about the characters rather than about her. I think these characters are very real, particularly to the younger fans.
As for Michelle up above saying she is past her 30s and a fan, well, hell yeah. Stephenie says her fan base tends to be that age range and female, and she was happy that I was a guy and let’s just say well past my 30s.