About the series
Twilight is a series of four vampire-themed fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl who moves to Forks, Washington, and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen. The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and Part II of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black, a werewolf. The unpublished Midnight Sun is a retelling of the first book, Twilight, from Edward Cullen's point of view. The novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, which tells the story of a newborn vampire who appeared in Eclipse.
Characters
Isabella 'Bella' Swan Bella, born September 13, 1987, is the accident prone daughter of Renee Dwyer and Charlie Swan. Bella is slender and around 5'4'' with a heart shaped face and very pale skin. She drives a red 1953 Chevy pickup truck and even though she hasn't had it all that long seems very attached to it. She currently lives in Forks, Washington and is the girlfriend of Edward Cullen, although Jacob Black is also vying for her affection.
Edward Cullen Edward, born June 20, 1901, is a vampire who is known as a "vegetarian" because he does not feed off of humans. He is 6'2'' with untidy black hair and is described as mesmerizingly beautiful. After meeting Bella, and a few weeks away, he knew that he couldn't stay far from her and the two are currently (as of Eclipse) unseparable. Edward is able to read everyone's mind around him, except Bella, and typically drives a silver Volvo. (Changed by: Carlisle)
Jacob BlackJacob was born in 1990 and is 6'5'' with long glossy black hair, very handsome, and is an American Indian. He discovered that he was a werewolf in New Moon and because of this will not age until he no longer changes into a werewolf. He was Bella's "sunshine" when Edward was out of town and during this time the two formed a very close bond, enough of one that Jacob is in love with Bella. He is very handy with cars and motorcycles and is able to easily put them together and repair them.
"What a stupid lamb."
"What a sick, masochistic lion."
— Edward & Bella; Twilight
About the Author
Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings. She attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1997. Meyer met her husband Christiaan, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994 when they both were 21. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli. Meyer currently lives in Cave Creek, Arizona, and also owns a home on Marrowstone Island, Washington.
Stephenie's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head. "Though I had a million things to do, I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering." Meyer had never written even a short story before Twilight and had considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer.
Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, and wrote it out late at night when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. With encouragement from her older sister (the only other person who knew she had written a book), Meyer submitted her manuscript to various literary agencies. Twilight was picked out of a slush pile at Writer's House and eventually made its way to the publishing company Little, Brown where everyone fell immediately in love with the gripping, star-crossed lovers.
