Stephenie Meyer has received a lot of media attention as the late author of a vampire romance series known as ‘Twilight’. Before the book was published, Meyer had been a homemaker and mother of three young children. Before motherhood, her work history consisted of a brief stint as a receptionist. She claims that the plot and characters from the original Twilight series book came to her in a compelling dream.

The first book was ignored or rejected by various agents before being picked up by Writers House and later picked up at auction by Little, Brown and Co. The publisher signed a three-quarter million dollar contract for three books. Fame and fortune followed. In 2009, Meyer had won awards such as the British Book Award, the New York Times Best Seller List, and the USA Today List. The Twilight series made the top four spots on USA Today’s year-end list in both 2008 and 2009.

The books have sold more than 100 million copies and are published in 37 languages. The author cites her Mormon faith as a direct influence on the value exhibited in the books, though critics question the issue. Other critics call her male lead Twilight a stalker, spouse abuser, and similar epithets and define the heroine as codependent.

The story he wrote after the 2003 dream eventually became a chapter in the finished book “Twilight” published in 2005. The original book was eventually expanded into a four-novel series consisting of Twilight (2005), New Moon (2006) , Eclipse (2007) and Amanecer (2008). The series is classified as young adult romantic vampire fiction. A later book known as Midnight Sun was shelved after a plot leak occurred. Midnight Sun was going to be related to the Twilight characters but told from a different perspective, that of Edward Cullen.

A non-Twilight related book known as ‘The Host’ was published in 2008 and is expected to be followed by ‘The Soul’ and perhaps a third book to be known as ‘The Seeker’. The Host is science fiction for adults. This author is working on several other books or stories. ‘Summer House’ is a ghost story. She also has a mermaid novel and another time travel novel.

Except for the vampiric basis of the story, Twilight’s plot resembles characteristics of many of the earlier novelists such as Bronte, Austen, and even William Shakespeare. Some of the characters, Edward in particular, lend a strong flavor to Bronte’s novel. To understand some of the twists and turns of the plot, you need to have some background on vampire theory.

The Twilight series is now in film form, with the first two in the series already released and the third scheduled for release in June 2010. No decision has yet been made on the final book in this series. It can be released separately as a two-part movie.

There’s no question that Stephenie Meyer’s books and movies are a popular draw for a generation of young adults who grew up on the Harry Potter books and movies. The vast majority of readers of the Twilight books are female, rather than both sexes, as is the case with the Potter books.