Stephenie Meyer says long-awaited novel will never come

Oct 10, 2015 06:39 GMT  ·  By
Stephenie Meyer says spinoff "Twilight" novel "Midnight Sun" will never happen, because of "Fifty Shades of Grey"
   Stephenie Meyer says spinoff "Twilight" novel "Midnight Sun" will never happen, because of "Fifty Shades of Grey"

Stephenie Meyer, author of the best-selling “Twilight” series, managed to upset many loyal fans with her announcement from earlier this week, that she was releasing a reimagined version of the original “Twilight” story. It simply wasn’t the book they had been waiting for.

“Twilight” (the book) came out in 2005, but Meyer promised fans that, at some point, she would release a spinoff for it: a different version of the story, as told from the perspective of vampire Edward Cullen, instead of that of human Bella Swan. “Midnight Sun” was to be the name of the book, but it was never released - or completed, for that matter.

Waiting for “Midnight Sun”

Though Meyer put out 2 more books from the “Twilight” series, fans didn’t think they were enough, especially since they’d been promised “Midnight Sun.”

They got a taste of it in 2008, when 12 unfinished chapters leaked online. Meyer expressed her regret that the fans got to see them in such a rough shape, but she promised she would keep on polishing them and eventually treat them to the book they had already been waiting for years.

Despite that, she never kept her promise. So when Meyer appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America this week and announced she had a surprise for fans, they believed a completed “Midnight Sun” was it. Instead, they got “Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined,” which gender-swaps Bella and Edward, but still tells the story from her perspective.

This time, Bella is Edythe, a beautiful vampire, while Edward becomes Beau, the human high schooler she falls in love with.

It is something new to add to the “Twilight” universe (if you wish to consider it that way), but it’s not “Midnight Sun.” Fans weren’t exactly thrilled with the news.

Forget about “Midnight Sun”

Don’t think that Meyer isn’t aware of the buzz around her new book and the disappointment that came with it. She is, but she’s urging fans not to direct their frustration at her, but at another best-selling author: E.L. James, who penned “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

“Grey” started off as “Twilight” fan-fiction and was turned in an equally successful trilogy of books. It’s basically the same story, told from the guy’s perspective - minus the vampire part and with an added dash of S&M. Obviously, the target audience is widely different.

Meyer told a panel at New York Comic-Con that “‘Midnight Sun’ is kind of cursed.” She worked a bit more on it after the leak, but one day, she woke up to find out someone had beaten her to the punch.

“What do you think was the top story on Yahoo the next morning? Grey,” she said, as cited by Entertainment Weekly. “It was a literal flip the table moment for me.”

So while you blame “Grey” for not getting “Midnight Sun,” picture this: it was a literal flip the table moment for Meyer. Literal.