Twilight Forever

I am going to post Stephenie's (or Seth's) notes from her page here from now on(July 11th, 2008).  Here they are:

(My note before you read this)I seriously can't believe people would do this, but anything's possible:

August 28, 2008 (part II)

As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.

I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.

I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn't mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.

So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.

I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here (at the end of this message on the Midnight Sun page). This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.

I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.

--Stephenie

July 31, 2008

If you are still looking for something to pass the remaining hours that we have left to wait, here is the link to the USA Today article that I mentioned yesterday. Also, click here to read a recent article about Stephenie in Variety magazine.

For those fans in the UK that are looking for Breaking Dawn release day events, click here to go to the UK publisher site. And, as a reminder, you can find US events by going to TheTwilightSaga.com's event locator. For those of you planning to attend midnight parties, I would like to remind you that trying to read the book while driving home is not considered safe driving. My recommendation is to leave Breaking Dawn in the bag until you get home. Have a fun and safe night.

And finally, speaking of Friday night, we have a little more information about where to view the streaming video presentation of the Breaking Dawn concert series event in New York City. We have already discussed that it will be shown at iClips.net, but now you will also be able to view the event at EW.com (I will post the link as soon as I get it).

--Seth

July 18, 2008

As you can see, we have less than 15 days left until the release of Breaking Dawn! [side note: I can't solve problems with the countdown other than replacing it or taking it off the site, so emails about countdown problems are not necessary]. On TheTwilightSaga.com, they have recently added a new feature to help everyone find Breaking Dawn Midnight Release Parties. Click here to view the event locator (all you have to do is enter your zip code to find the nearest party).

In additional exciting Twilight Saga news, Summit Entertainment has released another teaser trailer for Twilight the movie. Click here to view the trailer at Yahoo Movies.

Finally, I have been asked to make an announcement for TwilightTeez.com. They will begin selling their Bella's Engagement Rings at 3pm EDT on July 18th. Their site is currently down as they switch to a new server, but they are planning on having the site back up very soon. [edit: I have been informed that the on-sale date is actually July 19th. Also, their site is currently up and running.]

--Seth

July 11, 2008