Stephanie Meyer is to release a new companion novel to her hugely popular Twilight series.
The author first teased a surprise announcement by featuring a clock on her website’s homepage, seemingly counting down the Monday (May 4, 2020) reveal.
However, when the countdown came to an end, the website crashed due to the volume of traffic, and the author was left to announce the release of Midnight Sun – which dates back to 2008 – in a video on Good Morning America.
Writing about the volume, which is a retelling of her Twilight love story from the point of Edward Cullen instead of Bella Swan, on her website, she explained: “While I was procrastinating some real editing work (I’m always at my most creative when procrastinating), I started to wonder how the first chapter of Twilight would read if it were written from Edward’s perspective.
“There is so much more to his side of the story than there is to Bella’s in that first chapter,” she wrote to fans on her website.
Stephanie continued: “Though I didn’t have time to work on it right away, the idea of letting Edward have his chance to speak stuck with me. I couldn’t shake it. I found myself thinking his words in the middle of the night and jotting down phrases he would use while I was waiting in line at the post office. As soon as I finished my real work, I sat down and let Edward get his say.”
The writer was originally set to publish Midnight Sun in 2008, but canceled the plans after a copy of her manuscript was leaked online. She later posted a partial rough draft of the work on her website, but never released a completed story.
The Twilight books were adapted into a hit movie series, with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart taking on the roles of Edward and Bella, respectively.
Midnight Sun is set to drop on August 4, 2020.
