Introduction: Midnight Sun

I was a latecomer to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. Not much interested in popular trends, I didn’t pay attention to the buzz until the summer of 2010. I had lived in the Pacific Northwest for many years before becoming an expatriate. When I returned for a visit, the Twilight Phenomenon slapped me in the virtual face. I had to find out what it was all about.

Though not a member of its intended audience, teens and “tweens,” I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed Twilight. I found the characters engaging, the magic magical, and the environment comfortable and familiar (the latter even more so after seeing the Pacific Northwest filmed so beautifully in Director Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight movie).

On the back of the first Twilight paperback edition, Time magazine identified the key to the book’s remarkable, world-wide popularity: “People do not want to just read Meyer’s books; they want to climb inside them and live there.” Most unexpectedly, that’s what happened to me. After finishing the first novel, I was anxious to revisit the Cullens and their lives in Forks.

When I read New Moon, I was shocked to discover that vicariously bidding Edward goodbye set me sobbing; I cried again on his return. The film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, produced the same effect. I don’t recall ever crying over a novel and I can’t remember the last time I cried watching a movie.

I devoured Eclipse and then Breaking Dawn. By then, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was just entering movie theaters. I saw it immediately—then I saw it several more times. So I’d read and seen everything that was available (and had checked out the audio books from the library, as well) and found that I still missed my friends from Forks.

Then someone asked me if I had read Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer’s unfinished fifth novel. I hadn’t heard about it, but when I found it online, I happily reentered the Twilight world from Edward’s point of view, which diverged wildly from Bella’s. I was disappointed when it ended right before the iconic and pivotal meadow scene, which I daresay all Twilight fans love. I scoured the internet, looking for chapters Ms. Meyer might have released later or serious fan fiction that might fill the gap. No luck.

Eventually, it occurred to me that I could learn how Edward’s version of the story played out by writing it. Thus am I adding my piece to the vast collection of derivative fiction that is currently on the internet. Perhaps more than other writers, I took the challenge of  “finishing” Midnight Sun seriously and kept at it to the end.

I tried to maintain Ms. Meyer’s tone and writing style, with the caveat that Edward continued to develop (at least for me) as I wrote. No doubt my version of events varies drastically from what Ms. Meyer herself would write were she to finish the novel. I didn’t try to read her mind, though I did do lots of research. I wrote these chapters for myself, but realized that other Twilight fans might enjoy reading them too.

Midnight Sun parallels Bella’s story in Twilight, but is written from Edward’s point of view. This second half, which I call Midnight Sun: Part II,  is dependent upon Stephenie Meyer’s rough draft of the first half of Midnight Sun, which should be read first and is available on her website:

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_partial_draft4.pdf

I hope you enjoy reading these chapters as much as I did writing them. Once again, I miss our fictional friends from Forks now that this tale is finished. I anxiously await Ms. Meyer’s next book, The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, and the films, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (I & II), as I’m sure you do too.

P.A. Lassiter

N.B. These chapters are based on characters created by Stephenie Meyer in Twilight, the novel. The title used here, Midnight Sun, some of the chapter titles, and all the non-interior dialogue between Edward and Bella are copyright Stephenie Meyer.

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