On June 2, 2003, stay-at-home mom of three small boys and devout Mormon, Stephenie Meyer, had a vivid dream:

Two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately. For what is essentially a transcript of my dream, please see Chapter 13 ("Confessions") of the book.

Stephenie says that within six months her vision was realized, written, and accepted for publication. Twilight was born. She has since published three other novels, for a total of four books in the Twilight Saga-- Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

The success behind the books stems from the ability of Stephenie to convey an array of emotion within each character, mainly Bella, from whose point of view of the books are written, with a few exceptions. Stephenie has written the books in such a fashion that readers don’t simply enjoy them; they climb into the world of the Cullen family. The books span beyond simply an interesting plot; they tug at the emotion and heartstrings of tweens, teens and adults alike.

Themes of sexual abstinence, making wholesome decisions, and virtue are ribboned throughout each of the novels, as are the lack of drinking, drugs and excessive swearing, all aligned with Stephenie’s moral Mormon background.

From Stephenie Meyer’s website, her official bio reads:

Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in English. She lives with her husband and three young sons in Phoenix, Arizona. After the publication of her first novel, Twilight, booksellers chose Stephenie Meyer as one of the "most promising new authors of 2005" (Publishers Weekly).

Praise for Twilight:
• A New York Times Editor's Choice
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• An Amazon "Best Book of the Decade...So Far"
• A Teen People "Hot List" pick
• An American Library Association "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers"
• Has been translated into 20 languages

"Propelled by suspense and romance in equal parts [this story] will keep readers madly flipping the pages of Meyer's tantalizing debut."
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The novel's danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive. Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it."
— School Library Journal (starred review)

Stephenie’s success and vision culminated in June 2009 when she reached number 26 on Forbes success list. Sandwiched between British entertainment mogul Simon Cowell and pro tennis player Roger Federer, Stephenie’s pay rank reached upwards of $50 million dollars within a scant four years.

Proof positive, one would say, that, despite the occasional naysayer, millions of adoring fans can’t be wrong in becoming enamored with Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight Saga.
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