Stephenie Meyer releasing “Twilight: Eclipse” novella called “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner”
“Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer announced today that she is releasing a novella titled “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella.”
The novella will be told from the viewpoint of a vampire character from her third “Twilight Saga” novel, “Eclipse.”
“I’m as surprised as anyone about this novella,” said Meyer in a news release. “When I began working on it in 2005, it was simply an exercise to help me examine the other side of ‘Eclipse,’ which I was editing at the time. I thought it might end up as a short story that I could include on my Web site. Then, when work started on ‘The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide,’ I thought the ‘Guide’ would be a good fit for my Bree story. However, the story grew longer than I anticipated, until it was too long to fit into the ‘Guide.’”
“The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” will be the first new title from Meyer in almost two years. The novella (at 192 pages) will be released at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, in hardcover for $13.99 with a first printing of 1.5 million copies.
One dollar for each book sold in the U.S. from the first printing will be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which supports disaster relief efforts such as those in Haiti and Chile. Donations to the Red Cross from the U.S. sales of “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” will continue until all first printing copies have been sold or at the end period from the initial publication date, whichever is the first to occur.
As a special thank you to fans, Meyer is giving them exclusive access to the novel on a dedicated Web site, www.breetanner.com, from June 7 to July 5. There, fans from around the world will be able to read the book online in English.
“I’d always considered ‘The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner’ as something for the fans,” said Meyer in the release. “They have been so supportive of all things ‘Twilight.’”
Visitors to the dedicated site will also find a link to the American Red Cross site (www.redcross.org), where they can make a donation and learn more about their relief efforts worldwide.
“I have been moved by the generous outpouring of support for the recent crises in Haiti and Chile,” said Meyer in the release. “I am glad that sales of this book will support the American Red Cross with their amazing efforts abroad.”
“Fans have been waiting with bated breath for a new book from Stephenie,” said Megan Tingley, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, in the release. “We are doubly thrilled to be giving them the opportunity to read this exciting new work as well as contribute to an important cause at the same time.”
“The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” is the riveting story of Bree Tanner, a newborn vampire first introduced in “Eclipse,” and the darker side of the world she inhabits. The novella chronicles the newborn vampire army’s journey as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.
The character Bree not only features prominently in the book “Eclipse,” but in the upcoming movie from Summit Entertainment.
“Stephenie was gracious enough to let me read a draft of the novella while we were prepping the movie ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,’” said Director David Slade in the release.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the story and it gave us great insight and inspired location choices and the tailoring of scenes. I think fans are going to love the fascinating details involved in the loves, fears and actions of an emerging vampire.”
“The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” will also be available as an e-book beginning at 7 a.m. June 5. Additionally, more information about the previously announced “The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide,” including publication date, will be released by the end of the year.
In less than five years, Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. The “Twilight Saga”’s translation rights have been sold in nearly 50 countries and 100 million copies have been sold worldwide.
The theatrical version of “Eclipse” is due out in theaters June 30.
After the break, read the “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” announcement as it appeared today on www.StephenieMeyer.com.
“The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” announcement from StephenieMeyer.com:
Surprise!
I have a new book coming out. It’s called The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Well, it’s more of a novella than an actual book—my version of a short story.
Actually, this has been a surprise to me, too. The reason why it’s a surprise was that I never intended to publish this story as a stand-alone book. I began this story a long time ago—before Twilight was even released. Back then I was just editing Eclipse, and in the thick of my vampire world. I was thinking a lot about the newborns, imagining their side of the story, and one thing led to another. I started writing from Bree’s perspective about those final days, and what it was like to be a newborn.
This story was something that I worked on off and on for a while, just for fun, in between the times I was writing or editing other Twilight novels. Later, when the concept for The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide came up, I thought that might be a good place for Bree. Her story is a nice complement to Eclipse; it explains a lot of the things that Bella never knew. So I dusted it off and finished it up for placement in the Guide.
At the same time, it came in handy for the Eclipse film. Melissa (Rosenberg, the screenwriter) had a ton of questions about what exactly was going on in Seattle, how Victoria managed things, what Riley was like, etc. I let her read what I had then, and later gave the whole thing to the director, David Slade. David asked if Xavier, Bryce, and Jodelle (Riley, Victoria, and Bree) could read it as well, so all the parties involved would end up having a really strong foundation for their characters before the cameras started rolling. I was pleased that this side of the story would make it into the film and was looking forward to including it in the Guide.
Then I got the news: my “short story” was nearly 200 pages long when typeset. It was too long to fit into the Guide—without ending up with a tome as heavy as the Oxford English Dictionary. My publisher approached me with the idea of releasing the Bree story on its own. One of the major benefits of this plan was that it would be out before the movie, so people would get to know Bree before they saw her in the film. That made sense to me, and we decided to go ahead with it.
There was one thing I asked for: since this story had always been an extra for me, and was meant to be released with the Guide, I wanted to be able to offer it to my fans for free. You all have bought a ton of my books, and I wanted to give you this story as a gift. My publisher was awesome and embraced this idea. We still wanted to also produce a physical book with a cool cover (see below) that you can add to your set if you like, but starting at noon on June 7th until July 5th, it will also be available online at www.breetanner.com.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
One other aspect of this release is the plan to give a more important gift to people who really need it. One dollar of each book purchased in the US from the first printing will be donated to the American Red Cross for their relief efforts in Haiti and Chile and other parts of the world where people are in great need. We’re going to have an option online as well, so you can choose to make a donation if you want when you read the story online. I hope you will. I think that we can really help a lot of people with this.
I really hope you all enjoy this story. I had a blast writing it. I’m glad that after all this time cooling her heels in my files, Bree finally gets her chance to shine.
Thanks for all the support,
Steph
- BAM
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