Author Stephenie Meyer signed Destiny's book at a recent signing.
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It wasn’t just any Thursday. It was the day I was going to meet my favorite author Stephenie Meyer, who’s written the Twilight series, which includes Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and the Aug. 2 release of the last in the series, Breaking Dawn. Throughout the day I could hardly pay attention and I was practically irritating my friends repeating "Stephenie Meyer today after school.” I was daydreaming about the questions I would get to ask her like, "What inspired you to write?" "Did you know you’re the best thing since sliced bread?" I was trying to think of random questions she’d probably never been asked. In sixth period, photography, guess what I took pictures of? Meyer’s new book The Host (which is not part of the Twilight series). I knew I failed the assignment since "Taking pictures of your book by the author you are going to meet later on" wasn’t on the agenda. But I couldn’t help it! I was excited. Meyer is a genius among geniuses in the paranormal romance world. She takes something so complicated and makes it interesting and completely romantic.
Finally, I was out of school. At 5 p.m. I walked into Torrance High School. The doors had opened at 4 p.m. and I was already the 506th person there (talk about crowded places). It took a bit of searching and walking past a lot of seated people to find a seat in the 13th row close to the stage. I pulled out my camera and snapped a couple of photos of the signing area—a table and two large cardboard posters of The Host.
I was eager to hear and see my favorite author (sorry J.K. Rowling) but she wouldn’t be coming on stage until 6:30 p.m. Cameras flashed and people buzzed about the Twilight movie that hits theaters Dec. 12 and her new book, about body-snatching aliens (The lady went from vampires and werewolves to aliens … how cool is that?). As more people arrived conversations became one big humming noise and all the cameras flashing was like lightning inside the huge auditorium. That’s when someone from backstage came out and told us dreadful news: "Cameras will not be allowed anymore. Due to over 900 people, the flashes will be blinding. Anyone who is seen with a camera will be asked to leave."
What a bummer when you’re meeting your favorite author.
The time went by slowly. At about 6:30 I almost died when they announced, "Without further ado please welcome Stephenie Meyer." The crowd went wild with shouts of "We love you Stephenie" as Meyer came out in a ruffled white shirt, blue jacket and blue jeans and addressed questions sent in by the fans on a first-come, first-serve basis (because I was the 506th person I didn’t even come close). Meyer answered 10 questions before she signed books. She talked about the cast and crew of the Twilight movie and a little secret about her crush on Robert Pattinson (who plays Edward Cullen, the vampire in the Twilight series; he is also in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), saying he looks exactly like the Edward she saw in her mind. She also told us she was thinking about writing a sequel to The Host and possibly making it a movie. She would like to have Maggie Gyllenhaal as the main character Melanie Stryder. When explaining her inspiration for The Host she said, "The idea came to me while driving threw the desert. I thought, what if two people were in the same body and loved the same person? Oh great that’s complicated."
After her talk it was time to sign books. They called us up in groups of 200. I was in the third group. As I waited in line I chatted with fans about her book The Host (which the signing was for) until I got closer and closer. I heard someone ask her if her hand was tired but she said, "No, I have all the Pepsis in the world." Then it was my turn to get my book signed. I asked her (thanks to daydreaming in math class), "You’ve done everything, why don’t you just write about the phone book, since you can make everything so interesting." She replied, "Yes, I should. It still would probably be super boring." Another person behind me said, "No it wouldn’t. You’d be writing it." She took a swig of her Pepsi and said, "Phone books it is then," and smiled.
I was thinking back on meeting Meyer and it reminded me of how cool and down to earth she was and how her books got me into reading again. She told us, "Twilight or any of the books I’ve written weren’t meant for anyone other than me. I didn’t know I would be so famous." Well I’m sure all the fans thank her for writing. I know I do.