Stephenie Meyer Q&A with TMs- Part 3

AmyO · **Posted:** Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:20 am

TM: How do you feel about fanfics? Does is bother you that people use your characters? I think if I was an author, I might be annoyed by it...

Steph: I have mixed feelings about fan-fiction. On the one hand, I'm really flattered that people care about my characters so much that they want to write about them myself. On the other, back in the day when I was still allowed to read fan-fiction, I was kind of saddened by the waste of talent. Some of the stories were just really well written--and it made me bummed that whoever had written it could never really take credit for their work. I wanted to reach through the computer and shake the author's shoulders and say, "You need to write your own stories!! You have a gift! Go get some books published!" Then again, maybe it's good practice? And people get to have readers that they wouldn't have otherwise--that can help in the courage department. (Or hurt...)

Some fanfiction frightened me. Sick, sick tickets out there

TM: I have thought a thousand times about what I would say to you if I ran into you somewhere, and what I would like to say now is....

I love the fact that you are just like us. Just another mom trudging through her day with screaming kids hangin' off of her like little monkeys. Doing laundry and dishes between changing diapers and running errands....And oh, by the way she wrote 3+ novels that are giving JK Rowling a run for her money! Congrats!

You make me think "I can do that." I don't think that the teeny boppers really get how great that is. Being a mom is such a rewarding job in the big picture, but day to day...not so much. You've given me the courage to strive to make the most out of life. For that, thank you.

I think I speak for most of in saying, although we've never really spoken, I feel like your a close friend. (not in a stalker sort of way either)

Steph: (I took the liberty of italicizing part of your post for emphasis.)

I saw that my open letter to the Lexicon fans made it over here, and I wanted to tell you that you were the ones I was talking to during the "sisters" part. A lot of people were thanking me for helping them rediscover the parts of themselves they lost to motherhood. This writing thing has been a life saver for me, literally. I love what you said about the everyday part of being a mom. I truly believe my brain was nothing more than mushy oatmeal by the time my third was a toddler. I'm really, really glad that the books didn't just help me, because every mom deserves a small part of her brain to belong to her and her alone.

And stalking doesn't scare me. I've never stalked anyone (yet) but I think I would be AWESOME at it.

TM: On pg 495 of Eclipse, Edward answers an unspoken question. What was the question Jacob asked? Edward's answer was, "Yes, I'm jealous of that, too." And then Jacob says, "I figured it was like that. Sort of evens the playing field up a little, doesn't it?"

Steph: Some other have answer this, and they're pretty much right. The conversation begins with Edward complaining about Jacob's fantasies. They banter a bit, and then Jacob thinks to himself (something like): He's just jealous because I can HAVE fantasies. If he ever did any of the things I'm thinking about, he'd kill her. He wishes he could be with her the way I could! The "too" part of Edward's comment refers to the fact that he's jealous that Jacob can warm her.

TM: You said in an interview that you have LDS themes in the Twilight books. What specifically do you consider those to be?

Steph: The main theme that I consider to be LDS is that of free agency. These books are all about choice to me--people's ability to rise above (or sink below) what is expected of them. There is a little bit of Helaman's stripling warriors with the pack, too (they fight to protect their families, who are not able to fight the way they can). There is some overt discussion of religion, particularly in New Moon, and a little in Eclipse. For me, that is more about realism rather than my specific religion. Religious or not, real people have to wonder sometime about where they came from, why they're here, and where they're going. Characters who didn't ponder that a little would feel pretty shallow to me.

TM:As an author do you really consider the things like theme, archetypes, foreshadowing, symbolism, etc. or are you just writing a good story?

Steph:As an author, I consider NOTHING, ha ha ha. I just tell a story. All the symbolism and themes and archetypes are things I discover after the fact. All that stuff in the above paragraph--I didn't think of any of those things until after the story was done. Then I would read through it and think, "Hey, the pack kind of reminds me of those Ammonite kids. Wonder if that's where I got it from?"

TM: Twilight p316 Edward acts weird when Bella asks if Alice foresaw her (Bella). ...should I wait for MS on that one?

Steph: I haven't even gotten to that point in MS. The reason Edward gets weird here is because Alice has already seen Bella as a vampire, and he is NOT happy with that idea. He knows Bella is just asking if Alice has seen her coming to visit, but it still reminds him of the other vision.

TM: But if Alice has seen Bella as a vampire that means someone has made some sort of decision that WILL - as long as no one changes their mind - bring Bella to become a vampire. So, if it's not Edward who has decided this, what (and/or who) is it that has been so surely decided that Alice has seen it, especially so early on? Or do we just have to wait many more months for that answer?

Steph: Alice's visions work two ways.

1) Absolutes. When someone makes a specific decision that they intend to follow through on, she gets a very clear, precise picture of the outcome. The nearer the event is, the more accurate her vision is.

2) Hazy possibilities. Alice gets some very vague glimpses of probabilities. When something major changes in the Cullens' world, Alice gets hard to interpret pictures of faraway possibilities. These visions often don't happen and sometime contradict each other entirely. For example, when Edward meets Bella, Alice sees two futures for Bella that cannot both happen--Bella dead, and Bella a vampire.

TM: Question about imprinting: so far it looks like all the wolves who have imprinted have done so with other tribal members, whether from La Push or Makah or some reservation. Is the imprinting limited within the native culture? We know Jacob didn't imprint with Bella, but could that happen? And what if a werewolf married a non-tribal member (ie, Jacob and Bella). Would their children inherit the werewolf gene and be able to phase when they reached adolescence? Or would it be like any other recessive/dominant gene pattern where it's a crap shoot to see if it's inherited?

One more question, which will likely either be a "I plead the 5th" or a "no": the whole series is about vampires, and werewolves are introduced in NM (though alluded to in Twilight through Bella's dreams). Any new mythical societies going to be introduced to us in BD?

Steph: All I can say about the imprinting question is that I will address it more in the future.

As far as new mythical societies in the Twilight universe, I don't think it's likely that I'll be getting into that. I mean, who knows where I'll be if I ever get around to books five or six, but for now I think two supernatural beings are QUITE enough.

TM: Do you have a housekeeper or nanny now? Someone who can take care of the cleaning, errands etc. so you have time to write?
When you are touring for your books is everything paid for? hotels, meals etc.
I know you got a new house and a new car (which your husband drives) but have you got to buy anything else that you really wanted?
I've heard you got $750,000 for the first 3 books. Do you get any royalties if the books sell really well or is that it no matter how well they do? What about when Summit Optioned your book for a movie do you get money for that too?

Steph: I have a maid who comes in one morning a week. It's enough to keep me from living in my own filth. I don't have a nanny or an errand runner, aside from my husband (and I can't even send him to the grocery store, because he makes decisions about what he thinks he should buy, rather than following my list).

When I tour, everything is paid for. My publicist generally goes with me everywhere, and she has a shiny corporate card that she wields with deadly efficiency. On the rare occasions that I go somewhere alone (she's afraid of Utah, for example), I'm supposed to turn in receipts, but I never do.

Besides the house, most of my new expenses are work related. I have a sweet Mac that replaced my dead Vaio (PCs are run by Satan) and a great industrial duplexing printer. I get clothes before I tour, because of my deep-seated insecurities. I always feel like a new outfit will make me suddenly pretty. (And then I see the pictures...*shudder* But do I learn my lesson? No. Before Germany, I'll be malling it up no doubt.)

I do get royalties after I earn out my advances. I earned out on my Twilight Sage advance before Eclipse came out, so now I'm on royalties there. Breaking Dawn is a separate contract, so I will have to earn out the new advance before I get royalties for that one. With the movie, it's more of a one time payout. They put stuff in the contract about me getting some tiny percentage of their net, but I've been assured that with Hollywood accounting, I will never see a dime of that.

TM: Is it really hard to find "Stephenie" time- Time for yourself to do whatever you want? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the people who ask you questions and want them answered?

Steph: It is pretty hard to find time for myself. This is what happens: I go into what I call a "writing coma" for a few months at a time, or I'm on tour. When I'm back, I have a lot of friends and family who feel neglected. So I tried to catch up with everybody and all the emails and etc. I enjoy it, but it's also guilt motivated. I feel bad if I take a day to myself, when I know there are ten people waiting for me to return their call.

Mostly, if I'm not on tour, I don't have a lot of questions coming my way. When I'm working, I just don't go into the forums or my MySpace. There are exceptions, though. Last night I went to a wedding reception in my old ward and I was ATTACKED. I felt really bad--my presence was actually disruptive. But the bride didn't seem to mind that people were taking as many pictures of me as they were of her. She'd brought a book to have signed, ha ha. If people know I'm going to be somewhere, it usually turns in to a signing.

It's not so bad though. My fans are all really cool people. I tend to get along with them easily. It's a kindred spirits thing.

TM: Has Bella ever shared any of her recipes with you? We'd all love to get them... well, except for the spaghetti, she just uses the jarred sauce right?

And I'd like to get the recipe for Harry's famous fish fry, too. I hope it's not a secret! Or at least if it is, I hope he didn't take it to the grave with him!

Steph: I have shared my recipes with her. The chicken enchilada casserole was created by my mother, and the lasagna recipe is hers, too. I don't have them written down--I go by memory, and when I'm unsure, a call to my mom.

I'll try to remember the chicken one for you, but I have to go do dinner now, ironically enough.

To quote the terminator: I'll be baaack.

TM: I hope you come to Portland to watch some filming. There are a lot of areas around here that remind me of your descriptions of Forks and the surrounding area.

Steph: I think I get to watch a few days of the filming this spring. I imagine I'll go to Forks, though, if I get a choice. Ha ha--probably, a choice isn't likely. I will show up wherever and whenever they let me.

TM: I'm halfway through Wuthering Heights (enjoying it a lot more than I did when I read it in high school 10 years ago) and I have a few questions for our Coven Mother, Stephenie....

1. Since Edward spends so many of his nights with Bella while she sleeps, how many times has he read Wuthering Heights to help pass the time?

Steph: One of the advantages of being a vampire, that is also sometimes a drawback, is perfect recall. Basically, Edward could quote the entire book of WH back to you after his first reading. So rereading is not necessary. He read all of Bella's books once, though he'd read most of them before, to see where the pages were dog-eared or spines creased. He liked guessing her favorite parts. That night in Eclipse, he was going through WH again with a different perspective. He was creasing the spine that time.

TM: What are Edwards favorite books? We know he's a music buff (wow, I just imagine him sitting in a New York concert hall in the '20s listening to Gershwin himself playing Rhapsody in Blue, wow). But literature-wise, what is on Edward's bookshelf?

Steph: No offense, but I hate this kind of question, ha ha. Edward has read so many more books than I have, I don't even like to guess. Suffice it to say, the Cullen house has a LOT of books and E had read them all.

TM: What does Bella's lullaby sound like?? Have you ever heard anything that makes you think "yeah, that's kind of close"?

Steph: No, I've never heard any song and thought, "Wow, that could be Bella's lullaby." My secret dream (now public) is that someday Matthew Bellamy will compose it for me.

TM: Have gotten any grief in you ward or stake from over protective/ over-zealous parents?

Steph: I haven't gotten any grief to my face, though I know it exists. My husband takes perverse delight in reading negative blogs to me. Things with titles like: "With what she writes, can Stephenie Meyer be a good member of the church?" That kind of thing only happens in Utah, where I will never, never live.

Stephenie Meyer Q&A with TMs- Part 3

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