“Midnight Sun” On Hold Indefinitely
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I LOVE to bear news as soon as I can! So even though this is a really unfortunate thing for Twilight fans to hear, here it goes…
Midnight Sun, the Twilight side-novel from Edward’s point of view, is on an inedefinite hiatus as of late yesterday. Stephenie Meyer posted a message on her website about it, which you can read after the jump (first time I’ve ever used that term, it means at the end of this post haha). But if you want a quick summary, I’ll explain.
Basically some JACKASS received a rough draft of Midnight Sun so far because Stephenie Meyere thought they could be trusted, and obviously she was wrong. They illegally distrubted this totally unfinished draft online and many people found it and read it. Of course there’s no way in hell to contain something like that, so once it was making the rounds it couldn’t be stopped.
Meyer said that as of now she can’t continue, she’s too upset about it. I can’t imagine being an author of such a wildly and increasingly popular series and have this happen, it must be the worst feeling for them. She’s decided to make the leaked draft available so that people can look at it without feeling guilty or anything, although to be honest I’d still feel guilty looking at. I actually haven’t finished all of the Twilight books yet but I was looking forward to reading Midnight Sun eventually, and if all that’s available is the rough draft then I don’t know if I feel right reading it.
Anyway regardless, just do what you want to do. Look at it, wait and see if she finishes it, or whatever. Here’s the message that Stepehenie Meyer posted on her site about it if you’d like a more detailed explanation.
As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.
I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.
I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn’t mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.
So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn’t like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn’t dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.
I’d rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I’ve decided to make the draft available here (at the end of this message on the Midnight Sun page). This way, my readers don’t have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward’s head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That’s what inspired me to write it in the first place.
I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.
—Stephenie
