Silly Bella, Cocoa, and I just got back from the book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH. There were probably – and I’m guessing – over 1,000 people there. I will tell all the fun stories in a Forks-cast once Pel has gone to her book signing, too. I also have tons and tons of amazing t-shirt pictures to share with you that we have to upload first. So look for those in a day or two. But I thought you’d like to know some of what Stephenie shared with us in her Q&A. This is not a word for word transcript, mind you. These were notes that I hurriedly jotted down as she was talking. So please, if she corrects anything here, take HER word for it and not mine. But this will give you the general gist of the information.
Q: How has your faith influenced you?
A: I find that it doesn’t really come down to good vrs evil in day to day life. It’s more like good vrs good, and really that’s more interesting.
Q: We know about most of the Cullen’s track record for how many humans they have killed, but how many have Alice and Esme killed?
A: I don’t know for sure. Only Rosalie and Carlisle have good track records. Everyone else has made lots of mistakes. It’s like if you were told you could never ever have food again. You would slip up when you smell something good. Well, they all have slipped up many times.
Q: What did Aro see in Alice’s mind at the end of New Moon?
A: Aro saw everything that Alice has ever seen in all of her visions. So he saw that Alice foresaw Bella becoming a vampire, and that is why he let them go. But he also saw all of her other visions, too.
Q: Where does Placebo’s music fit in the storyline for Eclispe?
A: They usually fit Edward’s mood. I heard their music a lot while Edward was fighting Victoria.
Q: How does Bella’s lullaby sound?
A: I don’t have the exact music, but if ever they make the movie, I would love to have Mathew Bellamy compose the piece.
Q: Do you ever get writers block?
A: No, not really. I wrote all three of these books back to back. New Moon and Eclipse were written out before Twilight was even published. The thing that really slows me down though now that I am back to writing is things like this – book signings and interviews. I love doing them, but I get distracted from writing. So when this tour is over I will get right back to book four so I can hopefully get it out in time.
Q: How do the vampires find their mate? Do they imprint like the werewolves?
A: No, they fall in love the way we do, but once they fall in love, they don’t fall out of love.
Q: There was a question about Bella’s engagement ring that we couldn’t hear, but I know what she said as an answer… to whatever the question was.
A: I did some research on weddings at the turn of the century and they didn’t have engagement rings like we have today. So Edward’s mother wore a very different kind of ring. It has lots of stones all together, not at all like today’s traditional engagement rings.
Q: What is Jasper’s middle name?
A: I don’t know. There are some things that I just haven’t decided on. I like to leave myself open sometimes so that I don’t always write myself out of various possibilities.
Q: What does the ribbon mean on the cover of Eclipse?
A: I’ve read lots of theories, but for me what it symbolizes is Bella trying to break away from her life and it isn’t a clean tear. She thinks it will be an easy break, and it just isn’t.
Q: Was the tent scene in chapter 22 a dream? Was Bella dreaming that conversation?
A: No, that was very real. And that was a fun chapter to write. It’s one of my favorite chapters.
Q: Did you plan on the lunar theme to your book titles?
A: Twilight was an accident. Twilight had several titles that no one could agree on. So my agent and I made a list of words we liked and Twilight was on that list. We called it that for a while with the intention of changing it, but the name stuck. Then New Moon and Eclipse fell right into place and made total sense. Breaking Dawn was harder to name, but I think that is the closest I can come to the felling that I want to imply.
Q: What is your inspiration?
A: Lots of things inspire me, but mostly other books inspire me – reading. I like Shakespeare, Orson Scott Card, Jane Austen.
Q: How did Edward learn to play the piano?
A: Edward could play the piano when he was human. Then when he became a vampire he could play it a whole lot better.
Q: Was the charm Edward gave Bella a diamond?
A: Yes. And I’ve read some things on-line about Edward manipulating and lying to Bella about that. Edward never said that it was a crystal. Bella just assumed it was a crystal. But it really was a diamond.
Q: Did Bella really hear Edward’s voice in New Moon or was that a hallucination?
A: That was all a hallucination. If Edward had been anywhere near Bella, he would never have let Victoria get close to her.
Q: Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf?
A: I’d rather be a human. But I suppose being a werewolf would be the easiest. You wouldn’t have to give up as much. When you are a vampire, things are pretty much over.
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