Welcome to the World of Twilight

Twilight is the first novel by author Stephenie Meyer, a 34-year-old graduate of Brigham Young University and mother of three. First published in 2005, Twilight tells the story of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a very mature teenager from Phoenix, Ariz. who moves to the rainy backwater of Forks, Wash. to live with her dad and winds up falling in love with a vampire.

Twilight has since spawned to sequels, New Moon and Eclipse. The fourth in the series, Breaking Dawn, is scheduled for publication this August.

And of course, there is a film adaptation of Twilight being filmed in location in Vancouver right now. It is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke (The Nativity Story, Lords of Dogtown) and stars Kristen Stewart (Jumper, Into the Wild) as Bella and Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as her vampire love, Edward. Twilight is currently expected in theaters in time for Christmas.

Key Characters

Species: Human Played by: Kristen Stewart 411: Our heroine. Smart, unaware of how pretty she is, far more mature than her years, and impossibly clumsy. Moves in with her estranged dad in rainy Forks, WA and winds up falling hopelessly in love with Edward Cullen, who turns out to be a vampire. What's a girl to do? Likes: Vampire lovin', Edward's rock-hard chest. Dislikes: Dancing, running, anything athletic.

Species: Vampire Played by: Robert Pattinson 411: Gorgeous, beautiful, Adonis-like, and any other word for attractive you can think of. Became a vampire in Chicago in 1918 when Carlisle (see below) found him dying of the influenza that killed his parents and decided to turn him to alleviate his own loneliness. Is now a 17-year-old forever and part of the Cullen family of 'vegetarian' vampires that try to subsist on animals instead of humans. Is unbelievably attracted to the scent of Bella's blood, but is also just as unbelievably attracted to Bella herself. Likes: Delicious fresh blood. Dislikes: Having to kill people to get said delicious fresh blood. Special Vampire Talents: Mind-reading.

Species: Human Played by: Billy Burke 411: Bella's sweet but slightly clueless dad and town police chief. Divorced from Bella's mom, Renee. Completely unaware his daughter is dating a bloodsucker.

Species: Human Played by: Sarah Clarke 411: Bella's mom. She left Bella's dad years ago when she just couldn't stand small-potatoes and rainy-as-Hell Forks anymore. Raised Bella happily in sunny Phoenix until she had to go on the road with her new minor league baseball-playing husband, Phil.

Species: Human   Played by: Gil Birmingham 411: Charlie's hunting buddy and member of the Quileute tribe of Native Americans from La Push, WA. Knows the truth about the Cullen family and tries to warn Charlie and Bella what they are getting into.

Species: Werewolf Played by: Taylor Lautner 411: Billy's son, Quileute. Bella flirts with him to get him to tell her his tribe's stories about the 'cold ones' a.k.a. the Cullen vampire family. Is unaware yet that he is a werewolf.

Species: Vampire Played by: Peter Facinelli 411: Town doctor and 'adoptive father' in the Cullen clan. Became a vampire in the 1600s when bitten by one of a coven of vampires in England he was hunting for his zealous Anglican pastor father. Became a 'vegetarian', learning to resist his bloodlust for humans and eat only animals. Special Vampire Talents: Compassion and  the unusual ability to restrain himself and turn others without killing them -- so much so that Carlisle has NEVER feasted on human blood.

Species: Vampire Played by: Elizabeth Reaser 411: Carlisle's wife and 'adoptive mother' of the Cullen clan. Was turned by Carlisle in 1895 after she tried to kill herself by jumping off a cliff.

Species: Vampire Played by: Nikki Reed 411: 'Adoptive sister' and faux high school student in the Cullen clan. Turned by Carlisle when he found her dying and brought into the family to keep Edward company. Unfortunately, she and Edward never hit it off in that way, but she did find true love with Emmett. Also pretends to be the real twin sister of Jasper, but this is not actually true.

Species: Vampire Played by: Kellan Lutz 411: 'Adoptive brother' and faux high school student in the Cullen clan. Emmett is the true love of Rosalie, who found him near-death in the Tennessee mountains after being mauled by a bear and brought him back to Carlisle to turn him. Special Vampire Talents: Strength. Like even more strength than the others.

Species: Vampire Played by: Ashley Greene 411: 'Adoptive sister' and faux high school student in Cullen clan, and true love of Jasper. Unlike her other siblings, Alice does not remember how she became a vampire. Rather, she and Jasper found each other and then their way into the Cullen family. Special Vampire Talents: Premonitions.

Species: Vampire Played by: Jackson Rathbone 411: 'Adoptive brother,' faux high school student, and faux twin of Rosalie in the Cullen clan. Former Confederate Army soldier during the Civil War and true love of Alice, and like her was not turned by Carlisle, but by a distinctly non-vegetarian vampire who recruited him to train and then kill young vampires, which makes it a bit difficult for him to control his bloodlust at times. Special Vampire Talents: Controlling the emotions of those around him.

Species: Human 411: A couple local Forks boys who have crushes on Bella.

Species: Human 411: Bella's new Forks girlfriends, prone to a little jealousy of her popularity with the boys.

Species: Vampire Played by: Cam Gigandet 411: A non-vegetarian tracker vampire who goes on the hunt for Bella.

The Perks of Being a Vampire

According to the lore spun by Stephenie Meyer, if your boyfriend has any of the following characteristics, you too may be dating a vampire:

Appearance:

Preternaturally gorgeous.

Breath:

Intoxicating.

Voice:

Angelic.

Skin:

Pale, cold, stony and shimmers like diamonds in the sunlight.

Eyes:

Black when thirsty, lighter when recently fed.

Reflexes/Speed:

Nauseatingly fast.

Strength:

Superhuman.

And don't forget, if you've got a particularly strong trait or ability as a human, it will probably be amplified when you transform.

What to Know When Dating the Undead

Dating a vampire can be a challenge for even the boldest of humans. Sure, they're beautiful, but that whole 'wanting to drink your blood' thing can cause quite a bit of friction in any relationship, especially if you just so happen to be his or her favorite flavor.

The first thing you should know is that your vampire partner needs to feel confident that he or she has enough restraint not to just kill you while you're making out. To prevent this, we recommend making sure your vampire has fed on someone/thing else before initiating any physical contact. Of course, you can tell how hungry your vampire is by checking the color of his or her eyes. Initiating contact with a vampire whose eyes have gone black is strongly discouraged. Furthermore, you should always take great care never to bleed around your vampire for fear of putting him or her over the edge.

Some vampires, however, have learned control over their bloodlust. In this case, kissing may be permissible, although you want to make sure to keep perfectly still so as not to overwhelm them with your tasty scent. Unfortunately, any true physical intimacy is not possible to manage safely.