Why yes, I AM reading Midnight Sun

Go ahead, make fun. Call me a ridiculous human being. Call me obsessed. Or, more accurately, a Twihard. I won’t hear you as I’ll be too busy escaping from the world of remote working, sheltering in place, and accepting the annoying fact that I’ll be single forever, as I indulge in healthy escapism. Sure, there is an unhealthy level of obsession, cringy writing, and the whole, they drink blood thing, but don’t yuck my yum.

For better or worse, The Twilight Saga, which now includes Midnight Sun (a book from Edward’s POV) is on my list of things to do today. Well, it IS the list. Tuesdays are my Saturdays, so I’ve carved out the whole day to reading. (I’d be reading it now but my kindle is charging. Curses!)

Twilight came into my life when I REALLY needed some escapism. I was a stay at home, homeschooling mom of two small children. My marriage wasn’t in the best shape (we ultimately divorced sometime later) and I sort of lost who I was. I had no identity outside of being a mother. A very common experience for moms that people don’t really talk about so you feel like you’re alone and that there is something wrong with you. I had no life outside of my children, whom I loved and adored, but I never got a break from. Theatre was out of the question, I hadn’t discovered writing yet, I wasn’t a big reader then. I was just a mom. Day in and day out. I had forgotten that I was also a woman.

Then, I watched Twilight. A movie I’d never heard of by the way. And I remember the moment Edward walked into the cafeteria (Twihard fans know what I’m talking about) and thought… WHO IS HE? For the rest of the movie, I was transfixed on the pasty white dude with epic sideburns and even a more epic jawline. Like, seriously, the best jawline ever. Rewatch that moment with me and get a nice look at his jawline at the end. 😉 https://youtu.be/xuJLa0xnIj8

It was only after the movie, did I learn that there were a series books as well. For the first time in as long as I could remember when I took my kids to the library, I got a book for myself. I didn’t immediately head up to the children’s floor. I made time for something I wanted. I devoured the books. And yes, maybe got a little obsessed, but the truth was, it was a much-needed escape. For those moments I was reading or watching one of the movies, I wasn’t just a mom. I was Danielle. I was someone with outside interests. I found others who had read and loved the books/movies. I found blogs and a community… Friends to go to the movies with, even the midnight showings!

We got there early and scored great seats!

It was The Twilight Saga that not only got me into reading but into writing. I wanted to create worlds like she did. So I did. Fourteen books and counting.

This new book is one that fans have wanted ever since pages of the manuscript were leaked back in 2008. Even the author’s own mother hounded her to write this book. It is a book driven by fan desire. So if Midnight Sun is a flop after all this time away from the world and it turns out to not meet my unrealistic expectations to bring me back to those years of obsession, that’s okay. Because for a few hours, I will get to escape the world of the pandemic, and that is rewarding enough.

Danielle Bannister, Twihard and reader of all the things Edward related

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