'Twilight' fans ready for midnight debut

By Diane Huber | The Olympian • Published July 31, 2008

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At midnight Friday, the "Harry Potter" of vampire books goes on sale, and hundreds of fans will be waiting.

The Olympia Barnes & Noble Booksellers will have a party in celebration of "Breaking Dawn," the fourth and final installment in Stephenie Meyer's teen vampire romance "Twilight" saga.

And fans will get the long-awaited answer to their most pressing question: Will protagonist Bella Swan become a vampire so she can marry her true love, vampire Edward Cullen?

"I hope, hope, hope that she turns into a vampire and marries Edward," said Emily Morlin, 20, a "Twilight" fan and head cashier at the Olympia Barnes & Noble. The bookstore is celebrating the release with "Twilight" trivia, fortune telling, a 3-foot wedding cake and the chance to meet authors who write similar books.

There also will be a costume contest, and fans will come dressed as werewolves, vampires and the 3,000-year-old cloaked Volturi, a powerful family of vampires from Italy.

Morlin plans to dress up as one of the Cullen vampires, Rosalie, who was alive in the 1930s. Morlin will have loosely curled, side-parted hair and pale, glittery makeup on her face — the look that distinguishes the vampires from humans.

Rhonda Munzinger, community relations manager for Olympia Barnes & Noble, said the book's popularity is on par with "Harry Potter."

"It's frightening how big it is," she said.

The series is most popular among teenagers, especially teen girls, Mundin said.

"You can ask any girl — she'll say, 'I'm in love with Edward,' " she said. "As the reader, you fall in love him yourself. You almost feel like you're the main character."

Some adults also have fallen in love with "Twilight." Meyer, an English literature major, draws on themes from classic love stories, including "Pride and Prejudice" and "Romeo and Juliet."

"She's taken the major love stories of all time and explored those themes in the books," Munzinger said.

Meyer has said "Breaking Dawn" is influenced by "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and another novel that she has not yet revealed.

The Olympic Peninsula setting also is a draw. Meyer chose to set the book in Forks because of its rainy and gloomy reputation. Sunlight exposes the vampires' pale, glittery skin.

"It's real appealing for readers of this area because they feel really connected to the location and the characters," Munzinger said.

Mundin is from Forks and discovered the series while visiting her grandmother for Christmas. She read the first three books in a week.

She and other fans are dedicating the weekend to the final book, which is 768 pages.

"I'll probably be up till 7 in the morning reading," she said.

Diane Huber covers education and features for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-357-0204 or dhuber@theolympian.com.