‘Twilight’ author to appear at Shelton’s Skyline Drive-in to promote new vampire novel

There’s good news on the way for vampire fans — and even better news for local ones.

Bella and Edward — the human/vampire duo at the center of the global publishing phenomenon “Twilight”— are back in a new novel, “Midnight Sun,” available Tuesday, Aug. 4, and novelist Stephenie Meyer’s one and only live book-release event is happening Friday, Aug. 7, at Shelton’s Skyline Drive-In.

Washington is a fitting location for the event, since the story is set in Forks, appreciated by vampires, in Meyer’s mythology, because the sun is out so rarely that they can live relatively normal lives instead of hiding from dawn to dusk. It’s also a practical choice, since Meyer has a home in Washington and can avoid the risks of air travel. She’ll also appear online for an event at a Rhode Island Drive-In and do virtual events Aug. 10 and 14.

Friday, Meyer will answer questions about the new book, a vampire’s-view retelling of “Twilight’s” best-selling romance between a moody teen-age girl and an ancient yet young-looking member of the undead, whose conscience limits his diet to animal blood.

The evening at the drive-in also will include a screening of the 2008 movie based the first book of Meyer’s series, which has either four or six parts, depending on how you count. (Since “Sun” tells the “Twilight” story from a different point of view, is it part of the series? There’s also 2015’s “Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined,” in which Meyer gender-switched the lead characters, changing Bella into a teenage boy named Beau and Edward into a female vampire, Edythe.)

The book launch will be physically distanced, of course, with Meyers projected on the big screen answering questions and attendees wearing masks when they need to leave their cars. Free “Twilight”-themed masks will be given out at the entrance along with copies of the new book and signed bookplates.

“If all goes as planned, you’ll be able to ask me questions from your car, and we can share some safe and masked fun,” Meyer wrote on her website.

“Drive-in theaters seem to be the one thing that people can go to,” said Suzanne Droppert, who owns Ballast Bay Co. in Bremerton, the bookseller for the event.

The event, announced last week, has been selling briskly at $62 per carload (of up to four people from a single household).

“There are huge fans of her books,” Droppert said. “I know there are some people coming down from Forks.”

Social-media posts about the event generated a rapid response, she said, taking her back to the days when she owned Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo and hosted such events as a Twilight Ball for hordes of teen fanatics. “All the kids came dressed up in suits and ballgowns,” she said.

There’s some hidden drama behind the release of “Midnight Sun” a dozen years after Edward and Bella’s saga ended with the 2008 release of the “Breaking Dawn” novel.

Meyer was working on “Sun” in 2008 but wound up halting publication after an early draft was leaked on the internet. Then on May 4, 2020, she announced the book’s publication.

“I really considered delaying the release until the world was back to normal,” she wrote in a letter on her website. “However, 1) who knows when that will be? And 2) you guys have waited long enough. Much longer than long enough, actually.

“I don’t know how everyone else is coping, but right now, books are my main solace and happiest escape,” the letter continued. “Personally, I would be nothing but delighted if one of my favorite authors announced something new for me to read.”

Stephenie Meyer in Shelton

• What: Meyer will talk about her new vampire-human romance novel, “Midnight Sun,” before a screening of “Twilight,” the 2008 movie based on the first book in her best-selling series.
• When: 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7
• Where: Skyline Drive-In Theater, 182 SE Brewer Road, Shelton
• Tickets: $62 for a car with as many as four people. The price includes a copy of the book and four signed bookplates and, while supplies last, “Twilight”-themed face masks.
• More information: https://www.ballastbookco.com/