Stephenie Meyer pens 'Eclipse' novella on newborn vampire Bree

Stephenie Meyer will publish The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, a 192-page novella centered on a newborn vampire introduced in the third Twilight novel, Eclipse, in June. The story chronicles the journey of villain Victoria’s newborn vampire army as they prepare to close in on Bella and the Cullens. It will be released at 12:01 a.m. on June 5 in hardcover ($13.99, with $1 from each sale going to the American Red Cross International Response Fund). From June 7 to July 5, fans will be able to read the book for free online at www.breetanner.com, which will also provide a link to the American Red Cross website where they can donate to support relief efforts in Haiti, Chile, and around the globe.

On her official site, Meyer says she never intended to publish Bree Tanner as a stand-alone book. It was just something she’d started working on while she was still editing Eclipse. “I was thinking a lot about the newborns, imagining their side of the story, and one thing led to another.” The novella came in handy during the filming of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (in theaters June 30). Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, director David Slade, and actors Xavier Samuel (Riley), Bryce Dallas Howard (Victoria), and Jodelle Ferland (Bree) all read it before cameras rolled to better understand the characters.

Meyer thought the manuscript might work well as part of The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, a tome still awaiting a pub date, but at nearly 200 pages, it was something her publisher thought worked better on its own. Meyer liked the idea of publishing it before Eclipse hits theaters, to give fans an introduction to Bree. She also considered the novella a gift to devoted Twilight readers, which is why she asked her publisher to make it available for free online.