Originally Posted by MTV

'Twilight' Author Stephenie Meyer Puts 'Midnight Sun' On Hold After Online LeakMeyer decides to post unfinished draft online, but is too upset to continue writing it.
By Sabrina Rojas Weiss

After the release of "Breaking Dawn" earlier this month, fans were left with just one more piece of Stephenie Meyer's vampire saga to look forward to: "Midnight Sun," the "Twilight" story told from the perspective of Edward. But the hope of seeing more of those iconic red-white-and-black covers in stores may have been dashed this week, due to an online leak of the unfinished novel. On StephenieMeyer.com, the author announced that the incident has been so upsetting, she is putting the book on hold indefinitely.

"I have a good idea of how the leak happened, as there were very few copies of 'Midnight Sun' that left my possession, and each was unique," Meyer says in the post, adding that she believes the individual she gave this copy to had "no malicious intent with the initial distribution."

After an explanation of how the leak violates her copyright, Meyer breaks the sad news. "My first feeling was that there was no way to continue ['Midnight Sun']," she says. "Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write 'Midnight Sun' now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on 'Midnight Sun,' and so it is on hold indefinitely."

But there is a tiny silver lining for fans. Rather than reward whoever leaked the draft, Meyer decided to post it on her own site. "This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest," she reasons. "I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the 'Twilight' story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place."

And though she says "the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes," the PDF file contains 264 pages of Forks through Edward's eyes.

The novel was originally meant to be just a writing exercise for Meyer. And the author seemed a bit fed up with some Twilighters' obsessive, critical nature after the release of "Breaking Dawn."

"For all intents and purposes, 'Breaking Dawn' is the last book," she told MTV News. "It might easily happen that I quit here. There'd be a lot of good reasons for doing that, so I don't know if we need to get into all the future possibilities and speculations, 'cause I'll just go crazy, and I'm so close already!"

Interestingly, Meyer's reaction is very similar to J.K. Rowling's testimony during her case against the creators of "The Harry Potter Lexicon" in April (sorry, we know you guys hate these comparisons). "This trial has decimated my creative work over the last month," she said. "You lose the [plot] threads and worry whether you'll be able to pick them up again. Should my fans be flooded with a surfeit of substandard books — so-called lexicons — I'm not sure I'd have the will or heart to continue."

Is there a chance that Meyer will change her mind after a break from the Cullen universe? We'll wait and see. For now, Meyer says she's going to concentrate on spending time with her family and other writing projects,

Originally Posted by Stephenie Meyer

August 28, 2008

As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.

I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.

I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn't mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.

So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.

I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here (at the end of this post). This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.

I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.

--Stephenie

Midnight Sun Partial Draft (if you are having problems viewing it, please click here.) This material is copyrighted by Stephenie Meyer. Any retranscription or reproduction is illegal.

Originally Posted by Scratchy

I'm an innocent tool in the hand of the real evil, go prove otherwise