The countdown has begun for "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner," an eagerly awaited novella by Stephenie Meyer to be released June 5. It's really just an appetizer for Twilight fans, who also get to savor the "Eclipse" movie on June 30. Bree is a newborn vampire first introduced in "Eclipse," and the novella chronicles the newborns' journey as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens.
As we noted on Read Street earlier, the Bree Tanner release has a couple of interesting twists. For each book sold in the first U.S. print run of 1.5 million copies, publisher Hachette will donate $1 of the $13.99 hardback cost to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. And on a dedicated website, starting at noon on June 7 until July 5, fans can read the book online for free in English.
USA Today has a Q&A from Meyer's U.K. publisher; here's an excerpt: Q: Bree only appears in a couple pages of Eclipse. What was it about the character that made you want to explore her story further? Meyer: In the beginning, I wasn't fascinated specifically by Bree — it was the newborns in general. While I was writing Eclipse, there was a lot going on behind the scenes, of course, things Bella didn't know about. Because I was focused on Bella, I couldn't delve too deeply into the newborns' story, however, there was always in my mind a general idea of what they were up to.
p.s. If you Twilight fans want to see something really creepy, check out the Corpse Flower.