Promotional photo

The "Twilight" series includes three hefty volumes that, combined, have 7.5 million copies in print.

Courtesy Little,Brown and Company

Author Stephenie Meyer, a sensation with teens because of her million-selling "Twilight Saga" vampire novels, wonders how readers will feel about her first adult book, "The Host."

Maybe it's because she related to the main character -- both are brunette, 5 feet 4 inches and nonathletic.

Maybe it's because she's always liked vampires and started reading Anne Rice in middle school.

Maybe it's because the friend who loaned her the books threatened to climb through her window and steal them if she did not give them back.

Regardless, when 18-year-old Callie Isenberg picked up Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight," -- the first in a four-book, vampire-and-werewolves series -- she plowed through most of the thick novel during a car ride from Roanoke to Atlanta.

"I just generally like things that aren't human," the Patrick Henry High School graduate said.

Isenberg's not alone in her appreciation of the undead. Following the magical footsteps of "Harry Potter," Meyer -- a 34-year-old housewife from Phoenix -- has penned a young adult saga that, once again, has teenagers excited about reading.

Her series, "Twilight," includes three hefty volumes that, combined, have 7.5 million copies in print. She's been published in 37 countries, has become a gazillionaire and her name is mentioned in the same league as J.K. Rowling, author of the "Harry Potter" series.

Just as when each new "Harry Potter" arrived in bookstores, the release of Meyer's final installment in the series, "Breaking Dawn," has become an event. Booksellers locally and nationwide are planning release parties tonight. Cash registers will ring (and teen girls will likely be squealing) when the volume goes on sale at 12:01 a.m.

Both Rowling and Meyer have been described as vivid storytellers, but many Meyer fans say that's where the similarities end. Harry Potter's world is all-around fantasy. Vampires aside, "Twilight," describes real-world high school.

Isenberg, who's usually reading several books at once, said she picks up many young adult novels where the cover touts the author as the next Rowling. What makes "Twilight" stand out for her is Meyer's ability to pull readers into her world.

"Right now, it's really hard to find decent young adult novels in the fantasy genre," Isenberg said. "When there's a good one ... it's easy for it to become big."

And when that happens, she admits, it's fun to giggle and get excited.

Meyer in touch with fans

At 15, Allison Hurst has never dated a vampire. But as Meyer described leading lady Bella's heartbreak at one point in the "Twilight" books, Allison could sympathize.

"It makes you feel like she's real," the Roanoke teen said. "These books are just ridiculous. If you read one, you get excited about the next."

Already, "Breaking Dawn" is the No. 1 seller on Amazon.com. All four cities on the "Breaking Dawn" concert series featuring Meyer and the lead singer from the band Blue October are sold out, including the kickoff concert tonight in Times Square.

Meyer's ability to describe feelings is one reason teens like the books. But James Blasingame, a young adult literature expert who teaches at Arizona State University, said timing also factored into their popularity.

"She has the perfect story premise for the perfect group," he said.

The series' biggest fans are 11- to 16-year-old girls (though there's a large number of "Twilight moms," he said, who got hooked on the series through their daughters).

What, he asks, would a young lady in that age group love most?

"A handsome, dark stranger who loves them ... and will never die," he jokes.

Essentially, the series is an old-school bodice-ripper with no sex or violence. It's also a vampire story, which he said has always been alluring in its mystery, intrigue and magic.

The books follow high school heroine Bella as she moves from Arizona to Forks, Wash., and falls for a dark, mysterious stranger, Edward -- who happens to be a vampire. When Edward disappears, Bella turns to guy-next-door Jacob, who has supernatural qualities of his own. Ultimately, Bella must choose between the two.

Because it came along later in the electronic age than "Harry Potter," Blasingame said word about "Twilight" was boosted by technology. There are more than 150 online fan sites, some of which hold "fan fiction," where readers write their own stories about Bella, Edward and Jacob.

And while all things Potter were surrounded in secrecy, Meyer has been intimate with fans.

Until a year ago, readers could e-mail Meyer directly. Her Web site lists long explanations of how she thought up "Twilight": She had a dream about an average girl and a beautiful vampire having an intense conversation in a meadow. A transcript of the dream later became Chapter 13 of the first book.

Last year, when Meyer held a vampire-themed prom at ASU to celebrate the release of the series' third book, "Eclipse," she put together a prom committee of young women she met while traveling the country. The event -- which sold out within hours -- drew 1,000 people in vintage evening wear and vampire garb.

Meyer's Web site also includes playlists -- music she recommends to accompany each chapter.

It's typical for young adult authors to have Web sites, Blasingame said, but by giving readers technological extras such as playlists, "that's like you're one of the kids."

Post-'Twilight' plans

She's worried she might be the oldest one there. But that won't stop 19-year-old Maia Landey -- a College of William and Mary student from Roanoke County -- from venturing to the "Breaking Dawn" party at Barnes & Noble.

"I'm not even a huge fantasy fan," she said. "I was totally surprised by how much I loved these books."

Both Barnes & Noble locations in Roanoke -- as well as Books-A-Million -- are hosting midnight release parties, where costumes are encouraged.

Robert Ball, assistant manager at Barnes & Noble's Tanglewood location, is not expecting as many people as he would for a Harry Potter party, but he knows the store will be crowded.

"Her popularity has skyrocketed in the last year, when we started hearing about 'Twilight,' 'Twilight,' 'Twilight,' " he said.

Ball expects to hear even more about "Twilight" when the movie version of the book is released Dec. 12.

While the movie could prompt more readers, it also has potential, Blasingame said, to drive away fans. Readers of the series' fan fiction sites, he said, are quick to point out if something strays from the books' canon.

Already, fans such as Deidre Caffrey are skeptical.

"I'm scared it's just going to ruin the image I have in my head," the 15-year-old from Roanoke said.

While Rowling has not released anything post-"Harry Potter," Meyer is already conquering the adult market. Her first adult novel, "The Host," was published in May, and quickly became a best-seller. She's also penning "Midnight Sun," which retells "Twilight" from vampire Edward's point of view.

"Any book she writes, I'm definitely going to read," Isenberg said.

The series ending has been hush-hush. Personally, Isenberg hopes Bella ends up with Edward -- and that he turns her into a vampire. It would solve a lot of problems, she said. Bella agonizes about growing older than her vampire love interest.

Unlike some of her friends, Isenberg's skipping the midnight book parties. All she has to do is wait a few days for her friends to finish "Breaking Dawn."

Then, she can borrow a copy to read on her own, losing sleep as she reads away the night.