Stephenie Meyer, the best-selling author of the Twilight series, is switching genres for her next book, The Chemist , according to Meyer’s publisher Hachette Book Group. While Stephenie found past success with vampire romance in Twilight , Meyer is trying to show off her writing prowess by penning a thriller this time. But will Stephenie’s Twihard fans be interested in her new venture? Meyer seems to think so.
According to Time, Stephenie Meyer is tryingto quash criticism that her previous novels have struggled to find a significant plotline, something integral to the success of a thriller.
Meyer says The Chemist is “the love child created from the union of my romantic sensibilities and my obsession with Jason Bourne/Aaron Cross.” But one of the more interesting turn of events for Meyer’s new book could be that her female protagonist, unlike the co-dependent Bella Swan, might actually be her own hero in Stephanie’s newest novel.
In a statement released by Meyer, according to Vanity Fair , Stephenie made a point to lay out some intriguing details regarding her newest female lead, “I very much enjoyed spending time with a different kind of action hero, one whose primary weapon isn’t a gun or a knife or bulging muscles, but rather her brain.”
Stephenie’s revelation that the character would be a “shero” is a sharp contrast to Meyer’s Bella who spent much of Twilight needing to be rescued by a vampire or a werewolf. According to the publisher’s description of Meyer’s The Chemist , however, Twilight fans will be thrilled to know that despite being self-sufficient, Stephenie wrote the book in such a way that the female lead “finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival.”
Stephenie Meyer has come under fire from acclaimed author Steven King in the past who criticized her writing ability and feminists for creating such a codependent lead female character in her Twilight series. The criticism has not been lost on Stephenie, who told a Comic-Con panel in October that she is deeply affected by such critiques.
“I don’t have a thick skin,” Meyer said . “I don’t think it would be normal for an author to have a thick skin…so criticism, which I’ve had my share of, is difficult for me.”
One thing that all of the Stephenie Meyer’s naysayers cannot deny is that Meyer is extremely financially successful. While the lack of critical acclaim may hurt Stephenie’s feeling, make no mistake that Meyer is laughing all the way to the bank.
Stephenie’s Twilight book series has sold more than 100 million copies and the movie adaptations of Meyer’s cash cow has pulled in over $6 billion in movie and merchandise revenue. Though Stephanie’s The Host pulled in much less than Twilight in terms of book sales and movie revenue, it apparently was successful enough for publishers to bank on Meyer’s The Chemist with the hope of Twilight success. And perhaps their gamble will pay off.
If Stephenie Meyer’s new female lead truly does have the ability to pull off being strong and independent like Katniss Everdeen while combining the romance ability of James Bond, Meyer may have hit a new niche. Of course, Stephenie can also expect fans of the thriller genre to be more critical of her writing ability. Either way, it’s highly likely there is already discussion somewhere in Hollywood of a possible book to movie transition of Meyer’s The Chemist. Though the novel isn’t set for release until November 15, Stephenie’s past high dollar film success surely has executives talking.
Will The Chemist resurrect Stephenie Meyer’s career or was Twilight the highlight? Tell us what you think!
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