Written Confessions: My big Sparkly Secret

A few weeks ago on Twitter, my writer buddy Patricia Lynne (author of Being Human and Snapshots) asked if anyone wanted to join her in writing about something we've never told other people about writing, books, reading,etc. I immediately thought it would be fun, so I started thinking about what I'd write about.And then it hit me. I have a big, huge, sparkly secret.You ready?I'm a Twilight fan. (I hate the term Twi-hard)To illustrate my fan status, I will share with you some pictures. They really say it better than I can.

This is my first set of Twilight books.

My second set of Twilight Books. I did not purchase them. They were a Christmas gift from my besties :)
Twilight Poster #1
#2 and #3
#4 and #5
#6 (This is my favorite. I got it at Borders for free, and I told the girl who worked there and gave it to me that I loved her. She was a little creeped out)
The Door
Tiny shiny Volvo (also a gift)
Look familiar? Yep, Bella's bedspread from the movies (It's from Target)
And finally, white Twilight I bought from a book blogger and Tiny Edward


So there you have it. My Twilight obsession in visual form. Explanation?
Okay, so I didn't hear about the books until Breaking Dawn had come out. My mom heard a story about how the obsessed fans were lining up at midnight to get copies. It was touted as "the next Harry Potter." I, of course, scoffed at this and immediately tried to find out what the fuss was about. That was August of 2008. I was in the middle of writing my first book, and I was stuck. I'd re-written it a million times, but I just wasn't happy with it. These two things are related, I swear.Okay, so after reading about this book and that it was about vampires, I immediately thought, ick. I'd NEVER EVER been into vampires. I'd only seen clips from Interview, and I'd never seen Buffy or any of that. So I went to my local bookstore and bought the book with the intention of reading it and hating it and then returning it. I kept my slip so I could do just that.I sat down and started to read.Four hours later, I was done and my life was changed.I had to wait a few days to get the rest of the books from Target (which is 45 mins away). I remember my mom was buying a de-humidifier and when she'd go into every hardware store, I'd sit in the car and read New Moon. Over the next week, I read all four books and lost about 6 pounds because I stopped eating.I wish I could say I was making this up, but I'm not.There was something about these books that spoke to me on a very deep level. Yes, the writing wasn't fantastic. Yes, Edward was controlling. Yes, the sparkly thing was a little dumb. But you know what?I DIDN'T CARE.The story mattered more than any of those things.You can say all you want about the books being bad and Bella being a Mary Sue (she is), but those books have touched thousands of people on a deep level. I really can't put into words why I love them so much, but I do.I realized that while reading them that if Stephenie Meyer could take the vampire myth and turn it on its head, then I could WRITE WHATEVER I WANTED.This was a revelation that hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd been trying to box my writing into a certain formula that I thought it had to be. When I realized that I could do what I wanted, the flood gates opened and my character started talking to me. I had more story ideas than time to write them. It's been like that ever since.I know I'm not the only writer who was touched this way. I've heard from so many others that never thought they could write until Twilight inspired them. I'm not alone.So there you have it. My semi-closeted Twilight obsession. Make of it what you will.Also, be sure to hop on over to Patricia's blog to see the other confessions!