Categories
The final Twilight installment, Breaking Dawn Part 2, is finally coming to theaters.
*cue excitement*cue sadness*cue middle aged women weeping*
What started as a YA book series about a sparkly vampire and his sullen girlfriend has turned into a movie franchise phenomenon. We have to go back to the beginning and realize that before there was Rob Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Kellan Lutz's abs, there was just Edward, Bella, and crazy uncle Emmett. Readers and writers who were not necessarily "young adults" looked for a little more detail and a little less insinuation with their romance. From that need for more *ahem* adult content, many fan fiction stories were written by die-hard fans and shared around the web. Several of these stories that originated as "fanfic" have been (by some opinions, controversially) pulled-to-publish and have found their way into the hands of readers who may not necessarily know or care that the stories started with the spark of Stephenie Meyer's Edward and Bella.
Originally titled The University of Edward Masen, author Sylvain Reynard found success initially with the small publisher Omnific Publishing and was recently bought by Penguin's Berkley imprint for a reported seven-figure payout. Gabriel's Inferno and the follow-up Gabriel's Rapture centers around the relationship of an experienced professor, Gabriel Emerson, and his inexperienced student, Julia Mitchell. The books are steeped in literary references and sexual tension, and Reynard recently announced a third installment in the series is currently in the works.
Alice Clayton found huge success from fanfic readers with her stories of a redhead named Grace and a movie star named Jack in her published books, The Unidentified Redhead and The Redhead Revealed. On November 27th, she's releasing a story that started out as Edward Wallbanger and through a good amount of re-writing, ends in WALLBANGER with, well, a bang. What's missing from the bedroom with Edward and Bella is there in hilarious and sexy detail with Simon and Caroline.
In case you've been living under a rock for the last nine months, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has taken over the top of the book selling charts. E.L. James's original fan fiction entitled Master of the Universe was pulled-to-publish by a small Australian digital publisher. After a huge response by readers wanting to know more about Christian and Ana, the series was purchased by Random House and has been in development for its own blockbuster movie treatment.
Unlike the other books in this list with more detailed sexual encounters, the always-named Poughkeepsie focuses more on the romance of an unlikely couple and their individual growth and development together. Blake and Livia are nearly nothing like Twilight's Edward and Bella, so the similarities to its inspiration is hard to find in Debra Anastasia's Poughkeepsie. The story is lovely and heart-warming, and much like Twilight, the sex scenes are more innuendo and less in-your-face.
If Edward is believable as a vampire, then readers won't have a problem believing in ghosts in the love story, Grave Refrain. The cross-over to the Other Side can save their lives if Andrew lets his heart open up to Emily. In a (possible?) nod to Rob Pattinson's Britishness, the originally titled The Lost Boys features Andrew is a Brit as well. Other than this nuance, it's hard to tell from the story that Twilight is where Sarah M. Glover's Grave Refrain finds its impetus.
Angie Lynch is a Native Floridian without a tan, probably because she spends her days hard at work inside on the magical internet. For the past several years, Angie has worked way too hard at building clout as an influencer in food and margaritas as well as being a source for laughable pop culture commentary on her blog, A Whole Lot of Nothing. In addition to that nonsense, Angie recommends books on Smut Book Club, is a contributing writer to Mom.me, spreads the word of Awesome at We Know Awesome, and tries to be a very professional content creator for local business blogs. Stalk her properly on Twitter @alotofnothing and on Facebook.