Puppy Love Fuels Twilight Author

Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight books, is not a shadowy vampire, Vogue reports. In fact, she is a shy, retiring Mormon mother of 3 living in a Phoenix suburb. Sure, the characters for the hit books came from a dream, but the substance is straight puppy love. “I miss those days of 10 and 13,” Meyer says, “when a boy looked at you, and oh, my gosh, you could talk about it for two weeks.”

Meyer, who moved from Connecticut to Arizona as a child, sets her novels in the mysterious Northwest, but her gift to the publishing industry—28 million copies sold—is decidedly homespun. “It's a small business for me still,” she said. “It's just a little family thing. I couldn't deal with it if I didn't keep it small. It freaks me out.” Yes, she does write in the middle of the night, but “luxury for me is getting to take care of your kids.”