Bellafans

       Some FAQ I decided to answer...

Q.Is the Twilight series a trilogy or not?

         A No Stephenie is currently contracted to make a fourth called Breaking Dawn  

 Q. What does the cover of Breaking Dawn look like? 

         A. I honestly don’t know. Stephenie has not decided on a cover yet–in fact, she is in a very early stage of the process. I’ve had a few people ask if images they’ve seen are the Breaking Dawn cover, and I can tell you absolutely that they are NOT.  

Q. Did Jacob imprint on Bella?

         A. No. And this is how you can be sure: in New Moon, after the first time Jacob becomes his wolf phase, he is mean to Bella. He won’t tell her what is wrong. He says he can’t see her anymore. If he’d imprinted on Bella in that moment (and it happens the first time you see the person after you’ve phased), he would have answered all her questions. Pretty much, he would have given her anything in the world she wanted. (When he’s staring at her on the bottom of page 173 in Eclipse, he’s trying to make himself imprint on her. But that’s not something you can force.

Q. Is Stephenie going to publish Midnight Sun?

A. Yes, when it's finished. She has to get book four done first, though. After all, you all know what happens in Midnight Sun; the end isn't exactly a surprise.

Q. What's with the apple?

           A. The apple on the cover of Twilight represents "forbidden fruit." Stephenie used the scripture from Genesis because she loved the phrase "the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil." Isn't this exactly what Bella ends up with? A working knowledge of what good is, and what evil is. The nice thing about the apple is it has so many symbolic roots. You've got the apple in Snow White, one bite and you're frozen forever in a state of not-quite-death... Then you have Paris and the golden apple in Greek mythology—look how much trouble that started. Apples are quite the versatile fruit. In the end, She loved the beautiful simplicity of the picture. To her it says: choice.

Q. What does she mean she is switching narrators? Is she crazy?

            A.There seems to be some anxiety over her statement that, eventually, the story of Bella and the Cullens and all my other Fork friends might be narrated by someone besides Bella. Please, don't worry. I promise that Bella will get to tell her whole story. But when her story is more or less resolved, there are other stories left to tell. Bella and Edward will always have their roles. Don't fret—those two aren't going anywhere!

Q:  Other than Debussy, what kinds of music does Edward listen to?  Does he prefer classical or has he a favorite modern style of music?
 
A:  Edward likes a wide range of music (he has a lot of time on his hands for listening).  He likes classical, jazz, progressive metal, alternative rock, punk rock, and some emo.  He prefers indie rock to mainstream.  He doesn’t prefer rock over classical–he appreciates both.  As a general rule, he doesn’t like country.

Q:  Does Bella have an after school job?  I imagine her making a mess at work and getting fired for it, but that’s just me!  HA!
 
A:  Bella gets a part-time job during her first summer in Forks to save money for college. When book two begins, she’s been working at Newton’s Olympic Outfitters for three months.  Mike Newton is her co-worker. As son of the owners, he had some influence on her getting the job.

Q:  You mentioned that Rosalie and Emmett had a wedding.  What about the others?  Are Jasper and Alice married, too?
 
A:  Rosalie is all about show; Emmett loves to make her happy–hence, lots of elaborate weddings.  (When her history is public record, I think it will be more clear why she is the way she is.)  Alice and Jasper aren’t into show, but they have the deeper relationship.  They are married, but once was enough for them.  Esme and Carlisle are also married, again, just the one time.
 
Q:  How young do the vampires pretend to be and how old can they manage to pass for?  Obviously, Edward looks the youngest at 17, but the other “siblings” were in their 20s when they were changed.  Do they all claim to be the same age when they first arrive in a city?  And how long can they stay before the humans grow suspicious?  At 17, I would think Edward has a hard time passing for anything older than 25. 
 
A:  The Cullens each have their own range of ages they can get away with.  Carlisle is the key, since he likes to work as a doctor; it’s his range that dictates the length of time they can stay in one place.  Though he is only 23, he usually pretends to be somewhere from twenty-eight to thirty-five.  If no one is getting suspicious (with Edward, they can gauge that) and they like where they are, sometime they push it. They can all get away with older more easily than younger because of their mature way of speaking and acting. Edward’s range is about fifteen to mid-twenties. He has been to medical school twice (helping Carlisle keep current), but he’s never tried to practice.  He can’t handle blood the way Carlisle can.  Emmett and Jasper have a hard time passing for younger than eighteen, but with their perfect credentials (birth certificates, driver’s licenses, etc.) people tend to accept whatever story they tell.
 
Q:  Do the vampires have fangs or not?  Edward flashes his white teeth plenty of times, but at no point do we ever see his fangs.  Do they grow when they hunt?
 
A:  Stephenie's vampires do not have fangs.  Their teeth are so sharp and strong that fangs are hardly necessary (they could bite through steel, if so inclined–a human neck is like butter, ha ha).  The non-vegetarian vampires don’t leave living victims (unless they are changing someone into a vampire); this isn’t the neat-and-tidy, two-small-holes-in-the-neck kind of vampire attack that you see in other vampire mythologies.

Q:  Do the vampires have blood in their veins even though their heart no longer pumps?  What would happen if they were cut or injured in some way?
 
A:  Most human fluids are absent in my vampires.  No sweat, no tears, no blood besides that which they ingest–they don’t have their own blood.  They do sort of have saliva–the venom makes their mouths wet, at least.  When they drink blood, it runs through their body and makes them strong.  It floods through their old blood ways, though they don’t have circulation anymore.  It lightens their eyes* and flushes their skin slightly.
 
*This reminds me of a question I’ve answered recently.  I thought it was pretty obvious, but then, I tend to do think everything is obvious.  Vampires who drink human blood have dark reddish irises that fade to black as they get thirstier.  If a Cullen were to drink human blood, his/her eyes would turn burgundy.  It takes about two weeks without blood for vampire eyes to go entirely black.  If that Cullen then returned to an animal diet, his/her eyes would return to dark gold.
 
Another eye note: brand-newly created vampires are recognizable by their eyes, which are a vivid, bright red due to the massive amount of human blood (the blood that was already in the human at the time he/she was changed) that lingers in the tissues.  That red fades slowly over the course of a year.  New vampires are also immensely strong for their first year of life, also a product of the excess of blood left in the body.  This residual blood does nothing to affect thirst–young vampires are always thirsty.
 
And since we’re talking physiology…I’ve had tons of people ask if vampires can have babies.  The answer is no.  When someone becomes a vampire, it’s as if they are frozen exactly as they are in that moment.  His or her (and we’ll go with her because it’s more central to this discussion) body no longer experiences change.  Hair does not grow, nor do fingernails (if you cut your hair, you’re stuck.  That’s why Alice’s hair is so short–it was growing back from being shaved in the asylum).  This applies to all changes–so a woman would no longer have any kind of ovulation cycle.  If she were already pregnant when she was bitten, both she and the fetus would be frozen in that state.  Which would really suck–pregnant for eternity?  I’m shuddering at the thought.
 
If a vampire were cut, there would only be blood if he/she had freshly drunk blood (and drunk a lot).  Otherwise, there would only be a bit of venom.  It would be like cutting into granite.

Q:  Jasper is the one character I feel like I have no grip on.  He’s like a void for some reason.

A:  Okay, Jasper things.Firstly, the reason Jasper has the most trouble with the Cullen diet is that he has been around since the Civil War and he has consumed a LOT of human blood.  He has formed really bad habits.  Also, he is a fighting machine (and I’m not talking about Civil War/human fights here, though he was a major in the Confederate army when he was human).  The Cullen lifestyle is like an almost incomprehensibly peaceful retirement for him. 
 
Secondly, he’s really mostly doing this for Alice.  Alice is Jasper’s entire life.  She is the most important thing in the universe to him, and he would do absolutely anything for her.  For Jasper, there would be no limit to who or what he would destroy for Alice.  Not that she wants him destroying anything.  She’s the light side of their relationship–she makes him laugh (and he wasn’t much of a laugher before Alice).  Jasper is the most "vampire-y" of the Cullens, and, while he’s fond of them all, he’s not bonded to them the way the rest of them are.  The way Alice most definitely is.  The whole high school thing really freaks him out.  He’s trying to get better at being around humans, but it’s an uphill struggle.

 Q.Why does Jasper use the last name Hale? if is not his real  last name why does he use it? And does it make Alice jealous?

A. Okay firstly you must know Jasper and Rosalie look a lot alike. Secondly the Cullens look different then humans they look strange. With this knowledge you would understand why they must use anything they can to get people not to be suspicious. Since Jasper and Rosalie look so alike they thought they should pretend they are born siblings. Make sense? For your second question does Alice get jealous because of it the answer is no. One because it was part her decision to make him use the last name anyway and two because Alice has her own way of looking at things. She doesn't look at it like maybe he wants to use the last name (they have been together so long why would she?) she looks at it like it is a sacrifice. So it really does the opposite of making her jealous it makes her...happy. 

 Q. What is with the ribbon and flower on New Moon and Eclipse?

 A. Since this has a lot to do with Stephenie I'll let her answer... If you've read the previous FAQ, you know that the apple cover had a lot of meaning for me, and I was an active part of the covering process. However, that experience is more the exception than the rule in the publishing world. Something to keep in mind if you intend to embark on a career as a writer: lots of things you might expect to be under your control are not. Covers, for example. Those are mostly up to the publisher and the marketing and sales departments. So I don't know what the tulip or the ribbon means—I didn't have anything to do with this one.

 Q.In Twilight why did Edward leave?

 A. For three days Edward left because he was overpowered  by  Bella's scent. He went to Alaska.