The Twilight Frenzy. 

Has the World Gone Vampire Mad?

More than 120 million books sold and still counting.  Translated into 38 languages.  On The New York Times list of bestsellers for 235 weeks (Children's Series Books). A hugely successful movie franchise. What makes the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyers vampire romances, such a hot seller?

The Times praised Twilight for depicting "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation." The New York Times called it  a literary phenomenon.

Twilight has also attracted comparisons with the Harry Potter series, whose sales incidentally, it has eclipsed. Great literature it aint, but undeniably, Twilight succeeded in striking a chord worldwide among young teens, especially girls.

About the author
Stephenie Meyer lives in Arizona, USA. The first-time author and mother of three began writing a draft in 2003, based on her dream about a vampires love for a young girl. The draft evolved into a full-fledged novel in three months and Stephenies sister persuaded her to mail the manuscript to several literary agencies. By late 2003, Stephenie had a three-book publishing deal. The first novel, Twilight, hit the shelves in 2005. As the saying goes, the rest is history.

The Books
The four books in the romantic-fantasy genre are Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. The plots revolve around teenager Bella Swan who moves to her fathers home in Forks, Washington. She is inexplicably drawn to the handsome Edward Cullen who she later learns is a 104-year-old member of a vampire family that subsists on animal, and not human, blood. The subsequent books deal with a love triangle, the couples turbulent romance, their marriage and birth of a half-human, half-vampire child.

The Movies
To date, The Twilight Saga has had four record-breaking releases since 2008, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn (I). The Twilight DVD sold 3 million-plus units on its release in March 2009. Needless to add, the franchises youthful cast, headed by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, became overnight stars.