While Stephenie Meyer was in Chicago promoting The Host, she sat for an interview with The Chicago Tribune. Below are a few excerpts from the article discussing the origin of the story, guys’ attitudes toward her work, and the sequel books. For the full interview, click here. I love the gorgeous photo of her for the article.
Q: I read that the idea for “Twilight” came to you in a dream. What about “The Host”?
A: When I was kid, my family and I used to do a lot of long car trips, and I used to tell myself stories to keep myself entertained. That was in the day when there weren’t headphones or movies or whatever. Years later, in 2006 I think, I was on a car trip with my kids in the back seat — headphones, movies, no interaction — and I was bored out of my mind. And so I started telling myself stories again, like I used to. Now, of course, I have a new outlet when I come up with a story.
So I was driving along and got this idea of two people trapped in the same body, and then the extra problem of them being in love with the same person, and all the complications that would follow. And I thought, “Hey, that’s a real idea. I can use that.” And I spent the rest of the trip figuring out the kind of world that would be in. And as soon as I could, I just started writing it down.
Q: You were still writing the “Twilight” books then.
A: Yes, I was editing “Eclipse,” I think, and hadn’t written the fourth book yet. “Twilight” was originally an escape for me from everyday life, but it turned into a more stressful place than I’d planned. And so “The Host” became kind of an escape from my escape.
Q: Guys often have trouble with your stories and movies, with their emphasis on young women and their romantic lives, the kissing and so forth. Do you feel like there’s a sexist element of that?
A: Well, there are a lot of layers to it. With “Twilight,” it’s a first-person story seen through the eyes of a girl falling in love with a boy. So I can see how that might be an unusual place for a male reader or moviegoer to find himself in, or identify with. But as a female reader or moviegoer, you’re always reading or watching from a male perspective. It’s normal for us, so we don’t stop and think, “This is about a boy and they’re blowing things up! It’s a guy thing and I don’t want to see it!” We enjoy movies across the board.
So it’s a little hard — not with my books in particular — that men don’t often pick up a book with a female author, even a classic book, when it’s told from a female perspective. And I think it’s a little sad, you know, because we read your perspective all the time. Men go around saying they don’t understand women at all, but it’s because you don’t read our books!
Q: There are future “Host” books coming, I gather?
A: I’m working on the sequel right now, but it’s a slow-going thing. I need a lot of alone time to write, and that has not been an easy thing to find lately. So I’m hoping when we’re done with this tour to really focus on the sequel. The title for the sequel is “The Seeker.” The third one I’m planning to call “The Soul,” but that one feels very far off right now.
Source: The Chicago Tribune (Photo credit also)
