Not since J. K. Rowling has an author of young adult books caused such excitement. Stephenie Meyer's first book, Twilight, introduced Isabella Swan, a human teenager who falls in love with Edward Cullen, a century-old vampire stuck forever in a 17-year-old body. Meyer's story provided just the right mix of forbidden love, danger and teenage angst to hit No. 5 on The New York Times best-seller list and be chosen among the 2006 Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association.

Her second, New Moon, was No. 1 for 24 weeks, and Meyer's third book, Eclipse, released Tuesday, boasts a mega first printing of 1 million copies.

At Meyer's signings, fans dress up as the books' main characters and clamor to meet the 33-year-old mother of three. In advance of her appearance in Denver next week (get there early if you're going), Meyer took time out of her busy writing and mothering schedule (no regular baby sitters for her, she says) to chat about her writing life .

Question: I read that the characters in the Twilight series came to you in a dream. Now that the series is close to 2,000 pages, how long was that dream? And what did you have for dinner the night before?

Answer: I don't remember the dinner part, unfortunately. The dream was just (about) Bella and Edward. It just started with the two of them. It's actually the chapter in Twilight where they're in the meadow, and they're admitting for the first time that they are in love with each other. And I woke up wondering what would happen next. How would they have gone on from this point? Would he have been able to not kill her? What would I want to happen?

So I wrote it all down, and that was its own revelation: how much I enjoyed taking something from my imagination and making it concrete. I was an English major, so I had done a bit of writing here and there, nothing serious ever. That was the first time I really tapped into the joy of creation that goes along with it.

After that, I was pretty much hooked, so I just kept writing to see what was going to happen. The genesis was very small. It was just one scene, two people - and everything kind of grew out of that.

Q: So, obviously, Twilight didn't come from a structured outline.

A: I didn't have a clue. But I've always been really shocked at how coherent it turned out. Even in the rough draft, at least the thread of the story was fairly well-defined, which seems unusual to me, since now I always write from outlines and have a good idea where the story is going. Q: When you submitted Twilight for publication, did you have any idea that it would attract the kind of following it has?

A: No. My idea of what was going to happen was that I was going to get rejected - a lot. And I didn't. I got rejected a little bit, but none that really stung, because these people were just rejecting my query letter, which I am the first to admit really sucked. So, when somebody wanted to see it, and the first person who read it wanted to sign me, that completely took me by surprise. And everything since then has just sort of built on the sense that this can't really be happening.

Q: Your signings and appearances have taken on lives of their own with huge crowds and costumes. Did this surprise you?

A: Yes, it surprises me a lot . . . Actually, (it was) my second tour where things started getting really crazy with the big crowds and the chanting - it's a little scary, but then you meet (the fans) one on one, and everyone's wonderful . . . (On the other hand) there was the girl with the yellow contacts . . .

Q: How has this amazing success affected your life? Do people recognize you on the street?

A: Success with books is totally different from even the smallest side character on the worst TV sitcom on some cable channel, who gets more recognition than a writer . . . I think I've been recognized twice outside of events: once at the grocery store because the checker had just read an article in the local paper; and then once at an OK GO concert (one of Stephenie's favorite bands), which I thought was super cool. I mean, if you're going to get spotted, get spotted someplace really cool.

Q: Speaking of concerts and music, I noticed in the acknowledgments in New Moon that, as you wrote the book, you listened to one of Colorado's top bands: The Fray . . . A: I was listening to the radio and they played Cable Car, and I was just struck because it is so pretty . . . A lot of time the songs (I use when writing)have to mean something to me in the context of my story, because I hear my characters in the songs, and this one fit what I was thinking about then, so I listened to it over and over and bought the CD. It's quite rare to have a CD where you like every song on it.

Q: Before the next Twilight book, an adult science fiction novel, The Host, will be released this spring. Where did this one come from?

A: The Host idea came to me on a long road trip where I had to drive with just the kids in the back playing games . . . When I wrote the synopsis, it started getting longer and turned into a sort of chapter . . . I had time between the editing periods (with New Moon and Eclipse), and I started writing, figuring I'd play around with it. I got more involved than I had planned, because The Host is quite long. However, I think it reads surprisingly fast.

Stephenie Meyer

• What: Appears at 7 p.m. Monday at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch, Highlands Ranch Parkway at Lucent Blvd.

• Tickets: Numbered tickets for a spot in the booksigning line are available with the purchase of Eclipse at any Tattered Cover. Seating for the Q&A prior to the signing is available to ticketed customers and family members on a first-come, first served basis.

• Information: 303-470-7050

Eclipse

• Fiction. By Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown/Megan Tingley Books, $18.99. Grade: A-

Plot in a nutshell: So you've finished Harry Potter and don't know what to do with all of your free time. This third installment of Meyer's Twilight series could be the answer. And unlike the finished tales of the boy wizard, Meyer promises more adventures for Isabella Swan, her teen heroine; Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire lover; and Jacob Black, the werewolf that wishes he owned her heart.

In Twilight, Meyer's debut, Bella moved from Phoenix to Forks, Wash. The gloomy weather in Forks is a fine place for a coven of vampires, several of whom are students in the local high school. It doesn't take long for Bella and Edward, the one vampire without a mate, to fall in love. Edward and his family have sworn off human blood, but some of their acquaintances are not so nice.

In New Moon, Bella becomes best friends with Jacob, who will become one of a pack of werewolves before book's end. Werewolves and vampires don't like each other, and although there's a treaty in effect, there's a lot of name calling. By the end, Bella is nearly killed and blood flows.

Finally, in the second half of Eclipse, we get some real vampire action. Victoria, a seriously evil vampire from the previous book, has sworn to kill Bella because Edward killed her mate, and she has created an army of vampires. The only way to save Bella and the rest of the town is for werewolves and vampires to join forces. Meanwhile, Jacob swears his love for Bella, but Bella still wants to become a vampire so she can spend eternity with Edward.

Sample of prose: "He pulled my wrist up to his face, our hands still twisted together . . . I knew that the scent of my blood - so much sweeter to him than any other person's blood, truly like wine beside water to an alcoholic - caused him actual pain from the burning thirst it engendered. But he didn't seem to shy away from it as much as he once had. I could only imagine the Herculean effort behind this simple gesture."

Pros: With each book, Meyer's work has become more polished. Despite the fantasy elements, she tells a believable story with empathetic characters. Her tale of teenage angst resonates with young adults and older readers who remember those times.

Cons: As with most series novels, Eclipse loses much if readers haven't read the previous books.

Final word: Although the series will continue, this book ends the first phase of the story. Just like a vampire at a blood drive, my appetite is whetted to see how Meyer is going to pull off what comes next.

Mark Graham reviews unreal worlds titles for the Rocky.

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