With the next chapter of the Twilight series, "Eclipse," debuting on the big screen this week, vampire fever is higher than ever.
A mother and daughter pair from Hixson share a passion for Stephanie Meyer's seductively un-dead characters.
Eclipse debuts in tonight at midnight. (See box.)
For Jamie Bock, 49 and her daughter Ryan, 17, being members of "Team Edward", the fan following of Meyer's hunky, teenage vampire, is a full-time job.
The series is written in the first-person perspective of a teenage girl, Bella Swan, transplanted from her mother's home in Phoenix, Ari., to the dreary landscape of Forks, Washington to spend time with her father.
Her dull life there is soon turned upside down when she meets a mysterious boy at school named Edward Cullen, with whom she quickly falls in love. Edward and his family are soon revealed to be vampires, and the pair's love story becomes one of restraint, danger, and impossibility.
The "Twilight" series has captivated women of all ages across the nation, bringing mothers and daughters closer together. There's even a name for the older fans, Twi-moms.
"It's just such romance," said Mrs. Bock. "It's the unrequited love, the unattainable love that is so intriguing to a girl of any age. ... Edward is this wise and handsome character, and an actual gentleman," said Mrs. Bock.
SEE ITFans of the "Twilight" series can settle in for six-plus hours of Bella, Edward and Jacob at area theaters tonight. To prepare for special midnight showings of the third film in the series, "Eclipse," three area theaters will show the first two films, "Twilight" and "New Moon," as a double feature starting at 7 p.m. Participating theaters, according to their websites, are Northgate 14, Majestic 12 and East Ridge 18. All area theaters have scheduled midnight screenings of "Eclipse."
Both women said they admire Meyer's portrayal of young, frenetic love, and the power of that love to create an adoring readership on an international level.
"We went to Comic-Con (a fantasy film festival) in San Diego to see the stars of the movie," said Mrs. Bock. "We slept outside with these fans from all over... I could just hear people reading out of the books, all night. All these strangers came together for "Twilight." It was Beatlemania all over again."
Mrs. Bock said the "Twilight" series has transform her daughter's previously lackluster interest in reading.
"I read every day now," says Ryan, noting, "before "Twilight," I never read."
Miss Bock has been accepted to The Baylor School's Round Table organization, a selective and long-standing literary circle.
"I have an 'A' in English class for the first time," added Miss Bock, grinning.
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