I absolutely love Twilight, including all of the actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Nikki Reed and Peter Facinelli, to name a few. When I came across these photos online earlier today, I was really disappointed.

I’m sure that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are well aware of the social impact they have on teenagers these days. All they have to do is a quick Google search to see the hundreds of pages created in emulation and adoration of their Twilight work. I know that Stephanie Meyer certainly didn’t write smoking parts into her Twilight saga. Then why? Why do they have to be so irresponsible?

I’m a thirty-one year old woman who brazenly smoked throughout my twenties. I’ll admit, I loved it. Being a writer, I relished my guilty pleasure and even fooled myself into believing that I relied on smoking for my creativity. However, once I turned thirty-0ne, reality set in. A close friend of mine had her lung collapse, and was incidentally in a coma for eight days, before being diagnosed with lung cancer. She was only 33.

After that, I fought an uphill battle for months, and I am happy to say that today I am nearly six months quit. Each day has been a challenge, and I am so thankful for my successful quit that I would never go back. When I saw the cast of New Moon smoking, I couldn’t even believe it. Is it a hoax? Did someone mess with photos of the actors in order to create a scandal, or even mere disapproval? Are Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson simply unaware of the implicit responsibility that is tenuous to their success and that of the movie? Don’t they know that they are the latest teen role models? Are they merely Twilight smokers (those that only smoke at night)?

In any case, hopefully teenagers realize that only those who are blessed or cursed (depending on how you look at it) with immortality can safely smoke cigarettes. I know it may seem uncool for me to reiterate yet another anti-tobacco sentiment, but people gotta know. Especially in this economy, I’d rather spend ten bucks on some cool Twilight merchandise or even a blank journal than a pack of cigarettes.

After reading the first book of the Twilight series in two days, I was thrilled to discover that Amazon.com had Stephanie Meyer’s riveting series available for Kindle, the new electronic device for downloading and reading books. Although I am unlikely to purchase a Kindle, I do have an iPhone, and I’d just read an article in The New York Times, explaining that Amazon.com was making the Kindle software available for the iPhone, for free!

So there I was, stuck at work, having just completed Twilight, and ravenous for more. I glanced at the clock, and was dismayed to realize that I had four hours left of work, with little or nothing to do to keep busy. Although some of my girlfriends had raved about the Twilight series, I was skeptical about whether or not I’d be enticed into Edward and Bella’s love affair. Teenage Vampires? Didn’t exactly seem like my cup of tea. I am a student and critic of Romantic literature, and vampires are certainly a theme common to that trope, but I’ve always sort of laughed at them. Even so, I found myself going to Amazon.com to download the next book of the latest vampire series!

It only took about a minute to download New Moon, and within seconds, I’d figured out how to navigate around Kindle, and was flipping through the virtual pages as fast as Edward Cullen would, with his vampire stealth and quickness! I continued to read until bedtime, and realized how convenient the Kindle’s illuminated screen was for reading in the dark. Needless to say, before I knew it, it was morning. I had finished the book, but I hadn’t slept at all. Was I acquiring a vampire’s sleeping habits?

The only problem I have with the Kindle for iPhone is that while you can dog-ear a page, there is no way to write notes in the margins, and of course, I do miss the smell of a new book. However, it is good for the environment, because no trees are harmed, and it is oh-so-convenient. I highly recommend it for the avid reader and closet vampire!

After reading Stephanie Meyer’s collection in its entirety, I felt the need to create a site where fans of both the Twilight series and the films could share information, different art forms, gossip and various other musings.

After years of studying literature, and only reading that which was assigned to me in college,Twilight was the first novel that I’ve read for fun in what seems like an eternity “Obsession” isn’t a strong enough word! I read the first novel of the series in two days, and avidly devoured the remainder in just a few more days.

I saw the film right away and was so sad when the two hours, in which I saw my favorite characters come to life, finished. I simply can’t wait to see the rest!