Stephenie Meyer puts new Twilight book online

Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight vampire books which have sold some 100 million copies worldwide and spawned the equally successful film franchise, is to give her next book away for free. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner will be available to read online for a month.
 
The novella is a spin-off from Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight series, and follows newborn vampire Bree Tanner. She is determined to destroy Twilight's heroine Bella Swann and her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen - the role played by British actor Robert Pattinson in the films.
 
The 192-page book will be published in both Britain and the United States on June 5. But two days later the entire novella will also be posted on a special website, breetanner.com. Fans will not be able to download the book but it will be available to read online until July 5.
 
Meyer (pictured) only began working on the novella in 2005 as "an exercise" to help her while she was editing Eclipse. "I thought it might end up as a short story that I could include on my website... However, the story grew longer than I anticipated."
 
Book buyers are predicting that The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner could still be a top-seller even if it is initially given away for free. Sarah Clarke, a children's book buyer for Waterstone's, said: "A new Twilight saga book from Stephenie Meyer, no matter how short, is the best news in the world for her legions of fans, and great news for bookshops everywhere - this could be the biggest selling book of the year."
 
Meanwhile American readers have an extra incentive to stump up for a hardback edition of the book. One dollar for every first edition sold in the United States will go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund which is working with earthquake victims in Haiti. ·