Oprah brings Stephenie Meyer and "New Moon" to Twilight fans

It may just be another Friday the 13th to you, but for "Twilight" fans today is something much more significant. It's the day that author Stephenie Meyer will appear on "Oprah." And it may also be a chance to catch a sneak preview of "New Moon," [Ed's note: Originally the book was mistakenly referred to as "Full Moon"] the film of the second book of Meyer's "Twilight" teen vampire series, set to open in theaters on Nov. 20.

Meyer's appearance on Oprah is no small event in itself. By her own admission, the author has been "doing the hermit thing" for about a year now. And she says that her chat with Oprah will be the "one and only" interview she'll do for "New Moon."

Meyer told her fans that she chose the Oprah show because she figured that, "[S]ince I'm only doing one interview, better make it big. Really big." (She also agreed to take specific fan questions about the movie on her website on Monday and Tuesday of this week.)

Once upon a time, Stephenie Meyer was skilled user of social media who made herself highly accessible to her fans, particularly through her MySpace page where she was famed for sending friendly notes and answering fan questions and comments. But it eventually became too much for the author and last summer, she dumped MySpace and let her fans know that she was taking "a break."

“[I’m] taking down my bloated MySpace page,” she wrote on her website at that time. “It was a lot of fun while it lasted, and I really miss the early days when I could hang out with people online. Many of you are hilarious and insightful, and I wish it was easier for me to talk to everyone the way I used to.”

To counter frauds (because apparently there were any number of faux "Stephenie Meyer"s in cyperspace), Meyer further let her fans know, “I do not have a Facebook page, and I have never had one. I don’t do Twitter. So if you’re communicating with someone online that you think is me, it’s not.”

This around, Twilight fans will have to make the most of their more limited opportunities.

Oprah, meanwhile, can enjoy the distinction of hosting two of this month's most highly publicized authors back to back. Today's show features Meyer, while Monday's star will be Sarah Palin, discussing her new memoir, "Going Rogue."

Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor’s book editor. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/MarjorieKehe.