Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has never read Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotica series which began as Twilight fan fiction and now rivals the original in popularity. “It’s so not my genre,” Meyer told the Guardian. “I don’t even read traditional romance. It’s too smutty.” Some argue that the Twilight heroes Bella and Jacob’s panting self-restraint amounts to “abstinence porn,” but Meyer maintains a distinction. “There’s a reason my books have a lot of innocence,” she said, “That’s the sort of world I live in.” (Meyer has three kids so it’s safe to assume she’s not that innocent.) She said that her decision not to include premarital sex scenes in Twilight, against her editor’s wishes, reflected her worldview and not a political agenda. “You know, it’s so funny,” she says. “I never decide to put a message in anything. I decide on a story that I think is exciting, and I entertain myself, and then some of it obviously reflects my personal experience.” E.L. James and a raft of other sexy Twilight fan fic writers found it very exciting as well. In fact, a new E.L. James writing manual and journal, due out May 1, promises to help more amateurs consummate the urges of Meyer’s chaste characters.
