Stephenie Meyer's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head.

"Though I had a million things to do, I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering."

Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, and wrote it out late at night when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. With encouragement from her older sister (the only other person who knew she had written a book), Meyer submitted her manuscript to various literary agencies. Twilight was picked out of a slush pile at Writer's House and eventually made its way to the publishing company Little, Brown where everyone fell immediately in love with the gripping, star-crossed lovers.

Since their initial publication, the Twilight Saga books have been snapped up by fans all over the world and have dominated global bestseller lists, becoming a true literary phenomenon. In Australia, the Twilight Saga series has been in the Nielsen BookScan bestseller list for most of 2009.

In May 2008 Little, Brown also published The Host, Meyer's highly-anticipated novel for adults. The Host also remains a staple on bestseller lists across the globe more than a year after its debut.

The Twilight movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, was released in Australia on 11 December 2008 and grossed AU$21.7 million. In the US it debuted at #1 at the box office and grossed US$70 million, making it the highest grossing opening weekend for a female director.

The second movie, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz was released in Australia on 19 November 2009 and was one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of the year.

Stephenie lives in Arizona with her husband and three sons. Visit her website here.