Twilight Opens to Huge Crowds in Los Angeles

In the tradition of Harry Potter, a new highly successful literary saga is coming to life in Twilight, a love story of vampires, werewolves and an unassuming everygirl - all of the stuff that keeps young fans riveted. To say that author Stephenie Meyer's success is approaching that of J.K. Rowling is too much of a stretch, but there is no doubt that her Twilight series - four novels in total - is a smash hit with young fans.

The complicated love story of Bella, a "normal girl", and Edward, a vampire, has captured the imagination of thousands of young fans around the country. As readers have devoured the four-book series from Meyer, a growing fan base has emerged. These young fans have created message boards and online forums dedicated to Twilight and their presence is widely visible on social networks like Facebook and MySpace.

Hundreds of "fanpires" waited hours to get a glmpse of new stars Robert Pattinson, who plays the heart-throb vampire Edward and Kristen Stewart, who plays the girl-next-door character Bella - the narrator of the stories. There has been a targeted advertising blitz in recent weeks on television shows that cater to female teen and young-adult viewership. But the phenomenon that is Twilight has actually managed to capture the imagination of older women as well, including married women with children.

As the buzz around the Twilight premiere continues to grow, there is already talk of sequels and if and how the remaining books in the series will be made into movies. If the excitement surrounding this first installment is any indication, it seems likely that there will be a few more Twilight movies in our future.