The Next Big Thing after Harry Potter

It looks like Harry needs to make room for Edward and Bella.

In a sign that young book fans may have found something to replace the recently ended Harry Potter series, readers snapped up a hefty 150,000 copies of Stephenie Meyer's "Eclipse," a young-adult novel about a gentlemanly vampire and the girl who loves him, in its first day on sale Tuesday. The book immediately became this week's No. 1 fiction best-seller at Barnes & Noble Inc., knocking the final installment in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," into the No. 2 spot.

Of course, most Harry Potter fans got their copy on July 21, the first day it went on sale, so maintaining its top-selling status wouldn't have been easy. But Ms. Rowling's novel about the young wizard has continued to sell strongly, which makes the sales performance of "Eclipse" that much more striking.

"We were anticipating the book would be very big, but it has exceeded our expectations," says Steve Riggio, chief executive of the nation's largest book retailer. "As booksellers, we're thrilled."

Since the two earlier books in Ms. Meyer's series -- "Twilight" published in 2005 and "New Moon," which came out last year -- have 1.6 million copies in print nationwide, the book's publisher expected "Eclipse" would sell well. While a novel in an established series might sell 5,000 copies on its first day, Lagardère SCA's Little, Brown Books for Young Readers imprint was hopeful "Eclipse" would sell 40,000.

"I've been in this business for 20 years, and I've never seen anything like this," said Megan Tingley, the imprint's publisher.

Unless you're a teenage girl, chances are that you aren't familiar with Ms. Meyer's novels. She hasn't had time yet to build much of a national media profile. Instead she's relied more on the Internet for promotion -- with an active presence on MySpace, the social-networking site popular with teenagers, as well as a personal Web site.

A 33-year-old mother of three who lives in the Phoenix suburbs, Ms. Meyer says she'd never thought of writing a book until she had a dream about a teenage girl and a handsome vampire.

"It sounds so cheesy, but that dream is Chapter 13 in my first novel," says Ms. Meyer. "I saw two characters talking about the fact that they were in love. He was telling her that his problem was that he wanted to kill her because she smelled so tasty."

The next day Ms. Meyer began to write. At the time, her three sons were 1, 2 and 5. She didn't have an outline, she didn't have a plot, and she didn't have an agent. Nor did she tell her husband. But after her sister called to complain that she hadn't heard from Ms. Meyer in weeks, she confessed. "I was ashamed to tell her because it was a vampire story," she says. Later, after she finished, her sister urged her to try to sell it.

Ms. Meyer did what anybody might do in her situation. She looked online for advice. She then sent off a one-page literary query to various literary agencies. To her surprise, Writers House in New York wrote back and asked her for the first three chapters. "They sounded excited, so I was excited," she says.

Jodi Reamer, who now represents Ms. Meyer, said her assistant recommended she read the manuscript, originally titled "Forks." Ms. Reamer suggested they come up with a new title and eventually they agreed on "Twilight." Ms. Reamer then submitted the manuscript to nine editors. Ms. Tingley was the first to reply.

"I know I'm on to something big when I respond to something that is outside my favorite genres," says Ms. Tingley. "I'm not a vampire fan. And I'm not a romance fan either. But this book has vampires, romance and suspense. Also, the heroine is appealing because she's every girl. She's not rich, she's not gorgeous, but she's strong."

Ms. Tingley said that sales of "Eclipse" were so robust that the publishing house, which had announced a first printing of one million copies of "Eclipse," is going back to press for more. She noted that the books don't include sexually provocative material or graphic language, which makes it an easier sell for parents.

"There is a lot of young-adult fiction that is pretty racy, but parents know these books are romantic, not sexual," she says.

Ms. Meyer says that her vampire mythology differs from that of other authors because she has read only one vampire tale, a novel by Anne Rice. "I'm not a vampire fan ..." she says. "I haven't read 'Dracula,' and I don't watch scary movies."

Stephenie Meyer, author of 'Eclipse'

The author, a Mormon, adds that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says, her characters tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical. "Is there nothing if it all stops?" she says. "They worry."

And while some young-adult novels tackle edgier subjects, Ms. Meyer has steered her work away from them. "I don't think teens need to read about gratuitous sex," she says. She does, however, use such words as "damn" or "hell," explaining that "if it's in the Bible I let it go."

Ms. Meyer is becoming a big draw at book signings. On Wednesday evening, 1,000 people turned out to meet her at the Barnes & Noble store in Skokie, Ill., near Chicago. The chain has sold 50,000 copies in two days.

"Eclipse" has also proved popular for independent retailers. Gail Wetta, a staffer at Anderson's Bookshops in Naperville, Ill., another Chicago suburb, said the store sold 1,000 books during an appearance Ms. Meyer made Tuesday evening at Pfeiffer Hall on the campus of North Central College. The store began to promote the event in mid-June. The bookshop served cookie dough, one of Ms. Meyer's favorite treats.

"Her books are well-written, which goes a long way, but they also cross over," says Ms. Wetta, who noted that some fans showed up in costumes inspired by the book. "By that I mean that young girls read them and say, 'Mom, you should read it too,' and when the moms read them, they like them."

The series is also popular overseas. So far, "Twilight" has been sold to 32 foreign countries. The second, "New Moon," has been sold to 20 countries, and "Eclipse" has been sold to 16 countries. In addition to her vampire books, Ms. Meyer has written an adult science-fiction novel, "The Host," that will be published next year by Little, Brown.

Don't expect to see a paperback edition of "Eclipse" anytime soon. David Young, chief executive of Hachette Book Group USA, which runs Little, Brown, said that the publishing house expects "Eclipse" to sell as a hardcover for more than a year.