And to think all you were hoping for was Midnight Sun.
Sparkly vampire expert Stephenie Meyer has come up with a unique way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first novel in her Twilight saga: a 442-page rewrite that recasts moody human Bella as a moody dude named Beau and mysterious vampire Edward as a mysterious lady-vamp named Edythe.
Seriously.
According to Meyer, the new characters' personalities are "just slightly different" from the ones on which they're based. Beau, for example is "more OCD, he's not nearly so flowery with his words and thoughts, and he's not as angry," she writes in a forward to the new story.
The book, called Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined -- the cover of which once again pictures a hand holding an apple, only this time, the fruit is green -- will be available in hardcover and e-book forms on Tuesday.
Characters in @Twilight swap genders in 10th Anniversary bonus called 'Life and Death:' http://t.co/b2bOM6MZu3 pic.twitter.com/Drqethf0eQ— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 6, 2015
In the forward, Meyer writes that she was inspired to write it partially in response to critics that call the original series' heroine, Bella Swan, a damsel in distress.
“My answer to that has always been that Bella is a ‘human in distress,’ a normal human being surrounded on all sides by people who are basically superheroes and villains," the author explains. "She's also been criticized for being too consumed with her love interest, as if that's somehow just a girl thing. I’ve always maintained that it would have made no difference if the human were male and vampire female -- it’s still the same story."
Then Meyer had an idea: "I thought to myself, ‘Well, what if I put that theory to the test? That might be fun."
Big @Twilight reveal: Stephenie Meyer's 'Life and Death' is a reimagining and reverses genders of Bella and Edward. pic.twitter.com/aMMlzqK4rJ— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 6, 2015
Meyer elaborated a bit on the new book during an appearance on Good Morning America Monday. “It really is the same story," she told GMA's Amy Robach. "It’s just a love story. It doesn’t matter who’s the boy and who’s the girl. It just works out.”
Just don't expect this to be the beginning of an entire gender-swapped Twilight franchise. When asked whether she plans to write more stories about Beau and Edythe and if she thinks Life and Death will be adapted into a movie, Meyer said she doesn't think so.
"I think this is just one version with Beau," she said.