Beyond the Dawn (Life and Death, Book II)

FOREWORD

Dear Wattpad readers,

No two writers ever do things in exactly the same way. As much as I'd like to have half the talent of Stephenie Meyer, I am not her. We can just throw that idea out the window here and now; my work will never come close to living up to anything that brilliant woman could write. To quote her words from Life and Death, my abilities "[aren't] even on the same plane of existence." The disclaimer here is that my writing isn't by any means a worthy sequel for what she created. I just needed more of these characters in my life.

With that out of the way, I'll give you some background on how this thing came about:

We writers each have different inspirations and intentions. And as readers, we all have our reasons certain characters really stay with us. Honestly, I've never truly figured out why the characters and retold story in Life and Death became my obsession. All I know is one day I was reading a re-imagined version of a book I loved and it somehow captivated me even more than the original. The characters were technically identical apart from their genders being reversed. But even so, there was something about Beau and Edythe that gave them this whole new edge. At least that's how I perceived them. I can never explain it exactly, but I definitely think both of them have an undefinable individuality I prefer over their Twilight counterparts.

And before I knew it, the 'new' book I was so enthralled in abruptly came to an end...

Believe me when I say how I was nothing short of devastated, unable to accept the fact there was no more. This story had to go on because Stephenie Meyer, as per usual, created a world I wanted to live in. I wanted to crawl inside this book and become a part of it. I wanted to be Beau Swan. And because he and Edythe Cullen would live happily together forever, I knew their story couldn't really be finished. There was so much left untold. This of course goes without mentioning how Bella and Edward got not one but FOUR books. I'd say it's reasonable to feel as though their new counterparts got flat out betrayed. (Seriously, how is that fair?)

So that, my friends, is why this miracle is before you now, despite my woeful lack of imagination. I never dreamed I'd actually finish something like this—a book. (It sounds so weird to apply that word to something I created.)

Luckily, I already had the backbone for this story because I knew the rest of Bella's tale beyond the first novel. That part was fairly easy. The real challenge was adapting Beau's story from Bella's to see how the it would play out in the alternate, gender-swapped world of Forks. There were a few obvious changes necessary with Beau being male but also plenty of domino effects to contend with following his differing fate at the end of Life and Death.

Here's how the process worked: I outlined a basic synopsis of everything that happens to Bella in main-series books two through four. Then I thought of the way unique way Beau understands his world and took into account the differences in his experiences. I started to entertain ideas of what might happen differently for Beau. I also thought about which side-stories and what parts of the mythology I could explore deeper.

I took the major events of the main series and pieced them together in a new way that felt surprisingly natural. I'm more than pleased with how it all fit together so well. The final step was for me to fill in the gaps and connect those pieces.

Okay, that might be a bit of an understatement. This 'adapting' project had me slaving over my computer for what you could say was an excessive amount of time. Microsoft Word and I got into many battles along the way. (She and I have a love-hate partnership.)

The end product you see today came after I wrote, then edited, wrote more, threw out half my work, then re-wrote extensively, revised... and revised some more... ran it through an editing program... decided I still wasn't satisfied... and revised again and again... (To this day, I'm constantly updating new corrections and revisions. It never ends!)

It's been over two years since this story's inception, and I'm 90% content with it as it stands, but there's no doubt I will continue making tiny changes for all eternity.

The forever unfinished result is mostly a conglomerate of events and plot lines from Breaking Dawn, but you will also recognize elements of New Moon and Eclipse. I wove these together to create my best shot at a sequel for Beau and Edythe. And that will hopefully feel as seamless as possible for you.

If you've read the main series, this will mostly be familiar. My hopes are you will find a refreshing take on the story we all know and love. If you've only read the gender bender version, I'm excited that my adaptation will be your first chance to experience the rest of the story originally told as Twilight.

Just as there were necessary changes in Stephenie's own gender-swap, there are some key differences in mine. And keeping in true Stephenie Meyer style, I also thought I would outline those for you:

        • Beau and Edythe can't conceive a child, as this scenario requires a human mother

        • Beau is believed to be dead by his family and friends

        • Beau and Julie Black are not nearly as close friends without the respective relationship development that occurs in New Moon and Eclipse

        • The werewolf pack is only somewhat developed, though it still exists in a similar dynamic

        • The point-of-view shift that occurs in the narrative is not told through Julie Black, but it is still a mirroring of events told from another character's perspective in the main series

        • Some of the Cullens' backstories are revisited because they are merely glossed over in chapter twenty-four of Life and Death, and with the story given this unintended sequel, I believed it was important to go into greater detail about their lives

        • Since Lauren is still alive and presumably visiting the clan in Alaska, no grievances exist between the Cullens' and any of their friends

        • Victor is still alive

        • One new character's special ability does not work in quite the same manner as his counterpart in Breaking Dawn for reasons I'm not able to explain here without giving away excessive details

        • Some minor characters introduced in Breaking Dawn are excluded for the sake of pacing and to accommodate space for additional events and details from the other books

        • Sulpicia and Athenodora have slightly different personalities than Aro and Caius, and the dynamic they bring as leaders of the Volturi is altered to some degree

        • As is true for Life and Death, this retelling also features an alternate ending that explores a different outcome

        • Because I have imposed my own creativity to an extent, unlike Life and Death this story isn't as much of a mirror-image retelling, so there are many miscellaneous changes that some readers will no doubt find gratuitous

I put a tremendous amount of time into this project that came from my crazy infatuation. This was a story I desperately wanted to see continue, and I took it upon myself to tell the rest. My purpose in writing was mainly to entertain myself, but I sincerely hope others might also enjoy revisiting Forks along with me.

P.S.  My apologies for this pretentious introduction...

Thank you for reading,

 - Robert