Chapter 163

Three days later, Martin received word from Yuan Heping. He agreed to take on the action direction for The Matrix.

By February, Martin's new books Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Twilight Saga were published.

The release of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets caused a buying frenzy in North America. The book sold over 200,000 copies in its first week alone.

At the same time, the sales of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had surpassed 4 million copies, solidifying Martin's status as a literary phenomenon.

However, The Twilight Saga had a strange sales pattern.

At first, it benefited from the popularity of Harry Potter, with strong early sales. But within two weeks, the sales began to plummet, and the reviews were lukewarm.

"The Twilight Saga" is just a teen romance masquerading as fantasy. The plot is silly, the love triangle ridiculous. It's hard to believe this came from Martin."*

"Martin messed up with The Twilight Saga. It was supposed to be his big genre shift, but it lacks the magic of his previous works. It's more like something a bored housewife would write."

"Childish dialogue and a cheesy plot — this isn't fantasy. This is a Mary Sue novel, with Martin trying to cater to a female audience!"

The book's sales continued to dive, and even Random House began preparing for it to become a commercial failure.

But then… a surprising twist.

One month after its release, The Twilight Saga's sales suddenly skyrocketed. The downward trend was reversed with a sharp upward curve.

A surge of positive reviews poured in.

"Half a month ago, I was reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that my brother bought, and I found The Twilight Saga among his books. I loved it so much I had to buy my own copy!"

"Martin really gets us. Twilight is everything a girl dreams of. I've read it twice and am about to read it a third time!"

"I love Martin, I love Twilight. My boyfriend thought it was garbage, so I made him read it to me three times. Now he can almost quote it!"

"My boyfriend isn't a fan of Twilight, but I love it so much I dream about Edward every night!"

"What's strange is, my husband doesn't like it either, but I can't get enough of Twilight!"

The elements that men found childish and silly were exactly what touched the hearts of countless women. The novel offered a dream, one that many could only wish for in real life.

Women began flocking to bookstores, snapping up copies of The Twilight Saga, which was now selling just as well as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

"This is a miracle!" the sales director at Random House exclaimed.

Benjamin Georgia, Martin's publishing editor, couldn't stop laughing. "I told you we should trust Martin."

"You were right," said the sales director.

In early March, after wrapping up The Lord of the Rings filming, Martin sat down for an exclusive interview with the Face to Face program.

Host: "Martin, what do you make of the polarizing reviews of The Twilight Saga?"

Martin: "I expected it. When I was writing the book, I hesitated. I knew it might not appeal to male readers, but I decided to write it because half the world's population is still women!"

(Note: In 2003, gender discussions were less contentious than today, so it was still okay to speak candidly.)

Host: "So, you wrote this novel for women?"

Martin: "Exactly. I have many female friends, and they often complain that bestsellers are either sci-fi or thrillers with little for girls. So, I wrote Twilight for them."

Host: "Is Twilight part of a series?"

Martin chuckled. "Looks like you haven't read it!"

The host nodded sheepishly. "I have, but I haven't finished it."

Martin: "Well, that's alright. It's not written for men."

Then he added, "Yes, it's not over yet. I plan to write four books, but of course, that depends on the sales. If it doesn't sell well, no publisher will keep publishing it."

The interview aired, and immediately, women everywhere showered Martin with praise.

No, it wasn't just women — everyone loved Martin now. From teenagers to middle-aged women, they all cheered for him. He had written Twilight just for them!

In a short time, Twilight's sales surged again.

A campaign popped up on the internet: "In order to keep Twilight going, we all need to support Martin!"

Under the post, people posted pictures of themselves buying copies of the book.

In the first full week of March, The Twilight Saga outsold Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Many fans who had bought Harry Potter complained online, explaining how their mothers, aunts, or sisters had forced them to buy Twilight along with it.

Some humorous threats followed.

Netizen A: "My mom threatened to spit in my breakfast if I didn't buy her a copy of Twilight. I'll never forget my childhood memories!"

Netizen B: "My sister keeps accusing me of bullying her, so I've been grounded for three days. Today, I caved in and bought her Twilight."

Netizen C: "What are you talking about? My sister has been beating me up all week over Twilight. She's already bought three copies, and now she wants me to buy one too!"

Netizen D: "I complained about how childish Twilight is, and my aunt twisted my ears for three days. I finally bought a copy to make it stop!"

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