Introduction to the Tale of Years Series

The Tale of Years Series is a collection of prequels to Stephenie Meyers' Twilight. Though since the main stories are all in Edward's POV, I guess you could call them Midnight Sun prequels.

One of the biggest questions I had after reading Twilight and Midnight Sun was why Edward might have left Carlisle and Esme back in 1927, and what might have made him return in 1931. I felt there needed to be some catalyst to make Edward become dissatisfied with his vegetarian lifestyle, after having followed it for several years—so I decided to go back a year to 1926 and invent a visit from the Volturi, who had heard of Edward's talent. This event causes Edward to begin questioning not only his diet, but also his identity as Carlisle's and Esme's son.

I enjoyed writing the prequels so much that I decided to keep going, focusing on the major events in Edward's life by the years already provided by SM: 1927, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1950, and 2003. The 2003 story will end with a 2005 epilogue, which takes place the same morning that Bella starts at Forks High School. After that, there will be a Tale of Years Epilogue, set post-Breaking Dawn. (This will probably just be a one-shot, though I'm not sure about that). I am considering someday writing stories for 1918 and 1921, though there are already several wonderful stories covering those years out there—I have a few on my favorites you can check out, as well as some equally wonderful stories covering the Saga events in Edward's POV (which I will not be doing; my focus is the prequel years).

Another question I'm trying to answer with this Series is how Edward might have grown through each of his experiences, and especially what he learned as each new person joined his family. While he doesn't "change" much in terms of maturity or personality, I do think that each family member brought something new into his life. Carlisle taught him how to live, Esme taught him how to love, Rosalie taught him how to love unconditionally, and Emmett taught him how to laugh. I just finished 1950, in which Alice teaches him how to trust, and Jasper teaches him how to forgive himself. When we get to the Epilogue, we will see how the events (and, of course, people) in the four books (2005-6) have affected Edward.

Some other themes I try to incorporate throughout the series are Edward's sweet, sentimental nature, his eternal adolescence, his battle with his "monster", his tragic overreaction/impulsiveness, his unique blend of arrogance and self-hatred, his love for his family, his increasing loneliness/longing for a mate, and his sense of duty. I also try to incorporate the historical setting of each story and to foreshadow Edward's relationship with Bella as well as the specific events of the Saga.

I hope you enjoy the Series. When the whole thing is done, it should be able to be read all at once as a prequel novel, leading right into Midnight Sun. Please note that I am not going to be writing the Saga itself; this is all about the prequel years.

Tale of Years: Prequel One-Shots and Outtakes: This collection began as a catch-all for outtakes to the Tale of Years Series—extra scenes or existing scenes in a different point of view. It is now expanding to include any and all one-shot scenes that take place before the Saga begins (so the timeline is pre-2500 B.C. (transformation of Amun) to the day Bella begins at Forks High School in 2005). The first "chapter" is actually a chronological index and brief summary of each one-shot or outtake, to help you decide what you would like to read and in what order. There are several two-shots as well as a three-part ministory about Jasper in Galveston and another about Renata's backstory. More details can be found over there. Requests are encouraged!

Reading Order: It's up to you whether you want to read all the Outtakes at the end or if you'd rather read them along with the series, at the appropriate years (in which case you could actually want to begin your reading with the one-shots set before the twentieth century). There are some outtakes that are more important to the Series than others- I have some Author's notes scattered throughout the Series with recommendations about when to read these.

Companion Stories: While all my prequel Edward stories begin with the phrase "Tale of Years" in the title, there are also some companion/future-take stories that link directly with something in the Series.

Eighty Years is an Edward/Bella fluffy one-shot set after Breaking Dawn. Links to a scene in Tale of Years: 1933.

Second Meeting is a short story: Demetri's account of the times he interacts with the Cullens in the Saga, which is in canon with his visit in Tale of Years: 1926.

Dancing Cheek to Cheek is a gapfiller which takes place during Edward and Bella's wedding reception and links back to two scenes where that song was mentioned in Tale of Years: 1935. It also links back to some smaller themes in 1950.

I'm on Tumblr asJessicaNJpa (all-Twilight blog). I'm pretty active on there now, and I sometimes post about whatever fic I'm working on at the moment as well as general headcanons. I love chatting with readers there and on here, so hit me up :) I also recently made an account called TwilightTaleOfYears(underscore)jessicanjpa on Twitter.

Art and Moodboards related to my stories

Edward returns home by drawnbythestream (1931 story, chapter 8)

Moodboard for Newborn Rosalie by midnightsvns (1933 story, "The Girl in the Mirror" outtake)

Thank you so much you guys! It means so much to see my headcanons in your art/moodboards etc. :)