The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Let’s head south of the border, and find out what The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide tells us about the Mexican covens. After the Volturi cleaned up the mess from the Southern Wars, there were just a few small fractions that still fought to hold onto their territories. The fighting was much more reserved and quiet so as not to alert the Volturi once again. It was during this time that Maria, Lucy, and Nettie formed their small army of strong, mostly male vampires. We learn a great deal about this time period from Eclipse when Jasper tells Bella the story of how he came to be a vampire. However, we really didn’t learn much about who the girls were before Jasper came into their lives.

Maria was the leader of her coven and utilized skills she had learned during the time of the Southern Wars to take newborn armies to a new level. She did this by choosing humans who were already trained in combat skills. She also spent a great deal of time honing them and training them to be her warriors. Jasper was her most prized possession, as she could sense that he had the special gift to facilitate cooperation among all the members of their group, which swelled to around twenty. Maria was always out for vengeance to get revenge on the vampires who had killed her mate, her parents, and the rest of her original coven. She was never in love with Jasper; she just used him for the benefit of creating and controlling her newborns. In this way, she was very much like Victoria, who used Riley for her puppet. Eventually Jasper figured this out and left before she had the chance to follow through with a failed plot to destroy him.

Nettie and Lucy joined Maria’s coven after their mates and former covens had been destroyed in the wars. They worked well together for many years until the two girls got jealous of Maria’s relationship with Jasper and made plans to destroy them. Jasper was able to sense the change in their moods, and he and Maria ended them before they could complete their plans. Although both Lucy and Nettie lost their mates, they were never out for revenge. They just wanted the safety of numbers and the expanded hunting grounds. Their main downfall was underestimating Jasper’s powers.

The next group of newborn vampires we’ll travel to visit will be in Seattle!

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Want to Be a Storm Chaser?

Have you ever wanted to get in the car and chase the storms? Well, this website gives you the chance to see live feed from real storm chasers! Check it out! What's your opinion? -Julie L. Spencer

http://chase.tornadovideos.net/pages/full_screen

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Pro-choice? Really?

Get ready to throw your daggers at me and send me hate mail. I heard today that the next thing the liberals are attacking is our right to have ice makers in our refrigerators, supposedly because they use too much electricity to run. The same liberals who want women to have the right to kill their children are now trying to tell us that we can’t have ice makers in our refrigerators! They also won’t let us use traditional showerheads, light bulbs, toilets, or thermostats. We aren’t allowed to choose what kind of food is served in our kids school lunches, how much fat we can eat, how much salt can be in our food, how large the portions can be at a restaurant, where we’re allowed to smoke, how many boxes of Sudafed we’re allowed to purchase, where we’re allowed to drill for oil, what kind of car we are allowed to drive, or the amount of corn we have to have in our…gasoline? Really?

That just got me thinking about the hypocrisy of the fact that these same people claim to be "pro-choice". Ice makers? Really? What right does anyone else have to tell me that I don't have the "choice" how I make the ice in my refrigerator? What’s your opinion? –Julie

Source data: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/23/global-warming-zealots-to-ban-ice-makers/

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James made a deal with a devil, so to speak. We all know he was a skilled tracker, but he was that way even before he was changed. He was always up for a bet or a dare, but he competed with the wrong Frenchman one night. The test was to release a deer into the woods, wait an hour, and then track it. The Frenchman brought back the deer in record time and James cried foul, claiming that the man must have some secret power. He claimed that if the playing field were even, he could beat the Frenchman at his own game. So, instead of killing James, the man bit him and said he’d take on a rematch in a decade or so. Let’s just say, the Frenchman never got his rematch, but James won the bet.

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide shares a great deal more information about how James met Victoria. He was a skilled tracker, but she was skilled at evasion. Because she had been abused as a child, she had learned the art of hiding and that carried over into her vampire life. He spent years trying to get close to her only to be frustrated over and over again when she would slip away. Victoria had learned not only the skill of evasion, but also to be suspicious of other vampires. Having watched her original coven of six female vampires decimated by the Volturi, Victoria had no desire to trust anyone. Once they finally met, she was attracted to James’ gift as a tracker because it was a mirror of her own gift of evasion. She enjoyed the security she felt in James’ presence.

As we know, James was destroyed at the end of Twilight and Victoria spent all of New Moon and most of Eclipse trying to avenge his death. When she first created Riley and a small army of newborns it was merely for protection, not as an offensive. She didn’t get the idea to use the newborns to go against the Cullens until she passed through Texas while Edward was tracking her. Jasper does a good job of telling Bella the concept of newborn armies in Eclipse, and The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide offers little additional information during this sectional reading about Victoria. For a better detail, check out the section about Jasper.

Laurent was the other member of James’ coven. We learn relatively little about Laurent during the Twilight books, so this was an interesting selection for me. Laurent was the third son in an aristocratic family in France. He loved being at court and was always seeking the next level of importance. He had a knack for figuring out the most important person in a room and attaching himself to that person. When he met an ambassador from Russia, he could tell the man was more powerful than anyone he had ever met and was thus drawn to him. When Laurent learned the truth about this Russian diplomat, he begged the man to change him to a vampire so that he could be just as powerful. Once he was a vampire, Laurent realized there were many who were even more powerful. He sought out the Romanians but found that they had little desire to expand their coven. He then sought out the Volturi, but because he had no unusual powers the Volturi didn’t want him either. When he met James and Victoria, he was drawn to them because of their abilities and stayed with them for a time. When they came across the Cullens, Laurent automatically knew he was on the wrong side of the fight and was happy to switch sides. We know very little about his time with the Denalis other than that he gathered as much information about the Cullens as he could and used it against them when he realigned with Victoria. The one powerful force he never anticipated was that of the wolf pack, and this is what ultimately led to his demise.

There is so much more information about James, Victoria, and Laurent that it would take a very long time to go into any more detail than this. This section alone would make the whole book of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide a good read!

Next we will travel to Mexico and then back to Europe for a closer look at the Romanians. From there we’ll study the vampire hybrids and then it’s on to explore the Quileute reservation! I’m really enjoying this book!

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Our trip around the vampire world in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide continues on to Ireland. Siobhan is the leader of the Irish coven and takes on a motherly role to both her mate Liam as well as Maggie, the young vampire she created out of sympathy when she and Liam found her nearly starving from lack of food. When Siobhan met Liam he was a newborn vampire and quite uneducated. She took him under her wing and they quickly became inseparable.

As we have found with many of the other vampires, Liam was changed to a vampire during a war. He was a fighter in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Because so many people die during war time battles, they are a favorite situation for traditional vampires who want to feed without restraint. Liam was created by accident when a vampire came across him and a group of other soldiers. Because he was bit but not killed, his transformation was purely by accident. He met Siobhan during his first six months of vampire life and was attracted to her because of her strength and beauty. He was less than thrilled when Siobhan decided to create Maggie.

Maggie was born in Ireland in the 1840’s and abandoned there when her family immigrated to America during the great famine in the 1840’s. Maggie had a strange way of knowing when someone was lying and always pointed it out to those around her. For this reason her family was embarrassed of her and wondered if her abilities were demonic. The situation reminds me of how Alice was treated. When Siobhan came across Maggie nearly dead from starvation, she could tell that she had a special gift and decided to end her hunger. Maggie agreed to join their coven and never looked back. With time, the three did quite well due to Maggie’s gift.

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Before we take a trip down to Egypt, I promised I’d tell you the name of Sasha’s immortal child! His name was Vasilii and he was three years old when Sasha created him.

Now, let’s head south, shall we? Our journey through The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide continues with a closer look at the Egyptian coven. Did you know that it is the oldest coven in existence? I would have thought that the Romanians had been around longer, but as it turns out the Egyptian coven has been around since prior to 2500 B.C and the Romanians have only been in existence since around 1000 B.C. Interesting little tidbit!

Of course, Amun is the oldest vampire that we know of, and we learned from earlier in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide that he created Demitri, but his story didn’t start there. His coven was actually quite large at one point and they lived amongst humans, who treated the vampires like they were gods. Unlike the Romanians and Volturi, the Egyptians did not keep subordinate vampires as protectors. For this reason it was easy for the Volturi to decimate their coven. Amun saw it coming and surrendered to the Volturi before the rest of his coven was destroyed. He had no desire to stay with them however, but he learned from the Volturi methods and planned to eventually create his own protectors. After he created Demitri, Aro found out right away and came right down to steal him away. Amun knew that if he were ever to be able to create vampires who would be able to stand against the Volturi, he would have to keep them hidden.

That’s where Benjamin came into play. Benjamin was just a boy performing street magic in Cairo when Amun first saw him. Amun saw something special in him and hid him away after transforming him. Right away Benjamin proved his worth when it was discovered that he could manipulate the elements around him. Within a few years he had mastered the skill to move earth and rocks, cause the wind to blow, control fire and move water. As we saw in Breaking Dawn, his talents ended up having little effect against the Voluturi.

Next stop: Ireland!

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)
Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)
From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga
Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction


If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

A Closer Look at Atlas Shrugged

The novel Atlas Shrugged has been made into a motion picture. Has anyone seen it yet? Has anyone read the book?

Here's the trailer:
http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/

I'm very interesed in this. What's your opinion? -Julie

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Let’s travel together to Alaska! The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide shows a cute little map showing the town of Denali in the middle of the state, just north of Anchorage. This is where the Denali sisters reside. Tanya is the current leader of the Denali coven, but it wasn’t always that way. Tanya, Kate, and Irina were created by Sasha, who they considered their mother. Did you know that the three girls didn’t live the vegetarian lifestyle until after Sasha was executed by the Volturi? They only started living this way after they got frustrated because they kept losing the men they fell in love with! The girls had a thing for human men, but the temptation was too strong to endure. After switching to an all animal diet, they found that it was easier to tolerate being in close proximity to humans.

Do you remember Carmen and Eleazar? They were the couple that came to live with the Denali sisters shortly after the sisters switched to the vegetarian lifestyle. Did you know that Eleazar used to be a member of the Volturi guard? After he fell in love with Carmen, he asked permission to leave the guard because the Volturi didn’t really want Carmen. Can you imagine having to ask permission to leave your current job and living arrangement? The Volturi were not thrilled to lose Eleazar because of his ability to sense the type and strength of the talents that a vampire has. But, they let him walk away for a similar reason as to why they let Edward walk away. They didn’t want to waste Eleazar’s talent by silencing him completely. Aro was hoping that Eleazar would come back someday if the guard needed him.

Garrett joined the Denali sisters late in the game. Remember he fell in love with Kate while they were both at the Cullen’s home near the end of Breaking Dawn. He was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War before he was changed into a vampire. At that time the vampires took advantage of the fact that so many people were dying in the war and feasted at their leisure. They never intended to change Garrett; they thought he was dead. Because he didn’t completely understand what had happened to him, his life turned into a quest to understand and the curiosity to investigate mysteries. This quest and curiosity was what led him to “try” the vegetarian lifestyle alongside Kate. It is unknown if he was able to stick with it.

Did you know that Kate used to be a body guard to a ruling family in Slovakia and was well trained in martial arts? It was her courage to try to protect her mistress that made Sasha decide to keep her and turn her into a vampire rather than kill her with the rest of the caravan she was protecting. Remember, this was back before the vegetarian thing. Her resolve to defend her family was probably what led to her unique gift of being able to create an electric shock that transfers from her skin to someone who is trying to attack.

I learned in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide that Tonya was Sasha’s biological great-niece before she was changed. She was also the first of Sasha’s “daughters” and the one to whom she was closest. Do you remember why the Volturi killed Sasha? We learned in Breaking Dawn that Sasha had illegally created an immortal child. Do you know his name? I’ll tell you in my next post! Mean, aren’t I?

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in The Twilight Saga

While doing research for my Blog review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, I came across this book written by author Sandra Gravett called From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in The Twilight Saga. Has anyone ever heard of it? Has anyone ever read it? I’m interested, and may choose to purchase it. What is your opinion? –Julie

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

My reading of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide continues.

Let’s finish up the section on the Volturi by entering the Volturi lair! I learned that the most commonly-used entrance to the Volturi castle is through a small church a little ways outside of town. A small entrance in the cellar leads underground to the castle. Heidi’s ability to lure their prey makes it simple for her to entice her humans through the tunnel, promising to take them to an ancient castle. She takes them there, alright; unfortunately they never return!

As you may remember, there is an entrance at street level but it basically leads nowhere. The only way to get further into the interior is through a heavily-guarded elevator. You may remember from New Moon, that Edward, Alice, and Bella leave the castle by this exit. Most of the Volturi guard use the entrances through the extensive network of sewer drainage holes.

Ever wonder whatever happened to Gianna, the Volturi’s human receptionist? Sadly, she eventually became dessert as Jane predicted in the movie New Moon.

Now on to the Amazon coven. Although Kachiri, Senna, and Zafrina are traditional vampires, they are completely under the radar when in comes to most other vampires including the Volturi. The only reason the Cullens know of them at all is from a time in the 1940’s when the Cullens traveled to South America to do some large-game hunting. The unpopulated wetlands in the Amazon rainforest is not a location most vampires would ever travel due to the lack of human prey. They never interact with humans except to feed.

The girls look alike, with unnaturally long limbs, thick dark hair with long braids, and clothing made from animal hides. Stephanie Meyer describes them as “feral” and I didn’t completely know what that meant so I looked it up. Feral is an adjective that describes a person as wild; untamed; uncultivated; savage; brutal; animal-like. The only one of the girls who has a special ability is Zafrina, who can make people see anything she wants or nothing at all. In Breaking Dawn, she used this unique talent while testing Bella’s ability to project her shield away from her own self in order to protect others. It became an effective, and yet harmless, way to practice Bella’s skills.

Well, I’m back out of the rainforest. Next stop…Denali, Alaska!

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Ask Your Children: What Is Good Friday?

You may be shocked at the answer. You take your kids to Church; you teach them about Jesus, you tell them the stories from the Bible – including the story of Easter. And yet, most kids don’t know what Good Friday is!

I talked casually with a group of ten year old girls yesterday at church, and I asked them: What is Good Friday? The first thing I heard was “Earth Day!” Seriously, whose idea was it to set Earth Day this year on the same day as Good Friday!?!

It took a few prodding questions to finally get one of the girls to say “Oh, I know! It’s the day Jesus died!” Well, yeah, but it’s so much more than that. I asked her “Did He die? Or was He killed?” At that point, it became blatantly obvious to them that it was the day that Jesus was crucified. Once they realized that, they knew the rest of the story.

But, this was at church. What about kids who don’t go to church? I’m not judging you for whether you do or do not go to church. We are each free to worship how, where, and what we want. But, do our kids know why we have Good Friday off school? Do they know what happened that day, and why it’s significant?

Do me a favor; ask them? And tell me what they say! What’s your opinion? -Julie L. Spencer

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

I’m learning a lot about the Volturi vampires. Most of the details in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide are available in the Twilight Saga, yet even having read the book series well over ten times (I lost count a long time ago) I’m learning so much. There are some more minor characters like Charmion, who goes by the name Chelsea, who I vaguely remember from the books and now I feel as if I really understand who she is and why she’s important to the Volturi.

Breaking Dawn in particular throws so much information at the reader in such quick succession that it’s difficult to keep up! It’s hard to remember who the bad vampires are, who the good vampires are, who would be a bad vampire if they weren’t friends to the Cullen’s, etc.

One tidbit I just found interesting while reading about the Volturi guard. Did you know that Demetri was actually created by Amun, from the Egyptian coven? Weird. When Aro found out about Demetri’s tracking capabilities, he raced right down and recruited him. It wasn’t easy but he had Chelsea to help him! If you remember, she has the ability to dissolve bonds between members of a coven and bind them to the Volturi. Poor Amun.

Okay, Heidi. Remember Heidi? She’s the tall, beautiful member of the Volturi guard who goes out “fishing” for humans to bring back to Volterra? Well, she was created by a vampire named Hilda who drew attention from the Volturi because she had such a large coven. Well, the Volturi decided they needed to be eliminated so they destroyed all but two of Hilda’s coven. The one they kept was Heidi. The one that got away was…wait for it…Victoria!

Have you started reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion? -Julie

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer