Back on Wednesday I teased I had an awesome interview. Well I have it for you today! I got the chance to chat with Sarah J. Maas, author of the THRONE OF GLASS series and upcoming book, A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES.Miranda Reads: What inspired you to write A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES?
Sarah J. Maas: A piece of music from the Princess Mononoke soundtrack, actually. I was randomly listening to it one day back in 2009, and I instantly just saw this scene: a huntress in a snowy wood, taking down a wolf twice her size. And as she fought the wolf, I heard her voice in my head, as clear as the music I was listening to. From there, I wanted to know who she was, what her world was like, why she’d risk taking on a wolf that big. I’ve been a lifelong fan of fairytales and folklore, and somehow this huntress’s story fed perfectly into a retelling/blending of “Beauty and the Beast,” “Tam Lin,” and “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I could go on and on about my inspiration for the project, but at its core, it was just a few minutes of music that launched this sprawling, dark, and sensual Faerie realm.
MR: What was the biggest challenge when you wrote A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES?
SJM: ACOTAR was actually a Magic Book for me. What I mean by that is that I wrote the first draft in 5 weeks, and the story poured out of me—almost faster than I could type. I couldn’t stop writing it, actually. But when I finished, I put it away for several years. That, if anything, was the biggest challenge: the waiting. I knew that I wanted to one day publish it, but it might have to wait for a bit before it was the right time to do so. So during those years, I sold Throne of Glass, wrote the next few books in that series—and when it came time to consider what other projects I wanted to work on, I realized it was finally, finally time for ACOTAR to come into the world. So it’s really surreal and wonderful to see it as a finished book in readers’ hands!
MR: What advice would you give an inspired writer who wants to write high fantasy novels?
SJM: Read as much as you can. Seriously. And not just high fantasy—read widely. Those books will often give you ideas that you can then bring to your high fantasy world and characters. Also: live your life to the fullest: travel, meet new people, try new things. All of that feeds into adding richness and depth to your high fantasy books.
MR: Let's pretend you're performing in your high school talent show. What's your talent?
SJM: Um, probably Lord of the Rings trivia. I was the founder and president of my high school’s Lord of the Rings club.
MR: Which author are you most looking forward to meeting at the 10th Annual Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival?
SJM: Honestly? ALL OF THEM!
Thank you so much Sarah! We're so excited to meet you in May!
That's it for today! Be sure to check out the blog for another interview with a TBF author next Friday! Can you guess who it is? Submit your predictions below at the comments!
Miranda
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