Interview: Sarah J. Maas, author of 'Heir of Fire' (and 2015 cover reveal!)
HEA's Serena Chase chats with Sarah J. Maas about her latest release (see Serena's rec of Heir of Fire) and reveals the cover for the 2015 release, A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in a new series from this talented author of epically romantic YA fantasy. (Stay tuned to the end of the interview for a link to a Sugarscape giveaway of a Kindle Fire in conjunction with Sarah's recent release.) (To see a larger version of the A Court of Thorns and Roses cover, click on the blue arrow in the lower right corner of the image.)
Serena: Throne of Glass was about 430 pages, and Crown of Midnight came in at about 420 pages, so I have to ask: How did your editors and beta readers respond when you presented them with Heir of Fire's 560-plus pages? (Not that I'm complaining! I loved every one of them!)
Sarah: Ha! My editor and critique partners have always known that I had plans to expand upon the world and cast of characters, so the jump in length wasn't that surprising for any of us. But in all honesty, the book was even longer when I first handed it to my critique partners (who read my work before my editor ever sees it). I think the first draft of Heir of Fire clocked in at around 210k words (the published version is around 165k-170k), and because I was on such a crazy-tight schedule, it meant my CPs had a lot of reading to do in a pretty short timeframe. (This is also why I adore my CPs and can't live without them.) They helped me pare down the book to a more manageable length and made it a much stronger, tighter book in the process. (Though, let's be honest: Heir of Fire is still a beast. You could use it as a bludgeoning weapon. Or a really beautiful doorstop.) And then, of course, my editor worked her magic, and I now have a book that I am really, truly proud of (and is my favorite of the series so far).
Serena: If you could describe the core audience of the Throne of Glass series in a few words, what would they be?
Sarah: Well, even though these books are shelved in YA, and I certainly have a good number of really wonderful, cool teen readers, I've been surprised and thrilled at how many adult readers I have, too. But regardless of their age demographic, in meeting with them in person and interacting with them online, I'd say that in general, Throne of Glass readers tend to be passionate, talented, clever, and welcoming — in fact, I'm consistently moved by just how welcoming TOG readers are to new fans. It's a really positive, friendly, and kickass fandom, and I'm honored to have gotten to know some of these remarkable people.
Serena: Celaena has matured over the course of this series through loss, love and more loss — as have her counterparts Chaol and Dorian. (OK, admittedly, Dorian had a bit more room for growth from the start. Chaol has always been a fairly mature guy. But I love them both!) How do you see the aging and maturation of these characters shaping the classification of this series? In other words, do you think the Throne of Glass series will continue to be marketed as YA, or will the NA label, which is growing in popularity, be more appropriate in the second half of the series?
Sarah: That's such an interesting question! Yes, Celaena has definitely grown up and will be dealing with more mature situations and relationships as the series goes on, but at its heart, I think the conflicts she faces and her narrative will continue to appeal to readers of all ages — teens and adults alike.
Serena: Do your characters ever surprise you while you're writing, or do they usually do as they're told?
Sarah: Oh my goodness, they surprise me every day. Celaena most of all (and perhaps that's why she's the most fun to write). She's altered the course of this series more than a few times now, despite my best efforts to extensively plot things out. Heir of Fire was a prime example: I had the story in mind, wrote 60k words of it, and felt that it wasn't working at all. So I dumped that 60k and gave Celaena free rein to guide the story where she wanted to go and wound up with a book that felt true to her character, the world and fit even better into my overarching plans for the series. I'm not a big fan of outlining, and I've found that (for me, at least) clinging to an outline even when the characters want to do something else, even when they've outgrown those plans, can be detrimental to the story. So I try to listen to my characters and my gut, even if that means changing the ending of the series, even if it means rewriting and re-envisioning big chunks of the story. But every time I've done it, the series has been better for it. So, long story short, I like my characters to surprise me.
Serena: Indulge me, if you will, with a little more information about Rowan, the silver-haired Fae warrior who spends a good part of this book making Celaena's life miserable. (Honestly, I adore him so much I'm not even sure what I want to ask, other than the obvious and possibly spoiler-leading questions about his future in the series!) I know it's early, but from reader feedback so far, do you see any allegiances forming — or shifting — concerning the other male characters in the book since Rowan's introduction?
Sarah: Oh, Rowan. My silver-haired warrior-prince. You are definitely not alone in adoring him — and I've been pleasantly surprised by how many people have, erm, jumped ship and embraced Team Rowan. Though I've also been surprised by the people who are now Team Aedion, and the people who ship Manon Blackbeak (a new character in Heir of Fire) with other characters in the series. As a massive fangirl myself, having people ship any of my characters is just beyond cool. But, yes: Rowan seems to be a very popular character these days, and it's so, so wonderful that readers love him as much as I do.
Serena: Even though we're just at the midpoint of the Throne of Glass series, you have a new series coming out next spring, entitled A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you give us some hints about what we can expect from that series?
Sarah: Absolutely! It's another fantasy series, for a slightly older YA crowd (aka steamy times ahead!), and started off as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun and West of the Moon and Tam Lin. These days, it's more of an original fantasy novel, but there are still plenty of nods to my initial source of inspiration.
I wrote the first book (it's a trilogy) in 2009, while working with my agent on the then-unsold Throne of Glass. I wrote it for fun, to pass the time, to indulge my lifelong love of fairy tales, and over the years, I wound up coming back to the story again and again, just because I missed the characters and wanted to spend some more time in their world. So it's actually super-surreal and overwhelming to finally reveal the cover for the book — to even see the cover for this book, when it spent so many years sitting on my desktop. The cover is everything I hoped for and then some: gorgeous, dark, deadly, sensuous ... Without being spoiler-y, it embodies so much of the book and Feyre's journey. I can't wait to finally, finally share this story with my readers — and hope they love it as much as I do!
Serena: Is there anything else you would like to share with readers or prospective readers?
Sarah: I'm working on the fourth Throne of Glass book right now, and I'm so, so excited to share more of Celaena's adventures with you all next year! And in the meantime, thank you all so, so much for being the best readers an author could ever hope for.
—
Here's the blurb about A Court of Thorns and Roses (from publisher Bloomsbury):
When 19-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it ... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R.R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
—
A writer, performer and accomplished partaker of dark chocolate, Serena Chase lives in Iowa with her husband and two daughters. Her Eyes of E'veria series — The Ryn, The Remedy and The Seahorse Legacy — is out now. You can find out more about her at serenachase.com.