Author Spotlight: Sarah J. Maas

Last year, I ended 2013 with Susan Dennard. This year, I'm ending 2014 with her BFF, Sarah J. Maas. Now, if you haven't heard of Sarah, you've clearly been living under a rock. Or you don't read, which is just weird. She is the author of The Assassin's Blade [2014], Throne of Glass [2012], Crown of Midnight [2013], Heir of Fire [2014] and her new, upcoming series, A Court of Thorns and Roses [2015] along with the next addition to the Throne of Glass series (currently untitled). As a huge fan of her Throne of Glass series, I must tell you to add ACOTAR to your TBR list. Actually, preorder it. You won't regret it - it's AMAZING.

Sarah is probably one of the coolest authors you'll meet. She's so funny, down-to-earth and chill. Just sitting down with her, you'll hear some of the funniest stories you've ever heard. She's incredibly kind and extremely loving and grateful to every single reader she has; whether it's your first time meeting her or like your fifth, she appreciates you each and every time.

I’m Sarah J. Maas, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Heir of Fire, Book 3, will be out in September 2014). The Assassin’s Blade, a bind-up of all five TOG novellas is out now! Starting in Spring 2015 – my New Adult Fantasy series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, will be published by Bloomsbury as well! Hooray! I was born/raised in Manhattan, but traded freezing winters and sweltering summers for No Winter Ever Weather when I followed my then-boyfriend (now husband!) out to California in 2008. After six years in SoCal, I’ve finally returned to the East Coast, and am currently residing in the Philadelphia area. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College with a degree in Creative Writing, and a minor in Religious Studies. I’m represented by Tamar Rydzinski of the Laura Dail Literary Agency.

Biography taken from Sarah's website.

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How difficult is it writing two different series at one time? Do you ever have the issue of having a deadline for one but really, really wanting to write for the other because there’s so much of the story already right there in your head, waiting to be put down on paper?

Oh, that totally happens to me all the time! Which is why I think I love working on two series at once: when I get sick of one world, I can just go play in the other. I think it helps keep my love for both series pretty healthy & fresh. I’ve never had trouble keeping the two worlds/characters separate, because both are so vivid to me—which is probably part of why my books are all so damn long.

You and Susan Dennard are writing a free New Adult story online (and I know you’re both taking a break from it because of deadlines) but have you two considered writing a book together for publishing? What do you think it would be about and what genre, if you did?

WELL! We’re actually releasing new Starkillers chapters this month, and all through January AND February! We’re so obsessed with this story that despite various deadlines, we picked up writing it again in November, and we’re so, so, so excited to be sharing more material!

Re: writing a book together for publication: We actually wrote a middle grade fantasy novel, Nautilus (a retelling of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with magic and mecha and mayhem), that got sent around to publishers and never sold. Honestly, I’m kinda glad it didn’t—if it had, we wouldn’t have had the chance to write Starkillers, which is my favorite thing ever, ever, ever (and I think I’m much more inclined to write books with lots of kissing/sexytimes, anyway). But Nautilus still holds a special place in my heart & always will.

Starkillers is a long way off from being finished, but in the future, I think Sooz and I would love to co-write any/all kinds of projects. We have some ideas already on the backburner that we talk about & plan from time to time, so it’d be awesome to one day share those projects, too.

After being a pretty darn successful writer midway through one series and your new series is highly anticipated by most, do you still get nervous and anxious over the fact that it’s a world no one’s been introduced to yet nor characters no one really knows? What kinds of things do you do to prepare yourself for a new book release?

Oh, absolutely. Now that ARCs of A Court of Thorns and Roses are out in the wild, I’m both super-excited and super-nervous to hear what people think! I wrote this book way back in 2009, so it’s absolutely insane to realize that it’s now a Real Book That People Are Reading, and that it’s no longer this fun side-project just for me to read/enjoy.

Though with every new book I publish, I’m always a combination of excitement and nerves. I honestly don’t have a tried-and-true method of coping right before/around release day, though this past year, I was on vacation in Scotland right before Heir of Fire released, and it actually helped me find some much-needed zen before getting on the road for my U.S. tour (having no internet access helped, too).

If you could go on a tour to five cities with four other authors, where would you go and who would you take with you?

Easy: Susan Dennard, Alex Bracken, Christina Lauren (aka Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) and Jennifer L. Armentrout, because I’m obsessed with them as human beings and as authors (seriously, READ THEIR BOOKS. THEY’RE AMAZING). I’d want to hit up some crazy-awesome & fun US cities, like New Orleans, Charleston, Vegas, New York, and Miami… THOUGH, if we’re talking European Dream Tour, we’d totally go to London, Paris, Prague, Rome, Amsterdam, Istanbul, and Barcelona.

…..Can someone please make this happen?

What’s the next book you want to read when you get some free time to do so?

Jennifer L. Armentrout’s White Hot Kiss. I’ve heard such amazing things about it, and it’s been sitting on my nightstand forever. Also, I still need to read the latest from J.R. Ward, Thea Harrison, and Nalini Singh.

And random question time: If you could eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A tie between sushi (I’m talking, like, Jiro-Dreams-of-Sushi quality), and dumplings from Din Tai Fung.

Cupcakes or cookies? Cupcakes! (Especially those made by Jen/Jenuine Cupcakes.)

Hardcover or paperback? Paperback (though I like owning first edition hardcovers of my favorite books, too.)

Series or Standalone? (to read) Series! (Big surprise.)

Writing in the morning or the evening? Afternoon!

Coffee or tea? Tea! (English Breakfast, to be exact.)

Werewolf or vampire? Oh God. Hardest question ever. I’ll say vampire, because I’m obsessed with J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Bad boy or boy next door? Bad boy. Totally. (Though I totally married a boy-next-door type.)

Summer or winter? Fall!

Ebook or physical book? Physical books, please! (Though I do love my e-reader.)

Group tour or individual tour? (for yourself) Group tour with my best friends (see above)!

One lucky winner will win a book of their choice. Not only will you win a book but you will have the option to get it personalized by Sarah, herself. I was going to offer the first three books of the series but then I realized their heavy and the shipping for overseas would've been insane so I decided with one book.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on December 25, 2014. The winner will have to wait until March since the next scheduled time I will be seeing Sarah is at ApollyCon in February 2015. I will send out a reminder email in 2015 so you know I didn't forget! Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!

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