Sarah J Maas’s debut, Throne of Glass, is one of my favourite
books read this year so I’m delighted to be hosting a Q&A with Sarah and an
extract from the novel as part of her blog tour.
1. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Read a lot, write a lot, and don’t
give up. Also, live your life. Be curious, and be open to anything—good living
translates into good writing.
2. Which of your characters did you most enjoy
writing?
Celaena, definitely. Always Celaena.
She’s the reason why I stuck with this story for so many years.
3. Which character from a book would you like to
be for a day?
Oooh, tough question. I think I’d want
to be Harry Potter (is that weird?), so I could go see all of the marvellous
things in his world (Hogwarts! Diagon Alley!), and meet all of the characters
that I came to love so dearly (Ron! Hermione!).
4. If you hadn't been an author, what would you
have been?
Well, I really wanted to be a marine
biologist so I could study great white sharks, but I nearly flunked out of high
school biology, so THAT dream quickly ended. But I like to think that if I
hadn’t been too busy daydreaming about the stories in my head during class, I
might have paid better attention, and would now be in a shark cage off the
coast of South Africa. (Still a dream of mine to swim with sharks.)
5. When you’re not writing, what do you like to
do?
Watch TV (I watch so much it’s
disgusting, actually), see new places (love to travel), go to the ballet, watch
movies, listen to music (I’m a big fan of movie scores). And read. I read
whenever and wherever I can.
6. What book, film and album would you take to a
desert island?
Book: Oh, dear. Such a hard choice. Maybe The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle,
because it’s beautiful and heart-breaking and perfect. Or maybe Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy (I’m cheating
because there’s an omnibus edition of all three books!), because it’s got such
amazing characters that have owned a place in my heart since I was thirteen. Or
maybe Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of
Prydain series, because those books changed my life.
Film: Ack! Even harder. The original three Star Wars
films (if I had to pick one, it’d be The
Empire Strikes Back). Or perhaps The
Lord of the Rings. Or Howl’s Moving
Castle. Too many choices!
Album: Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas). I could listen to
that ballet over and over and over again.
7. What television programmes do you never miss?
Too many. If I told you how many,
you’d be embarrassed on my behalf. But off the top of my head: Psych, The Vampire Diaries, Doctor
Who, America’s Next Top Model (I
know, I know), Fringe, Grimm, Workaholics, Game of Thrones,
Ancient Aliens (…it’s my secret shame), The Legend of Korra, The Big Bang Theory,
How I Met Your Mother, and The Inbetweeners. I also adore Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, have a
weakness for Korean dramas (they are the most addictive and charming thing in
the world), and wish that Veronica Mars,
Firefly, and Friday Night Lights had never been cancelled. (See? I told you I
watch far too much television.)
8. Tell us something about your next project
Well, right now I’m working on Book 2
of the Throne of Glass series. We’re
still in the revising stage, so I don’t want to say too much about it until
it’s in a more solid/final form! (I also don’t want my editor killing me for
giving away any spoilers. Eek.)
If that didn’t make
you want to buy yourself a copy of Throne
of Glass, maybe this will: the stunning trailer.
I’d like to say a big thank you
to Emma at Bloomsbury for asking me to be on the tour and conducting the
interview with Sarah for me.
Sophie
Wow, that really is a lot of television!
ReplyDeleteI'm very much looking forward to second Throne of Glass book! and I adore Howl's Moving Castle (totally have a crush on Howl)
Love this Q&A sesh, Soph! Swan Lake - definitely good choice! Sarah sounds lovely! (Also YES to LOTR - best trilogy ever made!)
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