SARAH J MAAS is the internationally bestselling author of the ‘Throne of Glass’, ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’, and ‘Crescent City’ series. This year marks the 10-year anniversary since the publication of her first novel. Read on for a Q&A.

You began writing your first novel, Throne of Glass as a teenager and spent over 10 years working on it. When did your urge to write begin and what inspired your first book?
I first got the inspiration for Throne of Glass by listening to a piece of music from Disney’s Cinderella score. I thought the music that plays when she flees the ball (and the whole scene, to be honest) was really, really dark and intense – my imagination, not surprisingly, made the jump to ‘Well, what if she had done something really bad?’ And then I went one step further and asked: ‘What if she was an assassin who tried to kill the Prince?’ And so Throne of Glass was born. As I wrote over those ten years and explored more of that assassin’s world, it became its own story, not a straight-up retelling, though Cinderella was the original spark!

You have since completed the ‘Throne of Glass’ series and have two other ongoing series. How does it feel to let go of characters after so many years together?
I always feel close to my characters … even when I’m not writing about them! So I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily letting go. And there are definitely characters I miss writing about, and think about coming back to someday. Anything is possible!

How did the ideas for these series develop and how have their writing processes differed from one another?
Inspiration for my various series can strike at any time, any place. It’s never the same! For Crescent City, I was on a flight listening to some music and I randomly saw the whole climactic scene at the end of House of Earth and Blood play out in my head as if it were a movie. I was so moved by what I was seeing, even though I hadn’t yet met or learned about these characters, and I started crying in the middle of the plane. After that, I had to know who these characters were and what their world was like, and the story just opened up to me.

The other series were different – I worked on what became Throne of Glass for a long time before I ever sent it to a publisher, and A Court of Thorns and Roses really started as a passion project I was working on in my spare time. So they’ve all been quite different from each other!

How do you maintain the drive to keep writing multiple books in a series?
I love building a long arc over a series, and taking the time to get to know characters and worlds inside and out. I find it really satisfying to take bits and pieces of a larger story and figure out how it all fits together. So when it’s time to sit down to start drafting the next book in a series, I’m always psyched to get back to it and reveal more of the world to readers.

While romance plays a major role in all your novels – so do female friendships. You explore how these bonds are just as essential as romantic ones. In what ways have your own friendships informed your stories?
None of my stories are about me, but they all have little pieces of me in them. So many of my real-life friendships have played a part in my own personal journey that they always seem to find a way into my books.

Your latest ‘Crescent City’ series incorporates elements from both the modern and fantasy world. Where did the idea of Midgard come from? And were there any particular myths or folklores that you drew inspiration from?
All of them! I love all sorts of world mythologies, and I wove many threads of them into Midgard. There’s Norse mythology and Celtic mythology in there, along with dashes of Greek and Roman culture. And lots of things from our everyday lives which I reimagined for this world!

We see a variety of female characters (Celeana, Feyre, Bryce) with various personalities and characteristics throughout your novels, but notably they are all strong and resilient. What is it about women that draws you to write about them?
There are all kinds of women in the world, and I want everyone to be able to find pieces of themselves in my books. So a big part of it is making sure these women are multi-faceted enough to seem both real and sympathetic.

‘Through love, all is possible’ – what’s the significance of this phrase to you?
I truly believe love conquers all – love is an incredibly powerful force, both in this world and in fantasy ones.

What can readers expect to see in the next book in the ‘Crescent City’ series?
It’s hard to answer this without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn’t finished House of Sky and Breath. Let’s just say that I am having SO much fun writing about worlds colliding and leave it at that!

You announced last year that your ACOTAR series is in development for a TV series. What can you tell us about this?
We’re currently working on writing the series! It’s super different from writing a novel – I’m used to locking myself in my office and writing all alone, but the show has a team of writers. It’s really fun to have this new creative challenge and get this new perspective on the stories and characters I’ve been working on for so many years!

For more information on her books visit her website here.