So, let me start off by saying that I am a (movie) trailer junkie. A lot of the time, I’ll wind up liking a movie trailer way more than the actual movie (hello 300…and Clash of the Titans). I routinely hunt down the epic music used in trailers, and download trailers onto my iPod (to listen to, not watch), and have a giant playlist that’s just called “Trailer Music.”

And then I’ve got this playlist called “Book Trailer Music,” which is chock full of all the music that I liked to listen to while daydreaming about the THRONE OF GLASS book trailer.

So, it’s probably no surprise that when I saw the rough cut of the THRONE OF GLASS book trailer the other week, I hit the ceiling (in a good way). Awesome animation and graphics aside, the music just…knocked me out. It captures the feeling of the novel/series so, so wonderfully—and I’ve been playing the trailer again and again with my speakers cranked up, JUST listening to the music.

SO, long story short, I am beyondddd thrilled to finally share the THRONE OF GLASS trailer with you guys! Today, it’s debuting exclusively with MTV.com’s Hollywood Crush blog (!!!!!), and you can see the trailer here:

http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2012/05/14/throne-of-glass-sarah-j-maas-book-trailer/

So…what do you guys think? I hope you love it as much as I do! :)

ANNNND in honor of the TOG trailer going live today, I thought it was high time that I give away one of my gorgeous, gorgeous ARCs of THRONE OF GLASS! I know a lot of you don't live in the US, so the giveaway is open internationally, and is free to enter!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment, letting me know what you think of the trailer (and be sure to leave your name, too)! The contest ends THIS FRIDAY (May 18th)!

HOORAY!!!!





5/16/12: EDIT: In case the trailer wasn't available in your country, I'm posting the trailer below!! 

Well, May 1st has arrived! And that means Novella 3—THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD—is now on sale wherever e-books are sold!

In case you haven’t seen, here’s a bit about the novella (and an updated cover that now matches with the official cover for THRONE OF GLASS):


If THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT was a letter to my seventeen year-old self, then THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD is my homage to being a city girl—my tribute to what it was like to grow up in the greatest city in the world. I was raised in Manhattan and lived there until I graduated from college in 2008. And even though I now live in Los Angeles, I think New York will always be in my blood, no matter how far away I move, or however many years pass.

When I set about writing UNDERWORLD, it was originally titled THE ASSASSIN AND THE CAPITAL—because I wanted the novella to be as much about the city Celaena inhabits as it is about her. And while most of Celaena’s adventures in UNDERWORLD are obviously NOT my own, I certainly drew upon my memories of what it was like to be a teenager with all of Manhattan at my disposal.

There is no better place to be a teenager—the sheer freedom, the endless opportunities for trouble, the wealth of culture and experience. I could spend hours and hours telling you stories about what it was like, but hopefully this novella will give you a good sense of it, too. Growing up there is an immense privilege in itself, but it’s also a bit of a curse for those of us who wind up elsewhere—because, in all honesty, no other city can ever quite compare. It really is the most magical place on earth (and who needs a backyard when you have Central Park?).

There’s a scene in UNDERWORLD where Celaena (after staying out all night) sits on a rooftop and watches the sunrise over Rifthold, and even though there are other moments in the novella that I adore (the scene in the theater, the sewer scenes, the Harvest Moon party), when I think about this novella, I always, always come back to that one scene. Perhaps it’s because I’ve lived that scene myself—I’ve been awed and humbled by the sight of sunrise over Manhattan; I’ve felt a bone-deep sort of love for the city that I can’t ever begin to explain. I’ve seen the sunrise paint the city with hues of pink and gold and orange, and make the whole world seem rife with possibility.

Because, to me, that’s what New York—and any city, whether in this world or in an imagined one—truly represents: infinite possibilities. For adventure, for change, for making your life into whatever you want it to be. And ultimately (even though I’m probably not supposed to say this), I think that’s what THE ASSASSIN IN THE UNDERWORLD is about—the realization of possibility, and the power that comes from understanding that you can seize control of your destiny.

But, no matter where you grew up, big city or small town, I hope you enjoy reading this novella as much as I enjoyed writing it. I feel so, so lucky to be able to share this story with you all, and I CAN’T WAIT to hear what you think!!! (No word yet on when Novella #4—THE ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE—will release!)

And...because I feel like I should have SOME photo evidence of my love for NYC, here's the only recent picture I could find. Seems fitting that I took this at Lincoln Center, which is 1) my favorite place in NYC/the entire world and 2) the inspiration behind the Royal Theater in UNDERWORLD. It's just too bad I'm not facing the OPPOSITE direction/the actual Metropolitan Opera House (instead of just the fountain).



P.S. For the FictionPress crowd…there’s an Easter Egg for you guys in the Harvest Moon party scene. I don’t want to spoil it, but…I hope you get a kick out of the masked strangers that crash the party. ;)

And P.P.S. Thank you SO much for all of the cover love yesterday! You guys made the day SO SPECIAL. You rock.

Okay, I’m going to keep this post short and sweet, so…

Head on over to the THRONE OF GLASS Facebook page RIGHT NOW, because Bloomsbury just revealed the TOG cover! EEEE!

Seriously, today is one of the days I’ve been looking forward to for SO LONG that it’s beyond surreal to realize it’s finally arrived! I have a cover! And it’s now out in the world! Ackkk!

The Bloomsbury team has been such a delight to work with, and it is so, so cool to see their interpretation of Celaena and her world! And to see MY NAME! On a cover!!! (Seriously, I still can’t get over that, even months and months later). I absolutely adore the blue tones and the darkness of it, and…okay, I said I’d keep this short and sweet, right? So, I’ll just spare you my spazzing and flailing.

I hope you guys like the cover!!! And, as always, thank you so, so much for being so supportive and unfailingly enthusiastic throughout this entire journey. I feel beyond blessed to be able to share this moment with you all. <3

HOORAY!!!!


(….Also, Novella #3—THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD releases TOMORROW (May 1st)! But, um, I’ll save my EXCITEMENT EXPLOSION post for then.)

And, just because...

Hi, everyone!

So, I’m actually away on a mini-vacation right now, BUT I just wanted to drop by to say two quick things….

The first is that rights to THRONE OF GLASS just sold in Russia (to Azbooka Atticus)!!! YAY!

And the second….

Be sure to check the THRONE OF GLASS Facebook page on MONDAY (April 30th) at 12 PM (noon) EST, because….at long last, Bloomsbury will be revealing the THRONE OF GLASS cover!!!!

I really can’t wait for you guys to see it (and hear what you think)!!! :) :)

In the meantime, definitely check out the revamped TOG Facebook page, where you can access exclusive content and enter to win lots of awesome stuff!! (Also, a huge, huge thank you to the amazing Bloomsbury team for making the FB page so incredible!)

YAY!!!!

So, this is just a quick update, because I got the go-ahead to announce some super-cool news…(And I’m going to do it in list form because…I’m a dork and enjoy writing lists.)

1) I’m going to be signing galleys of THRONE OF GLASS at BookExpo America on Wednesday, June 6th, from 10:00-11:00 AM!! I am SO unbelievably excited that every time I think about it, I wind up doing something that looks eerily like this: 


2) This is semi-old news, because I meant to make a big hullabaloo about it, but, as we all know by this point, my write-eat-read cycle these days has made me the World’s Crappiest Blogger. BUT I found out early in March that rights to THRONE OF GLASS sold in Turkey (to Dogan Kitap) and in Spain (to Santillana), both at auction! And (And! Andddd!) THRONE OF GLASS will be published by Bloomsbury Australia!


3) A week after that was the Bologna Book Fair, where this happened (this was in The Bologna Bookseller Daily. And, um, just ignore the two minor errors):

So, I was totally like this when I read the copy that my agent sent me (can you tell I’m watching LOTS of Psych these days?): 



4) And then on Monday, my galleys for THRONE OF GLASS arrived! I wish I could share pictures with you guys, but since the cover isn’t yet final, I have to wait. BUT they are glorious and beautiful and everything I dreamed they'd be. And....what the hell. Here's the back cover of the galleys (the final back cover of the book will be different, obviously):

Once I stopped shaking long enough to drive my car, I went right to the post office to mail one off to Sooz (because she is my Soul Twin, and the Gus to my Shawn). It was a journey that normally would take me FIVE minutes, but thanks to post-Coachella traffic, it took me THIRTY MINUTES to get there. Not even kidding. (But it was totally worth it, since Soozycakes later took pics of TOG and SOMETHING STRANGE & DEADLY side by side, and hot damn, our books look gorgeous together. They should get married and have beautiful book babies.)

Side Note: Even though I hate Coachella traffic/crowds with an unyielding, fiery passion, the ONE benefit that comes from living around the block from the festival was getting to hear Gotye performing one night. 

Anyway, I have a couple TOG galleys, so...I'll see what I can do about having a giveaway for one of them soon!!!


5) Annnd, the last update. I finished the rough draft of THRONE OF GLASS Book 2 yesterday! It’s 111k words, but still needs a LOT of work, so…I expect that number to keep going up (GULP.). It took me 30 days to write it, which means that I am going to sleep for a WEEK now (ha. If only.). But I am taking off the next few days (….until the next round of edits on Novella #4 arrive), and plan on doing nothing except read J. R. Ward novels by my pool, catch up on TV (hence the Psych gif explosion), and take the time to make myself Healthy Normal Meals (aka NOT cheez-its and buffalo jerky, washed down with two diet cokes).

OH! And I got this piece of fan-art (by the amazing Neha Vatnani) of Ansel from THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT. I’m so obsessed with it that it’s now hanging on the wall of my office, AND is the lock-screen and background of my iPhone. …Annnd I might be getting t-shirts made (kidding. Sort of.).

First of all, a huge-huge-HUGE thank-you to all of you who bought THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT! You guys are absolutely AMAZING. Seriously, thank you so, so, SO much for everything.

In case you haven’t seen, Novella #3—THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD—will release on May 1st…just a few weeks away! (And you can preorder it wherever e-books are sold!)

AND, to spare you from lots of fanfare (and in case you’ve already seen it around the internet), here’s the cover for THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD!



I looove the purple and ice blue colors…it totally fits the feel of the novella!! (Do we want to place bets on what the colors for Novella 4--THE ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE--will be? I'm thinking...Vibrant blue with...green? Oy, I am atrocious at this.) 

(Also, the other week, I did an interview over on The Book Goddess’ blog, so if you’re curious about TOG or the novellas, definitely stop on by!)


Annnd since my life is still pretty much in that write-eat-read cycle, I figured I’d share two awesome books that I’m now OBSESSED with!

LEGEND by Marie Lu.

Where do I even begin? How about the fact that this is one of the most compelling and kickass dystopians I’ve read since THE HUNGER GAMES? Or how about the fact that I read this in one afternoon/evening, and SNAPPED at my husband if he dared interrupt me? (My poor, poor hubby.)

There is SO much to love about this book—whether it’s the uber-crafty and charismatic Day, or the fierce and brilliant June, or the vivid action scenes that had me LITERALLY on the edge of my seat.

As someone who spent years obsessed with Gundam Wing (Duo was my LIFE for a while), there are elements in LEGEND that reminded me of that world—in the very, very best way (alas, no mobile suits, though)! But LEGEND also feels totally original and fresh, too—and can I just say that I am DYING for one of June’s outfits? If you haven’t read LEGEND yet (and even if you think you’re sick of dystopian novels), do yourself a favor and grab a copy. And then go look at Marie’s DeviantArt page! (Also, how unfair is it that she’s so multi-talented?! Gahhh.)


FROI OF THE EXILES by Melina Marchetta.

Oh, God. This book. THIS BOOK. I read it slowly. So, so slowly. Because I wanted to savor every word. Because FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK shattered me in the best of ways, and I knew going into it that FROI would, too. And I was NOT disappointed.

It’s immensely hard for me to talk about FINNIKIN or FROI without getting emotional. These books are astoundingly good. So good that when I finished FINNIKIN, I felt like the world had been knocked out from under me.

You know how there are books that you carry in your soul? Books that you can’t even LOOK at without feeling that tug in your gut, that beautiful ache that comes from loving characters and a world that aren’t real? That’s what FINNIKIN and FROI are for me. Those kinds of books. They’re books that make me reassess everything that I am as a reader and writer. I’ve read tons of books in my life, but I can count on my hands the number that have meant THIS much to me—and FROI and FINNIKIN are two of them.

These books make me PROUD to be a YA Fantasy author, and give me something to aspire to and work toward. I can’t thank Melina Marchetta enough for bringing this series into the world (and Candlewick for bringing it to the US). These books remind me why I wanted to be a fantasy writer in the first place, and I think the bravery I find in her writing makes ME a braver writer in turn.

FROI is just as good as FINNIKIN (…can I just say that I am madly in love with Lucian and that I start sniffling every time I think about him?! I will FIGHT people for him. Not even kidding.), and I cannot WAIT for QUINTANA OF CHARYN (but seriously…SERIOUSLY, we have to wait until 2013 to get it in the States?!? COME ON!)!

Anyway, if you don’t believe me about how good these books are, then my lovely BFFer, Sooz has a recommendation for FINNIKIN up on her blog. ALSO, last week she recommended TROUBLED WATERS by Sharon Shinn, and I can’t remember if I ever mentioned that book to you guys, but you MUST read it. Gushing about the book with Sooz (our texts about it are totally, totally inappropriate to publicly share, but they kept me giggling for a while) made me itch to get back into that world SO badly that I actually wound up pulling it off my shelf to reread it. (It was just as amazing the second time as it was the first.)


And right now I’m reading Megan Whalen Turner’s THE QUEEN'S THIEF series (I’m on THE KING OF ATTOLIA right now), and OH GOD, there are not enough words in the English language to describe my love for these books (and my love for Gen. Good grief, I love him SO MUCH). BUT I’ll save my gushing for a later date!

Thanks again for all of the support for THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT!!! You guys rock.

So, Novella #2—THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT—releases TODAY! And, yet again, I am BEYOND overwhelmed and awed and elated at the prospect of you all getting the chance to read it. (And you can download it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo...and whenever e-books are sold!)

Of all the novellas (which are now all completed, YAY!), this one was the hardest for me to write. Do you remember me grousing about a (then-secret) project this summer/fall, and how that project gave me so much trouble that I eventually found myself eating a giant parmesan wedge in front of the open fridge, wondering if I was a broken writer?

Yep. That was this novella.

But in some ways, those difficulties made this novella into the one that is perhaps the closest to my heart (not to say that the others aren’t, because I love them for different reasons). I poured a lot of myself into this novella...not just hours of hard work—but MYSELF. My experiences, my relationships, my adventures. More than I even realized while writing it.

Of course, you’ll probably read the novella and wonder WTF I’m talking about, since I CERTAINLY have not had any of the grand adventures that Celaena partakes in, nor have I ever trained with a group of assassins in the desert, but…I read this manuscript, and I remember.

I remember my own adventures, and the feelings (both good and bad) that accompanied them; I remember old friendships that have long since fallen apart, and how it felt to be seventeen with the world wide open before me. I can point to almost any scene, any moment or character or place in this novella, and tell you what personal experience inspired and influenced it.

In some ways, I like to think this novella is my letter to the girl I was then—that brash, curious, haughty, joyous girl with nothing but big, open world ahead of her. My homage to her, too. I can’t quite explain it, and maybe you’ll read the novella and not understand, either.

But I think all that you do need to understand is that I love this novella. I love every single word. And maybe you will, too—or maybe you won’t. Either way, I’m honored and humbled for you to read it.

Thank you so, so much for all of the support and enthusiasm you’ve shown for THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD. It’s because of you that I can stand up today with my chin held high, and I really, truly hope that you enjoy THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT. :)
  
(Also, I know some of you don't have e-readers, so I thought it might be useful to link to Sarah Billington's awesome guide on her blog about how to read e-books if you don't own an e-reader!)

(Annnd, I promise to post the playlists for the first two novellas soon! Pinky swear!)

  

So, I’ll keep today’s post short and sweet, because I don’t really have all that much to say beyond a bunch of words like "OMFG" and "SUPER-EXCITED" and "MY BRAIN IS EXPLODING FROM AWESOME OVERLOAD."

And, to spare you from a ginormous post full of stuff like that…

THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT will be released on MARCH 30th!

That’s just over to weeks away! Like THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD, it’ll be available wherever Bloomsbury e-books are sold. I’m phenomenally excited for you all to read it—though I’ll say more about THAT at a later time. :)

And then…

Behold, the cover for THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT (with the synopsis pasted below):

          I honestly can’t decide which cover I love more: this one, or the one for TAAPTL. Maybe this one? Something about the gold + turquoise just makes me smile—and catches my eye. I want to cuddle it. Or just stare at it for hours.

Since you can totally see the theme that they're going for with these novella covers, now I’m just super-curious about what the colors will be for THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD (aka Novella #3).

Andddd, just because, here are the first two pieces from my playlist for THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT. I couldn’t decide which one of them actually comes first—since I just listened to them both on repeat while writing the opening scene. :)

  

  

   

So, I am super-super-suuuuper sorry for the lack of updates these past few weeks. Truth be told, I haven’t had THAT much to update you guys about! Novella #2—THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT—should be out soon-ish, and I’ve just been busy-busy-busy with finishing up Novella #3 (now officially titled THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD), writing THRONE OF GLASS Book 2, and writing Novella #4 (tentatively titled THE ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE…Maybe. Maybe not).

Working on Novella #4 has been…more emotionally exhausting than I realized it'd be. I don’t think I’m giving away anything by talking about it—I mean, all you have to do is look at the (unofficial/not at all final) summary for THRONE OF GLASS to learn that Celaena winds up in the salt mines. But getting her there has been trying and upsetting and brutal. Sometimes I’ll write a scene and need to walk away from the computer for a few minutes. It’s a strange and wonderful thing, to feel so much for people that only exist in your head...It's a kind of bond that I can’t even begin to properly explain.

Writing Novella #4 has been so draining that when I finish writing for the day, all I want to do is curl up in bed with a super-delicious book and read until I pass out. BUT, as a result, I’ve been flying through some really fantastic books—all of them (adult) urban fantasy-romances, all of them utterly delightful, and all of them keeping me up well past my bedtime.

I’ve become a huge, huge, HUUUGE fan of Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. I gobbled down ANGELS’ BLOOD and ARCHANGEL’S KISS, then made myself slowly, slowly read/savor ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT because I realized that I only have two more books left in the series until I'm forced to wait for the new books as they’re released. (And then Thea Harrison’s new novel—ORACLE’S MOON—came out last Tuesday, and oh my GOD, I loved that book so much that I might buy a paperback version of it in addition to the copy I have on my kindle. I actually might buy paperbacks of ALL of her books because I have become a total Thea Harrison fangirl).

Andddd, basically, my life has just become this: wake up, write, eat lunch, write, eat dinner, then read all night. Very little time for anything like TV or movies or socializing. I wish I was exaggerating. Even though Novella #4 is gutting me, I DO have a deadline for it—and a deadline for Book 2—so I don’t really have much time to do more than write-eat-read. (Not that I’m complaining, since…hell, I get to do what I love for a living.)

So…yep! I just wanted to pop in to tell you guys why I’ve been so quiet lately!

And, even though my playlist for Novella #4 is pretty extensive and epic and all over the place, this song really seems to sum up a lot of the novella, and is so spot-on that it’s kinda eerie (…and it’s really, really hard for me to listen to it without bursting into tears):

  

AND (And! And! ANNND!)—if you guys check back on Thursday, I should have some awesome updates to share about THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT. Like...the official release date. And THE COVER. :D

Well, if you’re wondering what the title of this post is all about…Or maybe some of you saw that tweet I made about having a REALLY awesome phone call last week (I should probably stop with the obnoxiously cryptic tweets, actually)…

But anyway….

….

……….

(Hehehe, okay, I'll get to the point!)

So, it was a really, REALLY awesome phone call BECAUSE…

I found out that THRONE OF GLASS sold at auction in a 3-book deal in GERMANY. 

AND, I found out that rights to TOG also sold in a 3-book deal in BRAZIL.

AND, I had it confirmed that Bloomsbury UK will be picking up THRONE OF GLASS, too!!

SO, looks like TOG is going global! WOOOOOT! Excuse me while I die of excitement overload.

I am so, so honored and thrilled to be working with my German publisher (DTV Junior) and my Brazilian publisher (Record), and…Oh, it is such a surreal feeling to realize that your books will be published in another language—in a language you can’t even speak!!! The thought just makes me giddy.

One of the best, best, BEST things about the years I spent on FictionPress was getting to know my international readers, and I am just SO beyond ecstatic that THRONE OF GLASS will have the chance to be read by people outside of the US, too.

I won’t make this blog post very long, since I really do need to get back to work on TOG Book 2 and Novellas 3 & 4, BUT I actually have a post up on Pub(lishing) Crawl from yesterday about movies & TV shows that inspire me, so hopefully that’ll compensate for the lack of a giant update today. :)

As always, thanks SO MUCH, you guys, for being so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic. I really, truly believe that all of these amazing things are only happening because of YOU. <3

Hooray!!!!