It had filled my time - given me quiet, steadfast company with those characters, who did not exist and never would, but somehow made me feel less ... alone.
I got the idea for 'Throne of Glass' when I was sixteen. Music always inspires my books, and when I was listening to the 'Cinderella' soundtrack, I thought, 'What if Cinderella was actually an assassin who liked getting dressed up all pretty and going to the ball, but then she wouldn't mind kicking butt?'
'A Court of Thorns and Roses,' big surprise, was inspired by music. By actually listening to the 'Princess Mononoke' soundtrack.
Since my 'Crown of Midnight' tour in 2013, we've had such a rapid jump in audience numbers that we've had to move to bigger venues, cap events, and find new and creative ways to keep the line flowing while still allowing me the chance to chat with each person, which will always be very, very important to me.
'A Court of Thorns and Roses' was actually inspired by three of my all-time-favorite fairy/folktales: 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon' and 'Tam Lin.' I got the kernel of inspiration by wondering: 'What if 'Beauty' was a huntress?'
I have to have music on when writing, or else the silence swallows me whole.
Honestly, I think there's a cycle to the popularity of fantasy and fairytales that usually coincides with times of unrest or hardship in our own world. By retelling these legends or immersing ourselves in fantasy realms, we can safely explore the very real, very day-to-day darkness of our own lives.
You could rattle the stars. You could do anything, if only you dared.
What’s the point in having a mind if you don’t use it to make judgments?’ ‘What’s the point in having a heart if you don’t use it to spare others from the harsh judgments of your mind?
You could rattle the stars,’ she whispered. ‘You could do anything, if you only dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.
“See what you want, Aelin, and seize it. Don’t ask for it; don’t wish for it. Take it.”
“So call Aelin a murderer and a thief and a liar. Call her a bitch-queen and a fire-breather. But forgive me if I take it upon myself to be the judge of those things when I meet her. Which I will do.”
"I see her slipping away, bit by bit, because you shove her down when she so desperately needs someone to help her back up."
You do not yield.
"Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy."
I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.
And I realized how badly I'd been treated before, if my standards had become so low. If freedom I'd been granted felt like a privilege and not an inherent right.