Queen of Shadows Book Tour Recap

Last week on September 8th, I got the amazing chance to go to one of the stops on Sarah J. Maas' Queen of Shadows Book Tour. I know the year isn't quite up yet but this has definitely been the year of Throne of Glass for me. Throne of Glass was the first book I read in January and I have been OBSESSED with the series and Sarah J. Mass' writing ever since. Seriously, my Throne of Glass Pinterest board is almost as big as my Harry Potter one. When one of my managers told me that SJM was going to do a signing at a nearby Barnes and Noble (not the one I work at, unfortunately, but that would have been EPIC if it had been. In the mean time, I'll continue to obsessively make sure any and all Sarah J. Maas titles are beautifully displayed on the shelves), I did everything I could to make sure I was off that day and it was so worth it.

Not having anyone as obsessed with the series as I am, I dragged my boyfriend to the event with me even though he hasn't finished Throne of Glass yet even though I told him to. It wasn't a huge event, but this particular BN had its own event room on the second floor so it was a nice little setting for it. There were maybe about 40ish people by the time we arrived at almost exactly 6pm (because rush hour and because traffic). We got a good spot towards the center where SJM and Claire Legrand (the moderating author for the talk) were going to sit.

Claire Legrand did a great job moderating the talk. She asked SJM about her writing process and a how the ToG series came to be. SJM was hilarious with her talk of her "Gollum" stage aka the stage of her writing where she holes up for days in her office at home just working on writing barely giving herself time to even shower and her little anecdote about how she's become the creepy neighbor peering out of her blinds. She even mentioned how one time, she got a little crazy and put a note in a ziplock bag under the windshield wiper of her neighbor's car because it was incorrectly parked for weeks near her house. My favorite part about the talk was when SJM talked about her choosing to be a writer. She said writing was literally the only thing she liked doing as a teenager and she knew that that's what she wanted to do as her career. She shared a story that she said almost always makes her cry and I could definitely understand why. She said her parents always wanted her to get a "real" job and didn't believe much in her making it as a writer. Never once did she accuse her parents of being bad parents - she knew they were just being parents looking out for the well being of their daughter in an economy that just crashed. But, she said when  Crown of Midnight hit the New York Times Bestsellers list, her mom pulled her aside and apologized for ever doubting her. I swear that story hit me in the feels just as much her actual books do.

After the talk, SJM and Claire Legrand played a few rounds of an SJM/Throne of Glass themed Headsup before opening the floor for audience questions. Some of her answers included her claim as a student of the "Rowling School of Writing" aka the details and characters that seemed minor when you first read about them will come back in big ways but at the same time, she promised she would not pull a Hedwig in her books and Fleetfoot would survive until the end. I felt a ridiculous amount of relief at that statement so I really hope it stays true. She also promised that Ansel and Yrene Towers from The Assassin's Blade would be coming back before the series ends and that we'd learn more about Nehemia and what exactly her secrets were. She also confirmed that Nehemia definitely knew who Celaena actually was which I sort of already assumed but it was never confirmed in the books.

We waited about an hour to get our books signed. Sarah was so so nice and she paused to talk to each of her fans. When we finally got to her, she recognized my ToG tote and asked me where I got it from. When I told her it was from Bookcon, she said that Bookcon was super overwhelming and joked that we were the normal ones for not waking up before dawn to line up for her morning signing. She said not even she had been up that early and sleep is a good thing.

All in all, it was an amazing event and it was so great to hear SJM talk about her characters and her writing. She is a beautiful person and truly an inspiration to aspiring young writers. If you ever have a chance to meet her, I highly suggest that you drop everything and jump at that opportunity to go. She is so sweet and I promise you won't regret it.