Helen
asked
Sherry Thomas:
Hi! Big fat fan of yours here. Finished The Elemental Trilogy just a few minutes ago and loved it so very much. Just want to shoot an admiration and ask you: what was your inspiration and how are you driven to write with such dedication in your hard work, and delicacy in details? Also, anything else you'd recommend, of yours or of others, to find something similar, in prose? Looking forward to more of your books! <3
Sherry Thomas
The genesis of the Elemental Trilogy was an email from a YA editor to my agent. They had met at a book conference and the editor, having read my romances, expressed an interest in seeing me write YA fantasy. At that time I had no such plans, so I said that I’ll keep her interest in mind and moved on.
Some months later, my agent forwarded me another email from the editor. She was still interested. Did I have anything for her? I didn’t have anything for her. But that afternoon, as I crossed the parking lot of Costco, a sentence dropped into my head: "On the night I was born, stars fell".
What I would have done with that genesis of a story, if I didn’t have someone hoping to read a book of fantasy from me, I have no idea. But I did have that editor interest, so this germ of an inspiration turned into the Elemental Trilogy.
As for other fantasy books, have you read Megan Whalen Turner's the Queen's Thief books? You can also try my book The Hidden Blade, which is nothing like the Elemental Trilogy, except it also has young protagonists. :-)
But anyway, thank you for your question and I'm so happy you enjoyed these books!
Some months later, my agent forwarded me another email from the editor. She was still interested. Did I have anything for her? I didn’t have anything for her. But that afternoon, as I crossed the parking lot of Costco, a sentence dropped into my head: "On the night I was born, stars fell".
What I would have done with that genesis of a story, if I didn’t have someone hoping to read a book of fantasy from me, I have no idea. But I did have that editor interest, so this germ of an inspiration turned into the Elemental Trilogy.
As for other fantasy books, have you read Megan Whalen Turner's the Queen's Thief books? You can also try my book The Hidden Blade, which is nothing like the Elemental Trilogy, except it also has young protagonists. :-)
But anyway, thank you for your question and I'm so happy you enjoyed these books!
More Answered Questions
Phoebe Fox
asked
Sherry Thomas:
You always create characters with such rich, full emotional lives, and with great depth. With as many novels as you've written, is it a challenge to create fresh characters/conflicts for each one? Where do you get ideas for your characters' battles/flaws, and does that come first, or does it grow out of the plot idea?
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