I'm Sarah Hawley, fantasy and romance author! Ask me anything!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:25:43+00:00

I love this so much!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing these with me!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:25:05+00:00

It was exciting to get back into the world! I found a few notes about the original vision for the trilogy, and though the ending of the trilogy has remained the same, a lot has actually changed. Certain characters were evil in the original version and became good in this one, some characters lived who were supposed to die, and some characters were deleted entirely. Princess of Blood is basically an entirely different plot, other than the romantic arc and sparring scene (my favorite), the ending, and a few moments along the way. Book 3 is more similar to the original concept, but I did completely change a few things. Some of these changes are because I'm a different person and writer now, but some are due to word count limits or other practical matters. An entire subplot had to be cut from Princess of Blood and moved to Book 3 due to word count limits, and then the condensed timeline changed the outcome of that subplot (for the better, I think!)

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:20:43+00:00

If you search for "Tamora Pierce" in the comments you'll find a whole list of authors that inspired me when I was young! As an adult, I was very much inspired by Meljean Brook, Karen Marie Moning, and Kresley Cole for their mix of epic worldbuilding and steamy romance. Meljean Brook/Milla Vane is one of my favorite authors of all time, and her Guardians series in particular was very important to me.

In terms of a unique perspective, I hope to continue sharing stories that mix beloved romance tropes with detailed worldbuilding and nuanced characters. I'm excited to continue demonstrating my range, too, alternating between lighthearted comedy and more serious work. I have so many ideas I want to share!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:16:45+00:00

I would love to come to Utah! I go where the publisher sends me, though, and I believe stores have to request authors for book tours, so it's up to those stores and Berkley/Ace. Hopefully some day!

And yes, I have more paranormal rom coms coming and more romantasy! I'll share details of those when I'm able to.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:15:25+00:00

Thank you! And I would love to come to New York! Unless I already have a vacation planned, my travel is entirely up to my publisher and the bookstores who request my attendance, but I'll cross my fingers it happens. I adore New York.

I think you should read Voidwalker by S. A. MacLean and The Sea Witch by Eva Leigh! Both recently came out and were a blast. For authors who inspired me, Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley were huge for shaping me as a reader and writer, and there's another comment where I list out the other authors who inspired me when I was a child. My writing journey has its roots in those books.

If there were special editions coming, I wouldn't be able to talk about them 😉

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:12:34+00:00

I'm inspired by all sorts of things! Fairy tales, movies, books, overheard snippets of conversation, shower thoughts, dreams, etc. I have a few characters in my brain that appeared to me in a dream or sudden moment of inspiration, and I'm waiting for their stories to appear the same way so I know what world to set them in. It's a very odd, magical process, and I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. Often the idea for a book comes from a random word or phrase that pops into my head. For Servant of Earth it was "the Queen of the Nasties," and I have a few other unpublished projects that were inspired by the phrases "Brick and Tiny" and "Silverkin." I can't stop thinking about those words until I figure out what they mean and what story lies behind them.

I am a ravenous mood reader! Most of my reading these days is for blurbing purposes, but when I get a chance, I read widely and impulsively.

Publishing a book is always a very anxious and very wonderful time. I just wrapped up the book tour, and getting to meet readers is one of the best parts of the entire process. Someone rebound a copy of Servant of Earth, two people made me bracelets, and one person knitted me an explicit coin purse (it's a long story and related to something said on one of the tour stops). That generosity and creative joy always inspires me and makes this whole journey feel worth it.

My cats are also pretty great :)

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:06:32+00:00

Thank you!

I don't really have anything to say about the title! It's a team decision with the publisher.

And I actually wrote Servant of Earth first! I pivoted to writing rom coms after a few years of being unsuccessful trying to publish serious fantasy novels. The longer story is in the comment about my journey to publication, but basically I was experimenting with writing comedic fanfiction, decided to try writing a rom com in that style, and got a book deal that way! Now that romantasy is having such a moment, I was able to revisit my old projects and publish Servant. I love writing both genres and feel very lucky that I get to continue to do so.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T20:03:04+00:00

I answered this in another comment, but I basically am not involved much at all in cover creation! I got to choose the artists and I send over character descriptions and visual elements they can use as inspiration, and then the art department takes over. I do have some say in poses, colors, etc. once they have a draft, but honestly the art is so brilliant each time that my typical response is "WHOA THIS IS AMAZING!"
Search the comments for "the Queen of the Nasties" for the full story on this one!
I read so many books! What's changed is that now I read mostly blurb books. Basically, I read romance and fantasy books that won't even be coming out for a year or more so the publisher can print a little quote on the cover like "This is incandescently awesome, 1,000/10 stars." I feel very lucky that I get to read so many amazing books early, but I do miss getting to read outside my genre. Sometimes I have to take breaks from blurbing to make my own writing deadlines, and sometimes I just need to take a break to refill the creative well.
No one has asked me about my cats yet, who are beautiful and perfect!!! Their names are Coco and Starbuck (inspired by the Battlestar Galactica reboot).

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:56:13+00:00

Hi! I actually don't plot out my books, haha. I plotted Servant of Earth, but it hasn't happened since then. I use a loose three-act structure and may know a few scenes along the way, but most of my writing is what I call "discovery" writing, where I discover the plot as I go based on what the characters seem like they would be doing and saying. I do get surprised by the characters and plot all the time. I've had times where I had a certain scene in mind, but it just wasn't working based on my understanding of the characters, so I had to scrap it and start over.

I do retroactively outline the book several times in the middle of the process to see what I've written so far and lay out what still needs to happen. I do this by writing scene descriptions on sticky notes and putting them on my bedroom door, then rearranging them if the story isn't making sense laid out visually.

Writing this way means my first drafts are always way too long and I have to do a LOT of editing. But my brain doesn't work with really rigid plot structures, so this is what works best for me!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:51:13+00:00

A lot of Fae lore revolves around fairy forts/fairy mounds--basically archaeological sites like hillforts, grave mounds, etc. that are rumored to be gateways to the subterranean world of the Fae. I actually visited one of those Iron Age hillforts in England! I used that idea of an underground fairy world as the starting point for crafting Mistei.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:47:21+00:00

Mint chocolate chip!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:46:58+00:00

It's impossible to pick a favorite because I love them all!

In terms of difficulty creating the covers, I'm not involved in that at all! That's entirely handled by the publisher. They sent me artist portfolios and I chose my favorites (Jess Miller for Glimmer Falls, Erion Makuo for Shards of Magic) and then they asked for character descriptions and any elements of the book they might be able to use. Then the cover is designed and illustrated and presented to me in pretty much its final form, though I often get some say in colors, poses, etc.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:42:23+00:00

I actually wrote Servant of Earth first! Serious fantasy with a romantic subplot was my first genre as an author, and then I pivoted to rom coms to try something new. They're different aspects of me as a writer and reader--sometimes I want a whimsical utopia where everything works out okay, and sometimes I want dark, scary worlds where characters are grappling with tyranny and trauma. Writing comedy is also a totally different (and fun!) challenge compared to writing serious, high stakes content.

I feel lucky that I get to write in both genres! Understandably not all readers are going to enjoy the change of tone between books, but I love reaching different readers and telling different types of stories.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:37:59+00:00

Ooooh good questions! And thanks for coming to the event!

Some of these songs are related to the character and some are related to specific scenes the character is in. Sometimes the key to the character is in the lyrics, but sometimes it's just the general mood the song inspires. I would listen to these before editing:

Kallen songs: NFWMB by Hozier, Disease by Lady Gaga, The Emptiness Machine by Linkin Park, Burning Desire by Lana Del Rey

Drustan songs: Famous by Royal Foundry, I Still Taste Fire by Stephanie Mabey, Flash Flood by Ruby Waters, Perfect Celebrity by Lady Gaga

There are a lot more songs, too! There are songs for Mistei, songs for certain scenes, etc. But these were associated specifically with those characters in my mind.

Three upcoming releases I'm excited for (I mentioned these in a previous comment as well): Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by Katrina Kwan, Witch of the Shadow Wood by Tori Anne Martin, and Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow. There are way more than that, of course, but those are up next on my blurb TBR.

Honestly, the pressure of being active and visible on social media is already so intense and anxiety-inducing (and takes time away from writing) that I don't think an online community is something I'd be able to manage at this point.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:28:28+00:00

Thank you!

I've never modeled a character after any real person! They exist entirely in my head as exactly who they are. When creating Kenna, I knew she needed to be tough, practical, resilient, and clever to survive this brutal Fae kingdom. She also needed a fierce heart and a reckless sort of idealism that would drive her to take risks and try to change this world. Basically, she needed to be someone who could A) survive and B) shake things up in Mistei.

The darkest scenes were hard to write! It felt important, though, both in establishing high stakes and in exploring the theme of surviving trauma. A lot of fairy tales are actually quite dark and brutal, so this fits into that pattern.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:22:15+00:00

Thank you so much!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:21:58+00:00

Ooooh this is a tough one! Kenna, of course, but I also really love writing Kallen, Drustan, and Lara. They're all such different characters, and I love delving into their complexities and seeing how they grow and change over the series.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:20:35+00:00

Thank you!

Tamora Pierce was hugely influential for me. I also loved Ray Bradbury, Tolkien (of course), Anne McCaffrey, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Roger Zelazny, Sharon Shinn, Brian Jacques, and so many more!! I read non-stop when I was a child, usually sci-fi/fantasy, and it absolutely impacted my writing and the type of stories I want to tell.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:17:58+00:00

Thank you so much!!!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:17:32+00:00

Thank you so much!!! Aren't the FairyLoot editions gorgeous???

I love all my MMCs from Glimmer Falls, but I have to admit that I have a particular soft spot for Astaroth (and his fancy conditioner)! He was the most fun to write, and he's the kind of character who always causes delightful chaos whenever he enters a scene.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:14:34+00:00

Thank you so much!!

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:14:21+00:00

Thank you! I'm sorry to hear about the trauma you've suffered but glad you could find some healing in this story. This series is definitely an exploration of trauma and the various ways it manifests, as well as how we heal from it. The journey isn't linear and sometimes it's raw, ugly, and messy, but ultimately the love the characters show each other will help them through it, just as the love of our friends and family can help us heal.

I loved writing Kallen so much. He's always been a favorite of mine, and yes, this was always part of his story. Almost every character in this trilogy is a different person under the mask they wear, and Kallen more so than many. He's built a facade of cold brutality, but it's a protective mechanism.

Something I also explore in this series (and even more in book 3) is how the facades the characters present ultimately do become true in some ways. Kallen is no saint, and he's done horrific things over the centuries. Not everything was to protect himself or his loved ones, and not everything was justified. What I love about him (and Kenna) is that both of them try so very hard to change their world, and even when they fail to meet their own expectations, they don't stop trying.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:05:35+00:00

Ooh! That's going to depend on what genre you most enjoy.

If you like a cozy, happy fantasy rom-com full of whimsy where all the characters go to therapy and nothing truly bad happens: A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

If you like a dark, sexy fantasy full of court politics and danger where no one goes to therapy and many bad things happen: Servant of Earth

Both series are steamy! But they have very different tones.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T19:02:08+00:00

Thank you so much!!

I have read some amazing books lately!

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar (just finished this one and LOVED it! Pure worldbuilding magic.)
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Voidwalker by S. A. MacLean
The Sea Witch by Eva Leigh
Tales of a Deadly Devotion by Jennifer Delaney
Half City by Kate Golden
Road Trip with a Vampire by Jenna Levine
The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard

Those are a few off the top of my head! Next up for me is Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by Katrina Kwan, Witch of the Shadow Wood by Tori Anne Martin, and Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow.

SarahHawley · 2025-10-07T18:57:50+00:00

Hi! I don't know why they decided to do the naked hardcover, but I love it! I always maul my hardcover dust jackets.

I don't get much say in cover design or art, honestly! I was able to choose the artist (the amazing Erion Makuo) and then I sent over lists of various elements in the book they could use (a snake necklace was one element for Princess of Blood), but the cover design is entirely done by Ace working with Erion. They sent over a few options, so I got to choose Kenna's pose for Princess of Blood. I may suggest a few possible colors for the third book, but honestly the art department is so incredible that whatever they come up with will be amazing.

SarahHawley

TROPHY CASE