Q&A With Maria V. Snyder 

I have the honor of doing this Q&A with New York Times Bestselling Author of fantasy Maria V. Snyder. Maria’s series are The Study Series, The Glass Trilogy, The Healer Series, The Sentinels of The Galaxy & The Archives Of The Invisible Sword series! 

Q: Maria, would you please give a brief description of each of your series? 

A: Brief? Hahahaha…Oh, wait, you’re serious!! Yikes! Er…Okay, here goes:

The Chronicles of Ixia & Sitia series includes 12 books! The 6 Study books (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study, Shadow Study, Night Study, and Dawn Study), features Yelena, who starts out the story in the dungeon awaiting execution because she murdered a general’s son. She’s offered the choice of either the dangerous job of becoming the Commander of Ixia’s food taster or to be hanged by Valek, Ixia’s Chief of Security. She takes the job and is immediately embroiled in the various political machinations, assassination attempts, kidnappings, and rogue magicians in both Ixia and Sitia.

The 3 Glass books (Storm Glass, Sea Glass, and Spy Glass) is set in the same world as Yelena’s, but features Opal, a glass magician who can trap magic inside glass statues. These statues can be used by other magicians to boost their magic. They are a game changer for the world and she is quickly sought after by various factions both good and bad.

The 3 Valek’s Adventures books (The Study of Poison, The Study of Magic, and The Study of Fire) are companion novels to the first 3 Study books. They are from Valek’s POV and show what he was up to when not with Yelena. Turns out it’s quite a bit!

The Healer series (Touch of Power, Scent of Magic, and Taste of Darkness) is set in the world of the 15 Realms and features Avry of Kazan. She is a healer on the run. The world is recovering from a plague that killed two thirds of the population, and the healers have been blamed. Healers heal others by assuming their injuries and then healing themselves. Tohon of Sorga wants to rule all the 15 Realms, however he’s a narcissistic megalomaniac and doesn’t have the world’s best interest at heart. Avry joins with the opposition to try to heal their world.

The Archives of the Invisible Sword series (The Eyes of Tamburah, The City of Zirdai, and The King of Koraha) is about Shyla. She lives on Koraha, a desert world where sand has buried everything and it’s too hot to live on the surface. Instead, they live in vast underground cities. Shyla helps the Water Prince’s archeologist find lost artifacts. But when the purported magical Eyes of Tamburah are stolen the same day they’re found, Shyla is accused of the theft. As she investigates the crime, Shyla travels to the lowest levels of Zirdai and discovers what is really going on in her city. She is determined to not only clear her name, but to right the wrongs she encountered.

The Sentinels of the Galaxy series (Navigating the Stars, Chasing the Shadows, and Defending the Galaxy) is YA science fiction. The Chinese Terracotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. Which begs the question, who put them there and why? Lyra Daniels’ parents are the experts in these extraterrestrial warriors and have dragged her around the galaxy seeking answers. Lyra gets sucked into the quest and makes a few discoveries on her own. I love this series for two reasons – Lyra’s parents are alive and are actually good parents who are involved in her life! And Lyra refuses to be ignored – yes, she’s young, but she’s going to speak up regardless.

Insider series (Inside Out and Outside In) is a YA dystopian SF. The Insiders live in a giant metal cube that is separated into two castes, the uppers and the lowers. The uppers rule the world, and the lowers are called scrubs, because their job is to keep the world clean and functioning. They all have lost track of what’s outside their world. Trella is an air scrub; she climbs through the ducts of the world cleaning the dust. She inadvertently gets involved in rebellion to make everyone equal and to discover what is outside their world.

Phew!

Q: Where do your ideas for your stories and characters come from? In your opinion what makes the perfect fantasy story?

A: My ideas come from everywhere! I love to travel and keep a journal of my adventures and have gotten a million ideas from the places I’ve been and the people I’ve met. I also get inspiration from TV shows, movies, magazine articles, and other books. I don’t lack ideas; I lack the time to write them all!

For me, a perfect fantasy story has a good balance between world building and characterization. I’m not a fan of epic fantasy as it tends to go overboard on description. I want to learn about the characters and how they navigate in this strange world. Of course, a romantic subplot is a must, and the characters solve their problems with intelligence and determination. My first book, Poison Study was written because I wanted all these features in my fantasy but couldn’t find any books that matched it. I’d like to say I was one of the original romantasy authors! But there were a few before me.

Q: Other than your books transporting readers to magical worlds, what lessons & emotions do you hope readers learn and feel after reading your stories?

A: I hope they come away with the feeling that if they persist and are determined, they will be able to solve their problems eventually. Some things take time, and you just can’t give up. Those things might be awful now, but, in time, they will get better. For some of my readers, I was successful with this encouragement as I’ve heard from three young woman who were inspired by my books to fight the desire to commit suicide and are now happy.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to your work? Hollywood needs original content again and more books would do the trick! Who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created?

A: It’s rather complicated when it comes to producing films and TV series from books. Currently, two of my books are with producers. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll be turned into films/shows. The producers pitch the books to the various movie studios, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc… and if they “buy” the rights, then the story will be made into a show or movie. The odds of that happening are very small so I’ve learned not to get my hopes up.

As for the cast, this is always hard for me as I don’t have time to watch TV and don’t know any actors. However, I’m not completely out of it and have been asked this before. I like Tom Hiddleson for Valek; Tessa Thompson for Yelena; Chris Hemsworth for Ari; Sasha Roiz for the Commander; Edward Norton for Janco. 

Q: What does it feel like knowing that all your books are on the New York Times Bestsellers List? 

A: Not all my books have hit the bestseller list. But when they do, I’m thrilled and honored that my readers love my books enough to purchase them when they come out.

Q: Is the next book you are writing a part of an existing series, the beginning of a new series or a standalone novel? 

A: I’m working on a new fantasy that looks like it’ll be the beginning of a duology. Looks, because I don’t outline. I discover the story as I write and it’s always a guess as if it will be a standalone or a series.

Q: Do you deal with self-doubt when you are writing? If so, what are healthy ways you deal with it that might help future authors? How do you deal with negative reviews, online trolls & family and friends who don’t support your dream and career as an author that will help future authors?

A: Of course I do! When I’m writing, there are times when I’m like, “this sucks” or “this is the same old tired plot” and “my readers will hate this.” But I push on because I figure I can fix it in revisions. That I can’t revise a blank page. Usually when I revise, I’m happy to discover my writing isn’t as bad as I’d thought. Writers need to turn off that inner critic and just write. Get that first draft done, and then you can evaluate and edit.

Now, I avoid reading all negative reviews and comments. I’m lucky that my family and friends have always supported me so I can’t answer that. I will say if your friend is negative, you should find a new friend. Family is harder and I’m sure there is lots of advice on the internet from writers on how to deal with difficult family members.

Before I used to read negative reviews and that’s all I thought about. Not 100 good reviews, but that one bad one. I’d gotten a terrible review for Sea Glass from Publisher’s Weekly and I couldn’t write after reading that. I was working on Spy Glass and I had a deadline. To get over the block, I printed a picture of a book reading group who had invited me to talk to their members. They all loved my books, and I had a fabulous time. So, I put that photo right next to my computer screen. I looked at them every day and said, “I’m writing for you. I’m not writing for some reviewer.” And that’s how I finished Spy Glass.