Every Book Revelation From Sarah J. Maas’s Call Her Daddy Interview

Sarah J. Maas doesn’t do many interviews. So when she sat down with Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy, fans paid attention.

And she delivered. Over the course of the episode, Maas announced information about her new books and revealed new insights into her existing body of work.

Throne of Glass

Why Maas didn’t care if anyone liked Aelin

One of the most quoted moments from the interview came when Maas explained her approach to writing Aelin. She said she never got to see women being angry the way she often felt, and that she always felt pressure to be sweet and nice. Aelin was her answer to that.

I did not give a f*** if anyone reading it liked her. This was her. Sorry. That was who she was and take it or leave it.

She also described Aelin as arriving fully formed, “like Athena springing from Zeus’s head,” and said she essentially let the character lead her rather than the other way around.

Why Aelin had to lose her powers

Maas said she genuinely grappled with this decision. She hated the idea of Aelin giving up something she had learned to love. But she felt the ending required it.

There needs to be some level of sacrifice when it comes to making a decision that big. That’s powerful, and I don’t think the ending would have felt as deserved.

She also pushed back on the criticism that having Aelin and Nesta lose their powers while male characters kept theirs was a double standard.

Taking away the magic doesn’t take away from their strength. That’s what Nesta and Aelin realize. They’re still badasses. Losing that doesn’t make you any less of a hero.

What happened to Manon

Maas kept this one simple: “She should honestly be in therapy. That’s where she is right now. She went through a lot.”

Where is Elide?

When asked where Elide is now, Maas said: “That’s actually a thing that I think about a lot. A lot. And that’s all I’ll say about that.” Fans will draw their own conclusions.

What did Lorcan do?

Maas wouldn’t answer directly, but hinted at future content. “Maybe bonus content, a Christmas present sometime for y’all.”

Will we see Throne of Glass characters again?

Her answer was characteristically cagey but encouraging. “I mean, obviously I think about them all the time, so who knows? If my children let me sleep in past 5 a.m., sure.”

The World of Throne of Glass companion book

This project is still something she wants to do, but has been deprioritized. “I thought it would be easy and then I realized I need to actually dedicate a lot of time to it. Maybe it comes at a different time.”

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Rhysand was never planned

This was one of the most genuinely surprising admissions in the interview. Maas revealed that Rhysand was not a character she had planned. He arrived mid-scene, unannounced.

I didn’t plan him. He walked into that scene. I was writing this in real time. Through the smoke all of a sudden he comes and I’m like, who the f*** is this?

She had been writing what she described as a sweet Beauty and the Beast romance between Feyre and Tamlin. Then Rhysand showed up at the bonfire and everything changed.

Why she let fans fall in love with Tamlin first

It was intentional. She wanted to reflect the reality of relationships, where you can fall for someone and then slowly realize they are not who you thought they were, and that they don’t have the tools to handle what they’ve been through.

He doesn’t have the emotional toolkit to handle this and he implodes and he drags her down with him.

She also added that she genuinely pities Tamlin, not to excuse him, but because she sees him as a product of a deeply broken upbringing.

On the Tamlin tattoo situation

Maas was very aware that fans got Tamlin tattoos before Mist and Fury came out. Her response: “I was like, I’m so happy for you. Also, I’m so sorry. I will pay for the tattoo laser removal.”

Will Tamlin ever get a full redemption arc?

This was one of the more thoughtful answers in the entire interview. Maas said it is genuinely the hardest creative question she faces right now, partly because of what Tamlin represents to survivors of abusive relationships in her own life.

Some of my very best friends are survivors of domestic abuse and they often refer to their ex as Tamlin. I’ve talked to her about how she would feel. If I were to ever write more about Tamlin, it would have to be done in a way that doesn’t erase what he did and doesn’t invalidate the feelings of readers who connected to that.

She hasn’t ruled it out. But she hasn’t committed either.

Why Rhysand kept the pregnancy secret from Feyre

Maas defended Rhysand here while also acknowledging he made the wrong call.

He finds out she’s been given a death sentence but she’s full of joy about it. How do you be that person that takes the joy away?

She added that Rhysand is 500 years old and still learning. He had never been a mate before, never had a pregnant mate, and was frantic. She said it was much more interesting to let him make a flawed decision born from love than to have him do the right thing neatly.

The most romantic moment between Rhysand and Feyre

Without hesitation: Starfall. She said the scene was directly inspired by Florence and the Machine’s “Cosmic Love,” and that every time she hears it she is taken back to the House of Wind and that moment between them.

On Chapter 55

Maas confirmed that the published version of Chapter 55 is almost identical to the first draft. It poured out of her. She said it was a scene she had been waiting to write for so long that when it finally came, it was almost verbatim what ended up in the book.

Elain and the mating bond with Lucian

Maas was careful here but clearly has a lot she wants to explore. She framed Elain’s situation with empathy, pointing out how much she has been through.

Imagine being transformed into a whole new body, a whole new lifestyle, and suddenly you’re essentially married to a stranger who was also involved in shoving you into the cauldron. She’s got a lot to process.

She said the mating bond storyline gives her the chance to explore questions of free will, whether nature gets it right, and what it means when it gets it wrong.

Morrigan’s powers

When asked about Mor’s powers, Maas confirmed truth, but then stopped herself. “She had other powers beyond that. There might be more about that.” That phrasing, “there might be more,” reads as a direct tease.

The pool of starlight in the Spring Court

Full deflection. “People read too closely. I’m not answering that.” Which is, of course, its own kind of answer.

How Fae get into the House of Wind without wings

“This might be something you find out.” Filed under: confirmed tease.

What is the King of Hybern’s actual name?

She joked “Frank” and then said: “That actually might be something that is discussed.” Make of that what you will.

Are Rhysand and Rowan related?

She would not confirm or deny. That non-answer will keep the theories running.

Is Maeve related to any of them?

Another full deflection, with a laugh. No answer given.

On Feyre’s pregnancy storyline and where it came from

Maas opened up significantly here, sharing that both of her pregnancies were traumatic. The fear, the loss of bodily control, the sense of being at the mercy of systems and people you didn’t choose. All of it fed into how she wrote Feyre’s experience.

The fear, the trauma, all of that. Writing that book allowed me to get it out of my system and process it.

On Nesta’s breakdown scene and Silver Flames

Maas revealed that she wrote Silver Flames while going through therapy for severe anxiety and panic attacks that began around 2018. The hike scene where Nesta breaks down was drawn directly from a real moment.

I came up with that scene where she and Cassian take that hike and she just breaks down. That was me at my lowest on a hike in New Zealand with Josh, thinking the same thing. And as I was on this hike I started crying and then I saw Nesta and I saw this scene.

She described the end of Silver Flames as Nesta not being healed, not being perfect, but being a work in progress. “She was in a hole. I was in a hole. And we dug our way out of it together.”

Crescent City

Is Cormac actually dead?

When Alex pointed out that we never saw the body, Maas deflected entirely. No confirmation, no denial.

The Bryce and Azriel theory

Maas was unusually direct here. “No. It’s Bryce and Hunt.” Full stop. She apologized to anyone who had invested in the Azriel theory.

How did the Book of Breathings end up in Jesiba’s library?

“You’ll have to stay tuned for answers.” So this thread is not dropped.

Who or what is Fury Axtar?

She refused to confirm or deny anything. The fan theory that Fury is the mercenary Feyre encountered in the first ACOTAR book remains officially unaddressed, which the fandom will likely read as confirmation.

Why are there otters in Crescent City?

This one had a simple answer. Otters are one of her favorite animals. She thought it would be cute to have them as messengers passing letters with their little palms. No deeper lore. Just otters.

On Her Broader World and Unpublished Work

She has 3 to 4 complete unpublished novels on her computer

This came up casually when the deleted Twilight of the Gods Pinterest board was brought up. Maas confirmed it was a project she started but may never release, then added:

I think I have probably three or four unpublished full books for different series on my computer that just, I don’t know if they’ll ever see the light of day. Sometimes I just get a story in my head and I want to start writing it and sometimes I want to share that with the world and sometimes I don’t.

No titles. No genres. No details. Just the knowledge that entire worlds exist that we may never read.

She has the rights back to all three series

Maas mentioned this in the context of the Acatar TV/film adaptation, noting that getting the rights back to everything has been a significant part of her recent journey. She said she would talk more about it at some point but kept things brief for now.