#sjm interview

(And shockingly, it's only partially that we essentially got jack shit* in terms of new information. I figured this whole thing was a publicity stunt and we wouldn't learn much, if anything, of consequence.)

You know the old saying about sausage and how it gets made? It's that. Academically, I knew I was dealing with a privileged white woman from a high socioeconomic class who was a pantser when it came to writing. But I'd always hoped there was purpose to it, and that we were looking at a story getting told from a number of viewpoints where not every character operates the same internally. I'd hoped there was more to the world than Rhys and Feyre good, Tamlin bad; that Nessian didn't end with a broken woman giving up everything and changing herself to be included in her own family as a 'happy ending'; that there were layers to and nuances to each character.

Well, turns out, there's no plan, no intent. And THAT'S why this interview has bummed me out. Not because of ships (because the commentary was just a rehash of stuff she's already said and proved nothing minus confirmation that Elain is NOT all right), but because there aren't layers. We all attribute brilliant things to her that, it seems, are utterly coincidental and not what she was going for. And that's such a shame, to me, that she's created a world with so much potential and richness but it's squandered so she can self-insert and write a superficial story about supposed girlpower and retcon stuff she's bored with. And it's frustrating as a reader, too, because now it all feels so much more hollow than it did before I knew all this. Can I trust previous interviews? Is it even worth getting attached to characters knowing in the end, there's no direction other than layering increasing plot armor on her special boy and girl?

I'm still gonna write. I still ship elucien and neris proudly. But damn, it's bittersweet to see that actually, she is exactly as basic a person and a writer as I hoped she wouldn't be.

Listen, I understand consuming an entire, almost-2 hr interview in one sitting is a lot of info.

But if there are things that I didn't quite grasp at first, or wasn't sure exactly what SJM had said, you know what I did? I went and re-listened. I know this is groundbreaking stuff, but seriously...

"We are going to have 3 books!"

"Each book will have a different POV"

"First book will be Gwynriel and then Elucien and Emorie!"

WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD????????????

Where did she say even anything remotely similar to that?

"SJM said she changed her mind about the POV!!!"

WHAT?

This is wild to me. I can't wrap my mind around how something that's barely 1 month old and is WIDELY AVAILABLE to re-listen to, has been so twisted and misconstrued.

I guess it explains, yet again, how Gwynriel could exist and be so popular. Because...

Secret 1 Nesta notices: Something charged went trough. Between them.

Secret 2 Nesta notices: His secret to tell, never hers.

The Secret: They have feelings for each other.

One of the strongest ways to solidify a romance in a story is through third-party observation: someone else noticing the sparks, the lingering looks, the quiet tension.

In ACOSF, Nesta witnesses Azriel's interactions with Elain firsthand. She immediately picks up on his reaction and thinks to herself: It's his secret to tell, never hers. That line alone speaks volumes, acknowledging something unspoken yet undeniable.

SJM had the perfect opportunity in Nesta's POV to ground and reinforce other potential romances involving characters close to her. But she deliberately chose not to.

“Ahh yes, it must be that the future of this character will indeed be defined by her looks in a black dress and by the unbreakable™ bond that was imposed upon her. 😍."

“… Matter of fact, the author was soo clever in making it so that others' superficial assessments of her character hold more weight in the narrative than her own declaration of belonging… its obviously meant to show us that everyone (but her) knows what's best for her; she does belong elsewhere. (Guys… what about someplace subtle, like Spring because flowers? Or Day because flowers need the sun?!)”

“The poor girl just doesn’t know any better: she’s exactly like her far-more-independent-and-headstrong sister who was wasting away in a Court where she was deprived of social interactio—wait, wdym she has a job, friends, is hinted at scheming behind the scenes, and calls the place a home... ? Sure, whatever, it’s clear that it's not significant, she's in denial; plus she can’t have a unique arc full of exploration & adventure unless she skedaddles away from the obstacles I dislike and never returns! Skedaddle to where, you ask? Easy: her mate’s court with her mate’s friends & her mate’s family, where she'll become her mate's High Lady... just like *drum roll* her sister! Notice how we don't question whether her mate's relationships are genuine and whether the life he's built (also ‘off-page’) matters?”

“Speaking of that MATE of hers, she is bound to come around eventually and realize that she was placed where she should be. I mean, he’s so hot, so she’s def super attracted to him and trying not to jump hi—what? You’re saying her body language shows otherwise? I mean how can you know, maybe she’s just hidin—oh... she' shown visible signs of attraction to another male? Enough signs that literally all characters, bar the oblivious one, noticed? Well then, it’s clearly because she’s projecting her longings for her mate onto the bloke; the bond means more than her pesky little rebellious feelings (Elain, we see you girl, no need to be stubborn!)."

“Btw, I cant believe you guys missed the memo, but the thing she had with that other dude? You know, the one the author gave her significant moments with and who did casual things like lending her his most prized possession & following the sound of her laugh & making his nightstand an altar in her effigy? Yea, it’s all a red herring. Turns out the author couldn't decide whether Mr. Distraction would be an incel or a fickle fuckboy, so she just went with both. Entitled, lustful prick—love him though! But SJM really fooled yall, it was all made so that readers (somehow) forget that she has a MATE who she is MATED to because there's this real MATING bond that she 100% cant break and that tells us that her MATE is the endgam—"

"...What are you saying? Are you really suggesting that the label of mates being all it took for many readers to overlook the on-page development of a romantic relationship between her & Mr. not-her-mate, in favour of said label, makes the bond more likely to be the red herring? Well, you're delusional... plus I thought that these two characters shared a brother/sister relationship up until it abruptly turned into "just lust" out of nowhere... right? Right. You probably just think it's a red herring cause her mate is red-haired. Ha!

You people need to understand that MATES are always the answer, period. They mean everything—why would you want a lesser love for your fav? It’s not like the author has put into question the nature of the mating bond & whether it indicates true paired souls, or like she spoke about how interesting she found the idea of bond rejections in her most recent interview—oh... damn. She did? But what about mates and the allegedly un-rejectable bond that could induce insanity by alleged cosmic blue balls?? Surely SJM wouldn't make a blanket statement reinforcing the status-quo of Prythian's patriarchal society just to have one of her heroines redefine it! I mean, let's be real, is Feyre becoming a High Lady despite there having been "no such thing" for millennia, or Nesta reinstating a female warrior force and winning the Illyrian-male-exclusive Blood Rite alongside an Illyrian woman and a ¼-nymph priestess, really THAT important? Why would the 3rd sister follow the pattern and subvert the status quo, when she could just make it easier for everyone & reinforce it by fulfilling the destiny she was groomed into?"

-----⊱ end scene ⊰-----

“Elain is pleasant to look at,’ her mother once said, ‘but she has no ambition. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match."

Yet, here we are, expecting her story to be about fulfilling that prophecy rather than shattering it.

From Sarah’s interview with TODAY

I watched it in two sessions, and here at the end I think of it as: "a meeting that could have been an email". We know that we're getting two books within three months of each other (yay), but absolutely nothing else was revealed. Not titles, not characters, not even a mention of where the story might be headed.

Now, if she had someone else running her social media accounts so that she didn't feel so absent from the fandom at large, I think I would have liked it better. But to give us close to two hours of "girl talk" rather than what the fans were hoping for was such a letdown.

The glimpses we did get into her writing process were fun, and I would have liked more of that, but some of the things she said about writing kind of pissed me off, too.

For example, she talked about how much she hated her poetry assignments, but as a self-professed fantasy lover, couldn't they complement each other? I would have preferred it if she said something like: "Poetry doesn't come naturally to me. I struggle with it, but I love when it's done right" instead of "I hated my poetry assignments; I didn't see why they were relevant to me, as a fantasy writer". Well, JRR Tolkien combined them both to great effect! Just sayin'.

I think my biggest gripe though is that she glossed over the fan theories and worldbuilding questions. She was so dismissive, saying things like: "Who comes up with these questions?" instead of trying to inspire her fans and even future writers.

So, the pool of starlight being a portal isn't relevant to the story. Okay. I get it. She didn't have to wave her hand and skip the question. Imagine a more considerate answer like: "Oh, that's a very creative question. I like when fans read into my work, that's very flattering. I will say though that not everything has a deeper meaning. Like some things are just set decoration, but in this instance, it was more about foreshadowing that Rhysand is Feyre's mate, even though she hadn't met him yet at that point."

Would it disappoint some people? Sure. It takes away some of the mystery and the allure, but at the same time, it's not dismissing some wonderful creativity among the very same people who are keeping the series alive and relevant. Also, she could have given a little wink to the Tamsand fans by saying Rhysand made it back when he and Tamlin were friends, and that would have given the fans a lot more to go on.