Interviews & Press
Greta Johnson: "I think [these books] are better than Game of Thrones. First, these books are feminist as F**k. Second, they're finished."
Nerdette: How The Bechdel Test Changed This Woman's Career
The Bechdel test asks a simple question: Does a work of fiction have two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man? Today we talk with Sarah Kozloff, who was a film professor at Vassar College when she learned that The Lord of The Rings movies fail the Bechdel test. That inspired her to write The Nine Realms, a series of fantasy novels about a young princess who must grow up and fight her way back to the throne. Greta talks with Sarah about the books, her career change and why she released all four novels in the same year.
Wall Street Journal: Tom Shipley, “Science Fiction: Finally, a Grown-up Fantasy”
Tom Shipley is perhaps the pre-eminent Tolkien scholar in the world. He sees The Nine Realms as showing a rare maturity amongst fantasy novels.
"Its characters, however, in particular its scarred but defiant heroine, have emotional range and emotional depth as well."
Two young readers devote themselves to each of the four books of the Nine Realms. Plenty of spoilers and plenty of opinions.
Uniquely Portable Magic
In this episode, Alex and Ellen discuss A Queen in Hiding by Sarah Kozloff, the first book in the Nine Realms series. This book covers themes such as sacrifice, veiled racism, loyalty and love. In this episode, your hosts discuss all of the above, while also bemoaning the fact that epic fantasies with multiple storylines can be both great and terribly frustrating at the same time.
Tor.com: The Return of the Queen: Sarah Kozloff’s A Broken Queen and The Cerulean Queen
Paul Weimer: Welcome back. In my previous installment, I looked at Sarah Kozloff’s first two Nine Realms books, A Queen in Hiding and The Queen of Raiders. In this second and final installment, I look at the two final volumes of the quartet, A Broken Queen and The Cerulean Queen. Spoilers to be expected.
I think that for the most part the “payoff” of the series really starts to happen in the end of A Broken Queen, with Cerulia’s return to Weirandale and with the finale of the Oromondo occupation of the Free States.
"Which talent do you wish you had?"
"I wish I were a decent speller. Seriously. First of all, I find it embarrassing that I make so many mistakes. But second of all, my weak spelling is tied to the pace at which I read, which is lickety-split. I don’t see the letters as separate and don’t sound out syllables. I don’t really see the words as words, I just inhale their meaning."
Debutante’s Ball Interview with Sarah Kozloff, author of A QUEEN IN HIDING & the Nine Realms series
I’m so pleased to welcome Sarah Kozloff to the ball today! Sarah and I met through our editor at Tor and I was amazed at her journey — from film & TV professor to fantasy author, with her entire series released earlier this year by Tor! That’s right, Sarah debuted with FOUR books! THE NINE REALMS series, beginning with A QUEEN IN HIDING, is the kind of epic fantasy fans have been waiting for, and I loved being able to gobble down Cerulia’s journey one after another.
Vassar Quarterly: Professor Sarah Kozloff Embarks on Second Career…as a Fantasy Fiction Writer
Sarah Kozloff, Professor of Film on the William R. Kenan, Jr. Chair, spent the first 57 years of her life not considering herself creative and not writing novels. Less than seven years later, she’s written four of them. The Nine Realms, her epic fantasy quartet, is a sweeping tale of a fabled queen who uses her strength, humility, compassion, and “the necessary touch of ruthlessness” to claim and rule her magical, mythical land. The first book, A Queen in Hiding, will be released January 21, 2020, and subsequent volumes will go on sale in February, March and April.
“I learned that writing is re-writing, and there were times when I took a subplot from one book and put it in another. My editing software told me I edited one passage 67 times.”
"Sometimes I think [The Cerulean Queen] is a musical! There’s lots of singing and dancing and a fair amount of romance and joy."
Paul Semel: Exclusive Interview: The Cerulean Queen Author Sarah Kozloff
With The Cerulean Queen (paperback, Kindle), writer Sarah Kozloff is concluding The Nine Realms quartet she launched this past January with A Queen In Hiding, and then continued in February and March with The Queen Of Raiders and A Broken Queen, respectfully. In the following email interview, she discusses both this series and this final book, as well as what she thinks you should read when you’re done with this saga.
The Nerd Daily Q&A: Sarah Kozloff, Author of ‘A Queen In Hiding’
Debut author Sarah Kozloff offers a breathtaking and cinematic epic fantasy of a ruler coming of age in A Queen in Hiding, and all four books will be published within a month of each other, so you can binge your favourite new fantasy series.
We had the pleasure of chatting to debut author Sarah Kozloff about her upcoming release, A Queen In Hiding. She chats about its inspiration, her writing process, book recommendations, and more!
"When did you know you wanted to be a writer?"
"I’m not sure I’ve adopted that ambition yet. I wanted to be a teacher and scholar—writing is something that seems to have possessed me suddenly, late in life. I’m still finding it hard to think of myself as a novelist."
“The books are very focused on relationships.”
Functional Nerds: Episode 434-With Sarah Kozloff
This week, Patrick and John welcome author, Sarah Kozloff, whose Nine Realms epic fantasy quartet is complete and will be released by TOR one a month starting today, February 18th, with A Queen in Hiding!