Daughter of Smoke & Bone author Laini Taylor talks about the worldbuilding process and her new book, STRANGE THE DREAMER.

Laini Taylor is a truly unique soul. She creates these wonderfully special worlds and these amazing characters that just make us open our eyes to her imagination. The world she built for the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy was one that was magical and beautiful and jaw-dropping. The words she graced us with, especially in her book three, was musical and lyrical, if you can imagine that.

And now she has another book coming called Strange the Dreamer, the first in a duology. Publishers Weekly spent some time with her to talk about her book and her writing process, including why she chose fantasy and why she chose YA. Read what she had to say about Strange the Dreamer:

How long did it ultimately take to write Strange the Dreamer?

It took about 20 months. Most of my books take about a year and a half. When I’m getting near the end, I try to go away for a few days—usually I can only take three. I’ll go to a hotel in downtown Portland, or out to the Oregon coast to a small house or a beach hotel with kitchenette. I much prefer going to the coast—it’s so nice to be able to meet a word goal and take a walk on the beach, and also to have more room to stretch.

What are you working on now?

The sequel to Strange the Dreamer, which is called The Muse of Nightmares. That was actually supposed to be the title of Strange the Dreamer. The book was supposed to be about Sarai; that’s how I pitched it. I kept rewriting the opening and I just couldn’t find my way into it. I was developing Lazlo as a secondary character. He was an impoverished scholar living in a crypt, who loves fairy tales. When I wrote the line: “His nose was broken by a falling volume of fairy tales,” I lost my heart to Lazlo and the whole center of gravity of the book shifted. I realized Sarai wasn’t the main character. I finally found my way into the book through him. I couldn’t resist him.

Will Sarai be the main character in the sequel?

I hope she will come into her own in this book, and discover herself the way Lazlo does in Strange the Dreamer.

How is work on this book going? Have you found your way into it yet?

This is really one big story in two pieces—it was originally planned as a standalone but got out of control—so it picks up where Strange leaves off. And, knock wood, I haven’t had difficulty finding my way in. I’m having great fun getting into the mysteries I was only able to hint at in the first book, to expand the scope of the story and to see how the characters respond to the profound changes in their lives.

The release date for the book is March 28th, but you can pre-order Strange the Dreamer today!

Read the complete interview right here.