And I hope my readers see that anyone can take karate and with practice, they can be confident in their abilities.īyrt: How did switchblades become your fictional weapon of choice? It’s not a gift or a superpower – it comes from hard work and endless repetition. I’m a big believer in making my characters sweat – to make them learn how to fight and defend themselves.

I studied Issinryu Karate for a number of years, earning a brown belt (one shy of black). Maria: My favorite reader emails are when a young teen or young woman tells me she signed up for a kickboxing or karate class :). Do you practice martial arts? Or love Kung Fu movies? Are you secretly trying to make all your readers want to learn how to fight? *grin* I tried to encourage her to be more assertive.īyrt: As someone who loves martial arts, I really enjoy how you include sweat and training in your books. I think by SPY GLASS her guilt is easing and there isn’t as much doubt. She isn’t the type to make a decision lightly and she’s sensitive. Maria: Opal is hard on herself and, as I said in my other answers, the characters guide the way. Many of my characters just won’t go where I’m thinking and those are the ones that my readers seem to really connect with.īyrt: Was it hard to write Opal when she feels so much doubt and guilt? Did you ever have to resist the urge to let her off the hook? Maria: Devlen is like all of my characters – they start out as stereotypes and then decide who they really are as I write the book. I don’t master plan any of my books – they’re more organic and grow from seeds of ideas :)īyrt: How did the evolution of Devlen’s character come about – did you know from the beginning he was going to be more than just a villain or did he grow on you? Maria: The story surprised me along the way. Thanks again to Maria for coming to the Bookyurt!īyrt: I just finished Spy Glass and wow that ending took me by surprise – did you always have a master plan for the Glass series or did the story surprise you along the way? Maria’s latest book, Spy Glass, come out this week and is the final book of the G lass trilogy. Snyder is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Study series ( Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study ) and Glass series ( Storm Glass, Sea Glass ).

Sea glass by maria v snyder