Over 75 million copies of her steamy books have sold around the world - but her fans are in a spin for a new reason

There's no denying BookTok has ignited a whole new generation of readers, and there's one name in particular people can't stop talking about: Sarah J Maas. 

She's written almost 20 books, sold over 75 million copies across the globe – and amassed quite the fortune too – but it's the internet fandom surrounding her books that has really shot her into the spotlight. 

Few authors have the kind of online devotion Maas has. 

Watch the video above.

She's the woman behind the cult-smash book series A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), Throne of Glass and Crescent City has built an enormous global readership. 

The steamy romantic fantasy novels have taken over the world and people can't get enough of them, anxiously waiting for any news about new instalments.

So when Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast, announced Maas was going to be a guest, BookTok went into meltdown. 

READ MORE: Office worker's diabolical fridge act causes outrage

READ MORE: Virtual digital calendar that every mum wants finally returns to stores

READ MORE: Jaw dropping cost of tennis star's engagement ring

The thing is, Maas rarely does any long-form interviews, so fans have been desperate to get any answers about new books or even more insight into the stories they have grown to love. 

A clip shared before the episode dropped on March 5 AEDT showed Cooper asking hard-hitting questions to Maas, and with her history of candid conversations, fans have been desperate for answers. 

But we'll get to that in a minute. 

Let's start things off with how her career started. 

When did Sarah J Maas start writing books? 

She started writing a novel when she was just 16, at the time she was inspired by JRR Tolkien. 

At the time she was writing Throne of Glass, which later went on to become her debut book.

She shared some of the chapters online to FictionPress.com, with the book then titled Queen of Glass. 

Well, it quickly gained traction and became one of the most popular stories on the site. 

The plot of the book was simple, like Cinderella – except, as Maas put it in a 2009 interview, "What if Cinderella was not a servant, but an assassin? [And] what if she didn't attend the ball to meet the prince, but to kill him, instead?"

In 2008, at age 22, she signed with agents. 

Two years later she sold Throne of Glass, and by 2022 the eight book series had sold over 12 million copies. 

How did Sarah J Maas' books become so popular? 

Fantasy readers have loved the ACOTAR and Throne of Glass books long before social media got involved, but 'BookTok' definitely played a hand in her insane popularity. 

On TikTok alone the hashtag #ACOTAR has clocked up close to 2 million posts and over 8.5 billion views. 

Maas is the first one to admit that social media is one of the driving forces behind her rise to the spotlight. 

"I'm sitting here today because of social media," she told Jenna Bush Hager on her Read With Jenna podcast in 2025. 

"I will admit, I'm not really on it that much, mostly because I need to focus on my children or my writing."

What did Sarah J Maas confirm on the Call Her Daddy podcast? 

Now, fans of ACOTAR have been dying for any news about books 5 and 6 and were hoping the Alex Cooper interview would provide some answers. 

Well, they were in luck.

During the interview Maas confirmed there are two new books in the ACOTAR series on the way. 

ACOTAR book 6 will be released on October 27, 2026 and ACOTAR book 7 will come out on January 12, 2027. 

She also confirmed that right now, her focus is on books, and gave an update on the TV adaptation of the ACOTAR series that was potentially in the works. 

Almost a month ago it was announced Hulu would not be moving forward with a TV series, and she revealed that she now has the rights to it. 

"I have the rights back to everything now. And getting the rights back to all my things has been a big part of my journey in recent years," she said on the podcast.

"I look at any TV or movie adaptation as a facet of the worlds I've created, and it's something I want to be in charge of."

If or when it ever makes it to the small screen, Maas admitted she wants to be in charge of it and her fans to be happy with it too. 

"I want to see everything adapted the way I envision it, and the way I know fans want it," she said.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.