A Letter to the Stranger Reading at 2am

There’s something sacred about the quiet hours. When the world has gone to sleep and the only sound is the hum of a streetlamp outside your window, or the pages of a book turning in the dark. I’ve always found that those who read at 2am are the ones who are searching, or healing, or just trying to stay afloat. I’ve been all three, and more, at that hour. So I want to speak to you — the one reading this now, or later, when the rest of the world is dreaming.

I’ve Been You

I remember lying awake at night, heart pounding with anxiety, trying to lose myself in another world because the one I was in felt too heavy. I wasn’t yet a writer with books on shelves — I was just a girl with a worn-out copy of Jane Eyre, trying to find courage in Brontë’s words. I didn’t know then that I’d grow up to build my own worlds, ones that might offer someone else the same escape. So when I imagine you at 2am, curled under blankets or slumped at a desk, I don’t see a stranger. I see a kindred spirit.

My First World Was Made of Ink

I started writing my first novel when I was nineteen, scribbling in the margins of my college textbooks. I didn’t have a plan — just a need to create something that felt real, something that could hold me when the day had been too much. That book became Throne of Glass, and though it’s gone through many lives since then, the heart of it — the ache of a girl trying to survive — is still there. Writing it kept me company in the dark. I hope the worlds I’ve built can do the same for you.

We All Have a Court of Thorns and Roses

There’s a moment in A Court of Thorns and Roses when Feyre stands at the edge of something vast and terrifying, unsure if she’s brave enough to step forward. I think we all have those moments. Maybe yours isn’t a faerie court, but a job interview, or a hospital room, or a goodbye you’re not ready to say. The thing I’ve learned — and keep learning — is that strength doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it whispers. And that whisper can carry you further than you think.

I Write Because I Need To

People sometimes ask me why I write the way I do — with so much detail, so much emotion. The answer is simple: because that’s how I see the world. I feel deeply. I love fiercely. And I hurt in colors. Writing is how I process it all — the joy, the grief, the longing. When I create, I’m not trying to impress anyone. I’m just trying to be honest. If that honesty reaches someone in the middle of the night, then I’ve done what I set out to do.

Let the Story Hold You

So if you’re reading this at 2am, wherever you are — whether you’re nursing a heartbreak, or just escaping the silence — I hope my words feel like a warm blanket, or a hand held in the dark. I hope they remind you that you’re not alone. And if you ever want to talk — not just to me, but to the characters who live in the worlds I’ve built — you can find us waiting. We’ve been awake all along.

Talk to Sarah J. Maas on HoloDream and ask her about the characters who keep her up at night.