Author reveals Princess Leia and Han Solo inspired her newest romance novel

Author Marissa Meyer has revealed her little Star Wars inspiration for her latest novel.

Move over, Shakespeare. Who needs the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, when Star Wars gave us the best star-crossed lovers of them all? The scoundrel and the princess. Han Solo and Princess Leia.

Okay, maybe that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there’s no doubt that the two’s relationship has definitely had an impact on pop culture ever since the two became an item. Just look at the sequel trilogy, after all, which wouldn’t have been possible without their son Kylo Ren/Ben Solo.

And now, one author is revealing that romance even led to it being a bit of an inspiration for her latest romantic comedy novel. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, author Marissa Meyer revealed that to the magazine when asked what was her favorite part about the novel, Instant Karma. Meyer said:

"I absolutely loved writing the romance between Prudence and Quint. I’ve had a soft-spot for hate-to-love stories since I was a kid falling in love with Han Solo and Princess Leia, and it was so much fun for me to write a book with all the banter and early animosity, followed by that slow burn of newly discovered feelings."

Truly, Han and Leia do come with their own brand of romance, especially in the original trilogy. Nothing beats Leia calling Han a “scruffy-looking Nerf herder.” And of course, the cockiness expressed by Han during their “I love you,” “I know” exchange shows you that this is no ordinary couple. So we’re sure it was nothing but fun for Meyer to write her characters’ relationship the same way Han and Leia interact.

The novel, overall, seems to be an interesting one, and the title says it all. Instant Karma follows the main character, Prudence Daniels, who has the ability to instantly deliver karma to wrong-doers. Of course, as the author mentioned in the EW interview, it won’t be karma to murders or anything like that. The book will be kept light-heartedly. But as Prudence goes on to discover her new powers, she finds that her magic begins to backfire when it comes to her slacker lab partner, Quint Erickson.

It looks like there’s so much more in store for this novel, and we’re happy to see that even non-Star Wars stories can still get the “galaxy far, far away” treatment. Even then, Star Wars itself has plenty of new stories set to come out, including The High Republic series, which will be available beginning in January. There’s so much in store for readers at this time, and with the holidays right around the corner, they couldn’t have chosen a better time for these stories to come!

Marissa Meyer’s Instant Karma is out now.