Cassandra’s Comments (group member since Aug 19, 2010)

Cassandra’s comments from the Q&A with Cassandra Clare group.

Dianadee wrote: "so far in CA we only see tessa turn into girls. i know there are 2 more books to come so my question is will we see her turn into a guy? maybe possibly will or jem??"

Tessa can turn into guys as well. It didn't come up in CA but it will in CP. (Do keep in mind she needs to prepare for it, as her clothes don't change, and no one wants to see Will in a dress. Well, maybe they do.)

Cielo wrote: "So, in your story there are a lot of things that seem almost biblical (I'm not sure that they are but that's the point of this question) and I was wondering if the things like the mark of cain and stuff was something you came up with, or did it come from a religious story. And if it did which religion? Also, do shadowhunters have a religion? One more question, of it's not too personal, what religion are you, and does it affect your writting?


The Mark of Cain isn't "almost Biblical" - it's Biblical, as in, a story from the Bible! I sure as heck didn't make it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_an...

The Shadowhunters' religion, such as it is, is worshipping Raziel, who made them. As for my personal religion, being Jewish, we do incorporate a lot of lore about angels into the more mystical parts of our religion so perhaps that speaks to my interest in them.

Adris wrote: "Are there Shadowhunters dispatched to smaller cities? It seems like demons would focus on larger cities, (more anomity) but they could go to smaller towns because no one would expect them there... ..."

Institutes are in cities; each Institute is responsible for dispatching Shadowhunters through the "area" they represent — the LA Institute would probably cover the border up to Santa Barbara, etc. There are those who report to the Institute all over, so say you have a problem in Hoboken with a goblin, you'd call up the NY Institute and have them send someone.

Jen wrote: "Hey, I'm a huge fan of the books (NO! Really? I bet you all were wondering why I was here) and I was just wondering if we are going to learn more about Celine and Stephen Herondale in the second cycle of TMI. I found them both (even though they were dead and we didn't even know who they were until book 3) to be very, very interesting characters. I was just wondering what their personalities were like, who Jace mostly took after, and fun, interesting things along those lines.

Happy writing! :) "

You will learn more about Stephen and Celine in the second cycle of TMI. Jace has a very conflicted relationship with them (even though they're dead, it's a one-sided conflicted relationship) and looks for answers about himself in his dead parents.

Oh, and I was also wondering if the romantic drama in TID is going to be as cruel to Tessa, Jem, and Will as it was to Jace, Clary, and Simon. It was so hard to read about Jace and Clary thinking they were brother and sister!

I would say it's pretty cruel. Differently cruel, but cruel just the same.

Windowchild wrote: "Okay, so this is just kinda of a comparison question... (Sorry, I know I asked one already - thank you so, so much for answering it, made my day - but am I allowed two?)

I know Jace is a lot nicer (or at least not openly cruel), but Will seems like the better friend of the two. I mean, he clearly loves Jem very much, and Jace always seems kind of... distant from Izzy and Alec.

I guess what I'm asking is, how would you compare WIll's relationship to Jem with Jace's relationship to Alec (and Izzy too, I guess)? Do you think that Will and Jem are closer because of circumstance/who they are, or that they are equally close and Jace would be just as torn apart if Alec or Izzy were dying?

Thanks! Sorry, I can't help it, I LOVE comparing books in general and the fact that the characters are all distantly/sort of/maybe related just delights me. :D

(And it's funny, as someone who never liked Jace one bit, I ADORE Will, but am still Boat Jem)"

I think that I would disagree that Jace is really distant from Izzy and Alec — I mean, Jace is a distant guy, he walled himself off a bit after his father died, but he basically treats them the way a fairly self-possessed guy treats a brother and sister. Jace, when Alec is injured:

"Jace crouched down on the floor beside his friend. His shirt was stained dark across the sleeves and chest with blood, demon and human. When he looked at Simon, Clary saw that all the gold seemed washed out of his eyes by something she had never seen in them before. Panic."

I mean he obviously CARES. He was shattered by Max's death and would be if anything happened to Iz or Alec.

The difference is that Jace has all the Lightwoods -a whole family. Will has nothing but Jem. Without him, he'd be dead or a monster. Jem's the only person he can actually be himself around. Jem's the only person he can expressing any caring about. Jem's all he's got, so of course he's sort of psychotically protective of him.

And I do think it's funny, not liking Jace, but liking Will, who is much meaner! It's quite an interesting outlook.

Jessica (Rhayne Vhexus/Vhiper) wrote: "2503163 I justed wanted to say that Mortal Instruments is my all time favorite series. I am starting CA as soon as I am done with my two other challenges. Here is my questions: Is Sebastin alive and does he want more from Clary than revenge? I know he is a dark and twisted character but I feel that he may have some feelings for Clary that arent family related or driven by Valentine. I have pondered this for along time."

No matter how many times people ask me if Sebastian is alive, I am not going to tell them. Just putting that out there.

"Does he want more from Clary than revenge?" What? When? In City of Glass? I mean, I don't think he was out for revenge against Clary in CoG. She hadn't done anything to him.

I know he is a dark and twisted character but I feel that he may have some feelings for Clary that arent family related or driven by Valentine.

If you mean incestuous feelings, quite possibly. He really really wanted her to be "someone like me." It's lonely being Sebastian, he probably knows no one really loves him, even if it's because he's distinctly unloveable.

Talia wrote: "Dear Ms. Clare,
1. 1. I was wondering how often Alec spent time with Magnus alone in TMI. It didn't feel like they had enough time together to develop a romance, though they are so sweet together!"

They had the same amount of time that Jace and Clary did, basically. It was just all off the page.

2. How did their relationship develop and what drew them to each other? What made Alec decide to pursue a relationship with Magnus even though he still cared about Jace?

Alec may have realized that caring about Jace was like banging his head on a wall. Pointless, and feels better when you stop. Jace, not gay. Magnus, after he saved Alec's life, developed a rapport with him. I like to think Alec went to visit him at first telling himself it wasn't for any reason besides friendship but it developed into something more.

3. Does Alec's physical similarities to Will have any significance in Magnus and Alec's relationship? "

*looks mysterious*

heyy! I have some questions,
1) Is magnus full on gay or is he bi?(sorry if its already been asked)
2) Are there really such things as demon pox in the book?
3)Do Magnus and Alec get married?
4) Are there going to be any other love interests or crushes for clary and Jace?
5) will there be alot of new VERY important characters(ones that are relevant to the plot)


1) Magnus is bisexual.
2)Will seems to believe in it. ;D
3)Not in the books, no.
4)Maybe.
5)In which series...? In City of Fallen Angels, I can think of two, maybe three, important new characters.

Sarah wrote: "*MI spoiler!*
What do the Clave & other shodowhunters think about Alec's relationship with Magnus?"

Well, the Clave isn't a monolith. It's individual people with individual opinions. Some probably think it's bad he's dating a warlock, some may care that the warlock is a boy warlock, and most probably don't give a damn. Rather like Valentine couldn't have cared less about Jace and Clary's relationship.

Vampyrelover1993 wrote: "I just finished Clockwork Angel, and I LOVED it, but
I couldn't help but think that maybe Will and Jace are both related somehow? Correct me if i'm wrong but they're both Herondale aren't they? Sorry if i'm wrong I haven't read TMI in a really long time. Thank you so much:D"

That's not really a spoiler. The fact that their last names are both Herondale means they are related.

Andria wrote: "spolier***************
I see alot of similar traits in Will that he shares with Jace... I know they're relatives but did you do that for a reason?"

I already answered this question (message 456) but I'll paste in my reply. If it gets asked again, though, I'm just pointing people back here.

I knew when I set out to write a character who was Jace's ancestor that he would be endlessly, endlessly compared to Jace, and that I would wind up being told repeatedly that he was either too much like Jace or not enough like Jace. So I decided that since there was no winning that one, to put all that aside and write him as a commentary on Jace.

First: Sure, there are deliberate similarities. After all, they are blood relatives, and I like to think all the Herondales have a similar snarky humor. However, there are also a lot of differences. Jace is close with his adoptive family. He's quite able to love the Lightwoods, accept love from them, and show affection. Will pushes literally everyone away but Jem. He is not able to form family ties and treats everyone with the same coldness. He is in fact cruel, which Jace is not. Will lies constantly about what he's doing and is clearly hiding something huge. Jace "never lies" according to Izzy, and is not hiding anything. Jace yearns for his dead father, Will flatly refuses to see his very much alive parents. When Jace falls in love with Clary he is perfectly willing to pursue it until outside forces intervene. Whatever Will feels for Tessa, he is obviously not willing to even start to pursue it and in fact burns it to the ground. Will's whole life is self-sabotage; Jace's isn't. Will may in fact actually be crazy; I don't recall anyone theorizing that about Jace.

Will has built his entire life around the fact that he has a secret. Jace's entire life is built around something completely different. When the absolute core defining fact about a character is different, stuff like "They are both hot! And sarcastic!" is sort of surfacey. The main thing is: We (readers) don't really *know* Will. We know Will as he presents himself in public; we know that that's a facade, but we don't really know what's under that facade. We do know that the character Will has created - False!Will — to show as his public face is Jace-like, and that's what I mean by a commentary on Jace. I'll be able to say more about it when CP comes out. :)

Also when Tessa and Will share their first kiss I was confused on why he pushed her away. Did he feel more then he should have? Because he says, "What was that?"

You're supposed to be confused. How could you know more than Tessa does, when she's the narrator? And she's confused. Will's shocked at his own lack of self-control, I'll leave it there.

Amy wrote: "Has anyone been able to correctly guess Will's secret yet so far? Any theories that were right, or struck close to home?"

No one has guessed it. Some have sort of vaguely waved around the general direction.

Anielle wrote: "Love your books, of course, and I think it is great that you are taking the time to do this for everyone!

I'm wondering if Emma Bayliss turns out to be of more significance than we were led to bel..."

No. She's not important.

Karina wrote: "**MI spoiler**

Hi! I just want to make sure, (no matter how much it hurts me to get the truth), that Max is really dead and won't be coming back to the series at all. *sniff*"

Well, he died, and they burned his body. It would be very hard to come back from that.

Nattie *PROUD* wrote: "Cassandra, I am not being rude, but the worst part of the TMI is magnus and alec having feelings together, but thats just My opinion. I don't plan to read the following books if they focus ALOT on them, but if they are just another part and are only mentioned in magnus' point of view and arent As important as Jace and Clary, then I will STILL read the rest of the series.

I am also not being rude, of course, but is there any reason for you to say that that does not involve homophobia? Because I can't think of one, but feel free to enlighten me.

rollie wrote: "hello cassandra..:))
in harry potter, there is an elder wand.
will there be a powerful stele same as the elder wand in harry potter?

No. Steles are just not that personal like wands are in HP.

i'm just wondering why clary is short for a shadowhunter? b..."

She is a petite thing for a Shadowhunter. I'm not sure why, really. Possibly because Jocelyn was undergoing so much trauma while carrying her.

Anna wrote: "Hi Cassandra,

This isn't a comment for a question (I don't want to ruin anything for myself :) ) but I thought I might take the chance to tell you how I appreciate you writing these books and then..."

Thanks!

Erin wrote: "hi cassandra i was wondering what happens to Jace and Clary's relation ship with city of fallen angels and where did you get the idea for the characters Jace and Clary"

Their relationship undergoes some . . . changes in City of Fallen Angels. As for Clary, she is based in part on two artist friends of mine, the rest is imagination. Jace is all imagination.

Hello, I’ve got a question about reproducing. We already know that warlocks and vampires can’t reproduce. You also stated that faeries only rarely have children. But I wanted to ask if faery/human or faery/shadowhunter can have child or werewolf/human, werewolf/shadowhunter can. And if perhaps werewolf and shadowhunter have some, will it be werewolf or shadowhunter or neither or both? I hope you will get me right, because English isn’t (obviously) my native language.

I suppose they could. Shadowhunters aren't allowed to marry Downworlders and stay in the Clave. Werewolfism is only passed on by birth 50% of the time anyway, and Shadowhunter blood is dominant. Faeries can very rarely have children. I don't think it's something that comes up much.

Ruthie wrote: "Hello Cassandra,
II dunno if this has been asked already, but I just want to know: if we read the next books of TMI (books 4-6) before reading the Infernal Devices, will it spoil the plot or any mystery found in the Clockwork books?"

No. It will not.