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

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

Christina wrote: "How do you come up with such surprising twists and endings?
Have you ever written something and then purposely changed it because you thought it would be predictable?"

Careful plotting with the help of friends. I read a lot of mysteries to grasp the structure, esp. the art of misdirection. I recommend this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Plotting-Writin...

"Will we see Tessa shift into any of the dead characters that have been mentioned in the books, like, Thomas, Jem's Mother, Jem's Father, Tessa's Aunt or Mother & Father?
I dont see why she hasn't used the clockwork angel to change into her mother to find out the secrets of how she came to be."

Urgh, turning into Thomas, seems disrespectful. There's a reason the Dark Sisters separated Tessa from all her belongings: she HAS nothing of her mother's or father's and can't turn into them. Th Clockwork Angel has been worn by Tessa for years and long ago became "hers" — it can no longer be used to turn into the person it used to belong to. The magic rests on an arcane idea of "belonging" — otherwise when holding Jessamine's ring Tessa would turn into Jessamine's grandmother, who it once belonged to, instead of Jessie.

Can you give us any hints when we'll learn what other talents or powers Tessa has? Clockwork Prince? Clockwork Princess? "

By the end of the series.

Dottie wrote: "*****SPOILER FOR CLOCKWORK ANGEL
Why is Will afraid to think of a world where Jem would not be dying? In page 272 he thinks, "But then there were other times, like this, when he looked at Jem and saw no mark of illness on him, and wondered what it would be like in a world where Jem was not dying. And that did not bear thinking about either. It was a terrible black place in himself that the fear came from..." I may be reading too much into that, it may or may not have something to do with Will's secret, but I was just curious. And another question, where does CP start? Does it pick up right after the end of CA or have a few days/weeks passed since then?

CP picks up about a week after the end of CA. As for your questions about Will, they are good ones, which I can't answer. All part of the contradiction that is Will.

Sasha wrote: "Hi Cassandra! This has been bugging me for a while. Are the TMI religous books? Like Chritain (sorry that I spelt it wrong)? Because Jace mentions God and Lucifer and everything. I'm not religous at all, but its really been nagging at me.

No. They are not religious books. While they are books that engage with aspects of religion (many religions, not just one) they are not making a religious argument: i.e. presenting any particular religion as correct. They are completely relativistic where it comes to religion ("ALL stories are true) and since "God" and "angels" and even "Satan" are concepts that traverse a number of religions, they can't be said to be putting any particular one first.

And how many books are going to be in the Fallen Angels? I know that you have two up all ready, but do you plan on three? I'm really glad that you decided to write about him.

http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faq...

"Also, is Simon EVER going to tell his friends/parents that he is a vampire?"

http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faq...

" And will his band finally decide on a name?"

Probably not.

"And will his friend stop doing random poetry?"

Probably not.

"Are the Fallen Angels books going to take place during the school year? What grade would he in? Clary will be going to the Institue (sorry if I spelt it wrong) for school, right? So how is he going to feel going to school by himself? Or will he be home schooled or something?"

They're not really "The Fallen Angels" books, they're just more books of the Mortal Instruments. They do begin during the school year, Simon is at school without Clary, he does miss her, but pretty soon everything is going to be so shaken up by events that school is going to be the last thing on anyone's mind.


In the Fallen Angels books, will we see Luke and Jaclyn as well? Do they plan on getting married? Could they have kids? Or did Clary and her mom move to the Insistue?"

We see Luke and Jocelyn. They are engaged. They could have kids - if they wanted them which has yet to be determined. Jocelyn wouldn't move into the Institute in a million years.

Ellen ♥ wrote: I've seen your publication schedule and it is crazy! I want to know how you keep up with it all when it comes to writing? How do you plot? If you plot, do you plot loosely or tightly so the book doesn't sidetrack? How do you manage to stay on top of your work load?

Very careful scheduling. First: yes, I plot tightly, because the more carefully outlined the book is, the faster the writing process. I'm never wondering what happens next because I already know. Second, my publisher is very invested in these books coming out regularly, so I'm on a special schedule of fast turnarounds on their side — all the production is speeded up. And third, I used to have downtime — I would send my book to my editor and then wait to get it back from her. Now I have no downtime. I send an MI book to my editor and work on an ID book until she sends the MI book back, and then I send her the ID book.

Also, what was your journey to publication like and writing in general?

http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faq...

Christina wrote: "

I am currently reading Clockwork Angel and of course I love it so far! You are a fantastic writer and thank you for sharing your stories.

My questions has more to do with preferance but I was wondering, as a writer do you find that it is easier to work alone on a project or to collaborate with other authors such as co-authoring?

I have never co-authored anything but a short story so I wouldn't know what the process of co-authoring a novel might be like.

Also, where do you start when it comes to researching your books?
"

The library.

Maggetator wrote: "Nophoto-f-25x33 I just realized something about the relationship between Alec and Magnus: seeing how Magnus is immortal, what happens to Alec? Does Alec grow old without Magnus? Or does Alec somehow also turn immortal? It would be just terrible if Alec dies without Magnus..."

It would be better if Magnus died too?

Abby wrote: "4058410 Wait a minute in MI series Luke had like been mad at Jocelyn and said that he didn't care if she were alive or not and that was
because she didn't feel the same way about him.

Luke never says that.

It's like with Clary and Simon!!!

Simon never says that either.

And I think I have an idea for why Simon can walk in sunlight. Is it because he drank Jace's blood? Because Jace has angel blood in him too not just Clary and since Simon drank angel blood did that give him the ability to walk in sunlight????"

City of Glass:

Simon: "I’ve already drunk Jace’s blood— I’ve had enough of feeding off my friends.”
Clary thought of the silver scar on the side of Jace’s throat. Slowly, her mind still full of the image of Jace, she said, “Do you think that’s why . . . ?”
“Why what?”
“Why sunlight doesn’t hurt you. I mean, it did hurt you before that, didn’t it? Before that night on the boat?”
He nodded.

They then go on to discuss how it's because Jace is special, not like other Nephilim, etc. Since we already know he has angel blood the inference is pretty clear. Simon drank his blood, therefore he can walk in daylight. It's not supposed to be mysterious — it's supposed to be really really clear.

Tatiana wrote: "Who will Clary choose in the future? I mean its weird to be in love with your brother. Where is Clary's father and will her mother live?"

*puzzled* Er...never finished the TMI series, huh?

Guys! I love y'all, but you can't ask me questions here! They go in this topic:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

I haven't even looked at this one for days and there's no way I can stay abreast of two topics at once. If you asked something here, repost it here:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

is the cute, sweet, video-games-lover, best friend forever (yeah I'm talking about Simon) ever going to get what he wants and deserves? (he totally deserves a happy ending) or is he going to have a tragic ending?

When you ask questions like this do you think you're going to get an answer or do you just figure what the hell, nothing ventured nothing gained? :D Look, I love Simon too. I understand worrying over his fate. I never care if people tell me they hate Jace but if they tell me they hate Simon I get murderous. But I still can't spoil the rest of the series for you and everyone else.

also, he drinks animal blood, but he buys it right? he doesn't hunt animals, RIGHT?!? *shivers* he can't hunt, he has a cat!

He buys it.

also, is Simon's band having an apperance in the upcoming books? I miss those guys! ):

Oh, do they. Yes, we even go to a gig of theirs.

also, are they ever going to have a real name? are they gonna make it big? maybe have a reality show and everything?

They really suck. I mean, they do.

now with this month's teaser... is simon's mom gonna find the truth? like how he was changed and why? and if so is she gonna hate clary?

That's why they call them teasers . . .

Looksie wrote: "*immortal instruments spoilers*

1) will the "you will fall in love with the wrong person" prophecy come into play or will we at least find out about it in the next books? if so, which book?

Check out message 770. (This has been asked and answered a lot already.)


As for the "your mother may be keeping secrets" we have no evidence at all that this is even true.

OpheliaAutumn wrote: "Did you go through a lot of research concerning the Victorian period? I liked your explanations about Victorian London and enjoyed your choice of poems :)

For six months I read only books written during, or set in, the Victorian period in England, London specifically. I hired a research assistant to help me find first-hand sources: journals kept at the time period, the travel accounts of tourists visiting England from America (since Tessa is American, in London for the first time, I wanted to have a sense of what her impressions would have been) and newspapers of the period. I traveled a lot, too, to London several times a year for the past two years, to map out routes and select locations. And then I also had to do research into the history of automatons - robots, really - and how long people have been struggling to make them (hundreds of years.) A great book called Edison's Eve was very helpful with that.


- There is a steampunk feeling in CA, are you into steampunk fiction? If so, what are your favorite steampunk books? "

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, the Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick, and Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

Francesca wrote: "I have recently started reading your books and I love them!! I'm super curious, where did you get the idea for writing this series? Did the entire story come to you all at once? Did you base some of your characters on actual people? Who were Jace and Clary based on? Who is your favorite author? Thank you so much for writing this series, it gives me something to look forward to everyday!"

(This is mostly just the info from my website, but here it is:)

1) Idea: The idea for the Mortal Instruments came to me one afternoon in the East Village. I was with a good friend of mine, who was taking me to see the tattoo shop where she used to work. She wanted to show me that her footprints were on the ceiling in black paint — in fact the footprints of everyone who’d worked there were on the ceiling, crisscrossing each other and making patterns. To me it looked like some fabulous supernatural battle had been fought there by beings who’d left their footprints behind. I started thinking about a magical battle in a New York tattoo shop and the idea of a secret society of demon-hunters whose magic was based on an elaborate system of tattooed runes just sprang into my mind. When I sat down to sketch out the book, I wanted to write something that would combine elements of traditional high fantasy — an epic battle between good and evil, terrible monsters, brave heroes, enchanted swords — and recast it through a modern, urban lens. So you have the Shadowhunters, who are these very classic warriors following their millennia-old traditions, but in these urban, modern spaces: skyscrapers, warehouses, abandoned hotels, rock concerts. In fairy tales, it was the dark and mysterious forest outside the town that held the magic and danger. I wanted to create a world where the city has become the forest — where these urban spaces hold their own enchantments, danger, mysteries and strange beauty. It’s just that only the Shadowhunters can see them as they really are.

2) "Did the entire story come to you all at once?"

God, no. It took a year of prep and outlining and research before I even wrote anything. And that story was unrecognizable from what it is now.

3) " Did you base some of your characters on actual people?"

Sometimes minor characters are based on people I know — Simon’s friends Eric, Kirk and Matt are all friends of mine. But I’m not writing a thinly veiled version of my own life. These characters are created to fit the needs of the story and to be very much themselves. Sometimes they incorporate aspects of people I know, or have met, like Simon’s sense of humor or Clary’s artistry. Jace, alas, is definitely not based on anyone real.

I do not have a favorite author. I do love Jane Austen, but then I also love Raymond Chandler and Susan Cooper.

Abby wrote: "so like Will said that he's lost everything but Charlotte said that Will's parents came to the institute after a little while so.... I'm a little confused. Can you help me?"

Probably not. As I said earlier, the whole structure of the series rests on not knowing what's going on with Will in Book One. His behavior is contradictory. Why?

Camille(teenbookfanatics.com) wrote: "Nophoto-f-25x33 Can you tell us why you chose the titles: City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Desire? Or is it too big of a spoiler....

Thank you so much for your time! I really love your books and am dying to get my hands on City of Fallen Angels!
"

It's City of Heavenly Fire, not Desire. :)

I guess I would say broadly the themes of the books center around forgiveness and balance. Forgiveness in that most of the characters we know and love do some pretty bad things for pretty good reasons. And balance in the sense that "nothing is free" - the epigraph I quoted from Ted Hughes earlier.

"Nothing is free. Everything has to be paid for. For every profit in one thing, payment in some other thing. For every life, a death. Even your music, of which we have heard so much, that had to be paid for. Your wife was the payment for your music. Hell is now satisfied."

The last chapter of CoFA is called "Hell is Satisfied."

Secondly what was the hardest part in writing the Victorian Era?

Very small details, like figuring out what kind of lamp oil they'd use, or what ships sailed from New York to Southampton (instead of Liverpool) and how long it took approximately, etc.

Nikki wrote: "Hi Cassandra! Loved Clockwork Angel can't stop thinking about it! Is Tessa and/or Will going to continue looking for a cure for Jem?

Thank you!
Nikki"

Yes, they'll keep looking.

Ashley wrote: "**Clockwork Angel Spoilers!**

Another question! When Will finds Thomas dying, Thomas is about something about Sophie. What was he about to say? I know I read earlier here that sometimes you leave sentences hanging, but not know exactly what they were going to say; to leave it our imaginations. But did you know what he was going to say? (I'm sure you do lol) Could we possibly know what it was?

No, but don't think you won't ever find out in the books.

Caitlin wrote: "Cassandra wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Hi Cassandra

******************SPOILER FOR CLOCKWORK ANGEL********************


However, I've been scouring the book in search of this thought of Will's that is important. The only things that jump out at me are when he replies "More than you can every imagine" to Mrs. Dark's question about being entirely alone and immediately regrets saying it, and then directly after he realizes Tessa is alive. There's a moment where he feels "the terror of someone who, wandering in a mist, pauses only to realize that they have stopped inches from the edge of a gaping abyss."

I know you probably won't (and probably shouldn't) tell me if I'm correct here, but am I at least looking in the right direction? Or is it all just wishful thinking about my own sleuthing skills?
"

Well, neither is the thought I had in mind, but Will's response about "more than you could ever imagine' is certainly not unrelated.

Caitlin wrote: "Also, are Jem's box and the box Amatis gives Jace one in the same?"

No. Jem's box has Quan Yin on it.

Windowchild wrote: "I notice the ID characters mention loving each other a lot more than the TMI characters do (I don't mean romantically, I mean Jem saying he loves Will like a brother, Charlotte saying Henry loves them, etc.). Is there any reason for this, or just because they're more the types to be vocal about affection?

Interesting. I'm not sure I'd entirely agree — Charlotte is saying Henry loves them because Maryse, of course, doesn't need to point out to Alec and Isabelle that she loves them — they're her biological children and they've known she loves them since infancy. Charlotte is still trying to break through to Will by assuring him he's loved (not the right strategy with Will but understandable why she'd take that tack.)

Will and Jem are a separate case. They will quite frankly talk about the love they have for each other because men in the Victorian era — in fact, throughout history up till the twentieth century — were a lot more comfortable expressing closeness and affection to each other than men are now. They would quite freely tell each other they loved each other and show each other public affection, especially if they had been soldiers together, gone to school together, or had to fight together. Here's Sherlock Holmes and Watson in a scene from an Arthur Conan Doyle short story in which Watson is accidentally shot:

"You are not hurt? For God's sake, Watson, tell me you are not hurt?"
It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.
—Watson

Sadly in our current culture of latent homosexual panic I suspect Holmes would have restricted himself to punching Watson in the shoulder and telling him to walk it off.