Q&A with Cassandra Clare discussion
Q&A: Clockwork Angel/TMI: questions here!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
Is there another side of Jem that's we just haven't seen yet? Because it seems to me like he's too nice. Not that I'm complaining, I love him, but it makes me suspious. It's like eating chocolate cake. It's so sweet and wonderful you just keep eating it. But then after a while it gives you a stomach ache and you start to wonder why you didn't realize it's really evil under all the chocolate goodness... I'm just waiting for the stomach ache, haha :)
Nophoto-f-25x33 Dear Ms. Clare,I love your books! I hope to be an author one day, too.
I've edited my earlier questions to reflect answers you have already given.
1. Do we find out what, if any, ulterior motives Magnus had for acquiring the White Book? Beyond the fact that it's a rare, valuable book of magic? :D
2. Are there any shout-outs to Holly Black's books in Clockwork Angel?
Thanks so much for being so interactive with readers and for having question and answer threads like these.
And congrats on getting married!
WOW!!! Thank-you so much i Love your books and i screamed my head off when i found out that there were going to be more books in the MI series I'm so excited!!! And i have a little question. So first it didn't seem as if there were going to be more books in the MI series and now there are and you waited a while and I'm wondering if its going to be that way with CA and I'm just really into the Shadow-hunter theme and i love the books and i just want to know how many more of my favorite type of genre there is going to be. so can you answer my question??? P.S. i feel like I'm talking with a celebrity! Your my idol and you are what inspired my dream to become a writer. Thank you so much for giving me a dream. <3 your books!!!
Possible small spoiler for ID, but I haveth a question.
So Tessa is a warlock, and her mother...well, she's something, but she didn't know what, correctomundo?
Could her mom be a Nephilim? She'd be part human, possibly able to have a warlock kid, and maybe even make sure that, since she carried Angel blood, there would be no identifing mark to show that Tess was a warlock? Or do you think the Angel-Demon mix would ruin her completely and therefore be total sludge-filled doom? If it's not, could she use runes?
Another question that doesn't strictly have anything to do with either series, just with its races: Could you mix a female Nephilim with a male Fey and get a half-Fey, half Nephilim kid? Has the Fey's beauty and immortality, but the Nephilim's rune abilites?
Sadly, I realize you might not be able to answer these questions if they release major plot points in the other books -- I still thought I'd just throw it out there.
--Alex/Jenny
So Tessa is a warlock, and her mother...well, she's something, but she didn't know what, correctomundo?
Could her mom be a Nephilim? She'd be part human, possibly able to have a warlock kid, and maybe even make sure that, since she carried Angel blood, there would be no identifing mark to show that Tess was a warlock? Or do you think the Angel-Demon mix would ruin her completely and therefore be total sludge-filled doom? If it's not, could she use runes?
Another question that doesn't strictly have anything to do with either series, just with its races: Could you mix a female Nephilim with a male Fey and get a half-Fey, half Nephilim kid? Has the Fey's beauty and immortality, but the Nephilim's rune abilites?
Sadly, I realize you might not be able to answer these questions if they release major plot points in the other books -- I still thought I'd just throw it out there.
--Alex/Jenny
hey BTW I LOVE YOUR BOOKSand you said that shadow hunters are not allowed to marry downworlders, so
1) this means if simon ends up with isabelle they wont be able to ever get married
and 2) Does that mean the jocelyn never joins the clave again?
Hey cassandra, I'm not sure if its because you didn't see this question when I first posted it or if you've just answered it to many times, but I'm just going to post it again in case :)In CoB Madame Dorothea said that Jace would fall in love with the wrong person, and I thought it was correct all throughout CoB and CoA until CoG when we actually find out they aren't really related. So I guess what my question is, are J and C really supposed to be together like is there someone else that comes between them in CoFA or do they struggle with anything that circles around this ? Sorry if the question isn't to clear, I'm just going to throw it out there and hope you know what I mean :P
**Spoilers for Clockwork Angel**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)
-Abbie
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.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!
Happy writing! :)
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I'm wondering if Emma Bayliss turns out to be of more significance than we were led to bel..."
No. She's not important.
Has anyone been able to correctly guess Will's secret yet so far? Any theories that were right, or struck close to home?
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... But then again there aren't many Shadowhunters... *shakes head* Are they??
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?
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??
Hi Cassandra,I just wanted to say I love your books, I was so excited when you announced there would be 3 more books in TMI series i cant wait. I bought
and in the process of reading it. I've read some of the TMI on mundie mom and all i can say is wow, your a wonderful author. My question is: I know in the begining of "city of Fallen Angels" Clary and Jace are together, and you have mentioned that one of the main characters will die......well actually i would like to ask and beg please dont kill them off... I love clary and jace and after so many problems (and im guessing more to come) it would be very sad if its not a happy ending. I know a good story can not be without complications but in this series i hope you give us (the readers) a happy ending Please.
I'm so glad I took a chance last summer and bought all three MI books. It was the smartest decision I have made with books!Since your schedule is to release two books a year, which ones (both ID and MI) have already been finished (meaning you have the entire novel written, not necessarily including edits) and which are still in line to be written? I understand you said you outline very thoroughly, so I was curious as to how many of the books have been written?
Thanks!
Just want to say, me and my best friend LOVE YOU, and your books (Your books are so popular right now in Australia as well as all aorund the world im sure, and if thier not thye should be :) ) we are obsessed, and lovveee Jace & Clary. Just thought i'd let you know, and thankyou so much for continuing the Mortal Instruments series, i was heartbroken when i thought that City of Glass was going to be the last one :) Just a couple questions :)-In Clockwork Angel, are there like any hidden hints throughout the book that hint at what Will's secret is?
-Is Tessa immortal (because we saw her at the end of MI 150 years later) during Clockwork Angel, or does she become immortal during the rest of the series?
-How old were you when you finnished your first novel?
Thanks, sorry its so long xx
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No one has guessed it. Some have sort of vaguely waved around the general direction.
hi cassandra!! you are one of my favourite authors :)how did this story come about?
what prompted you to write a supernatural story?
why do you always make the leading man conceited and arrogant?
Everyone keeps asking about Madame Dorothea and her little prophecy thing with Jace. But if you hadn't planed on writing these next three books then shouldn't that have already happened? Tell me if I'm just really confused but it seems like that should be the case. So will we find out about that in the next three? Thanks!
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? 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?" I love your bookss..
In City of Ashes there was still a lot of sexual tension between Jace and Clary even though they knew they were brother and sister, and they even thought about continuing their relationship in secret (mostly Jace), my question is even though you knew they weren't really related, was it still hard to write these particular scenes together and were you afraid of the affect it would have on your readers?My second question is who were the inspirations (if any) to Jem and Will's shockingly good looks?
Thirdly how long did it take for you to write City of Bones and how long did it take for a publishing company to pick it up?
Heya(:,I just heard somewhere that you have started a guide for the MI series? I was wondering if it would be published at all, spoilers, what's in it, etc?
I completely love your books, btw. <3 I felt like crying after I read Clockwork Angel, because I have to wait for April next year for the next book. Can't wait!
hey cassandra! im a HUGE FAN of TMI and CA...both were brilliant!!! anyway my question is for TMI though so: is there any possibility that i will scream at the book and throw it against the wall because did something extremely stupid? i kno ur not suppose to say anything about Clary and Jace's relationship but my question is basically will he do something any stupid boy would do in a relationship? Like cheat?
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?"The only guess I can venture is that whatever this secret is, it probably will have or has something to do with the Herondale birthmarks? :-/ But then again, maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part :)
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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.
AHHHH! I just read your little simultaneously awesome and tortuous cookie from COFA and for a moment my mouth hung agape and all I could do was stare...then my mind got down to work and if I might point out this little tidbit of absolute gold,"He saw a girl with long brown hair and a serious face. In a world where everything went away from him eventually, she was one of the few remaining constants."
I'm not sure if you can/are willing to answer any excerpt-related questions but it's worth a shot! :D Does this imply that Tessa's the only one (out of the main characters aside from Magnus and Camille) who is still alive by the time of the Mortal Instruments, or does the possibility exist that I misinterpreted the statement and am wrong? *hopes for latter answer*
Cassandra wrote: "Su Mon wrote: "--I'm a new fan who's just finishing up "City of Glass" right now. I have to say I was EXTREMELY tickled by the fact that Max and Sebastian were reading the "Angel Sanctuary" manga--..."Oh, keep reading Angel Sanctuary--there will be a happy ending for Sara and Setsuna, even though they'll go through one insane plot twist after the next that'll make it seem like a distant, impossible glimmer at the end of the tunnel. Also, the first arc is the most boring of all of them, in my opinion--just wait till you meet the Mad Hatter (one of the seven Generals of Hell, Belial), this awesome wangsty teen drug addict Katou (Kira's friend), and discover Kira's big, big secret... it's awesome. XD Plus, the epic supernatural love story on top of all that--I think you'd enjoy it, so I hope you'll go back and finish the series one day. ;-D (the manga, that is--the anime's a huge mess and ends after the first arc)
Ahh, and if you like manga set in the Victorian Era (+ a bit of supernatural/occult fun), Kuroshitsuji (aka "Black Butler") will absolutely be your cup of tea. Incidentally, that's where the sizzling Sebastian Michaelis (the butler) comes from. The series is a bit cracktastic at times, but at least watch the first few eps and the last; the final scene of season 1 is kind of unforgettable. Ah, and this is the anime I'm recommending, btw--haven't read the manga, but I know it veers off in different directions at some point and aforementioned gorgeous final scene isn't in the manga.
Thanks again for a great story--I'm seriously itching to draw some MagnusxAlec fanart! *__* I doubt you'd remember it, but I drew a piece of Draco Sinister fanart for you waaaaay back in the day (Ginny on the back of a dragon in colored pencils), so this will be Cassandra Clare fanart #2! ^^
hi, cassandra ..I really enjoyed reading both mortal instruments and infernal devices series....It was awesome... I would like to ask if u say Jem and Tessa relationship is more heavily feature in CP , does that mean less emphasis on Will and Tessa's? Thank you..
Hey Cas, your books are amazing. I'm not sure if this question has already been asked,if so ignore me, lol but will Tessa be making anymore appearances in TMI Cycle 2?
♪Yue~Epically Random Weirdo~ wrote: "Which character is on the cover of City of Glass?"
If you don't mind me answering... Sebastian. Its a reference to a dream Clary had in City of Ashes where she sees a dark haired boy (who she thinks at the time is Simon) who has wings dripping with blood.
If you don't mind me answering... Sebastian. Its a reference to a dream Clary had in City of Ashes where she sees a dark haired boy (who she thinks at the time is Simon) who has wings dripping with blood.
Vicky wrote: "Hi Cassandra! Which books were your favorites as you were growing up and which are definitely must-reads you recommend?"
I second this question!
I second this question!
Hey Cassandra! I wanted to say well done on Clockwork Angel. I truly did love it!
I was wondering what inspired you to think about Tessa's powers?
Oh and from the beginning, I'v loved Jem, I hope you don't kill him off! But I shall wait and see!
Thanx!
Ruthie wrote: "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?"
The only guess I can venture is that whatever this secret is, ..."
Maybe the Herondale birthmark saves him from whatever is plaguing him (if he doesn't already have it).
The only guess I can venture is that whatever this secret is, ..."
Maybe the Herondale birthmark saves him from whatever is plaguing him (if he doesn't already have it).
Hello Cassandra! I am Alexander from Bulgaria. First of all I have to congratulate you for your wonderful novels, they are real pageturners, with very interesting plot and great characters. I have a few questions. :)First of all, it seems that most fans enjoy the romantic subplots in the stories; they are undoubtedly very well written, but I was really impressed when you wrote the creepy parts, with demons, with the Silent Brothers, with the experiments of Valentine in TMI and of the Sisters in CA. My question is do you enjoy adding horror elements into your stories and do you have any "trick" which you use to horrify?
My second questions is about the ancient history of your world - I am kinda geeky, I know, but I am curious, before the Accords and the peace treaty between the Shadowhunters and Downworlders, how was the war going?
My final question is about the future ID novels. Will the vampires have bigger role in it? I ask because (SPOILERS) it seems that they were quite insulted in book 1, once because the Clave slaughtered the coven of Alexei and second because Mortmain used them as a red herring and is creating an artificial undead creatures. I also think that the parents of Will have become vampires too, but I guess that I'd have to wait and see about that.
Again, congratulations for your excellent writing and sorry for my likely imperfect English.
Hey Cassandra, Thanks for doing this great Q&A!! Out of all of your books, who is your favorite character and why?Thanks, Steph
***************Question about Clockwork Angel***********Cassandra, Was it fun to do a book based in the 1800's? Did you have to do a lot of research for it? Was it more challenging than doing a contemporary piece of work?
Your book had a feel to it which reminded me of some of old movies, where they seem darker and just a touch more sinister than the more modern ones do. Were there any movies that inspired the setting? Oh, and I have to say I loved the artwork that you have on your website. The clockwork menu was a nice touch.
Also, I love that you created a set of runes and listed them there. Will you be adding to them in the future as more books are released?
One more thing, I went to an exhibit at my local Museum of Science and Industry that was on Leonardo da Vinci. They showed a lot of designs that used clockwork mechanisms among others. The designs were truly amazing. Did you see any similar exhibits that inspired you to incorporate a clockwork mechanism into your book?
SPOILER ALERTin CA gabriel lightwood says no one expects will to live past 19 and jem's disability is killing him so he has about 3-4yrs to live. would that be the reason that Will seems to care only about Jem then anyone else?? and my theory on that is that Will opened the demon energy box and something happened to him thats killing him, sort of like what happened to Jem. And i also believe that made him somewhat insane.
Hi Cassandra. I just finished ID, and i really loved it. Surprisingly i liked it even better than MI! Your writing continues to improve, and I especially like your deeper character analysis. Meaning you give more descriptions and depth to them, even though they have more secrets that you have not yet revealed! Am looking forward to the succeeding books!And now to my question... Which other authors/ books, do you admire? Since there are so many books now on the supernatural worlds (vampires, angels, magic etc), have you read any of them? Do they influence you in any way? inspire you? Have you read any contemporary books lately that you can recommend? Thanks a lot for your inputs! All the best with your writing!
First I would like to say that i absolutely love these books! I like writing quite a bit and i admire you as a writer. I would like to ask: Were any of the characters (from either TMI or ID) harder than others? Do you base characters off of people you know? And did you plan on writing ID before or after you started TMI?
Is there any relation between Jem being on the cover of second ID novel and its title?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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*
Q&A with Cassandra Clare
Books mentioned in this topic
Clockwork Angel (other topics)City of Heavenly Fire (other topics)
City of Lost Souls (other topics)
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.