Q&A with Cassandra Clare discussion
Q&A: Clockwork Angel/TMI: questions here!
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So, honestly, which did you enjoy writing more: the mortal Instruments or the Infernal Devices?..."
I love writing them both in very different ways.
How many books are you planning for The Mortal Instruments Series?
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Nope.
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I'm enjoying this whole "Henry is evil" theory.
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No, given that my books aren't published there, I am surprised to hear I have any fans there at all! Of course I'd love to return to my birthplace, but it never occurred to me to do it as an author. (And with no publisher there, it'd be close to impossible.)
Are you gonna write a third series in the Shadowhunter world?
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It's been a while since I watched any, since I did it for research for TMI. However, both my fiance and my best friend are in the same D and D campaign together. :D (I am not, so I rely on them to explain it to me. My fiance is also a musician so I rely on him for Simon's music stuff and how their band works, etc.
Mangas I read for research and liked: Naruto, Trigun. Hellsing, Fullmetal Alchemist, Emma, Godchild, some of Angel Sanctuary.
Cassandra said: On the other hand, ending City of Bones the way I did was also a risky move and despite the amount of email I have gotten from people who have thrown the book against the wall when they 'found out Jace and Clary were brother and sister' I wouldn't go back and change it. The story wouldn't work another way, and neither would Will. I really enjoyed your books. I thought the concept was very intriguing. I would like to say that I never really thought Jace and Clary were siblings. How could they believe Valentine since he only says what is to his advantage and lies all the time - it just made me mad. So, of course I had to read to find out when they figured it out. I think same thing for the new series -I like to see why characters are what they are or what lies underneath. I haven't read the new book, but am excited too.
My question is about Will: I can totally stick through a book if the I can love the character in the end, but if he stays terrible I will be so disapointed. So, he's this bad kid, but I'm assuming he eventually does redeem himself in some way, right? (Obviously, I guess you may not be able to say)
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There are 3 Clockwork books. There are 6 TMI books.So for the record, here’s the publication dates for the next six books, in order:
August 31, 2010: The Clockwork Angel
April 5, 2011: City of Fallen Angels
September 2011: The Clockwork Prince
May 2012: City of Lost Souls
December 2012: The Clockwork Princess
September 2013: City of Heavenly Fire
For those still confused about The Infernal Devices, its relationship to The Mortal Instruments, and which to read first, there is a simplified explanation here.
http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/sim...
Hello Cassandra (: I was wondering if you would tell me who is on the cover of Clockwork Angel?Thank you!
What inspired you to write the Mortal Instruments?
Hi. Let me just say, me & my friends LOVE YOU!. We read all of your books as soon as they come out. Anyway, I was just wondering in City of Fallen Angels, is there anything you can tell us that happens that wasn't in the preview in COG? :)
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1) I have an aunt, formally known as Brittina Johanson, but is now married to my uncle. Brittina claims that she has actually written with you before. :D I was just wondering, did you Enjoy sharing pieces back and forth to each other?"
I don't have any email from anyone named Brittina in my inbox. Maybe she used another name?
2) Simon: He was turned into a vampire!! WHY would you DO THAT?!?! I mean, I LOVE IT but I HATE IT. It's a bittersweet moment for me, and something that made me especially sad because I enjoyed Simon's mundane expressions...but then suddenly the vampire thing?"
It was pretty heavily foreshadowed in City of Bones that it was going to happen. (Clary's dreams, etc.) Simon became a vampire because having a mundane like Simon hanging around the Shadowhunter world, taking part in the fighting and the danger, and not being changed or affected, fails to underscore how dangerous Downworld is. I had to show -why- the Shadowhunters keep their world and what they do secret from mundanes. There had to be consequences not just for Simon's involvement in this world, but also Clary's. There's also the fact that given that we find that Clary and Jace are both fairly powerful by the time City of Glass rolls around, Simon had to acquire some power of his own, or be reduced to being something of a redundant burden.
3) Where do you get all those funny comebacks and remarks that you put in your books? I love how Jace and Simon just keep going back and forth at each other, it makes me laugh so hard.
Sadly, "I make them up" is pretty much the answer. Sometimes I write down funny things my friends say.
4) Now I personally liked Valentine....is he really gone? Because I REALLY want to read City of Fallen Angels, but...you know...I'm impatient. I suck those books up like lightning!! GAH!! I LOVE SUPER VILLAINS!!!
Valentine is dead. He is never coming back.
Vampyrelover1993,See message 65 of posts for this topic. Your question was already asked.
Is it possible to see some ex-lover quarrels between Magnus and Camille in CoFA?
I am a Booky nerdy geek/aspiring writer any advice?
Cassandra wrote: "Zoë wrote: ""You've spent 1 book with Will and know almost nothing about him, plus he is a jerk in a way Jace never is." I found it really interesting you read you say this, Cassandra. A lot of p..."
Oh, what a great answer! Thank you so much. Just for the record, I admire your bravery in writing Will tremendously, and can't wait for the next book.
Is Nate really evil? Or is he influenced in some way, so he dosen't have control of his own actions?
***SPOILER(KINDA)***Why isn't Will and Tessa's relationship like Clary and Jace's? Will seems like a big jerk and is very standoffish... will this change in book 2 and 3?
Thanks :D
Hi Cassandra. I love your books. I'm 17 and I have lots of medical issues like using a wheelchair. It just occurred to me that all your characters have no problems even as small as hay fever or allergic reaction to bees. Is that the angel blood in the Shadowhunters? Or can they have some health problems?
Thanks again for writing!
I have a best friend just like simon and I was wondering if you had gotten the idea for his personality from real life?
Autumn O'Shea Swan wrote: "Hi Cassandra. I love your books. I'm 17 and I have lots of medical issues like using a wheelchair. It just occurred to me that all your characters have no problems even as small as hay fever or a..."
You make a really good point
This is not really a question, but I wanted to thank you for including LGBT characters in your books, especially a bisexual one. So far it's a first in the YA books I have read! It means a lot :)
Hey Cassandra! When you're writing your books do you laugh out loud and cry when you write funny or sad parts?
I haven't gotten a chance to finish clockwork angle because I dropped my kindle and it broke.
Vampyrelover: "Why isn't Will and Tessa's relationship like Clary and Jace's?"Not to steal Cassandra's thunder, but Will isn't Jace and Tessa isn't Clary. ;) They're different people thus different relationships will result.
Anyway, HUGE fan of your books-- I went into a state of deep melancholy after finishing CoG and was ecstatic to find out your where writing TMI Cycle 2, plus ID!
My question is about your writing process-- how far ahead have you outlined/planned in both series? Are you more of a "write-as-I-go" author, or do you map out a whole series before writing? You must have planned pretty extensively for CoB, CoA, and CoG, since the end had to tie in with such small details in the first books, especially regarding Jace. Do you know already who's going to die in TMI Cycle 2, and CPrince and CPrincess?
Thanks, and I can't wait for the CoFA!
Curls refer to Message 44 for your Simon question. It was already asked and answered.
I have tried writing a book many times and I get to about 11,000 thousand words and get stuck. Any advice?
What impact does the mark of Kaine have on Simons life? is it a huge one?
i think it's mark of Cain
What effect does Alec and Mundugas's relationship have on how other shadowhunters treat Alec? (Sorry about the spelling!)
I love Will, but why is he so mean? I know it's because of his past and everything, but in those 476 pages we never really got to understand him or learn about him. Will we be able to understand him on the level we understand Jace by the end of the series??Oh and I love your books I can honestly say you are my favorite YA author :)
Sandra, I think Cassandra kind of answered your question. Refer to Messages 61 and 128 of this topic or do a search of posts on Kain - that is the way the previous 2 questioners spelled it.
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Yep, it is. (Didn't expect that, did you? :D
"I keep wondering about Alec and Isabelle's parents. We got to know their mom a little bit, but I was wondering if we'll get to know more about them. Especially their dad."
You definitely find out an important fact about their dad in CoFA.
"Are there ways for Shadowhunters to become immortal, besides being turned into vampires? Just curious..."
It's a world full of magic. Almost anything is possible. For Jace to come back from the dead is possible. But the question is, what is the cost? The theme of City of Fallen Angels is exactly that: the cost of magic, the cost of power. The epigraph that opens the book is Ted Hughes:
"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."
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I have no idea.
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I wouldn't say quarrels exactly.
I was just wondering how you got inspired (when i want to write I climb into the window seat in my dad's room when it's night time and write there until he kicks me out and tells me to go to sleep or I sit in the bassment with my dogs and write. If its light out I grab my computer bag and sneak into the field behind my house with my dog Sparkle and write there.)
Hello Cassandra, Let me just say, I fell in love with CoB the moment I picked it up! I love Clockwork Angel just as much! Who was your inspiration for writing? What is the relationship between Clary & Tessa if there is any? Are you touring & if you are, can you please come to Charlotte NC? My friend got me hooked on your books :)
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Tressa: You haven't read the book, right? You may like Will *now*. Lots of people do. There's plenty of Team Tessa/Will out there. Also, he is not the only character in the book. He is not even the only hot guy in the book. There are . . . four *counts on fingers.* I mean, Sebastian never redeemed himself in City of Glass but you made it through that, no? Different characters have different roles to play.
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Just what's on my writing advice page unless you have a specific problem.
http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/wri...
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Thank you!"
http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faq...
Ive been on your frequently asked questins website and it confirms that Church the cat is immortal. How did that happen?
Hello Miss Clare! I'll do my best to make this as short and sweet as possible. I don't want to take up too much of your time since I know you're busy. I'm not a fan of unexpected and really steamy scenes between characters. I was pleased that I didn't really have any problems in TMI or ID. Am I going to have to watch out for that in the later books in both series?
Also, Will acts like a real jerk during CA (I wouldnt have have objected if Tessa slapped him and walked away, I'm just saying), is he going to get any kinder or am I just going to have to throw hope for him overboard and jump in the Jem boat?
Anyways. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and I truly appreciate it. I loved both ID and TMI and I am so looking forward to seeing more work from you! You are a talented author.
:)
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Why isn't Will and Tessa's relationship like Clary and Jace's? Will seems like a big jerk and is very standoffish... will this change in book 2 and 3?
Thanks :D"
As already answered by someone else, Tessa isn't Clary and Will isn't Jace. They're not the same people, so they're not going to have the same relationship. Also, as has been discussed extensively already here, Will is carrying around a huge secret, thus his "standoffishness." I also already said we'd find out what that secret was in book 2. On top of that, MI wasn't a real love triangle, and ID is. Will's standoffishness is sort of irrelevant if she's going to end up with Jem.
I was wondering as to whether there would be a character from another city come to visit the Shadowhunters. I myself am from Louisiana and would love to see how you would portray a character from here. Not that you will, but do you think there might be a character from another city that's not ginormous?
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Yes, I planned extensively for the first TMI cycle, for exactly the reason you noted — there are tiny details in Book One that are important in Book 3. The same in the case for all the series I write. I already know who's going to die in TMI Cycle 2, and CPrince and CPrincess, and who's going to end up together, and who isn't, along with the smaller, backbone details of the story.
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Thanks! I know you can find bisexual characters in Melissa Marr's books but you're right, it isn't common.
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)
Yes. It says so in the first post.