Interview & Giveaways with Cassandra Clare

 

 

This morning I have the great honor to close the Paranormal Summer Fest with the fantastic Cassandra Clare! She’s been very lovely and I’m truly grateful to have her with us today! Make sure to read along to discover more about her, but also about her upcoming release The Clockwork Angel and also a few details about City of Fallen Angels!

 

 

The Clockwork Angel synopsis is awesome, from what I gathered, Tessa is a Shapeshifter, is there a reason why we've never seen that kind of Downworlder in the The Mortal Instruments books?

Yes, Tessa is a very unique kind of Downworlder — in fact, the Shadowhunters spend a good deal of the first book trying to figure out what she is, exactly. All warlocks have something that mark them as warlocks — Magnus has cat's eyes, Elias (in City of Ashes) had bat wings, Ragnor has horns. But Tessa has no "warlock's mark" - instead she has this odd power of shapechanging. And not only can she change shape, but she can hear the voice of the person who she's changed into whispering in her head — even if they're dead. It's kind of a creepy power and the Shadowhunters are naturally very curious about this anomaly — I'd say a lot of the second book is "the search for Tessa's origins."

If you had to describe TCA mains characters by a sentence each, what would it be?

Tessa: Tessa is bookish; she loves to read and compares everything in her life to books.
Jem: Jem is unfailingly thoughtful, unselfish, and philosophical about his situation — but he does  have a darker side which we see more of in book 2.
Will: Will was fun to write because he is so utterly self-sabotaging — he spends his life trying to make people think the worst of him.
Charlotte: Charlotte, who runs the Institute, gives off the air of being utterly competent, and she really is, but as a woman, she has to fight for her place in Shadowhunter society.
Henry: Your classic absent-minded mad scientist - in one scene he comes to dinner actually on fire, without noticing.
Jessamine: Jessamine hates Shadowhunters, hates everything about it, won't touch a weapon. She's the anti-Isabelle.

I know you read a lot about Mythology and Demonology to write your books, I was wondering what part is pure Cassandra Clare Imagination?

I think of mythology — of which demonology and angelology are a subset — as a springboard to imagination. I'd go farther and say I don't think there is such a thing as "pure" imagination — what we imagine, what we dream up, is an amalgam of our knowledge, our beliefs, our passions, and our experiences, which is as it should be. It's the way we combine and refine them that makes them unique. To answer your question more specifically, I read a lot of mythology and folklore while researching for TMI, and tried to put my own unique spin on what I learned.

Will TCA have an impact on what's to come in City of Fallen Angels?

Yes, in the sense that the past impacts the future. I don't wind either series to be exclusive of the other - meaning you could pick up and read Clockwork Angel and nothing in it will be inexplicable if you haven't read the Mortal Instruments. You can shun Clockwork entirely and still read City of Fallen Angels (though obviously I hope people won't!) However, reading Clockwork will make CoFA a richer experience — at least one important character is first introduced in Clockwork before appearing in CoFA to stir things up, for instance. Aspects of Magnus's past that have an impact on his character in Angels are also hinted at in Clockwork.

Let's learn a bit more about you ^^

It seems like you travelled a lot while growing up, what's your favorite country?

I have a special affinity for England because we lived there for a few years when I was growing up.

Do you speak other languages?

French, some Italian, some Spanish.

If you could go back in time, when would it be?

Victorian London, of course!

If you had to choose, would you be Downworlder (if so which one) or Shadowhunter?

I'd be a warlock — I like the living forever part of the deal, but the blood drinking bit about being a vampire grosses me out.

Would you share with us three surprising facts about yourself?

I only type with two fingers.
I was born in Teheran, Iran.
I once killed a rattlesnake with a shovel.

Thank you so much Cassie for taking the time to answer my questions. I really enjoyed my correspondence with you and loved you answers! Thanks for your generosity =)

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Cassandra is offering to one lucky winner a signed Clockwork teaser chapter (!!!!) and a piece of rune jewelry from the Mortal Instruments store, if you haven’t been to the shop yet, make sure you do, those jewelry are amazing!

(pendant is just an example of what you can find in the store)

Fabulous as she is, Cassie will ship internationally!

All you have to do is fill the form!

Ends July 4th, 2010.

 

But hey like this wasn’t already fantastic enough, scroll down for more goodies!

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Simon & Schuster very generously offered two box set of The Mortal Instruments series (Hardcover!) and posters (14x9)!

How fabulous is that prize? Too bad I can’t enter my own giveaway!

 

So if you haven’t started this series yet, or want to get your hands on this shiny prize, all you have to do is fill the form below.

Contest is open to US addresses only.

Ends July 4th, 2010.

Fill The Form

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Please take note that those are two separate giveaways, and you have to fill each form separately to be entered for both!

I’m not giving extra entries to spread to word, but it’s greatly appreciated =)

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Read an Excerpt of the Clockwork Angel

Visit the Infernal Devices website! -------------------------------

Click Here if you want to Pre-Order The Clockwork Angel

Posted by Tynga at 00:01

 Cassandra Clare, giveaway, Interview, Paranormal Summer Fest, Simon Schuster  27 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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