Interview: Cassandra Clare "Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices"

I recently got to sit down and ask Cassandra questions about her writing, the Mortal Instruments series, and the Infernal Devices series.

How do you make writing an enjoyable career?

Balloons? :) Well, I try to stay away from things that cause stress, and focus on the storytelling. If I didn't love storytelling, I wouldn't have chosen this profession! I try to limit doing too much travel and promotion, tend to avoid reading reviews, and spend as much time as possible on the parts of the job I enjoy — telling the story, workshopping and critique with my critique partners, and talking to readers.

What has been the roughest/best parts of being an author?

The toughest was learning how to manage my time without a set work schedule. The best is always interacting personally with readers.

What types of books do you think you want to write about in the future?

I love mystery. I'd love to write a mystery. I also love epic middle-grade fantasy of the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson variety and I'd love to do one of those. Jane Austen is my favorite writer and I'd like to do an updated Pride and Prejudice. And I'd like to continue telling stories in the Shadowhunter world.

Has your culture or any life experiences help you write your books?

I think traveling a great deal while growing up has helped me with the settings of the books, which travel from New York to Paris to London to Prague to Venice — not to mention the made-up country of Idris.

How did you intially come up with Shadowhunters?

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 showed me the tattoos she had designed, based on old runes. I became fascinated with the idea of rune tattoos and the fact that warriors in all sorts of different cultures used to tattoo their bodies before they went into battle because they believed it would protect them. The idea of a race of demon-fighting warriors in the modern world whose magic was basic on tattooes developed from there.

With City of Fallen Angels out and the last two books in the series releasing in the future, will we meet any knew characters, creatures, or places?

In City of Lost Souls we do travel all over the world. While we meet a few new characters, most of our mains have been introduced. There are some surprises in store in terms of characters that have been imagined or mentioned but not met yet...

Why did you pick New York for your setting of the MI series?

I had just moved to New York and I was enchanted with the city, with its history and its enormous presence. I have always believed cities have a shadow self, made up of their history and forgotten places, the things that are buried and forgotten, the locations where important things took place. New York has all of that in spades.

For someone who has not read the series, what makes this series unique?

Well, it contains steampunk elements but isn't steampunk — it contains a sort of hidden steampunk world as opposed to being alternate history which I think is more usual. Also it connects characters with the characters in The Mortal Instruments, but not in a spoiling way — the book series can be read in either order.

What is the relationship between Jem and Will like?

A lot of fun? Will is one of those characters who teeters on the borderline of pathology — he's charming sometimes but he's a also a liar and can be cruel and pushes people away. The only person he treats differently is Jem. He loves Jem and that love keeps him human. It's also interesting I think when we find out why it is that Jem is the only person he treats that way.

With Clockwork Prince coming out expectedly on December 6th, how will the series be continued?

Well, we dig more into the characters and learn a lot about them. Hopefully everyone's motivations and secrets come out into the open and we gain a further understanding of the characters. Also there are some kick-ass battles with giant robots!

You find Cassandra at her:
Website l Blog l Goodreads l Twitter

Thanks again to Cassandra for taking time out for an interview!

Peace and Fangs,
Alisha