Day 1 In Our Clockwork Angel Celebrations

We're starting our month long Clockwork Angel release celebrations with our interview with Cassie!!!

We know that you loosely structured The Mortal Instruments on The Divine Comedy, looking at The Clockwork Angel and it's synopsis on your site, we can see that Tessa's journey is one of discovery. She's discovering herself as a Downworlder and also literally discovering what happened to her brother, Nathaniel. Was this based on a classic work as well? Will the Infernal Devices follow her journey or will the next two books represent different parts of this new world? (you knew we'd ask about the encompassing arc of the series...LOL)

Well, Tessa's story is certainly one of coming of age and discovering herself, of finding out what it means to be a Downworlder — her power is all about the shifting nature of identity, which I think is *already* something you're having trouble coming to grips with when you're a teenager. And certainly the next two books follow that journey of discovery to a point of conclusion. I would say that Infernal Devices is more of a human-level story than The Mortal Instruments — everything has to do with people's relationships with each other, with their personalities, with familial and political interplay, where in TMI you had a literal battle over the fate of the world, with angels lending a hand. The love story in Infernal Devices also drives the plot in a different way — I would say that the books are very very loosely structured on A Tale of Two Cities — which you'll notice frequent references to in the text.

We are huge fans of Magnus Bane and are so glad that he's one of the common characters we will recognize in The Clockwork Angel. How is Magnus different in TCA? He's younger and we're hoping still throwing parties/balls. But we want to know more about him as a Warlock. Is he still willing to help Shadowhunters? Or is this an alliance built over time?

I've always thought of Magnus as flamboyant on the surface, practical caution underneath, and he does display those qualities in CA — though there are some lessons he hasn't learned yet. He still dresses like a crazy person (when my copyeditor got to the description of him, she was like, "no, no, clothes all wrong for the period" and I had to be like, "Yes, that's the point.") He's willing to help the Shadowhunters – but initially only because his girlfriend is making him! I think it's going to be clear he has some resentments against them and the way they conduct themselves. Over the course of the books though his relationship with them – specific Shadowhunters in particular - grows and I think indicates why he's willing to help them out as much as he does in the future.

Speaking of alliances, the political and social aspects of The Mortal Instruments were always interesting to us. The class structure, if you will, of Shadowhunters and Downworlders which ultimate drove the formation of The Clave. In a Victorian setting how will the politics and social structures change? And will we find out more about The Accords?

The action of TID takes place very shortly after the Accords, so they're still very shakily in place. People aren't used to them the way they are in TMI. The Enclave (the London branch of the Clave) seems to spend a lot of time obeying the letter, rather than the spirit, of the new Laws about cooperating with Downworlders. Even Charlotte, who runs the Institute, and thinks of herself as very enlightened and in touch with Downworlders, doesn't really trust those alliances. Which makes Tessa's relationship to the others in the Institute more precarious.

We know there will be romance in the book and frankly, no one writes a more gut-wrenching, will-they-or-won't-they, oh-wow-she-did-not-just-go-there romantic subplots than you. You've introduced us to Tessa and two Shadowhunter boys, Will and Jem. From the posted character studies, they are definitely very different types of boys. But with the Victorian setting and therefore much stricter social rules in place, will there be a forbidden angle to this new Love Triangle?

I think of this as my first time writing a real love triangle! In Mortal Instruments, there's never any doubt what Clary really wants. She's in love with Jace, but she can't be with him. Simon's function in the narrative isn't as a disruptor of their relationship (though I think people are so used to love triangles that work that way that they often reacted to him as if he was — I got a lot of emails about how Simon was "messing things up" for Clary and Jace, when in fact, had he dropped dead, the central problem that they were still brother and sister would hardly have been solved!) – Simon's role is as a representative of Clary's ties to her mundane life, and his transformation into a supernatural creature echoes the cutting of those ties. Whereas in the Clockwork series I think there's a much more even balance of emotion for Tessa. There are things she loves about both boys. And it's not as if they're both standing about going "Pick me, pick me!" either — they both have secrets, personal baggage, agendas and histories that create a tension in which I think — I hope, anyway — that each boy will have some readers rooting for him.

If Jem could use only a sentence to describe Infernal Devices, what would he say?

Probably, "Oh, this is one of those sorts of books that Tessa and Will like, isn't it?" Jem's not a reader! — he likes nonfiction and research. Will's the one who likes fiction and poetry.

If Will were to tell us, in one sentence about Clockwork Angel, what would he say?

"Though I am generally bored by novels, I find myself intrigued by this Will fellow. What a dashing individual he seems to be."

Fans have already begun stating if they're Team Will or Team Jem, while I lean towards Will at the moment, I really find myself torn between the two. How would you describe both of them?

Jem is one of those people who's had a great personal tragedy in his life, but instead of letting it wreck him or make him bitter, he's become stronger and more kind. That doesn't mean he's a saint — he can put up with Will, which most people can't, but even Jem has a breaking point, which we'll get to in book two. As for Will, a lot of readers have compared him to Jace. They're related, and no question, there are things about them that are similar: they use humor as a defense, and cultivate a sort of pretended arrogance. But where Jace simply didn't really care what most people thought, Will works actively to push people away; Jace had close ties with his adoptive family; Will literally lets in absolutely no one except Jem, a little bit — and then at the very end of the book, someone unexpected. :)

We liked Tessa's appearance at the very end of City of Glass. Will be seeing more of her in City of Fallen Angels? If so, will her role be a minor one, or one of the bigger ones?

There are mentions of Tessa in City of Fallen Angels, but she doesn't appear in person.

Thank you Cassie for your interview with us! Don't forget, this Wednesday you can read an excerpt from both Clockwork Angel and City Of Fallen Angels, when the paperback of City Of Glass is released. Later today we'll be announcing our giveaway for a copy of Clockwork Angel.