Mundie Moms

Friday, March 8, 2013

Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Princess Q&A- SPOILERY


Cassie posted a Clockwork Princess Q&A just a little bit ago on her tumblr. You can find her post here, or read the entire post below.

Clockwork Princess questions & answers -spoilery
“Hello Cassie! c: Sorry if you get asked this a lot, but I was just wondering when Tessa, Jem and Will’s birthdays are? Because in the first chapter of Clockwork Princess (which is AMAZING! I’m so excited to read the whole book :D), Tessa says that she and Jem are young at seventeen and eighteen, so does this mean they have both had their birthdays between Clockwork Prince and Princess? Thank-you! :D — carstairsed”
Well, what it actually says is that 1) The marriage is in December 2) Tessa and Jem will be seventeen and eighteen when they get married so 3) If they are seventeen and sixteen in April of 1878, when the books start, they have their birthdays sometime between April and December. 
“I would like to inform you that over the past 24 hours I have been suffering from random bursts of being in love with Jem. This is very alarming for me, since I am not usually this obsessed with characters, and since I am not even reading TID at the moment. Just thought I should let you know. — starkidhailey”
There is no cure for fictional character love, but the plus side is that it is an entirely benign disease with no bad side effects.
“I see people post a lot about Will/Jem/Tessa and the all-messy-complicated-heartbreaking love triangle things associated with them. And the few I’ve seen have focused on the ‘Does Will get a happy ending?’ (which I am secretly rooting for) or the ‘Does Jem get a happy ending?’ side of the spectrum. I rarely see (though that doesn’t mean they haven’t been there) questions on Tessa getting a happy ending. We know that Tessa is still alive in Modern Day and (identity of Brother Jeremiah theories aside) we know that Will and Jem aren’t. In a sense, does that already answer the question of Tessa not having a happy ending. The two boys she loves age and die as normal (or do not age, as we don’t know if either of them perish in CP2) and it struck me how she would, therefore, lose both of them. Basically, what I’m trying to say is, do we already know that Tessa doesn’t get a happy ending? And are we supposed to be keeping that in mind? I’m not making assumptions she isn’t content in Present Day, but she loses the life that she knew and the people she loved. Just a thought for the day (while I should have been doing a maths exam!) Love your books and your characters! <3 nerdgirl101="" strong="">
The point of being immortal is that you don’t get an ending at all. No? Your life doesn’t have the same shape as a mortal person’s life. The standards we apply to human lives, the kind of happiness we consider relevant and applicable to people, how does that apply when you live thousands of years without aging? 
That said, I think people tend to worry less about Tessa’s happiness because they assume she will end up with either Will or Jem, whereas, by the law of narrative, either Will or Jem is destined to end up — well, I won’t say “alone” because who knows, but “not with Tessa.”
“Hiya Cassie, I just wanted to ask, before I die of CP2, is Jem’s love for Will stronger than his love for Tessa and vice versa? Thankyou for the heartbreak.<3 strong="" theinbetweenshadeofgrey="">
Can you die of CP2? :) Anyway, I guess the answer is, we’ll see, right?
“Do you think of the scene where Tessa and Jem hook their fingers together as sexytimes?”
Yes, I do think it’s sexy. Also the scene where the backs of their hands brush in the CP2 chapter one, or the scene where Will unbuttons Tessa’s glove in CA. Sexyness is about tension, not nakedness.
“Hey Cassie! With COHF, it seems like we are going to find out A LOT in the book that connects TMI, TID and TDA. How long do you estimate COHF to be? With so much information going into the books, such as Sebby, Sizzy, Malec, Clace story lines, and then you have some Blackthorns coming into it all, and THEN you have Tessa potentially being involved. Oh and we can’t forget the mysterious “I’ve only ever loved 2 people” Silent Brother scenario!How are you going to end it all in only 500 pages?! It seems like this book is going to be so long!!! Sorry if that didn’t make sense! Lotsa love <3 dusttandshadows="" strong="">
I have already come to terms with the fact that City of Heavenly Fire is going to be gigantic. My future involves a lot of typing. There is no getting around it. I was in my editor’s office today and she was like, “Clockwork Princess was long…so long…” and I pointed out that Heavenly Fire was going to be EVEN LONGER so she put her head down on her desk. I revived her with a cupcake.
“Hi Cassie,I LOVE your books and they’ve really helped me with writing! Could you please tell us if you’ll write another series alongside The Dark Artifices like you’ve done for TMI and TID. And if you are, what time period is it set it. Lord, I hope its vintage! Keep writing! Love you! xox — tessera-grey”
You mean, write two interconnected Shadowhunter series at the same time like I did with TMI and TID? I don’t think so — it nearly killed me, writing at that pace, and I am already writing a second series at the same time as Dark Artifices (Magisterium) and I am hoping to live to see another decade. I do have an idea for another Shadowhunter historical: it would be late Victorian, fin-de-siecle, edging up on the Edwardian period. Think almost Downton Abbey. :)
“Hi Cassie, Just a question, but I was re-re-re-reading A Tale of Two Cities and every time I read it after reading Clockwork Angel/Prince I can’t help but see the endless parallels between them. Sydney Carton/Will, Charles Darnay and Jem kinda, Lucy marrying Darnay when Carton is in love with her, the whole last dream thing, I might be hallucinating but I kinda see a little Jessamine in Madam Defarge. So I was wondering if you had aToTC in mind when you were creating The Infernal Devices, or if it sort of worked out that way for you. — cecillyherondale”
Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations are my favorite Dickens books, and Clockwork Princess was always meant to be a loose retelling of Tale of Two Cities.
“Dear Cassandra Clare! First of all I want to say I loveee TMI & TID and that I can’t wait for COHF and CP2! Second, in May I’m going to York with my class and I was wondering if any places in York you described in TID are real? For example, does the York institute really exciste? Is it really there in York? Because if they do, a few classmates and I (who are also addicted to TMI & TID because of me ;) ) would really like to visit them! Again, I love your books! Thank you sooo much! Much love, Dutch book addict :) — divergent-badass-shadowhuntress”
Sure. The York Institute exists: it is the Holy Trinity Goodramgate. You can find it right here. There is a huge famous cathedral in York, Yorkminster, but I deliberately picked Trinity because from the street, you would hardly know it was there: it’s in a back courtyard off a tiny lane, quite a secret-ish location.
“Hey Cassie! I am eagerly awaiting Clockwork Princess (well, actually I’m panicking inside but whatever) and I have two questions for you. 1. Will there be other flashbacks apart from the ones in the prologue? 2. Does the family tree represent only the Carstairs, Herondale and Lightwood families? What about the Fairchilds and the Morgensterns? Thanks :) — clacing”
I cannot say if there are other flashbacks, but the family tree is the official tree of the Carstairs, Herondales and Lightwoods. Other families make appearances, but it isn’t their family tree.
“I just had a question that’s been bugging me for a while, I wondered what was the inspiration behind making Will Herondale Welsh? I’m Welsh you see, and the way you describe Wales is almost like your a native yourself, it’s truly inspiring. How much he longs for home is exactly how I feel now that I live away from the place! Unbelievably excited for CP2 and secretly looking forward to the torture ;) — livelifewithrecklessabandon”
Some characters, they just want to be Welsh? :) I love Wales; I was in Northern Wales with my husband, piffling around near Dolgellau, and said something to him about the landscape being a match for Will’s personality: beautiful but also remote, one of those places that’s not easy to access, but worth the effort in the end. I also love the language and the mythology of the place, and I try to go every year (usually the Welsh are like, “Why the eff do you come here?” but I like it) so — Will became Welsh. I am beyond pleased if the presentation of him pleases an actual Welshperson.
cassie, we’re freaking out here. i know i’m being a little too pushy, too many asks tonight, but please, tell us more about this: how come cp’s epilogue is in 2013? tell us ANYTHING more, please! will emma show up? just a yes or no, anything! — the-old-me
Anything? Even a .gif?

I will be posting the chapter titles of Clockwork Princess over the weekend, and I have a surprise for you on Monday, too. :)

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