Shadowhunter Mission: Saying Goodbye to TMI (avi and hashtag challenge)

The countdown for The Mortal Instruments final installment, City of Heavenly Fire, is winding down to the final week, and we at The Mortal Institute are chomping our nails in frightened anticipation.

Thanks to one of our awesome followers, @_urebriviel_ on Twitter, there is something cool we’d like to do to promote to come as one in celebration and in loss of our beloved TMI characters.. We are asking all Shadowhunters to post this mourning rune on as your avatar on social media accounts on May 27th. You are welcome to decorate it with any words that remind you of TMI. We will be following several hashtags as we say goodbye to our beloved series, and we’ll be doing our own: #AveAtqueValeTMI. 

Make sure to join us!

#Shadowhunters#City of Heavenly fire#GoodbyeTMI#CassandraClare#Jace#Clary#Simon#Maia

Walker Books, Cassie Clare hosts #TMIParty on Twitter

Are you as excited for the sixth and final installment of The Mortal Instruments as we are? Like us, we bet you can't wait! 

We have some exciting news for you!!! Are you ready?????? We are inviting you to an amazing event!!!!

To celebrate the release of City of Heavenly Fire, we are inviting you to join Walker Books and Cassie Clare for their Twitter #TMIParty On Saturday, 24th May from 7pm till' late (That's 2 pm EASTERN) we will be staging an online tweet along to The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones whilst releasing exclusive Cassie Clare videos, exciting new content, rune-reading, Shadowhunter nail & make-up tutorials and amazing comps

...and we want you to join us!

You can stage your very own #TMIParty while you follow along with us!

- Invite your BFF, a group of pals or have a pampering evening in

- Prep your perfect snack with our exclusive TMI recipe cards

- Press play on City of Bones *swoons over Jamie Campbell Bower*

- Keep an eye out for exclusive Cassie Clare content, comps, rune-themed treats

- Keep Tweeting: be part of the worldwide TMI Twittersphere

Follow the fun using the #TMIPARTY hashtag - 24th May / 7pm till late!

Stay here at The Mortal Institute and on Twitter at @TMI_Institute for all the details as they come!

First look at Simon and Maia, plus inside cover art for 'City of Heavenly Fire'

Cassie Clare revealed her newest secrets in this week's edition of #TMITuesday. This week we see the inside art for the City of Heavenly Fire jacket by artist Cliff Nielson. We also are getting a closer look at the art for Simon and Maia, along with some revealing quotes.

Anyone else the least bit freaked out by the imagery discussed in Simon's quote?

Maia sounds like either she is dying or someone she is holding onto is dying. What are your thoughts? Could it be Jordan or possibly someone else?

Simon just gave me a case of the major feels!! He loves Izzy, and it sounds like he's having some major heart-to-heart scenes in the book with her.

Also, here's a look at the earlier reveals Cassie has shared so far for #TMITuesday.

April 15th:

April 22nd:

April 29th:

Stay up to date on everything Shadowhunter by following us on Twitter at @tmi_institute@TMI_Institute.

Robert Sheehan CONFIRMED for Star Wars: Episode VII

It's an AMAZING day for Shadowhunters (and us Jedi) and fans of The Mortal Instruments star Robert Sheehan. Sheehan, who played Simon Lewis in the TMI movie has been confirmed to star in STAR WARS EPISODE VII.

Even more epic and a little ironic is that (SPOILER) Sheehan will play Jacen Solo! Jacen is the son so Hans Solo and Princess Leia and Irish actor Robert Sheehan was today confirmed as one of the lead actors in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII. The 'Misfits' and 'Love/Hate' actor will also play the dual role of Darth Caedus when Jacen Solo turns to the dark side).

Here's the info from the movies.ie:

It's no secret that director JJ Abrams is a fan of the hit RTE show 'Love/Hate' and previously expressed an interest in directing an episode. Speaking about the casting Sheehan revealed "You could say that 'Love/Hate' has been great training for 'Star Wars', there are huge similarities between the drug wars of Dublin and the intergalactic battle of the Jedis. Just swap my handgun for a light saber and essentially you have the same story"

In other Irish news, JJ Abrams revealed that at least 50% of Star Wars: Episode VII will be filmed in Ireland. Principal photography begins this May at Pinewood Studios before moving to Ireland in July.

Irish locations today revealed as part of the movie include : 
The Burren in county Clare which will be used to recreate the planet Anoth, where Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo will spend their early vulnerable childhood years.

Trinity College Library will once again be featured in Star Wars, where it takes the form of the Jedi Archives.

The Ringsend Waste Water Plant will be used for the interior shots of the iconic Millennium Falcon ship. Director JJ Abrams was spotted in Dublin last year on a location hunt and the water plant was one of the highlights of his visit.

The Stephens Green shopping centre will double up as the Star Temples and Infinity Gate on Dathomir. Director JJ Abraham's was blown away by the architecture in the Dublin shopping centre and revealed that he hopes to use some local shoppers as extras in the film.

Due to the movies Irish location, Abrahams revealed that at least 30% of the cast will be Irish. The production team held two days of casting at Dublin's Croke Park earlier in the year and during that time held auditions with some of Ireland's greatest actors including Ronan Keating, who is tipped to play Lowbacca, a wookie nephew of Chewbacca and the Jedward twins who are tipped to play Ewoks in the highly anticipated movie.

Star Wars Episode VII will open in Irish Cinemas on April 1st 2015
Keep an eye on Movies.ie for more legitimate Star Wars news over the coming months 

#AprilFools

ICYMI: Cassie Clare clears up Malec comment and more!

In case you missed it, here's the latest info from Cassandra Clare, clearing up the statement made about Malec at the recent Mexico City signing, as well as giving us some tidbits about the Herondale last name and a some juicy spoilery details about City of Heavenly Fire and The Dark Artifices.

Q&A 

[COFA SPOILER]Question: Cassandra, I heard that you said in Mexico City that Magnus would forgive Alec, is that true? 

Cassie: There seems to be a lot of semi-true stuff floating around based on my appearance in Mexico City — remember everything I said had to be filtered through a translation headpiece! I said, in fact, “Magnus forgives what Alec did but that does not mean they get back together.” I mean, Magnus is not a bitter grudge-holder so I never thought it would be a surprise that he would not be furious with Alec forever. :) So their chances of getting back together are exactly the same as before.

Question: Hello! Um, so I was wondering: does Jace ever begin to use Herondale as his surname(even if just on paper)? Or at least does the Herondale name exist outside of Jace? It just makes me sad to think that the Herondale line will disappear after getting so attached to Will and Cecy.— aquilaswing 

Cassie: All I can say is that the continuing existence of the Herondale name is addressed in CoFA!

Question: I know a lot of people on the Shadowhunter wiki, including me, are Downworlder sympathizers, and we were wondering, will we be learning more about them (like almost as much as we know about the Nephilim) in the future series? I’m optimistic that since Mark & Helen are half-fey, we’ll learn more about the Fair Folk in TDA. But more about warlocks would be pretty cool, too.

Cassie: You are definitely right that you will be learning a lot more about the Fair Folk in TDA. They’re a big part of the story. They’re also a big part of CoHF, maybe in ways you might not expect? There have been some hints scattered through CoFA and CoLS about the part they play. And there is a big political issue that has to do with them toward the end.
TDA also features a new warlock character — the High Warlock of Los Angeles.

Question: Ms. Clare, I recently read the snippet of Julian and Emma from COHF and the writing with their fingers really stuck with me. When I was younger, there was one year when my cousins and I went to about five funerals and to console each other in the pews we would do the exact same thing as Julian and Emma, and we still do to this day. Thank you for that detail, and for the books that brought magic back into my life. — make-dreams-your-master 

Cassie: Aw…I teared up a bit . .. It is a thing I used to do with my best friend when we were kids. Though we sucked at figuring out the letters we were tracing half the time and were like “What do you mean, is there any newts?” “Not newts! NEWS!”

Question: * 1234 is etched on the base of Raziel’s statue, along with the Shadowhunter motto, above the entrance to the Silent City. What’s the year’s relevance to their history? 

Cassie: That is the year that Shadowhunters began looking better in black than the widows of their enemies. Previously when wearing black they looked only equally as good, or worse, than the widows of their enemies.

MUSIC MONDAY: Read-along song picks for 'City of Ashes' book prologue

I know many of Shadowhunters I've talked to are patiently waiting for something. Whether it be news about City of Heavenly Fire (91 days to go), The Bane Chronicles, or even ANYTHING on the City of Ashes movie, we are all needing something to get us by.

I know many sites to read-alongs, so instead of being a copy-cat I'd provide a new soundtrack for you to listen to as you read City of Ashes. Each Monday I'll post a new set of songs. You can listen to all the songs or just pick out the ones that remind you the most of the particular chapter.

This week we delve into Prologue. Here's the synopsis from Shadowhunters Wiki:

Valentine Morgenstern and a Warlock named Elias are summoning the Greater Demon, Agramon. After the summon is successful, Agramon kills the young warlock. Valentine then speaks to him, telling him that he will obey him as he has the Mortal Cup, and Agramon "kneels" to him in allegiance.

I felt with the creepiness and ominous prologue to the book that we'd go equally dark. Like I said, take a listen to the songs and let me know if you think this matches the darkness of Valentine Morgenstern raising Agramon.

Song 1: "Voices" by Crown the Empire:

Song 2: "The Depths" by Of Mice & Men:

Song 3: "Heaven Knows" by The Pretty Reckless:

Have a song for our next Music Monday, Chapter 1 from City of Ashes? Share with us in the comments below or on Twitter at @TMI_Institute.

Pre-order City of Heavenly Fire NOW!

 The final instillment to Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series, City of Heavenly Fire is on pre-order NOW!

You can order book six from Barnes and Noble and Amazon now - just click on the links provided!




City of Heavenly Fire releases on May 27th of this year.

"

Shadowhunters and demons square off for the final showdown in the spellbinding, seductive conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastian—but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a chance…

Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final installment of the Mortal Instruments series?"

'The Last Hours' character portraits

NOTE: The Last Hours series has spoilers for The Infernal Devices series.

***

Lucky for us, The Last Hours news keeps on coming! Cassandra Clare shared a few character portraits by Cassandra Jean of the prominent characters in the upcoming series. Meet Cordelia!

Cordelia by Cassandra Jean

There are 9 more characters on Cassandra's tumblr page. Were you immediately drawn to a particular character? Let us know in the comments!

TLH Series Title and Book Titles Revealed

Shadowhunters have been guessing for months now what the letters of Cassandra Clare's book series TLH stand for. The Bookseller spilled the beans today when they announced that Walker Books has acquired rights for the new trilogy, The Last Hours.

Clare took to her tumblr blog to share the news with her fans. She explained the title for the new trilogy, which is set in 1903, comes from the book Great Expectations. The titles of the three books - Chain of Thorns, Chain of Gold, and Chain of Iron, are also a reference to great expectations. The first book is set for release in 2017.

Although set in different time periods and locations, The Last Hours trilogy will be interconnected with The Dark Artifices trilogy.

What do you think about the new series title? Let us know in the comments!

'The Bane Chronicles: The Course of True Love (And First Dates') out in 1 month

Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood might fall in love—but first they have a first date.

When Magnus Bane, warlock, meets Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter, sparks fly. And what happens on their first date lights a flame...

UPDATE: The new release date is March 18, 2014. 

The latest installment of The Bane Chronicles: The Course of True Love (And First Dates) by Cassandra Clare will be out in one month exactly!!!

Have you orderd your e-book today? If not, here's links to purchase:

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

SHADOWHUNTER WRAP-UP: 'City of Heavenly Fire' snippet, TLH news, and more

There's lots of news in the Shadowhunter fandom and here's a rundown of the latest!

Cassandra Clare shared a very special Valentine with fans: a brand new snippet from City of Heavenly Fire. This snippet features Julian Blackthorn, one of the Los Angeles Institute characters from the highly anticipated series The Dark Artifices.

Take a look:

“Julian,” said Jia, in the same gentle voice, “would you do something for us? Would you take up the Mortal Sword?”

Clary sat up straight. She had held the Mortal Sword: she had felt the weight of it. The cold, like hooks in your skin, dragging the truth out of you. You couldn’t lie holding the Mortal Sword, but the truth, even a truth you wanted to tell, was agony.

“They can’t,” she whispered. “He’s just a kid —“

“He’s the oldest of the kids who escaped the Institute,” Jace said under his breath. “They don’t have a choice.”

Julian nodded, his thin shoulders straight. “I’ll take it.”

Robert Lightwood passed behind the podium then and went to the table. He took up the sword and returned to stand in front of Julian. The contrast between them was almost funny: the big, barrel-chested man and the lanky, wild-haired boy. 

Julian reached a hand up and took the sword. As his hand closed around the hilt, he shuddered, a ripple of pain that was quickly forced down. Emma, behind him, started forward, and Clary caught a glimpse of the look on her face — pure fury — before Helen caught at her and pulled her back.

The book is roughly 733 pages, according to Cassie. "There’s no difference between the Walmart edition and any other edition in terms of the story, so you shouldn’t worry about whatever page number they have listed. It’s all the same book."

With all that said, Cassie also revealed that TESSA AND JEM will make an appearance in the book!

Signed copies of COHF at Barnes & Noble

There 2,000 first edition signed copies of City of Heavenly Fire for sale at Barnes & Noble, according to Cassie.

 I signed about 2,000 first editions of City of Heavenly Fire for Barnes and Noble (not that the COHF books have been printed yet, but I signed the first pages and they’ll be bound in. So you’ll be able to order them from B&N soon. I’ll put up the link when I have it. Every one will also be stamped with a rune stamp, and some of them — totally randomly — have my sketch of Church in them. That’s sort of a lottery, whether you end up with one of those, though. And you can always get signed books of mine from Books of Wonder.

There will be extras in both the first editions and regular prints, but with a little bit more for fans to rave about! Cassie says:

Well, all the first editions of City of Heavenly Fire have a portrait on the inside of Jace, Simon, Maia, Alec and Isabelle done by Cliff Nielson, who does all my covers. Only the hardcover first editions sold by Simon and Schuster in the US and Canada will have that portrait on the inside cover. All the books will also come with a note from one of the characters in the end that is handwritten and printed, and leads into the Dark Artifices series. That’s every book, not just the first editions. As to how to buy first editions — basically first editions are all the copies in a publisher’s first print run. They last until they sell out. So the earlier you order a book the more likely you are to get one. 

Bane Chronicles book set for print in November

Cassie revealed that the first edition of The Bane Chronicles will hit stands in November 2014. Cassie says:

Anticipatory and terrified is exactly how you should be! :) Yep, the Bane Chronicles will be released in print — the current publication date for the print edition of the Bane Chronicles is November 11 of this year. 

The newest story in the series, The Course of True Love (and First Dates), comes out this Tuesday. 

Name of 'TLH' project to be released

On February 25…

You’ll be finding out what TLH stands for.

HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES DAY FROM CASSANDRA JEAN!

Naturally, I will draw Valentine on Valentine’s Day! (The Mortal Instruments written by @CassieClare)

The flowers on the bottom are called Shooting Stars (or falling stars) and the flower on the top are called Hoya’s and look remarkably like…stars! For Morgenstern.

Cassie Clare shares thoughts on continuing Shadowhunter series

Cassandra Clare, aka our very favorite author (of course), took to Tumblr today to answer a very complicated series of questions about the continuing of her Shadowhunter books and about how people criticize successful authors when they write several books.

So, I've seen these sorts of questions posed before and always wondered how Cassie would react. If I were her, I'd ball up in a little corner and cry for fear that everyone was being mean to me. Something like this:

 Luckily, Cassie is way cooler than I am and shared why she still writes the Shadowhunter books, how she continues to write them without getting tired of them, and how successful authors pour their souls out to create great books. Take a look and let us know what you think about her comments.

On writing continuing series and a gratuitous picture of Tom Hiddleston

Is TLH yet another Shadowhunters project? Don’t you get tired of just writing Shadowhunter books? It doesn’t seem like you can really care about them anymore… if you ever did… so it’s flogging a dead horse. You and your publishers end up looking money-grubbing. Why do all these successful writers keep dragging out their series for the money? And are you ever going to write other books besides Shadowhunters books?

Wowzers. Well, let’s start with the simple stuff: TLH is a Shadowhunter project. I’ve talked about it before. Looking in the James Herondale or The Midnight Heir tags might tell you more…or you can wait till end of February when I can talk about it.
Also yes, I do plan to write other books than Shadowhunters books. I am currently working on both Lady Midnight, the first book of The Dark Artifices (a Shadowhunters book), and also the second book of the Magisterium series, which is cowritten with Holly Black; there are five books; the first one comes out this September 9th, and it is definitely not Shadowhunters. It’s a completely different world and it took us quite a few years to come up with the magic system.
And now to unpack this pile of loaded questions (which I have stripped down of identifying markers, because even though its a really problematic ask, I don’t want anyone yelling at the asker.)

“Don’t you get tired of just writing Shadowhunter books?”
No. I mean, other than the obvious fact that I am not actually, in reality, in this world we currently live in, just writing Shadowhunters books, no, I don’t get tired of them.
I keep from getting tired of them by not in fact continuing the same story, but setting each series in a completely different time and place, making it about different people, and giving it a totally different tone. The Infernal Devices is a steampunk retelling of Tale of Two Cities set in 1878 London and The Dark Artifices is a noir inspired romantic mystery set in Los Angeles in 2013; the only thing that ties them together is a magic system —so saying they are therefore all the same story seems to me as stupid as asking people who continue writing realistic books set in the actual world when they are going to get bored with the actual world because it’s all the same actual world. They should write fantasy! Change it up! All their books contain carbon-based lifeforms! It’s a travesty! *headdesk* Except no one ever actually says that because it’s ridiculous. Realistic writers of fiction should not be sat on and forced to write fantasy, and continuing writing fantasy set in the same universe is not by definition an act of hackery any more than the fact that there are twelve Dance to the Music of Time books means Anthony Powell should have stopped at three. Writing books set in the same universe in fact requires you to set yourself an ever-increasing set of challenges: how do you grow the universe, develop it, find new corners, tell a wide range of stories, keep a massive mythology running and consistent in your head? These aren’t bigger challenges than building a new world or magic system from scratch (I’ve done both in the past two years) but they are equal.

It doesn’t seem like you can really care about them anymore… if you ever did… so it’s flogging a dead horse.
If I never cared about them, why would I have written them …at all? I would have written something else. There was no particular advantage to writing City of Bones when I did. It could have been anything. When I proposed The Infernal Devices my publisher was not thrilled. They told me historical fantasy didn’t sell. I had to produce a list of YA historical fantasies that had been bestsellers to even sell the project. And I had already been a bestseller. I wrote TiD because I loved the idea and I really really wanted to write them. I would actually have gotten a lot more money for a contemporary fantasy about something else. The TID books succeeded despite expectations, not because of them.
Also, I don’t think flogging a dead horse means what you think it means. Either way I break down what you might mean, it’s inaccurate:
1) Flogging a dead horse means writing books nobody wants to read, for which there is no demand, etc. That is not actually the case here, so what you are really saying is “Why don’t you take this horse that just won the Kentucky Derby out and shoot it, due to the fact that it would be IMMORAL TO CONTINUE OWNING THAT HORSE FOR REASONS I HAVE MADE UP?” You cannot both argue that no one wants to read these books and also that I am writing them for money. It is an either/or. You cannot have both.
2) Flogging a dead horse means the creative spark is gone for the writer but they will keep writing them anyway because they are all about the Benjamins and need to keep up their collection of Louboutin shoes. Although in the case of writers, it is generally more like they are all about the Washingtons and need to keep up their collection of health insurance. Writers don’t usually get paid that much.
To which all I can say is: if the readerly spark is gone for you, then I am sad for it, but it’s a valid feeling. [I do not think it is actually a feeling possessed by the person who wrote this ask, since they spelled all the characters’ names wrong and didn’t know The Infernal Devices was either historical or set in London.*  It is actually hard to fake being a fan of something if you aren’t. But I think it is a feeling that could well be possessed by someone. We all get tired of stuff.] But for me, the writerly spark is not gone.
* (I always find it odd that people who hate my writing are so obsessed with everything I do with my career — though usually clueless about the details or content to make them up — but I suspect that if you hate my books and me personally, you would not suddenly find your opinion changing if I wrote about something other than Shadowhunters.)
I’m writing TLH and TDA because I want to. I want to write about Jules and Emma because I love them and I love their story. I feel the same about James and Lucie and Cordelia and Matthew. They are all very real people to me and so are their stories. If I suddenly couldn’t write them, if my contracts were canceled, I’d be heartbroken. I’ve seen people heartbroken, catapulted into massive depressions, by that same thing. And what is enormously ironic is that then those writers actually do wind up writing something else for money because they have to write something they think will sell. They are in fact in much less of a position to be free and to experiment, to take risks, to do weird, new, exciting things with their work, than you can if you have the very tiny amount of leverage afforded you in a business that is canted enormously in the favor of publishers, not writers, by the fact that your books sell enough copies to make the publisher money.
(And also, if you have not heard, traditional publishing is skint right now. Most of the Big Six have tiny profit margins. Eighty percent of books never earn their advances back and the bestsellers and cookbooks and celebrity books that people think it’s hip to detest pay for the rest of everything — yeah, all those indie literary books, and anything where the publisher is taking a chance on an unknown quantity. That’s off the backs of the small percentage of books that do earn a profit, and so it should be, but it’s not an equation most people are ever aware of.)
So, no, I do not “not care.” I probably, as you can tell here, care too much!

You and your publishers end up looking money-grubbing.
I will now go and kidnap the Hubble Telescope, with which I will attempt to detect the interest of my publisher in whether or not people think they are interested in turning a profit. They are a media conglomerate. One wonders what you expected. If they do not turn a profit, they go out of business.
As for me personally: always interesting to see the absolute and total discomfort with the idea of writers making money, and especially women writers making money, rearing its head.
Not that long ago I was attending a panel at a convention about writing for a long time in the same world. It’s something I’ve always aspired to do — Tamora Pierce has always been one of my literary idols because she’s developed such a rich world with the five series set in the Tortellan universe.
One of the things I found most interesting about the panel was that the women writers on the panel talked about how people viewed them expanding their universes or writing more books in a successful series with deep suspicion, (and a lot of “you’re just in it for the money”) and the male writers reported — well, not experiencing that.
It’s easy enough to get on the internet and announce loudly what you think other people should do when it isn’t your money, your career, or your family’s welfare that you’re risking. Writers by and large don’t make a living wage at all; one book that doesn’t do well can tank your whole career, and all of this goes double for female writers as compared to their male counterparts who are paid more, promoted more, reviewed more, and given more second chances.
 ”She’s writing it for the money.” I see this about me, and about a lot of women writers who have created popular universes and continue to write in them. I don’t see this so much directed at men: in fact I can think of several male writers off the top of my head who are doing exactly what I am doing — creating a big universe and then writing stories in different corners of it — and I’ve never seen this critique aimed at them. Not that it doesn’t exist ever, but it isn’t common enough to have passed across my dash, twitter, etc.
People get really uncomfortable when you talk about art and money, and especially when you talk about women, art and money. They want an incredibly clear separation between art that is done for the sake of art, and art that people expect to get paid for. Tough. There’s not one. It’s complicated. People think women should be supported by their husbands and therefore free to pursue their art unburdened by financial issues. I have actually seen this. (I did not realize that one could access the internet from 1850.) I am on a retreat with four talented lady writers at the moment and all of them are the breadwinners in their families. Without the salaries they make writing, there are kids who would be going unfed, elderly relatives going uncared for, and siblings not attending college. I don’t really know what else to say about that except that there is a long tradition of making women feel like shit about the art they choose to produce, and it is not a proud one.

Why do all these successful writers keep dragging out their series for the money?
The really baffling thing about this complaint isn’t just that you assume you can intuit why a total stranger is doing what they do, or making the creative choices they’re making — which is not just arrogant but borders on the creepstery — but that you genuinely cannot see the logical  tissue that connects 1) successful series and 2) people continuing to write in that world. Let me break it down for you.
There is a reason you see people extend successful series or keep writing in universes in which they have previously written popular books.
Because they can.
And I don’t mean because they can in the sense of “I DO WHAT I WANT!”

I mean it in the sense of “because they are really really lucky, lucky enough to  get to write what they want.” Successful series get expanded and writers write more in that world because when series are successful, publishers will publish more books related to that series. This may seem blindingly obvious, but apparently not. Series that make money continue on because publishers do not publish series that do not make money. The only way you get the opportunity to continue to write in the same world is if your previous books in that world have been financially successful.
Every single one of my close circle of writing friends has had to abandon a project because it was not financially viable.
Every. Single. One.
These writers  had whole other stories to tell in those worlds. They had masses of family trees and other characters and new twists on the magic and breathtaking reveals that the world is never going to see and you are never going to get to read and that sucks, and it sucks as well that the response is to heap abuse on the people who are lucky enough to get to write what they love.
I am incredibly privileged and lucky to be able to keep writing Shadowhunter books. I write them because I love them. I love the world, and I intentionally built it to be flexible enough to allow for a range of storytelling. I don’t get bored writing them because they feature enormously different characters, different styles, and focus on different time periods. I am lucky they sell well enough that my publisher wants to continue publishing them because I would write them anyway.
I probably wouldn’t normally answer this sort of ask at all as it is generally more trouble than it is worth, and the people who ought to read the answer, aren’t the people that will. But interestingly I got it at the same time that I found out that LJ Smith was going to publish new installments of The Vampire Diaries using Kindle Worlds. Which is, as far as I can tell, an Amazon self-publishing program set up to allow fanfiction writers to write and sell fanfiction based on Vampire Diaries on Amazon. Why is she doing that? Because Vampire Diaries was a packaged project, which means it belongs entirely to Alloy Entertainment and not to LJ Smith even though she wrote every word of the books that the TVD show was based on. At some point, they fired her from the project and hired another writer. Now she’s continuing the stories in the only way she legally can.
Now, I don’t know anything about the books, or the show, or the author, but a gesture like that — when she’s a big bestseller and could just sell another unrelated series free and clear for a ton of money if she felt like it — indicates that she loves this story she invested in so much she will keep writing it no matter the circumstances. And that is how most of us feel. It is certainly how I feel. If I couldn’t get a publisher to publish TDA or TLH (or TWP when it comes to that) I might self-publish them because without those installments, the Shadowhunters world and story wouldn’t feel finished to me and I would be massively unhappy. Fortunately — again, because I am lucky —I don’t have to do that.
Asker, I doubt you got this far, but if you did: the way you think about publishing and writing is broken. I hope you’ll reconsider it, since it can’t be that much fun for you, and also it is kind of embarrassing to make a lot of assumptions about the motivations of strangers and then turn out to be wrong. Actual readers of mine, who are most of the people reading this tumblr, if you have managed to get this far, all I can say is that I love the series I have coming out as much as the ones I’ve already written. I strive to make each book the best I can make it and I will continue to do that. There is not much point suggesting I go write the books of my heart instead of these when these are the books of my heart. And that is probably all there is to say about that.

Shadowhunters Give Back: Valentine Project 2014 for @archildrens

When I was a little girl, there was nothing more fun than exchanging cards at school on Valentine's Day.

Now just imagine, being little and stuck in a hospital fighting an illness and not getting to share Valentine's Day with your friends. Thanks to the amazing people at Arkansas Children's Hospital (@archildrens) and with the help of you incredible Shadowhunters, patients at the hospital will be getting Valentine's!

What you need to do:
This is totally free and takes just a couple seconds! Go to the Arkansas Children's Hospital site. Fill out your name, email address, ZIP code and select a Valentine, a message and hit send! That's it! Simple, right?! Check out the examples on the left for what your card will look like. Cute, huh!!

By doing this, little kids at Arkansas Children's Hospital will get a Valentine from you! Isn't that amazing!? Make sure to share with your friends, with famous people, with everyone! We want as many people supporting this as we can!

Hear the new song "Waiting" from The Darling Buds

Jamie Campbell Bower and the guys from his band The Darling Buds are teasing us with a new track (minus the vocals). Listen to "Waiting" while we impatiently tap our fingers in anticipation of the lyrics to this song!



Make sure to go onto The Darling Buds YouTube site and let them know what you think! You can also chat up @JamieBower on Twitter!

'THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS' nominated for GLAAD Media Award

The Mortal Instruments is nominated for Outstanding film at the GLAAD awards. Here is the cast at the LA premiere of the film (photo credit Daily Mirror).

 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is nominated for Outstanding Film: Wide Release for the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Two events will be held to honor the winners: April 12 in Los Angeles and May 3 in New York.


These prestigious recognizes and honors media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.

Other nominees in the Outstanding Film (Wide Release) category include:

Blue is the Warmest Color - Sundance Selects

Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features

Kill Your Darlings - Sony Pictures Classics

Philomena - The Weinstein Company

This nomination comes on the heels of the team of Jo-Ann MacNeil, Karola Dirnberger and Paul Jones being nominated for Achievement in Makeup for the Canadian Screen Awards, which will be held on March 9th at 8pm on CBC.

Share your congratulations to The Mortal Instruments cast, crew and Cassandra Clare for creating the Shadowhunter universe! 

Meet Cassandra Clare as 'City of Heavenly Fire' tour launches in NYC

With all good things must come great (and maybe bittersweet) endings. The Mortal Instruments series will come to an end with the release of City of Heavenly Fire on May 27th. To kick off this grand finale, those lucky enough to be in the New York area can attend a midnight release event with author Cassandra Clare.

Cassie, the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices trilogy, and The Bane Chronicles, will be signing books following a talk that starts at 10 pm.

Here's the deets and where to purchase tickets:

YA Lit at 92Y: Cassandra ClareDate: Mon, May 26, 2014, 10 pmLocation: Lexington Avenue at 92nd StVenue: Kaufmann Concert HallPrice: from $22.00

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

92Y is a world-class nonprofit community and cultural center that connects people at every stage of life to the worlds of education, the arts, health and wellness, and Jewish life.

Will you be attending this event? What would you like to ask Cassie? Let us know in the comments below or at @TMI_Institute on Twitter.

ICYMI: New except for 'City of Heavenly Fire' and Cassandra Clare interview

Entertainment Weekly has the Shadowhunter fandom abuzz with the newest except from the final installment of The Mortal Instruments series City of Heavenly Fire. In an interview with author Cassandra Clare, we find out some juicy tidbits of info about the book and about a super secret TV project. (You can go to EW for the entire article).

EW: There are no advance copies of City of Heavenly Fire. How hard is it to keep everything about the book a secret?
Cassie: When there are [advance copies], I feel like I am more able to talk about [the books] in interviews and online, even though, of course, I don’t want to spoil people. But this one is under such a blanket of secrecy, I am a little bit scared to say anything. And it took me awhile to get used to that. … The idea that this stuff is kept so under wraps is really hard to adjust to as a writer, but I will say that people have read it. I have a whole writing group. They have all read it and given me notes.

EW: What can you tease about the book?
Cassie: I can definitely say that the characters go to a location that we’ve heard about, but we’ve never seen in any of the books. There is a death of a major character really early on in the book that I think will surprise people. And there are two weddings.

EW: How does it feel to finally be at the end of this series?
Cassie: Wrapping up a series that’s been going on for so long — and it’s the year after the movie came out — you really feel like this is the most highly anticipated book I’ve written and will maybe ever write. So it’s certainly an incredibly odd feeling.

EW: Now that you’re finished with The Mortal Instruments, what other projects are you working on?
Cassie: One of the things I’m super excited about is a TV project. I can’t say that much about it because it’s super secret. But it’s been really fun, and I’m really excited. Sorry I can’t say more.

EW: When do you think you’ll be able to speak freely?
Cassie: I’m guessing in a couple of months, but it’s super exciting because I love television.

Before we can wrap our heads around the two weddings (Shadowhunters, will it be Jocelyn/Luke, Clary/Jace, Magnus/Alec or maybe even Jem/Tessa?), we must first sit here squeamishly while we theorize who will die early on? We want your thoughts on this! #TMIWhoWillDie

Even maybe more exciting is that their is a TV project in the works. If you're like we are, the thought of The Infernal Devices becoming a regular TV series is FANTASTICLY exciting (right up there with a Dirty Sexy Alley Scene or Will Herondale just being who he is). What actors would you like to see on the small screen in a TID show?

Now to the biggest part of the news: a brand new snippet from CoHF.

 

How do you feel about this council member, Diana, telling Clary to kill Sebastian with the Morgenstern sword? Do you think Clary has it in her to rid the world of him, or should she instead find a way to rid him of the evil within? We'll find out all the answers on May 27th as City of Heavenly Fire hits bookstores near you. Until then, share your thoughts, feels, theories and more in the comments below or with us on Twitter at @TMI_Institute. @TMI_Institute

New stills for 'Love, Rosie' with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin

Rosie and Alex are best friends. They are suddenly separated when Alex and his family move from Dublin to America. Can their friendship survive years and miles? Will they gamble everything for true love?

We are a sucker for good love stories, especially if it stars The Mortal Instruments star Lily Collins. After last year Lily glamoured us as a Shadowhunter on the verge of greatness and gave us feels upon feels with Logan Lerman in Stuck in Love, we have been waiting for stills from Lily's upcoming movie with Hunger Games hottie Sam Claflin called Love, Rosie. Thanks to l-collins.net, we have three new stills of this book-to-screen adaptation by Cecelia Ahern.

The film also stars Christian Cooke (Mercutio in the 2013 film Romeo & Juliet) and Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark on Game of Thrones and was filmed in Ireland last year after Lily finished up City of Bones. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in summer 2014 and is produced by Constantin and Canyon Creek Pictures.

Are you excited to see more stills of this film? Will you go see the movie when it hits the theaters this summer? Comment below to let us know and always share your thoughts with us on Twitter at @TMI_Institute.

The Mortal Library: Hard Glamour Excerpt + Interview

Author Maggie Marr introduces a new adult contemporary romance series called the Glamour Series. The first book of the new series, Hard Glamour, has been released just a few days ago on January 14th 2014. It is a story containing promises, of standing on the brink of success, and a twist of fate. Tour hosted by: ATOMR Tours.

About Hard Glamour:

"

A promise to keep….

Honoring her mother’s last wish, Lane Channing vows to follow her dreams. She

takes the ‘big risk’ and leaves her small Kansas town behind and heads to LA, the 

city of dreams. She’s got a stellar job lined up, an old jeep, and 20 bucks to last 

her to her first paycheck. Her hopes shatter when she arrives to find her job’s

been given to someone else. Now she’s broke and will soon be living on the

streets if she doesn’t do something fast. Welcome to cutthroat – Lane is most

certainly not in Kansas anymore.

On the cusp of success…

Dillon MacAvoy has one goal–to become a star–whatever it takes. Even if it

means honing his bad-boy can’t-be-tamed-and-forever-single image. Besides the

image isn’t far from the truth. Dillon cares only about his younger brother and his

career. He’s on the brink of superstardom if he can just decide on the next right 

script. But for that, he needs a script reader he can trust.

In a strange twist of fate…

Lane Channing is Dillon’s last chance. If Lane lasts the summer without becoming 

MacAvoy’s latest conquest, she’s guaranteed a job in entertainment. No problem, 

as long as she can ignore the heat that pulses through her every time Dillon is in 

the room. After all, love and commitment with a sweet, hometown girl would 

only ruin the Dillon MacAvoy brand."

Hard Glamour links: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

About the Author: 

Maggie Marr grew up in the Midwest and made the move to Los Angeles to work in the movie business. She was a motion picture literary agent for ICM before  becoming a full time writer. She's written for film and TV and ghostwritten for celebrities. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.

Maggie Marr gives us an insiders view of her writing and of Hard Glamour in the exciting interview below!

Q: Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

Maggie: I write first thing in the morning. My mind is clear and it's the best time for me to get my words down. Also, I am trying to send a message to my muse that Writing Is Important by making my writing the first thing I do in my day. Plus, it is so easy with everything else that goes on in a day to not get the writing done if I don't make it the first thing I do. 

Q: Where did you get the idea or inspiration for HARD GLAMOUR?

Maggie: I love the New Adult genre. I've lived and worked in Hollywood and written about Hollywood for nearly a decade so when Dillon and Lane started telling me their story it seemed like a natural fit. 

Q: What was your favorite part writing this novel? Don’t forget to tell us why. 

Maggie: I love it when the characters start to act on their own and surprise me. This usually starts to happen around page 60 or so. Up to then I am listening to them tell me their story but I kind of know what they are doing and where I *think* they are going to go with it but then all the sudden Wham! The characters are off and they are surprising me with their words and their actions--I love that!

Q: What was the most difficult part writing this novel?

Maggie: How hard Dillon was as a male character in the beginning. He is just so Alpha and is unlikeable and closed off--we start to understand why and see that this is a defense mechanism and how Lane is able to break through those barriers but at first he was a really tough guy to like.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Maggie: Read!I love to read! I read all kinds of books truly it is my favorite activity. I also love chasing after the children and yoga.

Q: Any future writing news you would like to share?

Maggie: So many fun things this year! Broken Glamour, book 2 in the Glamour Series publishes March 2014, Fast Glamour, book 3 comes out in May, and finally Easy Glamour, book 4 is set to publish in July.

An inside look at Maggie Marr's favorite quotes and why they are her favorite from Hard Glamour! 

"Maybe this summer in Los Angeles was a Big Risk, but I wanted into the world of entertainment. I wanted to make movies. I wanted to live in California. I wanted to feel alive and whole. I wanted so much more than a girl from Kansas should ever want." --Lane Channing

Maggie: I love the above quote because it is so Lane. The quote expresses her excitement and her optimism as well as this fearlessness that resides deep inside her. Even though things have been tough for Lane she still believes in dreams and taking chances. 

___

"I turned off the jets of water and wrapped a towel around my waist, then stepped out of the shower and turned toward the steamed mirror. I wiped it clean and looked into that face of mine. The hard, cold eyes of a man who would never get the chance to love a good girl like Lane Channing stared back. Sometimes I hated that guy." --Dillon MacAvoy

Maggie: I love this quote because it shows who Dillon is in the beginning of the story. He is closed off and he doesn't even like the guy he's become and yet he has no idea how to change himself, how to be the guy that deep down he wants to be. 

___

"I was falling in love with Dillon MacAvoy. A love that could never be returned. I could have my summer, I could have him for a while, but the girl that would have him for forever—I knew for certain that girl wouldn’t be me." --Lane Channing

Maggie: This quote is great because Lane won't stop herself from falling in love with Dillon--actually she can't stop herself and yet she can't believe that possibly she is the right girl for him--at least not yet. 

___

"My heart thudded and my throat thickened. I closed my eyes and licked my lips. I was an asshole. I was a man-whore. I was a guy that used girls and kicked them to the curb and now finally, when I met a girl I couldn’t get out of my system, a girl I wanted to stay, a girl I cared about, I was going to pay for my past sins." --Dillon MacAvoy

Maggie: Again, another quote where Dillon doesn't like who he was or what he was, but here he is starting to accept that his past actions have repercussions. Here in this quote we see remorse and a desire by Dillon to change so that he won't ruin his future. 

___

"You’ll walk out there to the premiere, you’ll go to the party, and you’ll pretend. You’ll pretend none of this bothers you. You’ll pretend you’re having a great time. You’ll follow Dillon and his team’s lead and you’ll even pretend you aren’t sleeping with him and you aren’t in love. And you’ll do it for his career. For the business.” --Amanda Sterling

Maggie: I LOVE Amanda. She grew up in the entertainment industry and totally gets it. Amanda is giving Lane the truth about being a part of entertainment. About the compromises that Amanda has made in her life and the compromises that she is certain that Lane will have to make and all for a career in an amazing but demanding industry.

Behind the Scenes with the Characters of Hard Glamour: 

"Dillon MacAvoy is a study in contradictions. He is a great character to get
to write. Here is a guy who is completely an alpha male but with this soft
interior. An interior that was not honored when he was a child. He gets plucked from obscurity, does a huge underwear add and is now on his fourth film. Dillon is on the ride of his life when we meet him--but he is also terrified and lonely and he is doing what he learned to do when he was a child when he was terrified and that is to act tough and not feel--or at least act like he doesn't feel. Many of Dillon's qualities come from being raised by a very tough dictatorial father who never showed emotion. A father that believed everything was disposable. Dillon was a kind and emotional kid and his father quite literally tried to beat the emotion out of Dillon. Dillon's father saw his son's caring nature as a vulnerability, a weakness so he did everything he could to 'toughen' Dillon up. We also see how dictatorial the MacAvoy family was/is in their reaction to their youngest son Choo. Dillon makes a painful choice to support his brother, Dillon eschews a relationship with his parents because of their refusal to accept Choo for who he is: A gay man. Dillon is loyal and kind and just and he will do anything to protect his brother from any further pain inflicted by their parents. Dillon is a physically gifted man. He has dark hair, beautiful blue eyes. He is thick and well-muscled. He exudes a fearless confidence. When I write him  I often see glimpses of Channing Tatum, in his looks and the way he moves.  He has a great appetite for women, and woman love Dillon. He is that good-looking guy that you can take home to mom but really he is a bad-boy in disguise."

"Lane Channing is effervescent, and kind, and compassionate, and strong.
You look at her and can make the mistake of thinking she is a pushover
that perhaps you are just dealing with another pretty face but you aren't.
The most amazing part of Lane is her resilience. She refuses to be knocked
down for long. Just before the start of the story Lane lost her mother--but Lane refuses to let that pain bury her. Instead, Lane follows through on her promise to her mom to follow her dreams and leaves Kansas City to come to Los Angeles for a summer job. I love how Lane opens herself up. How even after the pain and confusion she's endured she continues to allow herself to feel and be vulnerable. I think this is why Dillon is drawn to her, because deep down he too wants to let his emotional side out--but is quite simply terrified to do so. He sees in Lane a deep emotional strength that he admires. Lane opens within Dillon his own emotions so that he can express his feelings. Lane has been focused first on school and getting through school and then on her mother while her mother was ill. So while she's not necessarily been sheltered she hasn't had much time for boys and parties. She isn't someone who is going to toss away her first time. She doesn't want to 'get it over with' she's been waiting for the right guy. Dillon is that guy. When they fall for each other, the heat is amazing. Lane reminds me of Jennifer Lawrence only with darker hair. I love how Lane views the world with a continued joy and openness even after the pain and loss she's suffered."

Now that you know a little bit about the book, you know the author, and the characters, check out this sneak peek of Hard Glamour!

Hard Glamour Excerpt:

"

I might have been straight out of the fly-over states, but I wasn’t a moron. I definitely didn’t appreciate the looks or the attitude being shot my way. I stood in the center of the human resources department in my new suit and my new heels with my new bag and my new haircut, expecting to start my new job. “What do you mean my job is gone?” My fingertips tingled and my heart jolted in my chest. I stared wide-eyed at the blonde behind the human resources desk. She settled her chin on her hand. She looked bored. My problem was definitely not her problem. A part of me wanted to reach over and shake her. “A client needed a summer internship for his brother.”“But you have something else for me, right?” My voice grew louder as the idea of what was going down sank into my brain. “I just drove two thousand miles for a summer job.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I need the money.”Her eyes slitted and she tilted her head. “It’s an internship,” she said. “You don’t get paid for an internship in entertainment.” Her eyes roamed over me and my sixty-dollar suit like I was a hick from Hicksville, USA. When was the last time this little girl had ever paid for anything on her own? Her HR assistant gig wasn’t paying for those Loubies on her feet, which were peeking out from under her desk. Damn, those were some great-looking shoes. “What kind of company doesn’t pay a person for summer work?” I asked. “The kind of company that gets five thousand résumés a week.” She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling as though she was educating a Neanderthal and not someone who’d just locked down her third year of college. She resettled her gaze on me. “Who do you even know to get in here?” she asked as though there had been some tragic mistake other than CTA giving away my internship to some overindulged rich kid and me believing my internship would be paid. Who did I even know? I cocked my hip to the side and sucked in my cheeks. Little Miss Attitude was not so great at HR. “A friend of my mom referred me,” I said. “But I nailed the Skype interview.”“Who’s your mom?” She twisted her blond extensions between her finger and thumb, suddenly interested that maybe I was somebody she should know. A piece of my heart broke with the word mom on her lips. Who was my mom? She was my world—had been my entire world—with her wild, curly golden hair and bright blue eyes, eyes that always seemed to smile even when things were remarkably bad. Tiny pinpricks of heat started at the backs of my eyes and I swallowed and forced myself to concentrate on the entitled girl in front of me. “That’s not important.” I cleared my throat and looked around the gray room full of cubicles. “Is there anyone else I can talk to? You know, about a real job?” I’d rolled into L.A. on gas fumes and grabbed a bed and a shower in a Best Western. I didn’t know a soul in Los Angeles. I had approximately seventy dollars to last me until my first paycheck, and I dearly hoped one of my coworkers needed a roommate for the summer. Call me a gambler, call me a risk-taker, call me crazy—I’d been called worse—but when I found out I’d gotten the gig for the summer at CTA, the biggest entertainment agency in L.A., I didn’t think twice about hitting the road from Lawrence for my opportunity of a lifetime. Especially after the hell of the past year. The only problem was that it appeared that my “opportunity of a lifetime” had evaporated. “You can talk to Nancy,” the blonde said and jerked her head toward the door. “She’s the head of HR, but she won’t have anything for you either. Not if you need money.” A flush blossomed on my neck and bloomed on my cheeks. Who didn’t need money? Oh, right, rich kids with trust funds and parents that stole other kids’ jobs. Yes, I was one of those people that needed money. No daddy to bail my ass out, no mama with a trust fund to pay for my entire life. I had to actually work and get paid to have clothes, a car, a place to live, and even school.“Take a seat. I’ll see if she has time.” Half a day later, after meeting with two other people, both of whom seemed grandly perplexed that I would assume my internship was paid, I had no job, no internship, and in twenty-four hours most likely no place to stay."

We hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into Maggie Marr's new series! We want to hear what you think about Dillian and Lane from Hard Glamour in the comments below!