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Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.

Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.

City of Bones was her first novel. Sword Catcher is her most recent novel.


“I've always been happy with you," he said. "But I never thought I deserved it.""And now you do?""And now the feeling's gone," he said. "All I know is that I love you and for the first time, that's good enough.”
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“Maybe they didn't make vampires out of ugly people. Or maybe ugly people just didn't want to live forever.”
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“Lord Raziel. Surely yoy would not have allowed such a thing as a ritual by wich you might be summoned to exist if you did not intend to be summoned. We Nephilim are your children. We need your guidance”
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“I knew then that Jocelyn would never come back to me, because of you. You are the only thing in the world she ever loved more than she loved me. And because of that she hates me. And because of that, I hate the sight of you”
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“You're killing me because you want me to give a message to God for you?" Jace shook his head, the point of the blade scraping across his throat. "You're crazier than I thought”
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“He produced a handkerchief—crisply folded—and handed it to her. She took it with silent astonishment. She’d never before known anyone who carried a handkerchief.”
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“I’d rather have you in my life even as a brother than not at all—”
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“Alec took a deep breath and let it out. Well, he’d come this far; he might as well go on. The bare lightbulb hanging overhead cast sweeping shadows as he reached forward and pressed the buzzer.A moment later a voice echoed through the stairwell. “WHO CALLS UPON THE HIGH WARLOCK?”“Er,” Alec said. “It’s me. I mean, Alec. Alec Lightwood.”There was a sort of silence, as if even the hallway itself were surprised. Then a ping, and the second door opened, letting him out onto the stairwell. He headed up the rickety stairs into the darkness, which smelled like pizza and dust. The second floor landing was bright, the door at the far end open. Magnus Bane was leaning in the entryway.”
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“Will!”He turned at the familiar voice and saw Tessa. There was a small path cut along the side of the hill, lined with unfamiliar white flowers, and she was walking up it, toward him. Her long brown hair blew in the wind — she had taken off her straw bonnet, and held it in one hand, waving it at him and smiling as if she were glad to see him. His own heart leaped up at the sight of her. “Tess,” he called. But she was still such a distance away — she seemed both very near and very far suddenly and at the same time. He could see every detail of her pretty, upturned face, but could not touch her, and so he stood, waiting and desiring, and his heart beat like the wings of seagulls in his chest. At last she was there, close enough that he could see where the grass and flowers bent beneath the tread of her shoes. He reached out for her —”
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“Will looked at him curiously. “Do you think you will see me again?” At the change in Jem’s expression, he added, “I mean, is there a chance for me? To have another life after this, a better one?”As Jem opened his mouth to answer, a rustling came from beneath their feet. Just as they both looked down, a tentacle shot from the surface of the river, wrapped itself around Jem’s ankle, and yanked him beneath the surface of the water. Will bolted to his feet with his blade in hand; the water was still boiling where the creature’s tentacles were thrashing wildly, indicating that Jem was getting some good blows in. Will’s heart pounded, firing blood and the call of battle through his veins.“Hell,” he said. “Just when it was getting interesting, too,” and he leaped into the water after his friend.”
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“Grief makes you feel alone, but you're not. I know you don't believe in-in religion-the same way I do, but you can believe you're surrounded by people who love you, can't you?”
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“You are mortal. You age, you die. If that is not hell, pray tell me, what is?”
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“Do you even care where I’m going?” he said. “What if I were going to hell?”“I’ve always wanted to see hell,” Cecily said. “Doesn’t everyone?”“Most of us spend our time trying to stay out of it, Cecily. I’m going to an ifrit den, if you must know, to purchase drugs from vile, dissolute criminals. They may clap eyes on you, and decide to sell you.”“Wouldn’t you stop them?”“I suppose it would depend on whether they cut me a part of the profit.”
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“Jem drew the bow back and let the arrow fly; it struck the creature in the side. The massive demon worm writhed in agony, undulating as it swept its great, blind head from side to side, uprooting shrubbery with its thrashings. Leaves filled the air and the boys choked on dust, Gideon backing up with his seraph blade in his hand, trying to see by its light. “It’s coming toward us,” he said in a low voice. And indeed it was, the arrow still protruding from its wet, grayish skin, humping its body along with incredible speed. A flick of its tail caught the edge of a statue, sending it flying into the dry ornamental pool, where it shattered into dust. “By the Angel, it just crushed Sophocles,” noted Will. “Has no one respect for the classics these days?”
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“It made him feel indispensable and needed - even if the fact that Jocelyn didn't appear to care wheather he slept in her daughter's bed or not did underscore that Clary's mother apparently regarded him as about sexually threatening as a goldfish.”
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“You like the party?Is it in honour of anything?My cat's birthday.Where's your cat?I don't know, he ran away.”
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“It is easier to confront a threat as a mass, a group, not individuals who must be evaluated one by one...”
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“Have you told Eric and the rest of them that—” “That I’m a vampire? No. It isn’t the sort of thing you just drop into casual conversation.” “Maybe not, but they’re your friends. They should know. And besides, they’ll just think it makes you more of a rock god, like that vampire Lester.” “Lestat,” Simon said. “That would be the vampire Lestat. And he’s fictional.”
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“Cassandra Clare“Malachi scowled. "I don't remember the Clave inviting you into the Glass City, Magnus Bane.""They didn't," Magnus said. "Your wards are down."Really?" the Consul's voice dripped sarcasm. "I hadn't noticed."Magnus looked concerned. "That's terrible. Someone should have told you." He glanced at Luke. "Tell him the wards are down.”
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“There is no god, not a god who would create the things I saw”
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“Will looked at his sister. “And you don’t care about being a Shadowhunter. How is this: I shall write a letter and give it to you if you promise to deliver it home yourself — and not to return.”Cecily recoiled; she had many memories of shouting matches with Will, of the china dolls she had owned that he had broken by dropping them out an attic window; but there was also kindness in her memories: the brother who had bandaged up a cut knee, or retied her hair ribbons when they came loose. That kindness was absent from the Will who stood before her now. Her mother had used to cry for the first year or two after Will went; she had said, in Welsh, holding Cecily to her, that they — the Shadowhunters — would “take all the love out of him.” A cold, unloving people, she had told Cecily, who had forbidden her marriage to her husband. What could he want with them, her Will, her little one?“I will not go,” Cecily said, staring her brother down. “And if you insist that I must, I will — I will —”The door of the attic slid open and Jem stood silhouetted in the doorway…”
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“You love him as a falcon loves his master who binds and blinds it.”
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“It's very advanced of you to have accepted my mortality so fatalistically.”
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“Enormous? Did you just call me FAT? I am not fat. - Jace”
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“Trains are great dirty smokey thungs", said Will. "You won't like it." Tessa was unmoved. "I won't know if I like it until I try it, will I?" "I've never swum naked in the Thames, but I know I wouldn't like it." "But think how entertaining for sightseers," said Tessa.....”
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“What is one person's pleasure is another's poison....”
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“Isabelle waved a hand. "No need to worry, big brother. Nothing happened. Of course," she added as Alex's shoulders relaxed, "I was totally passed-out drunk, so he could really have done whatever he wanted and I wouldn't have woken up.""Oh, please," said Simon. "All I did was tell you the entire plot of Star Wars.""I don't think I remember that," said Isabelle, taking a cookie from the plate on the table."Oh, yeah? Who was Luke Skywalker's best childhood friend?""Biggs Darklighter," Isabelle said immediately, and then hit the table with the flat of her hand."That is so cheating!”
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“Lust," she said. "Lust is a deadly sin.""And spanking.""I think that falls under lust.""I think it should have its own category." said Jace”
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“He touched her face, gently, with the back of his hand. 'you disappear so completely into your head sometimes.' he said. 'i wish i could follow you.'you do, she wanted to say, you live in my head all the time”
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“It's love, not the Battle of Thermopylae. You don't have to treat everything like it's a last stand.”
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“Gabriel’s green eyes sought Will. “It was demon pox, wasn’t it? You know all about it, don’t you? Aren’t you some sort of expert?”“Well, you needn’t act as if I invented it,” said Will.”
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“THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY.THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET.THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER.THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING.”
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“Her throat ached: adoration, heartbreak, in equal measure. “Kiss me,” she said. “Please.”
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“Faeries are fallen angels," said Dorothea, "cast down out of heaven for their pride.""That's the legend," Jace said. "It's also said that they're the offspring of demons and angels, which always seemed more likely to me. Good and evil, mixing together. Faeries are as beautiful as angels are supposed to be, but they have a lot of mischief and cruelty in them. And you'll notice most of them avoid midday sunlight—""For the devil has no power," said Dorothea softly, as if she were reciting an old rhyme, "except in the dark.”
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“Cucumber and bergamot," Clary said. "Is there anything else you hate that I ought to know about?"Jace looked at Dorothea over the rim of his teacup. "Liars," he said.”
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“Clary raised her eyebrows at Jace. "You hate bergamot?"Jace had wandered over to the narrow bookshelf and was examining its contents. "You have a problem with that?""You may be the only guy my age I've ever met who knows what bergamot is, much less that it's in Earl Grey tea.""Yes, well," Jace said, with a supercilious look, "I'm not like other guys. Besides," he added, flipping a book off the shelf, "at the Institute we have to take classes in basic medicinal uses for plants. It's required.""I figured all your classes were stuff like Slaughter 101 and Beheading for Beginners.”
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“Jace, Clary thought, was the sort of person who liked it when things were happening, even things that were bad”
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“For our purposes you can consider it a small country between Germany and France.""But there isn't anything between Germany and France. Except Switzerland.""Precisely," said Jace.”
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“Isabelle's clothes looked ridiculous. Clary had to roll the legs on the jeans up several times before she stopped tripping on them, and the plunging neckline of the red tank top only emphasized her lack of what Eric would have called a "rack.”
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“What happened to my clothes?""They were covered in blood and poison. Jace burned them.""Did he?" asked Clary. "Tell me, is he always really rude, or does he save that for mundanes?""Oh, he's rude to everyone," said Isabelle airily. "It's what makes him so damn sexy. That, and he's killed more demons than anyone else his age”
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“A date, "often a boring thing you have to memorize in history class," but in this case, "an offer of a n evening of blisteringly white-hot romance with yours truly.”
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“Wo wei ni xie de,” he said, as he raised the violin to his left shoulder, tucking it under his chin. He had told her many violinists used a shoulder rest, but he did not: there was a slight mark on the side of his throat, like a permanent bruise, where the violin rested. “You — made something for me?” Tessa asked.“I wrote something for you,” he corrected, with a smile, and began to play.”
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“It doesn’t change what we are to each other. It’s like there’s always been a piece of my soul missing, and it’s inside you, Clary.”
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“Magnus rolled onto his back and put his feet up on the arm of the sofa. “What do you care if Alec’s miserable?”“What do I care?” Jace said, so loudly that Chairman Meow rolled off the couch and landed on the floor. “Of course I care about Alec; he’s my best friend, my parabatai. And he’s unhappy. And so are you, by the look of things. Takeout containers everywhere, you haven’t done anything to fix up the place, your cat looks dead —““He’s not dead.”
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“Jace was very pale, with hectic spots like fever on his cheekbones. "But it was Valentine. I saw him. In fact, he had the Sword with him when he came down to the cells and taunted me through the bars. It was like a bad movie, except he didn't actually twirl his mustache.”
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“Well, why did you kill Jeremiah? And don't bother feeding me some story about how you just happened to wander along after he spontaneously died. I know you did this.”
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“Dios," he said, addressing himself to Jace. "What happened to you, brother? You look as if a pack of wolves tried to tear you apart." "That's either a shockingly good guess," said Jace, "or you heard about what happened.”
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“If Jem dies, I cannot be with Tessa,” said Will. “Because it will be as if I were waiting for him to die, or took some joy in his death, if it let me have her. And I will not be that person. I will not profit from his death. So he must live.” He lowered his arm, his sleeve bloody. “It is the only way any of this can ever mean anything. Otherwise it is only —”“Pointless, needless suffering and pain? I don’t suppose it would help if I told you that was the way life is. The good suffer, the evil flourish, and all that is mortal passes away,” Magnus said.“I want more than that,” said Will. “You made me want more than that. You showed me I was only ever cursed because I had chosen to believe myself so. You told me there was possibility, meaning. And now you would turn your back on what you created.”
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“When I heard about these lessons, I thought they would be a dreadful waste of my time. I pictured two very silly girls uninterested in any sort of instruction. But that describes neither Miss Gray nor yourself. I should tell you, I used to train younger Shadowhunters in Madrid. And there were quite a few of them who didn’t have the same native ability that you do. You’re a talented student, and it is my pleasure to teach you.”Sophie felt herself flush scarlet. “You cannot be serious.”“I am. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I came here and again so the next time and the next. I found that I was looking forward to it. In fact, it would be fair to say that since my return home, I have hated everything in London except these hours with you.”
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“I have a suggestion," said Valentine to Luke, in a surprisingly even tone."Let me guess," said Luke. "It's 'Don't kill me,' isn't it?”
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