MEETING CASSANDRA CLARE

On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of traveling to Chicago for the City of Lost Souls release party and book signing with Cassandra Clare. The event was a lot of fun, the model Judson Birza from the cover of COLS and the book trailer was there taking pictures and signing autographs. They had artists on hand to paint runes. There were giveaways and prizes. My favorite part was the Q & A with Cassie. You never really know what to expect when you're meeting someone for the first time, especially someone you hold in such high regard. (Have I ever mentioned that she's my author idol? I have...well...this is awkward.) Let's just say I was more than impressed with her. She's witty (I mean, of course she is, she writes teenage characters that are downright hilarious), and personable. She spoke of personal experiences and how they ended up in her books. She gave us some tidbits that will happen in City of Heavenly Fire (What do you mean a main character will die?? Say it isn't so!!), she gave out advice to young writers.

So- I went in idolizing Cassandra Clare for her writing, I came out loving her for her personality and dedication to her fans. AND! She told us she's working on a series with Holly Black. I also am seriously in love with Holly Black, so you can imagine my excitement over this.

I only got to meet Cassie for a brief second, I was number 200 in a line of nearly 400 fans. But she spoke to each fan on a personal level, asking them questions, listening to them. I was seriously impressed with this. I hope that one day when I'm finally published that I can be half as awesome as she is.

And with my genius foresight, I got an extra copy of COLS signed by both Cassie and Judson to give away on my blog. I don't think I want this to be an ordinary contest- so if you have any ideas on HOW I should give the book away, let me know!

And now for the pictures! Don't laugh, I'm not a model. :) My thoughts about City of Lost Souls will come after the pictures. I can't guarantee that there won't be SPOILERS, so if you don't want to know what happens, don't read it!

 Here's the cover model Judson signing my books! Doesn't he look just how you imagined Jace?

 Ahem- clearly the girl next to him is not a model. (She's a writer, which explains a lot!)

And here's Cassie signing some books!

And now for the SPOILERS!! Yes that's right, stop reading here if you haven't finished City of Lost Souls.

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SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! Don't say I didn't warn you.

Where do I begin with how much I loved this book? It literally had me on the edge of my seat. I laughed (A LOT), I cried, I was disgusted, I mourned the characters, I was devastated. COLS took me places I never imagined the story going.

My absolute favorite part of the book was when Jace came to Clary after killing Magdalena. It ripped my heart out to read about him falling to his knees in front of her and saying "It's me." That entire scene was powerful, illustrating their love for each other and the impossibility of Jace's binding to Sebastian.

Next favorite part? Clary stabbing Jace through the heart. Yes, I know, this is downright terrible! I can't help it though. Clary is such a strong character, and she knows that this is what Jace would want to happen, no matter the consequences. I envy her strength, her absolute conviction to do what is right.

You know what killed me even more than Clary and Jace? Magnus and Alec! I love them together, but I kind of always suspected that Alec's insecurity would be their downfall. I'm interested to see how this will all play out in the long run. Obviously Magnus has something going on that we don't know about, something with his father. Was his father a Shadowhunter? I'm also afraid that it will be Magnus who will die in COHF. If I had to bet money, I would guess either Magnus or Simon will die. I love both of them so much...I don't even want to think about it. Honestly, if I had to choose someone to die, it'd be Jocelyn. I never much cared for her or her selfish decisions.

Things that I can't wait to hear more about: Jace is on fire. And I don't just mean his looks. This whole heavenly fire thing he's got going on...that's interesting. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a major plot point. What about Brother Zachariah? He's someone we've met before in The Infernal Devices, I believe. But WHO? Simon has lost his mark of Cain. I can't see this ending well for him...I'd hate to see him die again.

Lastly- Maureen. Holy crazy bitch! She killed Camille! Yet another thing I can't see ending well. I really love how her character has evolved and suddenly become hugely important. I wonder who she will side with in the battle that's coming. My guess is the darkness, which would leave the fae, the vampires, and the dark shadowhunters on one side, and the shadowhunters, and werewolves on the other side.

Things aren't looking so great.

Those are my thoughts on COLS. If you've read it and want to further discuss, leave a comment. I love talking about this series!

All the best,
Kacey

MEGALOPHOBIC RECLUSE

It's been a while since I blogged- I'd like to blame that on working too much and the recent events in my life, but the truth is, I've become a recluse. Not that long ago I started rewriting a past manuscript, Stepping Stones. That's going quite well, thanks for asking! As of this second, I've written 37.265 words in said manuscript. I've changed the storyline up a bit. It's nothing drastic, but made some subtle changes that I think are significant. Long and short, I feel pretty damn good about this project. I'm not sure how long I've been working on it, but the writing is steady, the words are coming along, which is all I can really ask for. I don't let myself think about the other 3 books in the series that I'll have to rewrite when I'm done- that's not important right now...right? :)

In the midst of my rewriting, another story wiggled in the back of my mind, one that I couldn't stop thinking about. So, I wrote five pages just to let the idea out. Sometimes caged animals are feisty, devouring all our time and energy. So I gave the beast its freedom. As of right now, that manuscript has 17,151 words. I'm calling it Reflection Pond for now. It's like nothing I've ever written before. There are so many important characters that I had to make a character bio file- it's like I'm all grown up or something. I have notes now. Unheard of! This will be a YA fantasy series as well.

 As for my recluse status, well, it's hard to bang out an average of 10,000-13,000 words per week if I'm hanging out with friends and *gasp* having a life. I've actually replaced some of my social media time with exercise. Oh my gosh...I must be sick. Cardio? Jeesh... But seriously, I've sworn off leaving the house unless absolutely necessary. This writing thing better pan out, because it takes up all my free time. All I can say is at least I still enjoy it.

I have some exciting events coming up, and a semi-exciting true story (that involves near death!) that I'll be sharing over on The Stranger Diaries just to spread the love around. Look for that tonight or tomorrow, whenever I get around to it. As for the other stuff, I'm going to meet Cassandra Clare on Tuesday at the City of Lost Souls book release party. I can't even begin to say how excited I am to go. Cassie is my writing idol. I've probably mentioned this before. I just love her. So, hubby and I will be making a trip to the Chicago area for the signing and to get my long awaited copies of City of Lost Souls. (Yes, copies. One can never have enough books.) We're making it into a mini vacation, complete with visit to Navy Pier and whatever else we find in Chicago. (You know that crazy lima bean thing? Oh yeah. I'm gonna stand under it- though it might terrify me. I have megalophobia. Look it up and promise not to make fun of me. I've blogged about this before.)

Speaking of Chicago- did you get a chance to read Divergent by Veronica Roth yet? How about Insurgent? Both are amazing and must reads! I love how badass Tris is! Aside from The Mortal Instruments, I might have a new favorite book series! And Veronica Roth is only 23! How's that for impressive?

Well friends, I'm off to write some more, my forced break is over! (Anyone else find it ironic that my writing break included...more writing?)

All the best,

Kacey