On the 25th October, Waterstones hosted An evening with Cassandra Clare in St James’s Church in London Piccadilly. The event consisted of an hour Q&A hosted by Chaya Colman and then a book signing of Clare’s brand new Adult high-fantasy novel, Sword Catcher (published 10th Oct by Pan Macmillan). The venue of St James’s Church was such a wonderful venue that encapsulates the richness of Sword Catcher and the world of Castellane. So there I was, hopping onto the Tube with my Waterstones exclusive edition in hand and eagerly anticipating a night of interesting conversation.
The evening started promptly at 7pm and as I settled in a pew and absorbed the breathtaking architecture I wanted to learn more about the Cassie’s inspiration for Castellane and how her Jewish heritage helped shaped the world that has been intricately crafted. The host, Chaya asked the questions that did just that in an insightful and engaging manner that analysed the hidden gems that Clare has so brilliantly written. I also appreciated Chaya’s efforts to gleam as many spoilers for book two as possible. All of Clare’s publications are set in vibrant locations from New York, Los Angeles to London that relies on accuracy and research to create worlds that are not only immersive but realistic. However, in Sword Catcher Castellane is completely new with endless possibilities when building a high-fantasy world. I thought it was interesting that Castellane is inspired by Venice and its history of power hungry nobles who have a long heritage of deception of front and back stabbing. This proves that our own history can sometimes be just as outrageous as fiction.
Furthermore, the story behind why Clare decided to choose a body double for Prince Conor and have two characters who are closer than brothers, Kel and Conor, but one is destined to live while the other destined to die protecting the other was particularly insightful. The idea that we don’t always have a choice when we are young, but are suddenly thrown into a world of politics, deceit and power that forces one to make a choice. In this instance, Kel is forced to make a choice to either protect Conor from the threat within alone or work with a just as unsettling threat of the Ragpicker King. When reading the novel, I found that there was a dedication to world building and establishing these characters. This is a slow burn, but one that tears open and reconstructs everything that Clare might have done before, she is reinventing tropes readers enjoy and subverting them. This is a very exciting world that has so much potential and places, people and plots to discover. I was also shocked to discover that this novel was originally around 400,000 words and needed to be cut in half – as well as also learning that Clare had written 100,000 words originally that was cut entirely – I for one would have happily read that.
Finally, on to the book signing. I have to say I was becoming weirdly nervous when the pews in front of me were slowly emptying out and it was becoming closer to my time to join the queue to meet Cassie. It is always a strange feeling meeting someone you admire in person, there is also a moment where I can’t quite believe they are real and not just a figment of my imagination! Cassandra Clare was so kind and attentive when I met her and I used this opportunity to express how much she has inspired me to become an author and I’m so grateful for reading her shadowhunter books. Cassie very kindly wished me the best of luck with my debut novel and hoped to see my book on the shelf of a bookstore one day. This was very kind and I really appreciated the sentiment. Nerves did get the better of my and I did blurt out if we could be friends – of course she said yes!
Final thoughts
This was a fantastic and insightful event and it is always a good sign when an author spills the tea when answering a fan question and causes the audience to audibly gasp! Cassie was so lovely to meet in person and to have my book personalised and signed was a special and heart warming end to a captivating night of questions and explorations of a high-fantasy world. I cannot wait for book two in the series due to be published in 2025 – but by the sounds of things this is definitely worth the wait! I hope one day my debut novel will share a shelf in a bookstore with authors like Cassandra Clare. Thank you to Waterstones, Pan Macmillan, Chaya and Cassandra Clare for a compelling and insightful evening.
Stay updated!
Keep updated with the latest short stories, history articles, book, theatre, museum and gallery reviews and follow Amy on Instagram!
For more content click here.
Amy is available for a variety of editorial and creative services, for more information view SERVICES.
Pingback: Book Review: What I read in OCTOBER - amyleighchandler