What can readers expect from your new book Lady Midnight?
The Shadowhunter Chronicles follow the adventures and intrigues of the Nephilim, an ancient and secretive race of warriors who have a mandate to kill demons. Lady Midnight tells the story of the Shadowhunters of the Los Angeles Institute, who find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery that has high stakes for all of them. The story is deeply influenced by my love of Phillip Marlowe and sunlit noir. LA has this contrast between the glamorous and the seedy that was great fun to play with in the context of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Forbidden love, devastating loss, and the refusal to accept death are all aspects of the series as well. It's partly inspired by Annabel Lee, the poem by Edgar Allen Poe.
The new trilogy is set in LA- did you go there as research for the book?
I did take a trip specifically for research, but I also lived in LA for years when I was younger. Writing Lady Midnight gave me an excuse to revisit some of my old haunts. The city has such a dramatic landscape, where the sea and the mountains and the desert meet. It's a great place to set a story.
How excited are you about Lady Midnight after your last book was published three years ago?
Very excited! I'll always love the characters of the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices, but it's been great fun to branch out into something new. I'm excited to finally get to introduce these new characters (and this new part of the shadow world) to my readers. Honestly, the time gap it hasn't felt long, what with the Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy stories and the first two books of the Magisterium series coming out in the interim.
What was your reaction when you found out your books were being made into a TV show?
It came as a surprise, so close on the heels of the film adaptation. I was stunned.
How much involvement have you had in the TV adaptation of Shadowhunters?
Pretty much none. I did get to see some auditions early on. When you first began writing the books did you imagine them for the screen at any point?
As someone who loves films and TV shows as well as books, I think I write in a cinematic style. But I didn't have a specific vision of what a screen project would look like. It was more a way of visualizing the action.
How has your background in journalism helped you to write your books?
Well, it means I know a lot about the entertainment industry, that's for sure! A little of that crops up in Lady Midnight. In general, I think it's good practice to work in multiple styles. I'm a better writer for having a wide range of experience.
You have published short stories as well as novels so how do they compare for you and do you have a preference?
I tend to get gravitate towards writing novels. They seem to be my go-to form, but it's nice to change things up and write a short story now and then. It's refreshing.
When did you first begin to write and what are your fondest memories of your first stories?
I've been making up stories since I was a kid. When I was about 13, I wrote a 1,000 page romantic epic called The Beautiful Cassandra, based on the story Jane Austen wrote about her sister when she was twelve. It was terrible, but boy did I have fun writing it!
What is next for you?
I'm writing Prince of Shadows, the second book of the Dark Artifices trilogy. Holly Black and I have been working on a revision of The Bronze Key, the third Magisterium book, which will be out in September. I'm also starting work on a Shadowhunter series set in the Edwardian era. The Last Hours will focus on the children of the characters from the Infernal Devices. There are common threads between the Dark Artifices and the Last Hours, similar to the connections between the Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments. After that I have one more Shadowhunter series planned, the Wicked Powers, but I'm not saying anything about it yet. Once that's out, who knows!
Lady Midnight