Cassandra Clare

I mean, I have adored writing Dru. She is so sharp and so funny, and I loved writing her reactions to Faerie, especially when things are ridiculous. And her annoyance that you cannot find a bra in Faerie because of course not.

I love her dynamic with Ash, too, and writing a plus-size Shadowhunter was incredibly interesting and fun. I got to draw on a lot of my own teenage experiences (not that I was ever a badass demon hunter) which is always interesting and revelatory.

Hi! I hope you've been well, too.

I am not sure where the idea comes from that Ash is not trained? He is very well trained and an excellent fighter.

In Forever Fallen we already know Ash can fight; Sebastian dropped Ash into a pit of demons with only a sword and Ash fought them off. So that is canon. At that point, he is a much better fighter than Kit.

In FF, Janus agreed to try to train him as a Shadowhunter but in TKLOF we learn that due to his nature, there is some angelic magic Janus cannot access. That doesn't mean Ash isn't trained though; he has been training for years. He just doesn't know a few Shadowhunter things. He knows, however, plenty of other fighting skills Shadowhunters do not know. He has his own training room and weapons, etc.

Kit and Ash are not in competition — not in the books or, I hope, outside it! Ash's strengths are not Kit's weaknesses nor are Kit's strengths Ash's weaknesses. They are very different characters, just as Kit is very different from Will or Jace and Ty is very different from Dru or Julian.

They know Kit and Ty had a fight and that things are weird between them. They are not dumb, and know there was a romantic aspect to Kit and Ty's relationship even if they think Kit and Ty themselves might not have known that. Without being able to answer any questions about whether they are even around to see Kit and Ty's relationship develop in TLKOF I am sort of stuck saying anything else. :) We do see how the Carstairs-Herondale family functions a bit though. They're very cute.

Manipulative.

I think you may well suspect who it is the first book.

It would definitely be fun to do an event in LA for the Wicked Powers, as the roots are there for so much of the story! And we do go back to Los Angeles in Wicked Powers — it's not just where Kit, Ty and Dru are from, it's the place Ash sort of lived in Thule.

Hmm, we do see a little of Clary and Jace in Better in Black, in terms of the years between TDA and TWP, and what happens in that story does reflect into LKOF. (Not in a way where you'll be lost if you haven't read it, just remember the word 'prophecy.' But it gets explained.)

I will say there's a scene in Pandemonium at the beginning of the book, with all the TMI gang there, and it was nice to go full circle back to the very beginning of TSC. Whether they stay together I cannot say. :)

In LKOF, the main focus they have is on the issues with the Cohort. Obviously that situation was never going to be stable, and Alec and the others have managed to be in touch with Zara and the Cohort in Idris, and they're desperately trying to set up some kind of peace talks. It's been years since Alec became Consul, so it's more about the issues they're having right in the moment that affect them all and less about adjustment.

Two things, one emotional and one logistical:

There are now so many characters and so much that we know about the world, all that information and all those people have to be juggled while still making sure Kit, Ty, Ash and Dru have center stage.

Secondly, it's just very hard to think about saying goodbye. Even if just visiting a location I have to think about if it's the last time I'll describe it. Very nerve-wracking!

And thank you!

You won't see him learn it so much as he already knows about it. In the first scene with him, he discusses what it means for him in terms of his work at the Scholomance, and we later see him thinking about and discussing what it is like in terms of being a neurodivergent Shadowhunter. Kit has also read a ton about it as has Ty's whole family. He does explain why he does things a certain way sometimes, but never to anyone who has no context for it. It's more a "this is me and how I do things" — he never feels bad about it, and never has to excuse any part of himself. There are ways in which it makes him a better Shadowhunter, and that's explored a bit too.

He will find out what they are. (And if they're wicked.)

Tavvy is still just a child, and so are Max and Rafe, so as of book 1, we see very little of them as the danger is such that they have to be protected. Mostly they are thought about but not seen.

Hi! I may have answered this in another format, but just to say 1) Thank you for the kind words about Ty and 2) It's definitely 2 — a brand new demon. That's why current Belial has no interest in the Herondales, thankfully!

Hi! I think this is in reference to the Kitty endpapers for the trade edition of Last King of Faerie? They are so pretty.

So, the choice to have Kit and Ty on the endpapers is because half the book is about them. I was so puzzled by the phrase “Dru and Kit book” that I thought we were discussing a different project and I couldn’t figure out what it was! I think it’s Last King of Faerie, but I would never think of it as a Dru and Kit book. For one thing, that sounds like they’re dating, which I think we can all agree would be a bad idea!

For another, Ty and Ash are just as important character-wise. We spend less time in their heads (although we do see from both POVs) but that is not a marker of how important a character is but rather a marker of what secrets people are keeping.

“Will we have more amazing Kit and Ty scenes”

That’s a very kind way to ask :) While I can’t say what happens, Kit and Ty have countless scenes together. Other than maybe the first chapter or two of the book, before Ty arrives at Cirenworth, they are together in every scene that either one of them is in. Except sometimes one of them goes to the bathroom. I hope we will not judge them for being apart at those moments. :)

Kit and Ty are just as important as Dru and Ash and they get just as much page time, in fact, if you’re counting pages they get maybe ten more. But I do think when you’ve come down to counting pages it may be more of an anxiety exercise than anything else!

I am sure there will be lots of Kitty artwork. I will certainly commission art, but most art is at the whim of the fanartists of our lovely fandom. I do not think they will let you down.

There are other editions with other endpapers that are not Kit and Ty — there’s Dru and Ash, there’s Livvy, there’s the Seelie Court. But the main and most common edition you’ll find is Kitty and we chose that because half the book is their story.

(I’m trying to be better about answering questions! Stay with me!)

Hi guys! I am so excited to share with you the final cover for The Last King of Faerie, book 1 of the Wicked Powers! It features Dru Blackthorn (and yes, future covers will feature Kit, Ty, and Ash, in some combination!) I am so happy to be working with Cliff Nielson, who has designed all the Shadowhunter covers since City of Bones, to make Wicked Powers both stand out as its own vibe and also fit with the rest of the Shadowhunter books. It’s so weird to think of counting down to the last one!

And as much gorgeousness as there is with the cover, the trade edition (the one you’re seeing here) has such a beautiful gold-stamped cover and lovely Kitty endpapers* (swoon, thank you @frostbitestudios!), so swipe to see those, too. Trade edition means “the one you will find around everywhere and can buy at Amazon or indies” — I’ll update a bit later with special edition news!

*Lest anyone decide this contains important information about who is taller, Kit is on a different step than Ty :)