Cassandra Clare

There are not that many parts for actors who are not white - even less substantive ones. ”

Perfect heroines, like perfect heroes, aren't relatable, and if you can't put yourself in the protagonist's shoes, not only will they not inspire you, but the book will be pretty boring. ”

No matter how many books you've written, whenever you sit down to write a new book, you always feel the same challenge - how do you shape this story into a book that people are going to love. ”

You put books out into the world, and people form their own visuals and images and attachments to characters; those characters become part of them, and they have their feelings about them. ”

And write what you love - don't feel pressured to write serious prose if what you like is to be funny. ”

In other people's books, I tend to love the really daredevil-y characters. I love Finnick from 'The Hunger Games.' And I think, probably, my favorite character of all time is Sherlock Holmes. ”

I love scuba-diving, but I hate all the equipment. ”

There's a stigma that guys hate romance and hate love, but that's not true. Look at 'Iron Man.' There's a whole through-line plot about his relationship with Pepper, and everybody loves it. ”

I have specific playlists for different books and characters. So, I need to have those with me. It helps me get into the mindset of the book. ”

I grew up in L.A., and I worked for 'The Hollywood Reporter.' I knew enough about the business to know that the usual role of the author on a movie is to get out of the way and not say anything. ”