June Newsletter Recap: A ‘Sword Catcher’ map, character art, and more!

Happy first day of summer! We are now less than four months away from the release of Cassandra Clare’s first adult novel Sword Catcher and we’ve have been getting information about its characters, art, and also snippets for a while now. Monday’s issue of Cassie’s newsletter introduced us to a new character, we got a map and more interesting information.

Cassie actually reached a life’s goal for her upcoming book and I couldn’t be more excited for her. Sword Catcher has a map!
“Behold the map of Castellane, the city-state in which Sword Catcher is set”

I love this map! It looks amazing and how incredible are all the different fonts that were used? Just look at The Maze.

Readers in the US have the chance to win an exclusive Sword Catcher ARC on goodreads:

I know I am talking a lot about Sword Catcher these days, and it’s because I’m really excited about it. It’s a very different project for me. Shadowhunters could be categorized as urban fantasy or simply YA fantasy. Sword Catcher is more high fantasy – think Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia, that sort of thing. It has kings and courts, swordplay and skullduggery. If you want to try to win a copy for free, my publisher has 25 to give away over at Goodreads.

Make sure to also add the book to your to-read shelf, it really does help Cassie a lot because publisher do look at these lists.

There is more for Cassie’s US readers:

Merren looks adorable! I cannot wait to see more characters, which leads me to …

I want to introduce you to Antonetta Alleyne. Heir to the wealthy silk charter, her mother dotes on her, dressing her in lace and ruffles and grooming her to marry Prince Conor. She and Kel barely speak, but things weren’t always this way. When they were children, they were the best of friends. She, Kel, Conor, and several sons of the wealthy Charter Families formed an unbreakable group — or so Kel thought. He even gave Antonetta an engagement ring woven from grass one day when they were playing at being pirates.

But everything comes to an end. Antonetta’s mother whisked her away from her friends, determined to turn her into a proper young lady. Now she hardly acknowledges Kel. Though when she does, he can’t help but feel she’s hiding more than one secret . . .

And here is a short snippet about Antonetta (I’m a fan of the name):

“It would be odd for me to confide in you, Antonetta,” Kel said. “We hardly know each other now.” She blinked; looked away. He said, “I remember the girl I was friends with when we were children. Who was bold and sharp and clever. I miss that girl. What happened to her?”
“You don’t know?” She raised her chin. “That girl had no future here.”
“She could have made a place for herself,” said Kel, “if she was brave enough.”
Antonetta sucked in a breath. “Perhaps you’re right. But how lucky for me that bravery, like cleverness, is not much valued in women. Since I lack both.”
“Antonetta—”
Kel thought for a moment he had spoken, said her name. But it was Conor, calling…

There’s more that Cassie shared:

It’s been fun writing Antonetta; she’s such an interesting character. So much of her is hidden behind a facade of a certain kind of perfection. Here she is, as imagined by Sasha Coleman – this image is so great because it hints that there’s more to her than meets the eye. There are roses, sure, but there’s also a bloodstained handkerchief and a blade.

Wow, she looks gorgeous. Sasha did a fabulous job! What do you think? Antonetta definitely sounds intriguing.

Cassie also share the art above on her Instagram and added a snippet:

Antonetta giggled at Kel’s expression. “It’s such a wonderful trick we’ve played on Conor,” she said. “Lin did tell me he’d asked her not to come back to Marivent, but I told her not to fret about the Prince’s tempers. He loves to be dramatic.”
Kel rubbed his temples with his fingers. He was beginning to get a headache. “But—the two of you—how did you meet?”
“Through my dressmaker,” said Antonetta.
“Your dressmaker?” Kel said, at the same time. “How in gray hell—”
“You shouldn’t swear,” Antonetta said reprovingly.

I have more snippets to share, these were combined with character art for Kel and Conor respectively.

Sword Catcher is published on October 10. Make sure to pre-order your copy now! 😀
Have a great summer!