Cassandra Clare

I try to answer all my fan mail. Sometimes I get questions from people who obviously only read the Wiki but haven't read the books. I'm like, 'But you have to read the book or you're not going to get it.'

Read everything! Don't just read things that are in your comfort zone or things that you think you're already going to like. Experiment; try new stuff and try new genres. If you read a lot of romance, then start reading mystery. If you read a lot of mystery, start reading fantasy.

'Great Expectations' has been described as 'Dickens's harshest indictment of society.' Which it is. After all, it's about money. About not having enough money; about the fever of the getting of money; about having too much money; about the taint of money.

Over the past decade... while many businesses have pursued what I call 'business as usual,' I have been part of a different, smaller business movement, one that tried to put idealism back on the agenda.