If you’re part of the Mortal Instruments fandom at all, generic and are on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook…well, I’m sure you’ve heard of Sasha Alsberg.

Sasha is the brains behind @TheShadowhunters on Instagram, an admin of Better in Black, and part of the blog Fandom News. She is also very well known for being Lily Collins doppelgänger.

I’m not kidding. The girl looks SO much like Lily Collins, it took me awhile to learn to distinguish the two. Because of her uncanny resemblance to Lily, and her humor and charm in her Instagram videos, Sasha has grown to 28,000 followers on Instagram, and counting. But I’ve been curious, and I know you guys probably have to, to know the story behind the girl on Instagram. So I emailed Sasha, and we set up an interview, and now, everyone, sit back and learn more about this awesome fangirl!

Sara: Most people know you as Lily Collin’s doppelganger or as the admin of TheShadowhunters, but we don’t really know you. Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

Sasha: My name is Sasha Alsberg (as most of you know), and I live in the beautiful city of Chicago (Divergent). I go to an all girls high school, which I’ll be graduating out of soon, and I hope to go to college somewhere on the west coast. I have five sisters, and I’m the baby of the bunch! I’ve been in love with books for as long as I can remember, and it wasn’t until about two years ago that I decided to take my love for books online!

Sara: How did you get into the Shadowhunter Chronicles? When did you discover them and how did they become so important to you? 

Sasha: It’s a funny story actually. A year and a half ago, my friend told me to read the TMI books but I was in a dystopian phase at the time, so it wasn’t until the summer, when I went to Europe for a month, that I actually read City of Bones. Right then, I knew these books were something special. I read the whole series in one week and I decided once I got home, I had to make a TMI Instagram account. That’s where it all started, and @TheShadowhunters was made!

Sara: What is your favorite book in the Shadowhunter Chronicles, and who is your favorite character? 

Sasha: The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass, and Clary Fray :)

Sara: How did you discover you looked like Lily Collins? What was it like meeting her, and the rest of the cast members? 

Sasha: I didn’t really think much of it until one day, I posted a photo of myself on my account and my followers told me.

It was surreal, I still cannot believe I met her. The whole experience was amazing. When Lily and Jamie spotted me in the crowd during the Q&A, I was stunned! I was especially surprsied when Lily wanted to take a photo of me and her on her cell phone! Jamie was just shocked; there’s a YouTube video of his reaction when he saw me; its quite funny.

When I met them again in Chicago, Lily told me how she sent the photo of me and her to her mother, and even her mother said we look alike!

I was still in shock when Lily said, “its crazy how we look alike!”

Sara: How does it feel to know that people recognize you from your instagram, your blog and from being Lily’s doppelganger? What is the coolest thing to happen because of that? 

Sasha: Its such a compliment because Lily is gorgeous and so self confident. It really makes me smile when I get compared to somebody like that.

Lots of cool things have happened because of it. I do cosplay as Clary Fray, and it has really opened doors for me. For example. I’m traveling to Kansas City this weekend for a TMI cosplay photo shoot, portraying Clary Fray because I look like Lily. It’s just all very exciting!

The photo shoot took place this past weekend, and the photos were done by Carmen Desiree Seda. You can see photos from it on Carmen’s photography facebook page, on her instagram account, and on Sasha’s instagram account and blog. 

Sara: What are some other authors and books that you enjoy to read? 

Sasha: Divergent by Veronica Roth, Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Hunger games by Suzanne Collins, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Sara: What are your goals for the future? I know that totally sounds like a college admissions essay exam haha but what are your goals, do you want to travel, what are your career aspirations? 

Sasha: My goal would probably be getting into a west coast college, going to conventions and studying social media or book publishing (marketing). I would also love to keep blogging about books and fandoms. I would love to travel to London again to meet my followers who live there, and just see friends. That would be amazing.

Sara: What are some things on your ‘fangirl bucket list’? Who are some authors or celebrities you’d like to meet, or places you’d like to go? 

Sasha: My fangirl bucket list was largely accomplished this summer but I would love to meet Cassandra Clare! I’ve never met her sadly. I was supposed to but she got sick and couldn’t make it. I would also LOVE to go to Comic Con this summer, which I’m planning to do.

Sara: What are some quirky facts about you that most people don’t know? 

Sasha: I’m not exactly sure, but I am a very stubborn and dedicated person. If I set my mind to something, I won’t let anything stop me.

Sara: Who is your fictional crush? 

Sasha: Jace Wayland, Daemon Black, Jem Carstairs, Will Herondale, Augustus Waters…the list is endless!

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Thanks everyone for tuning in to this AWESOME interview with a super cool fangirl. Don’t forget to check her out on Instagram, on Better in Black, on her YouTube channel and on Fandom News!

All pictures in this post are property of Sasha Alsberg or Carmen Desiree Seda. Please do not reuse or reprint for any reason.