The Writer takes your questions...
THANKS, guys—for loving the Gallagher Girls and buying Cheating at Solitaire, and just being so incredibly cool. Love you!
Now, for some questions:
So was Cammie always going to be the main character? Or did she start out as just a friend of the main character?
Yes. The story started with Cammie and Josh—a girl who goes to spy school who falls for a “normal” boy. The specifics about their personalities and the details about the school evolved along the way.
How did you think of Cammie’s friends? Did you base them off of what Cammie wants?
Initially Cammie was going to have three roommates and Macey was going to come and go. But then I wrote Macey and she just had to stick around, so I eliminated one girl and wrote Macey in. The biggest challenge was finding a reason why the Gallagher Academy would admit Macey in the first place, but a lot of great creative things have been born out of challenges, and I’m really glad it worked out.
Are Cammie and her friends opposites on purpose?
Yes, I think they all have different strengths for a reason. I wanted them to all be more extreme than Cammie and in their own ways more secure—for now. Look for a lot more to happen with the “core four” in book two!
Which of the teachers came first?
I remember writing my agent and saying, “Can her mom be a teacher at the school?” And my agent wrote back and said, “I don’t know—can she?” And that’s when I realized that I wasn’t just writing a book—I was creating a world. At spy school anything is possible!
So Rachel probably came first. I made her the headmistress because my mom was a very influential and popular teacher at my school, and that totally shaped my high school experience. After Rachel, I knew I had to have Mr. Solomon. Then probably Mr. Smith—how and why I knew that he gets a new face every summer I’ll never know—it just came out while I was typing (love it when that happens!)
Are there only Americans in the school (besides Bex), and are there girls from lots of different ethinic backgrounds?
All the girls (besides Bex) are United States citizens. However, there are a ton of races and ethnicities represented—Asian, Middle-Eastern, African American, you name it. As Cammie says in book 2 “There’s not a corner of the world we can’t disappear inside.”
Any more questions? This is really fun for me!
Ally
Now, for some questions:
So was Cammie always going to be the main character? Or did she start out as just a friend of the main character?
Yes. The story started with Cammie and Josh—a girl who goes to spy school who falls for a “normal” boy. The specifics about their personalities and the details about the school evolved along the way.
How did you think of Cammie’s friends? Did you base them off of what Cammie wants?
Initially Cammie was going to have three roommates and Macey was going to come and go. But then I wrote Macey and she just had to stick around, so I eliminated one girl and wrote Macey in. The biggest challenge was finding a reason why the Gallagher Academy would admit Macey in the first place, but a lot of great creative things have been born out of challenges, and I’m really glad it worked out.
Are Cammie and her friends opposites on purpose?
Yes, I think they all have different strengths for a reason. I wanted them to all be more extreme than Cammie and in their own ways more secure—for now. Look for a lot more to happen with the “core four” in book two!
Which of the teachers came first?
I remember writing my agent and saying, “Can her mom be a teacher at the school?” And my agent wrote back and said, “I don’t know—can she?” And that’s when I realized that I wasn’t just writing a book—I was creating a world. At spy school anything is possible!
So Rachel probably came first. I made her the headmistress because my mom was a very influential and popular teacher at my school, and that totally shaped my high school experience. After Rachel, I knew I had to have Mr. Solomon. Then probably Mr. Smith—how and why I knew that he gets a new face every summer I’ll never know—it just came out while I was typing (love it when that happens!)
Are there only Americans in the school (besides Bex), and are there girls from lots of different ethinic backgrounds?
All the girls (besides Bex) are United States citizens. However, there are a ton of races and ethnicities represented—Asian, Middle-Eastern, African American, you name it. As Cammie says in book 2 “There’s not a corner of the world we can’t disappear inside.”
Any more questions? This is really fun for me!
Ally
posted by Ally Carter at Monday, June 12, 2006
8 Comments:
Great idea to start this commentary entry! I just wanted to say that I LOVED the book (bought it and finished it this weekend.) I usually don't pick up YA novels, but read the excerpt on your site and just loved it! (I actually first came to your blog/site off of Kristen's blog.)
Okay, I'll stop rambling and ask my question. Did you make Josh's last name Abrams as a sort of tribute to J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias) or is that a fluke?
Thanks in advance! Can't wait until the sequel!
Me again...if tami is right and it is a jj abrhams tribute you are even more my idol than before! Alias, GG, and Vm...and old Monk eps rock!
You know, honestly that never occurred to me until now! Wow. I wonder if it was subconscious? I bet it was (or at least that's the story we're going with.)
Ally
It was fun to see my hometown of Dayton, Ohio mentioned in the book. Spend any time there or did you just close your eyes and point to a map? Just curious!
Enjoyed the book and recommended it for purchase for the library system I work for. Looking forward to the next installment.
Oh, cool, you're taking questions. I happen to have one. Do you plot out your books beforehand, or do you come up with it as you go along? And how much research was involved?
I absolutely loved the book, btw! And I'm waiting impatiently for the sequel:)
I can't stop thinking about this book! I absalutely loved every minute of it! I will tell all of my friends about you, they will love this book almost as much as me! Thank you, this was the perfect book for my mood!
When is the second one arriving in stores?!!
You said CORE FOUR!
Sorry. I started to use that phrase back in Season 1 of BtVS - my goodness, 9 years ago, 1997! - and got excited when the phrase caught on at the Bronze and elsewhere.
:)
When will there be auditions for the movie?
cammie is really cool!
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