Where have all the cute green sweaters gone?
I am an author. I am not a shopper. Or a model. Or even a particularly "girly" girl. Nope. I write books and, on a perfect day, never change out of my pajamas.
But it's one of the cruel, untold truths of the writerly world that a few times a year you do get to leave the house and interact with real, live people. And not only that, these are people, usually, who are BOOK people. And more specifically, they may be fans of YOUR book...
So it might be worth changing out of your pajamas.
And therein lies the problem.
Long-time blog readers will remember my panic at dressing myself for Book Expo America, so I've decided to start early this fall for all the CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY appearances.
Preparation + Weight Watchers = less clothes-related panic. Right?
WRONG!
It all started simply enough, by looking in my closet. (Well, to be honest, it was me holding up a copy of CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY against everything in my closet.)
And that's when I realized that
A. a black book tends to totally disappear inside a closet full of black clothing.
B. the green on the new bookjacket is really, really pretty.
and C. I no longer own any green clothing. None. Which is especially troubling considering that's a key color in both my new bookjacket and also...my eyes.
I must buy green clothing, I told myself and then proceeded to spend several nights online in search of the perfect green sweater.
Problem. Do you have any idea how few green sweaters--much less perfect green sweaters--there are this season?
Eddie Bauer: nothing.
Ann Taylor: zilch.
Talbots, Banana Republic, Saks, Nordstrom--all a total bust.
I was about to give up when this morning it hit me: J CREW!!!
So with bated breath I switched over to jcrew.com and there...I saw it:
A forest green cashmere cardigan! It was like the mother ship was calling me home!
But wait...there were more...
A boatneck sweater? Hallelujah!
Crisis averted.
I'm a happy girl.
Now...if only I could find a good pair of jeans...
-Ally
ps...Question of the Day: do you base any of your characters on real people?
Answer: Yes and no. All of my characters need to feel real to me, meaning they need to have the characteristics of people really walking around in the world. Sometimes I look at the people I've known/met to help with this. For example, I was in a store once where a woman kept rambling on and on and I KNEW as soon as I walked out that she would appear in a book someday. She hasn't yet. But she will.
More questions? More? I'm still taking them.
I'm also taking jeans suggestions.
But it's one of the cruel, untold truths of the writerly world that a few times a year you do get to leave the house and interact with real, live people. And not only that, these are people, usually, who are BOOK people. And more specifically, they may be fans of YOUR book...
So it might be worth changing out of your pajamas.
And therein lies the problem.
Long-time blog readers will remember my panic at dressing myself for Book Expo America, so I've decided to start early this fall for all the CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY appearances.
Preparation + Weight Watchers = less clothes-related panic. Right?
WRONG!
It all started simply enough, by looking in my closet. (Well, to be honest, it was me holding up a copy of CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY against everything in my closet.)
And that's when I realized that
A. a black book tends to totally disappear inside a closet full of black clothing.
B. the green on the new bookjacket is really, really pretty.
and C. I no longer own any green clothing. None. Which is especially troubling considering that's a key color in both my new bookjacket and also...my eyes.
I must buy green clothing, I told myself and then proceeded to spend several nights online in search of the perfect green sweater.
Problem. Do you have any idea how few green sweaters--much less perfect green sweaters--there are this season?
Eddie Bauer: nothing.
Ann Taylor: zilch.
Talbots, Banana Republic, Saks, Nordstrom--all a total bust.
I was about to give up when this morning it hit me: J CREW!!!
So with bated breath I switched over to jcrew.com and there...I saw it:
A forest green cashmere cardigan! It was like the mother ship was calling me home!But wait...there were more...
A boatneck sweater? Hallelujah!
Crisis averted.
I'm a happy girl.
Now...if only I could find a good pair of jeans...
-Ally
ps...Question of the Day: do you base any of your characters on real people?
Answer: Yes and no. All of my characters need to feel real to me, meaning they need to have the characteristics of people really walking around in the world. Sometimes I look at the people I've known/met to help with this. For example, I was in a store once where a woman kept rambling on and on and I KNEW as soon as I walked out that she would appear in a book someday. She hasn't yet. But she will.
More questions? More? I'm still taking them.
I'm also taking jeans suggestions.
posted by Ally Carter at Thursday, August 23, 2007
5 Comments:
In terms of story line, do you just start writing and let the characters dictate what story they will tell, or do you have clear milestones mapped out and then figure out how the characters will get there?
ok, with jeans that's the one thing i'm good on because I love jeans, boot cut jeans are usually the best, if u have have a Blues by you go there because they have every single kind of jeans i think there is, and fade in jeans and dark jeans are reall good!!!
I would wear dark jeans with the green sweater. But that's just me. Not REALLY dark, but still dark. I agree with boot cut. Yea. That sounds really great... well, I'm glad you a sweater you like!
what does cammie look like exactly? is she tall, average, brunette, blonde?
who are friends of yours that are well known ya authors? and do you like the twilight books? are those the ones you were talking about when you said you and your agent agreed you didnt like them?
Post a Comment
<< Home