Q&A: The Heist Society edition!

Today it came to my attention that a lot of people are still pretty confused about Heist Society--is it a GG book? How will it affect the GG books? Etc. Etc.

So here goes!

Questions and Answers, Heist Society style!


WHAT IS HEIST SOCIETY?
It is a NEW novel featuring entirely new characters and an entirely new world. Everything in it is 100% NEW. It's not a spin-off, or a sequel, or a prequel to the Gallagher Girl books. So if the cover doesn't look like the other Gallagher Girl books that's because it is in no way a Gallagher Girl book.


WHEN WILL IT BE OUT?
February 9, 2010 in the U.S. and (I think) Canada. It will vary in other countries. Please check with a local bookseller to see if/when there is a publication date scheduled where you live.


IF I LIKE THE GALLAGHER GIRL BOOKS, WILL I LIKE IT?
I sincerely hope so. Like the GG books, it features teenagers doing exciting, fast-paced, and probably dangerous things.


WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEIST AND THE GG BOOKS?
Well, you've got to swap spies for thieves, boarding school for no school at all. Oh, and boys. In the GG books there are a few boys and a bunch of girls. In Heist Society there are just two girls and boys as far as the eye can see.


WILL IT BE A SERIES?
Probably. I have an idea for book 2 and will begin working on it as soon as I've finished GG4.


HOW MANY HEIST SOCIETY BOOKS WILL THERE BE?
Right now I really have no idea. All I feel certain of is that it probably won't have a set series arc like the GG books (and, for example, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, etc.) It will probably be more episodic so each story will be more self-contained (like the Janet Evanovich books, for example.) This means it could go on for as long (or as short) as it works out.


WHY DID YOU WASTE YOUR TIME WRITING SOMETHING THAT'S NOT A GALLAGHER GIRLS BOOK? DON'T YOU KNOW WE'RE WAITING FOR GG BOOKS!
It was fun. It was challenging. It made me a better writer. Next question please.


WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR HEIST SOCIETY COME FROM?
I was in my car, listening to an audiobook. There was a line in the book--something like "I felt like a cat burglar in my own house", and I immediately knew I wanted to write a story about a girl named Kat who was a burglar.


WILL HEIST SOCIETY BE A MOVIE?
We have not optioned the film rights at this time.


I'M STILL CONFUSED--SO WILL THIS BOOK BE ABOUT CAMMIE?
No. Kat is totally new. You've never met her before. It is a different series altogether.


SO IF HEIST SOCIETY COMES OUT IN FEBRUARY 2010 AND GG4 COMES OUT JUNE 2010 DOES THAT MEAN YOU'LL HAVE TWO BOOKS OUT NEXT YEAR?
Yep.


I'M ONLY 12 (OR 11 OR 13 OR 10...) CAN I STILL READ HEIST SOCIETY?
The subject matter is no more mature in Heist Society than it is in the GG books. The tone of the book, however, is maybe slightly older. I don't think this will turn younger readers off, however. I just think it might appeal to some teens who think they're a little too old for the Gallagher Academy at this point.

HEIST SOCIETY

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

In stores everywhere February 9, 2010