Lost in translation

The reviews are in, and Single of Dubbel (the Dutch version of Cheating at Solitaire) is a hit—I guess. Because the reviews are in Dutch. And…well…I don’t speak Dutch.

This whole foreign language thing gives the self-google a whole new dimension, let me tell you. But I’ve found some reviews that (I’m assuming) are wonderful.

“Dit is een leuk boek! Het is origineel en grappig. Julia James is niet bepaald iemand die druk op zoek is naar de ware, ze redt zich prima zonder man.”

Which I think probably translates to “This is the best book ever. Not since Jane Austen’s Lizzie Bennett has a heroine so completely captured our hearts.”

Or how about, “Geweldig boek! Ik heb hem in 1 keer helemaal uitgelzen! Single of dubbel is een boek waar je niet bij na hoeft te denken, maar gewoon voor moet gaan zitten met een flinke kop thee en wat lekkers.”

Translation: this may be the best book I’ve ever read in my whole life. Americans are so lucky that they’ve already had the chance to read this awesome book and the author’s other awesome book. They should buy many, many copies for everyone they know.

“Zo hoef je hem niet meer weg te leggen, voordat hij uit is!”

Translation: Why Brad Pitt is wasting time with Angelina Jolie while there are women like Ally Carter in the world, I will never know.

(By the way, before all you smarties plug these into an online translator, know that yes, I’ve already done this and that yes, the one I found did say that Geweldig translates as “terrible” but that review also lists the book as being five stars, so I’m thinking there are multiple interpretations. Because “This book is terrible, I laughed all the way through” doesn’t really make sense to me either.)

In other news, Celebrity Poker is back! A whole new season of watching poker and saying, “exactly why is this person famous?”

I love this show!

But my boy Phil Gordon has been replaced by Phil Hellmuth—aka the annoying, cocky, arrogant, jerk. Why did they replace Phil the fabulous with Phil the jerk? One Phil does not equal the other, people. If they had to change experts, why couldn’t they get Annie Duke? I love Annie Duke. I want to be Annie Duke.

I wonder if she speaks Dutch.

Things I love:

Fans and fan mail. Oh my gosh! Thanks you guys. I’ve gotten so many letters from so many potential Gallagher Girls. I love you all, and I’m trying to write back to everyone. If you haven’t gotten a reply yet, sit tight. One’s coming. I promise.

Manual labor. Yep—I know I’m weird. But being a farm girl and all, sometimes you’ve got to step away from the laptop and do some honest work—which I did this weekend. There’s nothing like it to get the juices and the ideas flowing.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban—just because it’s the best Harry Potter book—and one of the best books period—ever!

Getting foreign language copies of my book in the mail! This is even better than getting English versions because when the book’s in Dutch I totally can’t see the typos!

Getting a big box of HyperionTeens.com Frisbees with my book cover on them in the mail. Wow. I’m seriously thinking about coming up with some kind of Frisbee-spinning circus act just so I can use them all.

The X-Men and X-Men movies (even though rabid fans of the comics are supposedly disappointed in this new one, I don’t know any better.)

TiVo. Yeah, it even rocks my world in the summer.

And finally: Sonic Diet Cherry Limeaids--the official drink of summer!

Be good, everybody!

--Ally

Gallagher Girls--the musical!

First of all, The Lion King ROCKS! So amazing. So creative. So good, in fact that I’m now dying to see…

I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU—the musical!

Oh yeah, bet you didn’t know that Disney got musical rights as well as film rights, did you? Well, they did, and now I’m seriously praying that the Gallagher Girls make it to Broadway (because, you know, if they can make it there they can make it anywhere.)

I’m thinking there will probably be a big Cammie solo kinda like this…

WHEN YOU’RE A GALLAGHER GIRL

You can tap his phone or pick a fight

Track him through the dead of night

But love’s never clear between wrong and right

Not when you’re a Gallagher Girl!

That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far—and it’s just a draft—but I figure I’m bound to be pretty good at this since Once More With Feeling is my favorite Buffy episode ever!

In other news, I did a big book-signing swing through Tulsa where, according to all the wonderful bookselling professionals I talked to, the Gallagher Girls are flying off the shelves.

The Barnes and Noble on 71^st was down to one copy, the Borders on 81^st was down to two. The Barnes and Noble on 41^st had just gotten a big shipment in and had seven or eight.

All these are now signed and more are on order everywhere, so if you've been unable to find a copy, hold tight--they're on the way!

But the big news isn’t that the Borders on 21^st was SOLD OUT of Love You Kill Yous…no, the big news is that they were also SOLD OUT of Solitaires!

Remember the big stack of Solitaires they had a few weeks ago. Maybe this picture will remind you.

Well, all those are gone now. Poof. In the hands of eager readers (and/or my mother.)

I guess I should go. I have a musical to compose after all.

Happy long weekend, everyone!
--Ally

Hakuna Matata, baby!

It means no worries, you know. But while I do have a few worries, I’m putting them on hold tonight to go see the Disney musical production of THE LION KING!

Oh my gosh! Giddy isn’t even the word for it. (Note to self: put tissues in your purse because you know you will bawl your eyes out at the end.)

In honor of the long weekend and my wonderful “no worries” mentality I’m going to list all the things that are seriously making me happy:

--there’s a new Stephanie Plum book coming out in June! And there’s already an excerpt posted on Janet Evanovich’s website. What? Ranger has a wife? And she's after Stephanie? Oh my gosh!

--In addition to the Lion King, X-Men III opens this weekend! Talk about entertainment nirvana!

--There are still three Dennis Lehane books I haven’t read yet. Like that guy on LOST, I’m thinking about spreading them out because he’s the kind of writer who needs to be savored.

--All the TV finales are over. What a relief. A girl can only take so much death, betrayal, and flashbacks of people long-since dead on Desperate Housewives.

And finally…

--I got my editor comments for GG2 so I no longer have to wonder what I’ll do with all my free time. I no longer have free time.

Things I'll buy...

Did you know that only 2% of published writers can afford to write full-time with no other income? (Note: I have no idea where I heard this statistic, but it sounds true--right?)

In any case, writers don't make a lot of money. That's okay. For the most part we don't need a lot of money.

But every week or so someone will remind me that JK Rowling has more money than the Queen of England.

Well, I'm not JK Rowling. But sometimes it's fun to pretend.

THINGS I WILL BUY IF I EVER HAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS JK ROWLING (or the Queen of England--I'm not greedy):

--a private jet—because they seem to come in really handy on Days of Our Lives.

--a personal assistant. I know a lot of big, bestselling writers have these, and I certainly would.

--a double oven. It’s true. I’m a Food Channel wannabe, and I’ve always wanted a double wall oven. Ah…to be able to bake six dozen cookies at one time…

--the perfect pair of black pants. Cost be damned! I’d spare no expense in finding them, and when I did, I’d buy at least twenty pairs.

--ditto the above for the perfect Capri pants

--a farm

--high speed wireless internet instead of the cheapo dial-up I currently use

--an armed guard who would physically pull me away the internet when I have a deadline

--I’d splurge on the 3-at-a-time Netflix plan instead of the 1-at-a-time plan I’m currently on.

--a collection of very high-end wigs (like Dolly Pardon and Sydney Bristow) so that I would never again have to fix my hair

--a powerhouse publicist who would get my books in People and TeenPeople even though I’m not a Harvard Sophomore and, you know, I wrote them myself.

--one of the really expensive VIP boxes at Oklahoma State University that overlooks both the football field and the basketball court so that I can take all my friends and family to games and, while there, my mother can feed us all awesome tailgate food.

--Oh, and season tickets for OSU football and basketball

--Maybe a new car, but honestly, mine still runs great so I’m not in a big hurry.

Wow. It’s a good thing writers don’t make as much money as people think, because I really don’t need a lot of that stuff. Seriously. Five pairs of the perfect black pants would probably be perfectly sufficient.

But I really wouldn't mind having that armed internet guard.

-Ally

The big time!

Hi all. Seems like I've been posting a lot lately (can you tell I currently have no books to work on...except, well, for all the books I could be working on...)

But how can I resist posting when there are two big developments here in Allyville?

First, I got a very nice review in Publisher's Weekly where they call I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU fun and engaging, and say "readers will eagerly anticipate the next installment."

Yippee!

And next...(stop me if I'm making too big a deal out of this)...a very cool teen librarian wrote today to tell me that Love You Kill You is listed on the main teen page of BarnesAndNoble.com!!!

If you want to find it the old fashioned way, you click the children's tab, then the teen tab, and well, there's my book with the new Meg Cabot and the new James Patterson and the new It Girl! Yep. I'm in that company.

And it''s freaking me out. Am I right to be freaked out? I consider this about the biggest non-movie thing that's happened so far. They even call the book a "clever page turner."

Yippee!

-Ally

Mad Blogs

Okay, I've actually been wanting to do this for FOREVER, but I thought you guys might think it was lame. But now your posts have convinced me otherwise. Yea!

So here we have it, Mad Blogs!!!!!

(below is something I want to blog about--but can't--because I'm not stupid. Or tacky. But mostly stupid. So, please feel free to fill in the blanks however you see fit!)

Oh my gosh! What is it about __nouns__ these days? I've gotten several lately--and each is more __adjective__ than the last! Like the other day, I got one that had a __noun___ that you have to __verb__, and the __noun___ was freaking __adjective__!

They __verb__ like _noun__ or maybe __nouns__! I __verb__ for a long time, thinking do these _nouns_ not have _nouns_?

I guess not. Of course I could __verb__...

But what would be the odds of that?

-Ally

A bunch of random things...

--Dennis Lehane has once again restored my faith in myself as a reader and/or mankind as writers because I'm about to finish my fourth Lehane book, Gone, Baby, Gone and like Mystic River, Shutter Island, and A Drink Before the War, I can't put it down--a far cry from the dozens of books I've started in the last three months and had no desire to finish.

--I was pleasantly surprised with the Desperate Housewives finale last night (except the Lynette and Tom stuff--didn't buy it.) But Bree trying to talk the janitor into helping her break out of the mental hospital? Priceless.

--You know you're through with a fictional character (like, say, Marissa Cooper) when she dies in a fiery crash and you don't even tear up. Not even a little.

--Do you think Oprah ever Googles herself?

--I'm behind on answering letters from readers, sorry! (Blame Dennis Lehane) Hopefully I'll get back to you this week, but in the meantime, I'm afraid I still don't have anything to do with who gets cast in the movie. If I did, then I would have written a role for myself as Mr. Solomon's love interest.

--My new haircut is still cute, but short Way shorter than I'm used to.

--When my niece lists all the people she loves I rank somewhere between one of her stuffed animals and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

--I still can't make chocolate pie (even when my mother is standing right there telling me exactly what to do.)

--the worst part of having a blog are the things you want to blog about...but can't. Like the ______ I got in the ______ with the really tacky _______s from _________ where _________ looks like _______ _________s. Trust me, if I could fill in the blanks you'd be laughing out loud right now.

But I can't fill in the blanks, so if you want to be entertained, I can only suggest that you pick up a book by Dennis Lehane.

-Ally

Decoration Day

So I'm wondering now, how many people out there have Decoration Day? Or actually use Memorial Day to gather with family and visit cemeteries? (note to Mom: see, I spelled it right this time!)

I'm curious. Is it just a rural thing? Because if you don't do it, you're kind of missing out on something. It's very central to rural communities, a beautiful thing in many, many ways.

Even better than free books at BEA.

Seriously.

Ally

Return of the green-eyed girl

Well, I thought I'd put it behind me. The books were turned in. The wonderful Kate was raving about Gin (the book, not the drink), and I actually had time to get my hair cut today, and let me tell you, it looks fabulous. Woody the magnificent outdid himself considered the wayward, tangled, icky mess I walked in with.

So I thought the jealousy was behind me. Really.

Then, I went to the Barnes and Noble on 41st Street in Tulsa (all you T-towners know what I'm talking about, right?) And I looked at the front tables for Love You Kill You--nothing. Then I looked at the tables in the teen section--nothing. I was seriuosly sad at this point--seriously sad. Then I checked the shelves and found...one book.

Okay, if you're an author this is either the happiest or most depressing thing in the world. Do they just have one book because they don't think anyone will buy it? Or are they almost sold out? I was in a near panic as I clutched the book and inched toward a B&N staffer.

B&N Staffer: Oh! Hi! I remember you from your signing in January. Your book sold great!

(note: this is a very good sign.)

Me: Really? Well, I have this new book. Would it be okay if I signed it?

Staffer: Sure! (Then she punched in the computer) Wow! We had a bunch of those. Is that the only one left?

Me: YES!

Okay, I might not have screamed it. But I wanted to.

So I signed it and made some small talk and then decided to take my great hair on the road to a Panera Bread for a turkey sandwich and some Wi-Fi.

And then I started checking blogs and realized that all the cool kids are at Book Expo America--Sarah Dessen, Meg Cabot, Jennifer Weiner, Diana Peterfreund.... I want to go!

Have I mentioned they were down to one copy of my book? And that my hair (finally) looks good again?

Yeah. I'm clinging to those big-time.

Later I get to go home for Decoration Day--which is Memorial Day for country people--which means everyone in my family is going to go to the cemetary tomorrow. And there will be food.

Fried chicken and graveyards, people. Who needs BEA if you've got that?


--Ally

What's a TV addict to do?

It’s an odd time of year—so much anticipation, so many tears, and now…so much waiting.

Oh, summer. It’s hot and sticky and the days are long and—worst of all—there’s nothing new on TV.

Or is there?

I know you’re all like me—you’re dying to know how long it will take the She-Shephard to find out about Meredith and McDreamy. You want to know what Kendall Casablancas had in the briefcase. But there are other shows too—great shows. And just in case you haven’t been watching them, isn’t now the best time to start?

-HOUSE—I always knew I’d probably like this show, but I held off on watching it for a long time simply because I didn’t think I had room for it in my repertoire. Then, that blasted USA network started showing season one episodes on Friday nights and I got sucked in. It’s a great show with a GREAT character. Oh boy, what I wouldn’t give to write one like him.

-MEDIUM—Sure, I’m not usually supernatural girl, but for some reason I buy this show about a woman who sees images of crimes and then works with the police and DA to solve them. I think it’s because she actually calls the police when a killer needs to get tracked down, and when they tell her “stay in the car” she stays in the car. Now that’s my kind of heroine.

-WITHOUT A TRACE—are you watching this? If not, why not? Great cases. Amazing actors. And it’s another one you can get into right away.

-BONES—Is it just me or is FBI-agent-former-sniper David Boreanaz hotter than vampire-with-a-soul David Boreanaz? I’m thinking he might just be!

-VERONICA MARS—okay, regular readers know how I feel about this. It’s a great show. How many ways and in how many different forms do I need to say it. Rent season one on DVD and watch two episodes if you don’t believe me. Summer is the time to give shows like this a chance, people.

And then, thanks to the gods of cable, we also get some original programming in the summer! Yippee!

-MONK—I just love this show. Again, great characters make the world go round. It’s a series where you don’t worry about what you missed last time, which I like.

-THE CLOSER—wow. This is a great show by any standards if you ask me. Keira Sedgwick deserves an Emmy. No doubt about it.

-RESCUE ME—I want to hate this show. I want to hate the guys on it. I want to be offended and repulsed, but I can’t because it’s just too true, too right, to dead-on and interesting to do anything but set the Tivo and enjoy.

-CELEBRITY POKER—Yes. I admit it. One of my goals in life is to be a major enough minor celebrity to be on Celebrity Poker Showdown.

Oh, and you could read. May I suggest a couple of books called CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE and I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU?

--Ally

Unemployed

Eight months ago I had three books I had to finish and/or write. Today, that number is down to less than one. Yep. We heard today that Learning to Play Gin is a go—all that’s left are the copyedits and all the t-crossing and i-dotting.

And if that wasn’t a good enough feeling, I just sent the first draft of the Gallagher Girls sequel to my lovely amazing YA editor (as opposed to my lovely, amazing adult editor) for her input.

Of course GG2 is not finished. Not even close. In fact, I’ll probably spend more hours working on drafts 2 through infinity than I spent working on the first.

(I know I will because the day I stopped worrying about first drafts was the day I started finishing books.)

Still, I can’t help feeling kinda sorta unemployed.

Except, of course, for my full-time job.

Does this mean I have no excuse not to start eating right and clean my house now? If so, I'd better sell some more books, pronto!

Ally

PS....check back very soon for some cool news...hopefully to come later this week!

Movies that got it right

I'm deadline girl. The finish line is in sight, so I'm taking a break to give a shout-out to the wonderful, beautiful, amazing Donna who shall have GG2 by 0800 hours Wednesday (as the Gallagher Girls would say).

Also, I wanted to bring you this post on writing. And movies. And movies about writing.

A lot of them get it wrong, in my opinion, but here are a few that got (at least parts of) it right:

Shakespeare in Love -- I remember hearing someone (I think one of the Weinsteins) talking about how Viola was perfect for a writer because 1. she was beautiful, 2. she was independently wealthy, and 3. she’d read everything he’d ever written. And I think there’s some truth to that.

Misery—sure, most writers don’t have a crazy woman with an axe holding us hostage, but it feel like it most of the time, so this one gets serious points in my book.

Romancing the Stone—not the “meet a handsome man and fall in love in South America where the humidity does wonders for your hair part.” No, I’m talking about the “sit at your dining room table in your flannel pajamas until the blasted book is finished” part. Yep. For ten minutes that movie has the writers’ life down pat.

The Shining—don’t know. Won’t see it. I’m a wuss.

Capote—I really loved this movie, and while nothing about Truman Capote could be categorized as ordinary, I think what it shows of the writing process is probably pretty much like what other people go through. It’s hard work, and this movie shows that (although, to be fair, not much actual writing is depicted which is probably for the best—boring!)

Finding Forrester—this is a movie I love with characters I love telling a story I love. It’s actually an interesting movie about learning how to write. I didn’t think it possible, but they pulled it off. So for everyone who ever asked, “How do you write a book?” Well, that movie will get you as close as I’ve ever seen on film. The only better way to know is to do it yourself (or, like Kathy Bates, hope your favorite bestseller drives off a road in a blizzard near you.)

10 Reasons why I am a crummy daughter

10. I never make my bed. No, wait, I take that back. I do make my bed just at night before I get into it. I hate crawling into messed up sheets, but can I do this in the morning so that I can enjoy the pretty bed all day long? No. That would be too simple.

9. I never take my shoes to my room. It’s a good thing I don’t have your typical chick lit shoe obsession because then my house would be a disaster area. Even as I type this I look under the table and see three tennis shoes. Three. Which means there’s a rogue shoe out there somewhere. It's a little scary.

8. Sometimes (and I do mean very rarely) I go to bed with my makeup on. It’s a sin, I know, but I’m hoping my mother will forgive me.

7. Vegetables and I are not on very good terms.

6. I have, on occasion, crossed my eyes despite the very real threat that they could stay that way.

5. I have been known to swim less than thirty minutes after eating. Heck, as Lesha H. and all my cousins know, I’ve been known to swim while eating.

4. During really good shows (like Veronica Mars) and really good scenes (like any scene with Logan and Veronica) I still sit way too close to the TV.

3. I don’t always wash my delicates in the delicate cycle.

2. Despite years of careful tutelage and diligent practice I still can’t make a decent chocolate cream pie (and everyone knows that cakes and cookies are easy—pies are what separate true bakers from mere imposters!)

And the number one reason I am a crummy daughter:

I didn’t go home for Mother’s Day. But I plan on giving her a finished draft of the Gallagher Girls sequel when I see her next week, and she said that’s gift enough for her.

Gallagher Girls in ElleGirl

Hi everyone! For all you magazine junkies out there (and you know who you are), you might want to check out this month's ElleGirl because HyperionTeen has taken out a full page ad featuring some terrific summer reads.


Anything there look familiar?


It's the new issue of ElleGirl--the one with Emma Roberts on the cover--which of course just makes me think: what if Emma Roberts gets cast in the movie?!?!? Yeah, like I so don't have better things to think about, but still, it's really hard not to fantasize a little bit--right?

I'’ve been told by people “in the know” that the role of Rachel (aka, the Headmistress, aka Cammie's mom) should be really big in the movie--—which I love because I love that character. And so when I start my daydreaming process I always start with her.

All the time I was writing, I admit, I had a mental picture of Famke Janssen and/or Rachel Weisz in my head.

But now I can'’t stop thinking about Julia Roberts!!! Or Uma Thurman. Oh my gosh! Lauren Graham!!!! I'm obsessed. Ooh! Catherine Zeta-Jones!

There are so many amazing women out there who could bring something great to that role.

Don't even get me started on the guys who could potentially be Mr. Solomon! (Brad Pitt, Patrick Dempsey, Viggo Mortensen, Hugh Jackman, George Clooney. Johnny Depp!!!!)

Cammie's a little harder. During the writing process I always thought she would look a lot like Amber Tamblyn, whom I adore, but I also love Emma Roberts. Oh, and Anna Paquin and Evan Rachel Wood are two of the best young actresses ever if you ask me.

And a part of me would kind of love to see an unknown” actress, —someone who will take the world by storm.

Or maybe there's someone out there who has been lurking in the shadow of the A-list, and this could be the role that makes them a star! How great would that be--to be the person who wrote the character that changed someone's life? Wow. I would love that!

Meanwhile, back in reality...

I should probably point out that they're not casting the movie yet...not even close. And if/when the movie does get cast I won't have a say, and I don't want a say because I don't know squat about this stuff. Nothing. Nada.

This is definitely something best left in the hands of professionals, and the best in the world are working on this one, so I don't have to!

But it is a fun game to play while you're washing dishes. Right?

-Ally

edit/PS....it was recently brought to my attention that I failed to mention Renee Russo, Jodi Foster and Diane Lane on my list of potential Rachels. How could I have been so short-sighted? Oh my gosh! I've now got Renee Russo in particular so painted on my brain that I simply must go write a Rachel scene! Must go write!

VERONICA MARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, obviously this post is ALL spoilers, so if you haven’t seen it and you don’t want to know—run. Run away right now.

First, they deserve a freaking Emmy for the ‘what if Lily hadn’t died’ dream—brilliant! Not since Buffy have alternate realities been done so well. Veronica wouldn’t have known Wallace. Her dad would still be sheriff and her mom would still be around. She would have been an I love high school girl. And—most importantly—she still would have ended up with Logan. Great show.

The Beaver thing—yeah. I know, I am proud of myself!

The tracking down Woody the creepy mayor thing—so good. I’d thought he and his private plane were gone for good.

The Jackie having a kid thing—Jaw. On. Floor.

The Mac getting her heartbroken thing—wow. I love her and so hope she’s back full-time next year. She is, after all, the Q to Veronica’s Bond, and this is going to give her a lot of emotional fuel.

The Weevil being arrested in front of his grandmother before he got to walk across the stage thing—maybe the sleaziest thing the Sheriff has done. How long is it going to take Veronica to try to clear him next year, ya think?

The everybody cheering wildly for Veronica thing—so great. I got yet another Buffy flashback, but Veronica’s parting words to the principal “Don’t keep all your passwords taped to the bottom of your stapler”, were enough to remind us all that Buffy and Veronica aren’t exactly carbon copies.

The Beaver writing Veronica’s name on Curly’s hand after he killed him thing—wow. Didn’t see that one coming.

The Duncan having Aaron Echols offed thing—fitting without being overly clichéd. I’m just glad we got two great Aaron scenes with both Logan and Veronica before he met his maker.

The Beaver blowing up the plane thing—well, this was the only part that rang a tiny bit false. Of course Keith wasn’t on the plane, but it did give Logan a chance to say, “You’re not a killer, Veronica.” (LOVE him!) But I don’t believe that Keith would be so out-of-touch that he wouldn’t have heard either about Aaron getting killed or the plane exploding or both and called Veronica right away.

The Beaver raped Veronica two years ago thing—wow. I’d really forgotten all about that and, like Veronica, had thought it was solved. I can’t decide if this one was genius or stretching.

The Kendall now being worth eight million dollars thing—worth a chuckle.

The Beaver yelling “my name is Cassidy” before he jumped off the roof thing—well, that’s what makes this not just a “teen” show. It’s the real deal, people. These folks have talent.

The Logan saving Veronica and then comforting her after she thought her father died thing—well, that’s what it’s all about.

The Kendall showing up with a mystery suitcase thing--I think we have our season three.

Focusing is hard to do

Deadlines. I've got deadlines. That Gallagher Girls sequel isn't going to write itself, you know.

But there is so much other important stuff to do...

like psych myself up for the Prison Break finale tonight...

or type my name and my book's title and every possible derivation of the two into Google and GoogleBlog a dozen times a day...

oh, and someone's got to stay on top of those Amazon rankings, because as every publishing insider will tell you, they mean absolutely nothing.

But perhaps most importantly, I have to keep reminding myself that I have my first signing/event tomorrow night for I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU. It's going to be at my local library, so if you live nearby (and you probably know if you do) then come by and chat and pick up a book. Or twenty.

But even though I'm very excited about the big library shindig, can anyone think of a reason why it's killing me to have to go?

Anyone?

Well, if your answer was 'Veronica Mars' or "bus crash" or 'Logan Echols with his shirt off" or any combination thereof, then you are oh-so correct.

I'm going to have to miss the Veronica Mars season finale!

Now, of course, I have Tivo. In fact, Veronica and her fellow Neptunians are the main reason I got Tivo. And I also have two VCRs, and I'm planning on using all three to record the finale because, hey, Tivo can fail, and in life-and-death situations like this, it's always smart to have a backup. Or two.

Hey, maybe I do deserve to be a Gallagher Girl.

Goodness knows Veronica does.

If you want to hear my theory on who crashed the bus, look below. If you don't want to hear any theories, or if right now you're saying "What bus?" then I'll just say goodbye for now!

happy reading!
Ally




Ally's bus crash culprit theory:

Note: I have no inside information or spoilers--just that, according to the cast, it was a big shock. Given that, I think we can rule out any of the people who have had major light thrown on them thus far (the mayor, Cordelia...um, I mean, Kendall, the Fitzpatricks.)

So, that being said, my prediction is....Cassidy "Beaver" Cassablancas.

Here's my theory: Beaver was one of the boys abused by the mayor. He knew the other two boys were going to go public, but he didn't want that to happen, so he planted the bomb, but not before planting the rat so that he and his friends could get off the bus. Then, they followed in the limo and he was able to trigger the bomb when the bus approached the cliff.

It's a crazy theory, I know. But I think the answer has to be a little crazy (and yet, in hindsight, believable.) Such an amazing show!

Green-eyed girl

I am lucky, fortunate, and blessed. I have so many things others want and need. And, in fact, I don’t need that much. Seriously. I’m the kind of person who could probably live on a deserted island (as long as it was truly deserted—not like LOST where there are other people who can see you in your bathing suit.)

Oh, and would there be cable and internet on the island? If so, count me in.

But back to my original point: I don’t need a lot, which is why it’s weird that I have started morphing into a very jealous person—like supervillian jealous. Obviously, this is a point of concern.

It started with Opal, everyone’s favorite anthology (not really), and the fact that it was in both People and TeenPeople (no folks, I’m really not getting over that anytime soon.)

Sure, I have a movie deal (and unlike Opal, mine’s moving forward), and I’ve gotten tons of emails from fans who liked the book, and I have the best agent and editors in the world!

What else could a writer want—right?

The answer is… a lot. Basically, everything everyone else has.

As a farm girl, I totally should have seen this one coming. The grass really is always greener—literally. I have observed enough farm animals in my life to know this is absolutely true.

But there’s something else I totally know:

Jealousy = Bad

So I’m coming clean. I’m freeing my soul, right here and now. I'm trying to be a good person, so here's my list. These are the people I am jealous of and the reasons why:

--E. Lockhart for having a book coming out in the U.K.

--Alison Pace for being mentioned on Jennifer Weiner’s blog

--Jennifer Weiner for having the blog everyone wants to be mentioned on

--all the people who didn’t space out yesterday and totally forget it was the first Saturday in May and miss the Kentucky Derby!

--the writers of Veronica Mars because they actually have managed to top last year’s amazing season. Top it! How did they do that?

--all the people who haven’t written a book they’re 99.9% in love with, because it’s so much easier to write one book like that than to turn around and write another one.

--Megan Shull because she wrote Amazing Grace which is the kind of book every writer gets jealous of (at least this writer).

--my sister, who is pregnant, and therefore has a reason for looking pregnant in the pictures we took at Easter

--all the unpublished/uncontracted authors who only worry about pleasing themselves and who can take as much time as they need to do that.

--whatever lucky person gets to apply Wentworth Miller’s Tattoo for those shirtless scenes on Prison Break

--Felicity Huffman, who gets prettier every year and who also gets to be married to William H. Macy. Really, if you had to be married to a Hollywood guy, could you do much better than William H. Macy?

--the girls on Super Sweet Sixteen because they get amazing parties—but they’re also kind of idiots, so I take that one back—better to have a party with people who really love you and give the ridiculous amount of money to charity or toward college. Right?

I'm sure there's more--there's bound to be. But that’s a start.

I feel better already.

Tons of writing and deadlines await!

In the meantime, happy reading.

--Ally

Why I will probably never be a Gallagher Girl:

As many of you know by now, Gallagher Girls are pretty exceptional (it says so on the school stationary.) And even though I invented them and all, I'm pretty sure I could never actually be one--which is sad, but not without reason.

Here's why:

--I'm not a genius. In fact, here's how un-geniusy I am: I arranged to have a huge deadline at the same time as all the TV season finales! Now, if that's not the work of someone of sub-par intelligence, I don't know what is.

--I'm not exactly athletic. At all. And even though not every Gallagher Girl is the "kill a man with her bare hands" type, they can probably all walk for forty-five minutes on the treadmill without having to get off and get a drink ever four tenths of a mile.

--I wouldn't look very good in those skirts.

--The Gallagher Mansion is old, and probably drafty. I, personally, hate being cold.

--One word: math.

--One other word: science.

--And the biggie...they don't exist. Not really.

And isn't that a shame?


Happy reading, everyone! Personally, I'm hoping for happy writing (and a little treadmill time to maybe increase the chances of looking good in those skirts.)


-Ally

The *real* reviews are in!

How much do I love getting fan mail?

A lot. A lot, a lot. More than I love cheese fries from Eskimo Joes, in fact (and this has nothing to do with the fact that my spies tell me that Joe is now skimping on the order size, either).

The book hasn't even been out a week yet, and I've already gotten about a dozen emails from readers. I LOVE READERS!

I've taken the liberty of pasting a few quotes below:
(note: only one of these is from my mother)

"I just finished reading your book I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You. Oh my gosh! It was one of the best books I've ever read! ... I couldn't put it down. I was reading almost non-stop for two days!"

—Stephani

"I just finished your book (I got it yesterday) and am completely blown away. I love it. Seriously. I'm in love with it. But I'm sure you get that on a regular basis (since it rocks so much). I won't waste your time gushing about how much I love it. I'm going to recommend this book to my friends. They're going to love it too!"

—Kinsey

"I just got the book today and I have three pages left. When I get older I hope to be as good of a writer as you. I love the book and hope the next novel comes out soon...best of luck with the movie—I'll be first in line to see it."

—A big fan

"It's such a fun, witty, heartwarming, smart story. Loved it! It really is wonderful!"

—Gena

"I just finished a prepub copy of your book. Wow! I cannot wait to share the Gallagher Girls with teens this week. Thank you for writing such a fun adventure. I love the strong portrayal of girls and how capable they are even in the most dire of situations. I am looking forward to the sequel."

—Libby, a librarian

"I heard about your book I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You from my friend Bree, who couldn't stop talking about it... Anyways, I adored your book, and I'll have to pick up a copy for myself, because I can't really hoard my friend's copy forever."

—Liz

And then, there's this....

"We purchased a "Love you Kill you" book yesterday and were disturbed it wasn't on the new releases table; the girl had to go in the back to get it. I didn't tell her I had some very close connections to Ally Carter because I wanted her to think I had chosen it on its own merits."

--Ally's Mom

Now, I know the book hasn't been covered by Kirkus or Library Journal or Publishers Weekly, but when you've got fans like this, who needs national reviewers?

--Ally (who is hard at work on that sequel!)

Pub Day + 1

Two books I read months ago are finally hitting shelves today. I'm so excited for the authors, Alison Pace and Becky Motew, but most of all I'm excited for you, the reading public (because the authors have obviously already read these great books but you guys haven't.)

So when you're at your local bookstore staking out the I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU display so that you can write me and tell me all the details about the people buying it (which you are staking out the Love You Kill You display, aren't you?), then you can check out Pug Hill and Coupon Girl, two very well-written books by two very talented authors.




Also, can I just say that I have the best cyber friends ever?

For starters, some very cool and very talented people have recently featured Love You Kill You on their blogs. (Hi Kelly and Jana!)

Diana Peterfreund, author of the upcoming and sure to be fabulous Secret Society Girl, has posted a great interview on her blog.

And perhaps the greatest thing of all is this wonderful review and post about the book by Liz Burns.

I love this review so much--not because she says,

"the more I read books that try to be smart, and funny, and sharp, with adventure and romance and real characters, and fail miserably, the more I appreciate the talent of writers like Ally Carter who make it look easy."

Yeah, believe it or not I have an even better reason for loving this review--it's that she gets it. And I mean gets it!

When I read...

"... this book bypasses the "mean girl" storyline; and in point of fact, I think it would be impossible to be a Mean Girl at the Gallagher Academy, because the girls have purpose; they are being challenged; they are recognized and celebrated for reasons other than looks. (Not that they don't like to dress up when they can.) And, of course, they could take over the country if they wanted to. Which they won't. Cause it's wrong."

...I know that I wrote the book I set out to write, and I sleep well at night.

I bet Kaavya Viswanathan can't say that.



-Ally

Pub Day!!!

Well, it's finally here--PUB DAY!

I know I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU has been popping up for a while now, but today is officially it. If you can't find the book after today, well then you need to talk (politely) to someone at the store and see if they've got it somewhere else and, if not, they'll probably order it.

It's here. It's finally here!

But I have to say pub days do tend to be a tad on the anticlimactic side. It's not like..say..washing your car.

I love washing my car. It is perhaps my favorite job ever, or at least my favorite type of job.

You start out with a dirty car. You can see the dirt. You know it needs to come off.

Then you spray it and scrub it and you can see the dirt slowly dripping off and you know you’re making progress.

Ten minutes later you can stand back, slap your wet hands together, and watch the sun glisten off the shiny clean paint and think “I did this.”

Book publishing…well…it's not quite that simple.

Still, it's pretty freaking cool.

After all, a clean car won't get you lots of fan mail (by the way, big thanks to Kinsey, Tasha, Silver, Gena, Jana, Liz & Libby who wrote over the weekend!)

And a clean car doesn't make you feel quite as shivery as seeing your book on the shelves and having the manager say that they've already sold a bunch of copies.

Oh, and a clean car doesn't let you work with amazing people like Donna Bray, a woman who I think might be the most talented children's book editor working in publishing today.

And no matter how hard I scrub my car I will never make it as beautiful as the cover the wonderful people at Hyperion developed for me.

It’s an amazing experience and I'm very, very grateful.

I also need to go wash my car.

--Ally

Have you ordered your copy yet? If not, what are you waiting for? All the cool kids are doing it.