Happy New Year to all who celebrate it

Not everyone celebrates every holiday and I, personally, don't celebrate New Years. Crazy, right? But considering that I've never had a big, wonderful, fun, exciting New Year's Eve it makes sense.

I neither drink nor party.

I stay up until after midnight almost every night of the year so tonight will be no different.

The most significant thing about the end of 2006 is that I'm wishing I'd made a lot more last minute tax deductions.

Oh, and I've still got a book to finish.

So, be safe and happy if you're going to be celebrating! And here's to a wonderfully productive 2007!

Ally

More important (purse) news

People who know me only from reading this blog probably think I'm incredibly materialistic (which I'm soooooo not), or vain (because they obviously haven't seen me since I'm now two months and counting behind on getting my hair cut), or incredibly indecisive (which...well...okay. I'll give you that one.)

But I've got to report once again on what I'm calling purse saga 2006.

Now, when I look back on 2006 I'll remember it for three things:

1. It's the year Love You Kill You came out a lot of people bought it and had really good things to say about it.

2. It's the year I spent trying to write the perfect Gallagher Girls sequel.

3. It's the year I tried to buy the perfect purse.


Note how two of the three things of 2006 are kind of stressful and trying. So here's hoping that in 2007 I'll be less stressed and tried, and I think I'm really close...at least on the purse front.

After spending some of my two day Christmas break looking online for purses I've discovered a brand which I think I really like.

Here are a couple of styles that I keep coming back to. What do you think?


We have option A: the Monsac Petite Satchel


Option B: The Monsac Petite Horizontal Tote




Option C: The Monsac Windsor Shoulder bag







Jennifer Lynn Barnes has agreed to help my bring in 2007, by spending New Years Day finding the perfect purse. And if that isn't enough to qualify her for sainthood, I just learned that Miss Jacksons in Tulsa carries this brand, so that means Jen and I will spend New Years Day being both the youngest and the poorest people in Miss Jacksons, but that's okay.

Purse saga 2006 will be over!


later,
Ally

Today's question: what did you get?

Yes, this is officially the lamest blog post ever, but hopefully in a few days I'll have big, important news that will justify by lameness.

So, here we go: what did you get for the holidays?

I'll start.

A beautiful jewelry box, a very cool new wallet, a cookbook, cash, and an OSU tree ornament.


What about you guys?


-Ally

Today's Question: what do you love about Harry Potter?

I guess you've probably heard by now that the new Harry Potter will be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

And that got me to thinking that this might be an excellent time say publicly and for the record that I'm in awe of JK Rowling. And here's why: the woman is a master storyteller.

I read those books first as a fan and second as a writer, and I appreciate her genius more all the time because...

--she makes each story different from the beginning. In book 1 it was very exciting for Harry to get onto a secret platform and board a big scarlet train to wizard school.

But how interesting would that be for book 2? Not so much. So she blocks the train entrance and lets us (and by us, I mean Harry) arrive at school via a flying car. In book 3 there are dementors on the train...etc...etc.


--she gives us a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year, so there’s always a new character and a new potential source of conflict. Can you imagine the HP series if that position didn't turn over? I can't.


--The characters always have a goal—a mystery. I bet you never thought of the Harry Potter books as mysteries, did you? But in my book, they are.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione almost always have a case that they're trying to solve: what is the sorcerer's stone and who's trying to steal it? Who has opened the Chamber of Secrets? How and why did Sirius Black break out of Azkaban? (Even though they spend a lot of the book thinking they know—they don’t!) Who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire and why? What's at the end of that corridor in Harry's dream?

In fact, the only one that doesn't really have a clear-cut mystery is the Half-Blood Prince, and that's probably why it's my personal least favorite.


--she doesn't just take us inside the wizard school--she takes us inside the wizard world! One of my favorite scenes is in Order of the Phoenix when Harry visits the Ministry of Magic for his hearing. (I just love it that wizards have bureaucracy too.) But the brilliance of this, from a story-teller’s perspective, is that Harry (and again, that means the reader) is constantly seeing new places and things. If it fascinates Harry, it’ll probably fascinate us. If Harry’s used to it—we are too.



--Harry is usually facing conflict/threats from an immediate source. Take Order of the Phoenix for example: Voldermort is the big bad--there's no denying that. But the main source of conflict in that book is Professor Umbridge. Could the overall story be told without Umbridge? Yes, I think it could because Umbridge doesn’t tie in with Voldermort’s plot. But think how the book would lag if Harry didn't face a real threat every day. Same thing with the dementors in book three and the challenges in book four. I could even make the arguement that Dobby serves that function in book 2.


--she made Harry's best friend his polar opposite. Where Harry is an only child, Ron's the youngest son of a huge family. Where Harry is famous, Ron is anonymous in many ways. This sets up a lot of natural conflict and possibilities for Harry to see/experience the life he never had.


--she didn't let Harry grow up in a wizarding house. Now, I know this was probably the right decision for her to make for Harry's character (he came to Hogwarts humble, after all). But it was even more brilliant from a storytelling perspective because now we, the readers, learn about stuff as Harry learns about it. We see things for the first time when Harry sees them for the first time.

The story could have been told if Harry had grown up getting his mail via an owl and traveling by floo powder, but it's a lot more interesting this way, isn't it?


--she made Hermione very, very bright, so even though there's a lot Harry doesn't know, it's pretty believable that Hermione would have read about it and explain it to Harry (and us.)


--she is a master at manipulating point of view. There are many things that Harry can't or shouldn't know--which is a problem considering we rarely leave his head. So, she has invented invisibility cloaks and pensives and he can see and hear things he shouldn't. Brilliant.


--and perhaps the thing that most makes JKR a brilliant storyteller--she uses throw-away lines like nobody else. Ever.

The moment I realized that the entire third book was about a man who was mentioned in passing in the first chapter of the first book...well...I knew I'd love her forever.

I know I’ll never have anything approaching her level of success (because NO ONE will EVER have that level of success again for a very, very, very long time). And that’s okay. But I do think we muggles have a lot to learn from the woman who created Hogwarts. And for that, I am grateful.

-Ally

A deleted Christmas

Once upon a time, not so long ago, I thought Love You Kill You would take place over Cammie's sophomore year at spy school.

But then my editor (rightly) pointed out that a whole lot of interesting things happened at the beginning of the year, and more at the end of the year, but the story kind of treaded water in the middle.

That's when we made the bold and important decision to change it from the story of her sophomore year to the story of her fall semester (GG2 covers the spring).

That means that we lost a lot of winter scenes...like this one that seems especially appropriate right now.

Enjoy!

Ally

***

The day after fall finals, Bex, Mom and I caught a plane for Omaha and left our spy roots behind (Bex didn’t even pack her brass knuckles.) I missed Josh—a lot—but Bex and I couldn’t even talk about him because Mom was almost always with us, and even when she wasn’t, Grandma and Grandpa Morgan’s house wasn’t exactly soundproofed and I was pretty sure my mom would have better-than-average eavesdropping abilities. So, Bex and I ate a lot of Grandma’s homemade candy, and slept a lot, and tried not to laugh too hard when Mom caught the kitchen on fire while she was trying to learn how to make fudge. (She should really stick to espionage. It is in everyone’s best interest.)

Bex and I shared the sleeper sofa in the basement. On Christmas Eve we were lying there, and I guess neither one of us could sleep because after a long time, I heard her say through the dark, “You’re lucky to have them, Cam.”

It took me a minute to realize who she’d been talking about. Then I remembered the packages that had arrived that day and were waiting for her under my grandparents’ tree. The postmark had been London, but I knew her mom and dad were somewhere in northern Africa—we didn’t know where; we didn’t even know if they were together. It was nice that they’d remembered to send her something, though, and as we lay silently in the dark, I realized that, for spies, sometimes nice has to be good enough.

I rolled over and tried to go sleep, but for the first time maybe ever, I could see why someone like Bex could envy someone like me. She had both of her parents some of the time, but I had one parent most of the time. I understood how it might have seemed like a pretty good deal. I tried not to think about Josh and his stories of a huge tree and homemade bread and a house full of relatives. When I finally drifted off to sleep, I dreamed about what it would be like to have both of your parents all of the time.

When I woke up, it was Christmas.

More deleted scenes

Here's yet another deleted scene from I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU.

It's pretty obvious to me now why these scenes didn't make it--a lot of them are just plain boring and the first rule of editing is cut all the boring scenes first. I'm also a big fan of the "don't say it kinda well once when you could say it great somewhere else" rule.

So, here's another one.

Knock yourself out.

***

Sunday night supper with my mother was different that week. No matter how many times I showered and changed my clothes, I couldn’t help thinking that I stilled smelled like the Abrams family garbage and that my mother would notice. After all, this was the woman who just by noticing a change in the guy’s cologne, was able to expose a double agent who was selling black-market booby traps to rebels in Uzbakistan. So was it so hard to believe that she’d smell a strange boy’s toothpaste on my fingers?

I sat through frozen pizza and bagged salad, trying not to think about the fresh vegetables and cartons of eggs that I knew filled the Abrams family refrigerator (or at the very least, their trash). I imagined his family sitting down to dinner together every night, someone saying grace, someone else asking him to pass the potatoes. I took another bite of my pizza. It was still cold in the center, but I smiled and told Mom it tasted good. There are some lies that even the most seasoned secret agents will believe.

Scenes from the cutting room floor

The finish line is in sight on Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy, which, of course, makes me think about finishing LYKY.

Here's something you might not know about that book: there's almost an entire other book in a file in my computer called Love You Kill You scraps. It's 116 pages long. That's 116 pages worth of stuff I wrote and then cut because they either didn't work or dragged the pacing down.

So, in thanks to you--the readers--for your general awesomeness, I'm offering the following never-before-seen scene.

Enjoy.

***

“Is that Glycolysis or Gluconeogenesis?” Macey asked. Yes—our Macey. The Macey who had crawled out of a limo and bragged about only eating eight hundred calories a day. I know what you’re thinking—sometimes it amazes me, too.

I squinted through the glow of the secret room, absorbed in its tomb-like silence (luckily Macey’s nose ring only makes that annoying wheezy noise when she’s sleeping.) I leaned toward my stack of seventh grade notebooks and dug until I found the one labeled biochem.

I licked my thumb like Grandpa Morgan always does when he’s reading the newspaper and started flipping through pages. Halfway through a lecture about Amino Acid & Peptide Structures a series of doodles caught my eye in the margins. Most of them were in Bex’s distinctive handwriting. Like…

Do you think my boobs look any bigger today, because I think I felt them growing last night?

And…

Wouldn’t it be awesome if they hired some hot guy to teach CoveOps when Buckingham retires?

And, my personal favorite…

Whose bright idea was it for Mr. Mosckowitz to get a perm?

It’s kind of amazing we made it this far, when you think about it. I kept flipping through the pages, through the years, remembering the things we were learning and the celebrities we were stalking (not that I’m not admitting that we were the ones who programmed that satellite to take pictures of Matt Damon—even if it was exceptional work…)

Then I saw it:

Lifetime Goals and Objectives of Cameron Ann Morgan

-Graduate from Gallagher Academy (obviously)

-Pass CoveOps Gauntlets Senior Year (obviously)

-Become youngest field agent to ever lead mission for CIA

-Develop breasts (preferably in the B to C cup range)

-Buy awesome house to share with Bex and Liz (ideally one with a pool)

-Invent calorie-free chocolate chip cookie dough

-Gain Top Secret, Eyes Only security clearance

-Find out who was with Dad on his last mission

-Find out what happened

-Do what has to be done…

Papers were everywhere—class notes and study sheets, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when Macey started digging. I should have been ready for when she picked up the slip of paper that had tumbled from my bag and asked, “What’s this?”

She didn’t know what A29-b stood for, of course, but as her gaze swept across the words “Career Track Declaration” I saw recognition dawn.

“It’s nothing,” I said, grabbing it from her hand as I gathered my things and stood to leave. I closed the seventh grade notebook and my seventh grade dreams. “I don’t have the answer, Macey,” I said.

And I didn’t.

So that's one of many scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. A deleted extra.

Hope you enjoyed it.

-Ally

Stories I wish I'd thought of first

Well, all the cool comments on the holiday movie blog reminded me of one of my favorite movies of all time: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING.

How much do I love this movie? Very, very much.

In fact, this gem is high on a list I keep in the back of my mind called "STORIES I WISH I'D TOLD FIRST"

And here it is, written down for the first time anywhere:

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING--lonely transit worker saves the life of a man she's never met and, while he's in a coma, is taken into his family while they believe she is his finance. The one-liners in this one are priceless. The premise sublime. I've seen it a dozen times and love it more every year.

BABY BOOM--Uptight "tiger lady" ad exec inherits a two-year-old cousin she never knew she had. Throw in a quirky small town and you've got a story I'd give anything to have written.

(NOTE: RAISING HELEN tried to use this same premise and, in my opinion, fell flat because BABY BOOM already nailed it and why mess with perfection?)

WORKING GIRL--secretary poses as executive to get ahead in business. Such a clean, cool concept. It probably practically wrote itself.

GROSSE POINT BLANK--hitman goes to his high school reunion. Need I say more?

THE USUAL SUSPECTS--one of the great alltime screenplays. If you haven't seen it--go. Now.

(Not a story, but a title) PRAYERS FOR RAIN, by Dennis Lehane. I come from a long line of people who actually DO pray for rain, and now I'll never be able to use that title when telling stories about them. Drats.

ROMAN HOLIDAY--the ultimate Princess (or VIP) with a secret story. Again, others have tried (those two movies about the First Daughters come to mind) but Roman Holiday did it first, and best. So now I know better than to try.


WITNESS--Philly detective must protect an Amish boy who is the only witness to a murder.

ONE FOR THE MONEY--a laid-off lingere buyer turns bounty hunter in order to track down the guy who broke her heart (and who she later ran over with a Buick.) Genius.



Now, I should probably point out that there are TONS of stories I wish I'd written, but this is a list of stories I wish I'd told first, and there's a difference.

Take a movie like STEEL MAGNOLIAS for instance. Do I wish I'd written STEEL MAGNOLIAS? Heck yeah. But I think the writing itself is what makes that film special, and I think there will be other great stories told about quirky, strong, beautiful Southern women. And I have every intention of writing one of them.

But another story about a non-baby person who inherits a baby? Well, that's pretty much been done to perfection, so I've got to accept the fact that I am just too late.

I can only hope that there will someday be another young author who thinks, wow, I'd like to write about a spy girl who falls for a normal guy...but DARN that Ally Carter!!!

Today's question: greatest holiday movie ever?

I love movies. And I love the holidays. So is it any wonder that Holiday Movies are approximately my favorite thing ever.

My favorite? Miracle on 34th Street with little Natalie Wood. Oh, so much holiday goodness.

What about you?


-Ally

Very disappointing news

I've debated about whether or not to share this because, as my mother always says, don't tell people your bad news: half don't care and the other half are glad to hear it.

But I think I have to share. After all, you--the blog reading public--have had a stake in this for some time, so here goes:

My new purse came today.

And I don't like it.

I know, depressing, right? Of course, the drama queen in me took it as a HUGE sign of general badness and the nay-saying part of me keeps saying you knew this was going to happen--you never have found a purse you loved, what made you think this was going to be different?

The purse is just a little smaller than I'd like and I can't take it from hand to same-arm-shoulder without having to bring the other arm into the action, and...well...it doesn't look like it cost as much as it did.

So it looks like I'm going to have to send it back and start from scratch.

Just what I needed.


-Ally

Today's question: your literary pet peeves?

Let's try this for our question today: what are the things that drive you crazy about a book (and I mean crazy in a bad way.)

I'll start:

-- characters (especially heroines) who are stupid despite us being told repeatedly by the author that they're just feisty. Nope. When the FBI task force says "stay in the car" but the heroine leaves the car to run after the serial killer and gets taken hostage, then it's stupidity. Sorry.

-- stories that are supposed to be about agriculture (aka farming) that get the details wrong. I can't read them. Recently, I tried to read one because it's gotten A LOT of critical acclaim, but it's clear to me those critics aren't farm girls because...well...farm girls know better.

-- ditto the above for stories about small towns.

-- stories that are "told" rather than "shown". This is a point of debate among authors and, like most things, people like what they like, and that's okay. But I don't like "telling" books. I want to be taken inside the character's mind and world not told about it from a far off place.

-- books that have scenes that go on too long. Right now I'm listening to a highly buzzed and big selling women's fiction debut, and I can already tell that if I were reading it I would have stopped by now. But here's the kicker: the author can really write! She just (in my opinion) doesn't know when to shut up. There'll be a great line that, I think, sums the scene up beautifully, but she'll keep going for a few more paragraphs--just to get a few more things in, you know while she has us there. I want a scene to end in a way that makes me want to read the next scene, not skip ahead and wonder how much longer this chapter is.



I know I've got more, but those are the big ones on the top of my head.

What about you guys? What are your pet peeves?



-Ally


edited to add: oh, and I also hate it when the author has done a lot of research for the book and insists on using all of it--like the character doesn't just pick up a gun, it's a specific brand, type, make of gun and we hear all about its history and the type of person who usually uses that particular gun and maybe how the character got his/her gun when all I really care about is whether or not he/she is going to shoot somebody.

Basically, if the writing reminds me that there was a writer involved, then I'm jerked out of the story and into editor mode and I start looking for red pens.

Today's question: what's the best movie you saw this year?

Usually I go to tons of movies, but since this was the year of the perpetual deadline, I only saw a few. Of those, easily my favorite was Little Miss Sunshine. The best drama was The Departed.

So what do you say, folks? What movies should I for sure add to my Netflix list so that I can make up for lost time when GG2 is finally finished?


-Ally

It's official

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm officially scared of my fan base.

The votes have been tabulated, and in what some may call a landslide, the winning non-titles for GG2 are "Tell Me You Love Me or I'll Have to Kill You" and "I think I'll Kill You Anyway".

Big congrats to the winners and thanks to the 200+ of you who voted--I feel so loved. And scared. But mostly love.

Back to work!

Ally

I couldn't resist

Okay, so I know I'm on a deadline (the padlock is back on the entertainment armoire for those of you keeping score at home.) But I'm kind of to a place where I need to talk to my editor, and being that it's past midnight in New York, I'm going to let my editor sleep and talk about it tomorrow.

Which means...I feel less guilty about doing this Christmas list thing that's been going around and which I most recently saw at my new-favorite-person E. Lockhart's blog.

So, here goes:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Must I choose? Do I really want to live in a world where I have to choose?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
As a rule, Santa always brings the presents that are hard to wrap--like puppies and doll houses--so no, his gifts usually just appear on Christmas morning.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White. Always white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. But as an interesting note, did you know the state flower of Oklahoma is mistletoe? Did you know it grows wild in all kinds of trees there? Well, it is. And it does.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
I actually don't decorate for the holidays--any holiday--because usually on the day itself I'm not in my house. But this will change soon, I hope.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Again, do I want to live in a world where I have to choose? Well, if I did have to, I'd probably take my mother's homemade chicken and dumplings. It simply isn't a holiday meal without them.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Receiving a blue heeler puppy from Santa. We named her Chrissy (like Christmas) and then took her outside to play and she immediately jumped from my arms, ran into the pasture and heeled a cow. And the cow kicked her and knocked her out and then my dad wrapped a baby aspirin in a piece of bread and fed it to her and I sat on the porch holding her, praying she'd live.

And then that cow walked by again and...you guessed it...Chrissy jumped out of my arms, ran into the pasture and heeled her. Again. And got kicked. Again. And we learned right then that what Chrissy lacked in brains she made up for in tenacity.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I have no idea what you're talking about

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
I don't actually have a tree--but I will soon, hopefully. And it will probably be pretty pathetic for a while until I get an ornament collection because I like ornaments that mean something and have some history. It'll take a while, but it'll get there.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
In the middle of a drought--love it!

12. Can you ice skate?
Sort of. Not well, but if I had to in a life-or-death kind of situation I could at least attempt to save myself.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
It's hard to forget Chrissy.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
I love being with all my crazy family

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Pecan pie is very hard to beat.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
We play Dirty Santa with my dad's family, and it does get dirty! There are secret alliances and back-alley deals and lots of strategizing!

17. What tops your tree?
Again, right now I have no tree to top, but when I get one, I think I'd like an angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving--totally. In fact, I'm a very bad receiver. My family keeps asking what I want and I don't have a single thing to say! Not one. I'm impossible.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
We Three Kings. I've been known to break spontaneously into it at very random times during very random months (like while painting my porch on the Fourth of July.)

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
I love them in theory, but they tend to get a little sticky for me eventually, so I prefer just looking at them in the end.

Today's question: what makes you buy a book?

It just keeps getting busier and crazier around here, so this is going to be a very quick and (hopefully) efficient post today.

1. Many thanks to the awesome staff of the Chanute, Kansas public library for hosting a signing for me yesterday. For those of you who weren't able to make it, they have a supply of autographed books on-hand (Solitaire, Love You Kill You, and Gin) and if you'd like to order one and have it shipped to you, please email swillis(at sign)chanute(dot)org .

2. Also, I should share that I'll be doing at signing at the Locust Grove, Oklahoma public library this coming Saturday, Dec. 16. And another at the Park City, Kansas Public library on February 8th.

3. Other than that I have no tour dates planned. If/when that changes, I'll post it here pronto!

4. I don't know exactly when CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY will be in stores. Fall 2007 is all I know, but again, as soon as I have more info I'll pass it along.

5. I've also gotten a lot of requests lately for information about me and my books for people writing school reports. Wow. I am a school report topic. That's surreal. Maybe sometime after GG2 wraps I'll update my website with useful info on that front. In the meantime, though, I just have to say are you SURE you want to do a report about ME? I'm probably the most monumentally boring person on the planet, just so you know.

6. I really have a lot of non-book business to accomplish today. Busy, busy times--what with there being presents to buy, year-end reports to complete, and tax deductions to track down.

And speaking of taxes, Sarah Dessen blogged a few days ago about when you know you're a grown-up--well, for me, I never feel older than when I have to pay my property taxes (which I also have to do today). Seriously, is there a more grown-up tax than property tax? I think not.

7. And finally, when I get a few minutes or simply need a break, I'll check one of the many online writers groups to which I belong. Lately it seems the big debate is over what an author can/should do to promote his/her work and whether a writer should focus their efforts on selling their current books or writing the book that will come next.

Which brings us to today's discussion topic:

What makes readers buy a book? And the next one? And tell their friends about it?

Is it a catchy cover, good placement in the store, word or mouth, seeing it on MySpace...what? Seriously, folks. I'm asking.

Also, don't forget to scroll down to the previous post and vote on the best non-title for GG2--the ones you, the readers, came up with.



-Ally

The big question: vote for your favorite alternate title for GG2

I know the code was hard--but hopefully fun (it was fun, right?)

I'm so, so pleased that so many of you tried to decode the title to CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY. Really, you guys made my year!

But I'm also really grateful to all of you who put your imaginations to the test, thinking up crazy/wacky/fun titles for the next Gallagher Girls adventure.

And per my bargain in the code contest, I hereby give you the finalists in the "I'm terrible with numbers" category.

Please vote for your fave.

Best Alternate Title for GG2
	Field Trip: The Secret Boys' School In New Hampshire
	The Memory of the Tea-Drinking Boy
	Tell Me You Love Me Or I'll Have to Kill You (the slighly psychotic sequel)
	Enemy of the Date
	The Boy I Like Hates Me, But Only Because I Was Sent To Kill Him
	Mr. Smith's New Nose
	D'Man and the Sword That Sets Your Hair On Fire of Secrets
	I Think I'll Kill You Anyway
pollcode.com free polls

Voting will close at 9:00 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Good luck!

Ally

Today's Question: cutest couple on TV

Thanks to all of you who voted with your purse preferences.

The small east/west bag is on its way. Someday soon I shall post pics--I promise.


In the meantime, back to the polls.

Today's question: What is the cutest couple on TV?


My sister and I were talking this week about how much we love Friday Night Lights and, specifically, the cuteness that is Matt and Julie. But then I sat down to watch some of my Tivoed episodes of the last week and almost died from the wonder that is Danny and Jordan on Studio Sixty. And Matt and Harri--oh my gosh! Love them.

Frankly, I'm over all of the Grey's Anatomy couples (call it McBurnout--even though the show itself is still great), but that doesn't mean Thursday nights are good coupleless--hello! Miran and Jack on Men in Trees have moved to Thursday night!

Best married couple is probably Kyle Chandler and wife on Friday Night Lights, but the couple from Medium is a close second.

Most anxilious couple is, of course, hands-down Veronica and Logan "hottest bad boy with good intentions ever!" Echols.

But what about cutest? Just plain--can't help but smile when you see them, cute?


The floor is now open for nominations.


-Ally

Today's question: which purse should I buy?

I'm still hard at work on the sequel, but we got some really good sales news today, so I'm going to celebrate by (finally) ordering a new purse. A nice purse. A purse I can carry and use for many, many years.

I've got it narrowed down to two, and since the whole reason I'm allowing myself to indulge is because readers have been so incredibly good to me, I'm going to allow you--the readers--to choose which one I buy.

Do you like this one ( Wide Crescent with Gusset):


Or this one (Small East/West tote) which, by the way, I'd get in black even though I can't find a picture of it in black.



I'm at your mercy.

Choose wisely. Choose well.



-Ally


Edited to add: I just found out that the first one doesn't zip. It just snaps. No zip. Thought you should weigh that into your decisions...

Today's question: Favorite line/scene

I'm constantly amazed by what lines/scenes become a person's favorite. More than once, I've cut a line from a draft of a book only to have my editor or agent write and say "where did the XYZ line go? That was my favorite!"

Really? THAT was your favorite line?

So today's question is a rather self-serving one.

Which lines and/or scenes from I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU, LEARNING TO PLAY GIN, or CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE are your favorites?

I'll start.

LYKY: my favorite scene is the one between Macey and Cammie when Cammie talks about going to the circus with her dad.

My favorite LYKY line is when they're in the drivers' ed car and Liz says, "It'll only be a little explosion!"

GIN: this one's easy. I love the scene when Nina is talking about how the second time she married Jason they were in Las Vegas and he said, "You want to get married or something" and she says, "That's a proposal I said yes to. Here's a hint: if the proposal includes the phrase 'or something'--take the something."

SOLITAIRE: Favorite scene--Breaking into Myrtle's. Favorite line: Julia (while wearing mittens) holding her hand in the air angrily and yelling "I'm flipping you off!"


So those are my favorites. What about you guys? Any lines that have stuck with you?


-Ally

Today's question: Bond or Bourne?

I'm uber busy. UBER. And there's a motel situation and internet issues and...well...I can't really go into it.

Let's just say that these are a few stolen moments in which I'd like to pose my new issue for debate:

WHO IS THE BEST FICTIONAL SPY EVER? I'm accepting write-in nominations, but I'll throw out two of the more famous ones to get us started: James Bond or Jason Bourne.

Me, I'm a Bourne girl--all the way.

-Ally

Today's question: Buffy or Veronica?

As I've said here many, many times before: I am a farm girl.

And when you're a farm girl you learn early that snow isn't something to play in--it's something that makes chores harder. Snow doesn't just get school canceled--it also makes barns collapse and if it's cold enough, cows fall through ice on ponds. Farm girls don't pray for snow days; we don't build snowmen; and we never, ever wish for a white Christmas.

Well, it snowed yesterday. I've taken pictures and will post them in a day or two, but needless to say it's a lot of snow. A lot. A LOT. And, well, I've got mixed feelings about it.

The farm girl in me is now doing battle with the rest of me because A) I have a huge deadline and the whole "snowed in" concept is really just a sign from God that I'd better get busy.

And B) we've been so incredibly dry that there is no pasture left, so all the ranchers are feeding hay anyway, and if they had to choose between feeding hay and it staying dry and feeding hay and getting some pond water out of the deal, then even farm girls are probably glad to see any kind of moisture.

So now, for the first time in my life, I'm saying let it snow!


Okay, back to work (I mean, God did send a blizzard, who am I to waste this precious time?), but I'll leave you with the QUESTION OF THE DAY:

WHO WOULD MAKE A BETTER GALLAGHER GIRL, VERONICA MARS OR BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER?

Discuss among yourselves...

Ally