Cross My Heart--the cover!

edited Tuesday night to add:

Thanks, guys! I'm so glad so many of you liked the cover and seem to think that it will remind people enough of Love You Kill You that they might pick it up.

I was also interested to see your response to the green. In fact, I was expecting it.

Last weekend I emailed the cover to my sister and we had the following coversation:

Me: Hey, it's your sister.

Her: Hey, sister.

Me: How are the girls?

Her: Freakishly smart and spoiled beyond all hope of redemption (she might not have actually said that part. That part might have been implied.)

Me: So did you see the cover?

Her: I did! It's great!

Me: You really think so?

Her: Yeah. I really like the green.

Me: I like it, too, but...

Her: What?

Me: There will be emails.

Her: What do you mean?

Me: Emails--from readers. About the color of the uniform

Her: Really? Will they even notice?

Me: They're future Gallagher Girls! Of course they'll notice! And there will probably be theories about how, in this book, Cammie has to go undercover at a school with green uniforms or that the school has been bought by a multi-national organization that has given the place an overhaul, or that Dr. Fibs has created chameleon fabric that changes colors (which actually isn't a bad idea.) Trust me. They'll notice. And inquiring minds will want to know.

Her: Really?

Me: Really.

And then I had to get off because Wentworth Miller was calling on the other line to ask me to be his date for the SAG awards but since I have a deadline and he'd waited until the last minute to ask me I had to say no.

So there. I predicted you'd notice and inquire about the uniforms.

And I'm afraid the answer is just that they wanted this book to look a little different. But I guess it still looked too similar to LYKY so they added the black background and...presto.

(Note to self: make more of an effort to incorporate "presto" into your daily conversations.)

And that's the story of the uniforms.

I know I'm biased but I think Hyperion has THE BEST covers out there! And I'm soooo grateful that they're on my team. Hope you guys agree.


-Ally

An Abundance of Envy

I'm blogging by proxy today, so instead of me coming up with something clever and witty and engaging, I'm asking everyone to visit E. Lockhart's blog (E. Lockhart, by the way, is the author of two of my faves--The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book).

While at E's blog, you must read Jennifer Lynn Barnes's post called "An Abundance of Logans".

(Jennifer Lynn Barnes, by the way, is one of my favorite people and author of the fun new book, Tattoo!)

"An Abundance of Logans" pays homage to two of my favorite things: fictional Logans and John Green's book, An Abundance of Katherines, and has, therefore, firmly secured its place on the "I wish I'd written that" list.

As has An Abundance of Katherines.

And E's books.

While we're on the subject of Katherines and its author, John Green, I should say that my envy for him currently has no bounds. And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that he won the YA world's version of an Oscar last year and just was made a runner-up this year.

Nope. I'm envious because evidently John is capable of being on a deadline and a diet at the same time. How does someone do this? Seriously! I'm asking! It's beyond anything I can imagine.

But even though I envy John, I can't hate him because I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU slipped in to one of the Brotherhood 2.0 video clips, specifically this video clip. It's at the end--the very end--during Hank's inspired trip to Barnes and Noble. (I'm lady #6.)

And finally, on the subject of people I envy and things I think everyone should read, I was thrilled several weeks ago to find that my favorite short story ever is online.

As I've said before, I have trouble reading farm and ranch stories sometimes because...well...I know farming and ranching. But when I do find a story that gets it--and I mean REALLY gets it--my envy-o-meter shoots through the roof.

Case in point: Ranch Girl, by Maile Meloy.

If you're white, and you're not rich or poor but somewhere in the middle, it's hard to have worse luck than to be born a girl on a ranch.

With an opening line like that how can I not be overcome with envy? You should go here and read it. You should...no, you must. I know that girl.

Okay, back to the line edits!

Ally

Gallagher Girls: the soundtrack

So I know a lot of other authors have put together playlists with songs that either inspired or at least accompany their books. I wish I were cool enough to do this but, alas, I'm not.

In fact, this is as far as I've gotten when trying to create a playlist for Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy:

--Love is a Battlefield


That's it. That's the list.

So today's question: what songs best suit the women of the Gallagher Academy?


it's up to you, guys. Don't let me down.

-Ally

Something to blog about

It's been a few days since my last post, and since I feel compelled to post multiple times a week, I know I should blog about something. But the problem is I don't feel like anything in my life is currently blog-worthy.

For a minute I started to blog about OSU basketball and how they play in Gallagher-Iba Arena and how Cammie and Co. are called "Gallagher Girls" for a reason.

Then I started to blog about line edits and how they're hard--really, really hard--but worth it because when you're done you end up with the exact same book. But better. Much like having your teeth cleaned. Everything just feels and looks clean and sparkly and fresh.

And then I thought I might share with you about how, when I'm finished with the sequel, I really want to write something not funny. I mean tremendously unfunny. Because funny is a commodity that does run out sometimes.

But who wants to hear about that?

So then I thought about going ahead and posting the cover, but I don't dare without permission.

Of course another option is to update everyone on the fact that my parents finally have electricity. Many of our friends and neighbors, however, don't.

Oh, and I could also tell everyone that I was at a meeting this morning with a bunch of ranchers from western Kansas where they STILL have two feet of snow on the ground, and heifers have started calving! Just in case you don't know, heifers calving in any weather is work. Heifers calving on snow and ice is a nightmare.

And a part of me really wants to talk about all the comments and debates that have been going on at my agent's blog about whether or not the publishing industry is closed to new writers. (It's not, it's closed to writers who don't have books ready to sell--whether they're new or not. Once you have a book that can be sold then there will probably be a line of people ready to help you sell it.)

But I guess instead of getting into any of that I'll just say that I'm busy. And sleepy. And very close to being finished with Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, and when it's over I'm going to get my hair cut and take a nap.

So since I don't have anything good to blog about I guess I'll just say good night. And GO POKES. And have a good weekend, everyone!

Ally

Cover girl

I've got a little bit of news...I've seen the Cross My Heart cover.. or an early version of the cover at least.

It's SOOOOO cute! They had to use a different model this time but you'd never really know.

I know some people wonder why book jackets frequently don't show all of the model's face, but I can think of two big advantages.

1. it's nice if people get to come up with their own idea of what a character looks like

2. if, like me, you're writing a sequel and if, like me, you have to change models in mid-stream, people are FAR less likely to freak out about it.


I haven't gotten permission to post the cover, but when I do, you can bet I'll do it ASAP.


Oh, and since it's been a while since we've done "question of the day" how's this:

What was your favorite book cover last year and why?


later gators,
Ally

So I fell down yesterday...

So I fell down yesterday. On the ice. Hard.

We're not talking a little, dainty, oopsy-daisy fall. No. We're talking one minute I was walking to my car and the next I was lying on my right side, my right arm under my head. And my hip hurting like a big dog.

I have no idea--I mean NO IDEA--how I went from being entirely upright to entirely down. None. It was like that Japanese guy from Heros did that funky time freeze thing or something. It was just that fast.

And the worst part was that I was carrying my laptop and now the E key doesn't work right. How the laptop can be entirely fine with the exception of one key I will never know. But it's kind of an important key. Hello--it's a vowel, people. (I'm plugged in to another keyboard right now in case you're wondering.)

Oh, and the notebooks I was carrying slid like twenty feet across the ice.

And these two farmers saw the whole thing happen and it was a very BAND OF BROTHERS moment where I immediately yelled, "I'm okay! I'm okay!" long pause "Am I okay?"

But I was okay. I'm tough. Just as long as I don't have to be finE or uninjurEd or unharmEd or unscathEd or okiE dokEy .

Or anything else that involves the letter E.


-Ally

True Fiction

"Great stories tell themselves; Only bad stories have to be written."

I can't remember who said that first but it's perhaps my favorite quote about writing. It's the one I go back to time and time again when a book is killing me or a scene is hard because, frankly they shouldn't be.

For me, great stories are the ones that don't feel written at all--the stories that read as if they've always existed, fully formed, somewhere, and the writer simply had to pull them from in the universe and place them on the page.

I think about this all the time--especially when the writing isn't going well, when I've been working on the same scenes for days, when my book feels like a boulder I'm pushing up a hill.

I shouldn't have to work to make this stuff up! I tell myself, because it's the scenes that I sit down and write in ten minutes that always end up being my favorites

The scenes that take weeks always end up being cut.

People often ask me how long it takes to write a book, whether I write from an outline or just wing it...lots of stuff. And the truth is all of it varies. But this one fact remains the same. I try to tell the "least made-up" story possible. I try to tell stories that are true with plots and scenes that maybe you didn't predict when the book started but in hindsight you couldn't imagine the book without.

I try to tell stories that tell themselves. And then I try to get out of the way.

Now I don't know if I do that or not--but that's my goal, and for some reason I felt compelled to say so.

-Ally

Why I hate American Idol

I know I shouldn't post this.

Because A) I'm inches away from finishing GG2 and should buckle down and do it instead of blogging...

And B) I know American Idol is popular, and I really don't want offend anyone...

But I really have a problem with American Idol--especially the early episodes.

Is it just me, or is American Idol the TV version of the mean boy in high school who convinces the school nerd he should really get on the school PA system and proclaim his love for the prom queen just so that the rest of the school can get a good laugh?

The whole thing just makes me uncomfortable. And sad. Really, really sad.

So there--I said it.


-Ally

Little house on the icy prairie

Well, everyone in my home community spent the day celebrating the end of the Civil War... No. Wait. It's freaking 2007!!!!

But you wouldn't know it because my parents (and all of our friends and relatives for that matter) are without electricity and now...running water.

So my parents are...

Are you sitting down? Are you ready for this?

Getting their water from a spring. And heating the house with a fireplace which, luckily, has an insert so that they can set pots and pans there and do things like fry eggs and boil water...the water from the spring.

All of my life, I've met people from big cities who have (quite seriously) asked me if we had running water in Oklahoma. Now I can officially say no.

But we have springs. And hopefully soon...generators.


-Ally


ps...this is what a fireplace insert looks like if you don't already know.




This is why we think NE Oklahoma might be in the dark for a while...

And the Golden Globe goes to....

Oh my gosh. I'm so...shocked. I...

I'd like to thank The Hollywood Foreign Press.

I'd also like the cold weather that meant we got sleet and not freezing rain. I'm just so grateful for electricity and snow days and when I have them at the same time.

Also, I have a very fond place in my heart for the creator of the Alphasmart. And, of course, Post It notes.

Oh, and Ugly Betty. Gotta love Betty.

Who am I forgetting?

Mom, Dad, but of course they don't know--they don't have electricity!

Oh, and Amy, Rick, Faith, and Lily.

And Kristin, Donna, Ari, Kate--you guys are the best.

They're telling me to wrap it up now. Who am I forgetting?

Oh, the fans! The readers. Thank you! Thank you!

Good night everyone.

Thank you!

Ally

I have electricity!

Now, normally, the fact that I have electricity would not be headline-worthy, but considering the fact that half of my home state (including my parents) are in the dark tonight with massive ice-induced power outages, I feel like letting the world know that my lights (and computers) are still working!

Mom and Dad are roughing it and thanks to the miracle that is rural water and wood-burning stoves they'll likely survive. Our freezers, however, might not.

When you're a farm girl, there are two material things you value above almost all others: the food you have in the freezer and the hay you have in the barn.

After all, I come from a long line of people who spend summer getting ready for winter, but even though the freezer is looking questionable the hay barn is still upright and there's plenty of wood on the porch.

At least all my loved ones are safe and warm enough and supposedly the last of the ice ended today.

Here's hoping you're loved ones are in out of the cold as well.

Ally

Happy Birthday to everyone

So it is, in fact, my birthday. And I've given a lot of thought about what I should do here today to celebrate. I could post some more deleted scenes from LYKY, but I'm reaching the point where all the deleted stuff was deleted for a reason (aka--it's really bad) so I'm not just real jazzed about sharing that with the world.

Or, I could post something from Cross My Heart. Now, I know this is probably the thing most of you want, but I haven't cleared it with my editor, and I'm pretty concerned about going behind her back, so I think I'll hold off.

So instead I think I'll post some pictures about my house and office and how I work. I know this was kind of a trend a few months ago--authors posting pics of their offices--so I think I'll give it a try.

So, welcome to my home (my real home, not the dream--and therefore nonexistent) home.


As I've said before I started out writing (bad) screenplays, and that's where I got in the habit of storyboarding which is basically mapping out all the individual scenes on index cards (or really big Post-It notes) so that you can play around with them like a great big puzzle.

Well, here's what a very early version of the first draft of Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy looked like.





If you've wondering what those big black squares are, well those are the ONLY parts of the first draft that are still in the story!!!!!

So you can study this picture all you want but honestly there aren't any spoilers there, because let me tell you, people this book has changed--A LOT!

I always know where I want my stories to go, and I get ideas for scenes or lines or things that I think might be cool, so I'll put it on a sticky and stick it to the wall.

I probably have 100 or more stickies on the wall right now for CMH, and probably only thirty or so will be in the final storyboard, but that's okay. At least I haven't forgotten them--I've just consciously chosen not to use them, which is the whole idea.

It's a pretty good way to plan a book as long as you have time. And patience. And a whole lot of wall space.


I also like to keep lists of things I should remember--like good bits of dialogue that I want to incorporate or just general themes I want to make sure make it into the final copy. For this, I have another wall:


Items of note in this picture:

--yes, the post-its just keep getting bigger and the Dream House will have to have big, freaking walls.

--Note the presence of an Eskimo Joe's cup that serves as my pen holder--the true mark of and Oklahoma State University graduate.

--I think my paperclip holder is pretty

--There's a Ziploc bag lying by the computer that holds--you guessed it--Post It notes. I keep a bunch in the bag so that I can take it with me when I travel in case inspiration strikes on the road.

--oh, and there's a dishtowel lying there because I always use dishtowels as coasters.

--and yes, I had to mark something out of this picture too. SOMETHING BIG!!!!

--and obviously there's a computer in the picture--my new computer. My computer that has no internet access whatsoever so all I can do on it is write!

And speaking of writing, I'd better get back to it. And just in case I should be tempted to do something other than write...




Yep, that's the armoire where I keep my TV. And a padlock.

And a very, very sick plant.


I hope this tour of my house and writing habits isn't too lame a birthday present for you.

Have a good one, everyone!


Ally

Today's Question: What do you want for my birthday?

It's another crazy busy day (hint: from now until...say...March 1, they will ALL be crazy busy days).

So unfortunately I don't have time to be clever. Sorry. True cleverness takes time and maybe a few Veronica Mars re-runs for inspiration, and I'm afraid I'm fresh out of both.

But I do have time to post another question of the day.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR MY BIRTHDAY?

No, you didn't read that wrong. At my office we have a tradition that the birthday girl (or boy) must bring in cake or whatever--that way no one has to keep track of that stuff. You're responsible for your own celebration.

I think it's a pretty good system, so since I can't possibly keep track of when all of you (the book and blog reading public) have birthdays, I thought I'd just give you all a gift on mine.

But what to get you? Any thoughts? Ideas? Inspiration?

Let's keep it within my budget and the laws of physics, but I'm hereby taking suggestions.


-Ally

Many, many things

Many many things to share today and not a lot of time to do it.

1. Big thanks to all of you who have bought one of my books lately or told someone to buy a book, because you guys are the best.

2. I think I might have done it. The saga may be over. It may be that I have found...

THE PERFECT PURSE!!!!

Check it out:


This is it, only in black. I think this might be "the one", people!



And in further news, Friday is my birthday, and because it's one of my big fears in life to be abandoned somewhere in need of help. (I couldn't sleep after Hurricane Katrina; when that poor couple was tragically lost in Oregon in the snow, it seriously freaked me out. Seriously. To the point I almost traded cars just so I could have one with a GPS system on it so that if I'm ever lost in a blizard or hurricane or some other kind of natural disaster, my daddy can come get me)

But anyway, for my birthday, my family is getting me a personal GPS system. That's right, I will always be traceable from this point on.

My sister has even threatened to get my mother some kind of satellite hookup so that she can constantly watch and see where I am--much like Mrs. Weasley's "mortal peril" clock in Harry Potter.

But anyway...rambling now.

Must.

Finish.

Book.


-Ally


(who, personal GPS or not, is still not anyplace that gets excessive amounts of snow).

More Q's and A's

You asked....now I'm answering.


DO YOU EVER WISH YOU HADN'T WRITTEN YOUR BOOKS?

Wow, what a deep question. The short answer is no--I've been blessed enough to be a published writer, and I know I'm living a lot of people's dream. But I will say that writing (for me at least) is different after being published. I'm really, really proud of LYKY, but now I think "I've got to top it" which cyles through with thoughts of "I'll never top it" and "Oh my gosh, it's really not good at all" or "it was a fluke!" So there are definitely moments when I wonder how I'll write more books, but not really times I regret the books I've already written.


WHAT'S YOUR DAY JOB?

I work as sort of a university-paid consultant for farms and ranches. It's very rewarding work.


WHAT WOULD YOU BE IF YOU COULD BE ANYTHING?

I'm doing it. The only difference is I'd be skinnier while doing it.


WILL WE EVER FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MR. SOLOMON AND CAMMIE'S DAD.

Hmmm. No comment.


CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT ABOUT CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY?

I really don't want to give much away because 1. I'm superstitious. 2. We're still finishing it up and nothing is sacred in the editing process. and 3. I feel like there are a few surprises and the less you know going in the more you may enjoy the book.

But I will tell you this: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy starts just a couple of weeks after LYKY ends--on the last day of winter break. It covers the spring semester, and the girls are definitely becoming better spies which is a good thing because the stakes are also getting higher.

There are some familiar faces and some new characters and...

Okay. Shutting up now.


Edited to add:

DO YOU THINK YOU WILL WRITE OTHER YA BOOKS THAT AREN'T ABOUT THE GALLAGHER GIRLS?

I don't have any books like that under contract, so nothing is set in stone. But yes, I would like to write a number of different things. I've got a few ideas that pop up in the back of my head from time to time, so someday...



WILL THERE BE ANOTHER GALLAGHER GIRLS BOOK AFTER CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY?

Hopefully, but only if it can be really, really, really, really good. I mean really good. Tremendously good. And that's not as easy as it sounds, so we'll have to wait and see.


DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE CHARACTER?

Not exactly. I really love writing scenes with Mr. Solomon in them--I've just figured out that there are no bad Joe Solomon scenes, so when a scene isn't working I think--"hey, could Mr. Solomon be there?" because when he's on the page, anything can happen.

But for the most part I love all the characters because they all bring something different to the story. Cammie is such an ordinary girl who just happens to live in this extraordinary world, and I think that's a lot how I would be if I were there. And Liz is so beautifully optimistic. Bex knows exactly what she wants and is so strong, so that makes it all the more interesting in those rare moments when she shows her vulnerable sides. And Macey...what can I say about Macey? I never intended her to stick around, but thank goodness (and Kristin Nelson) she did.


EDITED (AGAIN) TO ADD:


HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO WRITE LOVE YOU KILL YOU?

About six months of really, really hard work.


WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR AN ALL-GIRLS SPY SCHOOL?

I actually tell the whole story here, so check it out


IS THERE GOING TO BE A TRIP TO THE BOYS' SCHOOL IN MAINE?

You're putting an awful lot of faith in one of Tina Walters's theories. As Cammie says in CMH, "Tina has a lot of theories. Tina is frequently wrong."


IS CAMMIE'S MOM GOING TO HAVE A GOOD-SIZED ROLE IN THE SECOND BOOK?

I love Rachel Morgan. I love her presence; I love what she means to Cammie; I love that she can kick butt with the best spies in the world and yet can't make mac and cheese. But, so far, the stories have been the kinds of ones where the girls need to learn and make mistakes on their own. Kind of like Harry, Ron and Hermione don't confide everything in Dumbledore, I think for a while at least the girls won't really take their troubles to Rachel.

So, yes, she's in the book; but I'm not sure it's more than in book one (although I'd like it to be.)


WHAT ARE THE OTHER IDEAS YOU HAVE FOR BOOKS?

Can't say. No, scratch that--won't say.

Listen up and listen good all you aspiring authors out there: story ideas are precious; and they're not copyrightable. When I had the idea for LYKY, one of the first things my agent told me was DON'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS IDEA because it was so good.

You don't see bestselling authors talking about the books they want to write--you see them writing them. And since I want to be a bestselling author when I grow up I'm going to follow their example and you should too.






Any more questions?

-Ally

FAQs

Really quickly today I'd like to answer some of the questions I've been seeing a lot lately--both here in the comments, on MySpace, in emails, and even on the writers' boards where I participate. So...here goes!


WILL THERE BE A GALLAGHER GIRLS SEQUEL--WHEN WILL IT BE OUT AND WHAT WILL IT BE CALLED?

Yes! Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy will be out in the fall of 2007 (date TBA)



WILL CAMMIE AND JOSH GET BACK TOGETHER?

Now, do you REALLY think I can answer that? I will say that Josh is in Cross My Heart...but I really can't say much more than that.


HOW DO YOU FIND AN AGENT?

I've blogged about this before, but I'll say again the key is to write a really good book. I mean a really good one. Seriously. It has to be REALLY good. Then put it in a drawer. Write another one. Then pull the first one out and read it again. Is it still good? Then research agents and follow their submission guidelines. If they ask to read your book, and if they like it, they'll represent you. Simple as that. No tricks involved.


HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO...
--write a book: It depends. As little as a month, as long as ten years. My books tend to be taking longer to write all the time, but that will no doubt vary.

--get an agent: It depends. Writing that really good book can take forever; once you have it, though, you may land an agent in a few weeks (if the genre you're writing for is hot enough). Or it could take years again. From the time I finished my first book to when I signed with my agent was about nine months.

--sell a book to a publisher: It depends. Again, with a hot genre, the phone will probably ring pretty fast; but I do know an author who sold a book after it had been out to editors for over a year. Cheating at Solitaire sold after a couple of months. We had offers for LYKY within a week.



HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD A WRITER SPEND PROMOTING HIS/HER BOOK?

It depends. Some authors swear that's how you should spend the bulk of your time--meeting booksellers; driving to every bookstore within 200 miles to sign copies; attending conventions. Personally, I think you need to do the amount of promoting that you enjoy. I truly love meeting readers and booksellers and other writers, but IN MY CASE that hasn't really had the biggest impact on my sales. My sales (I think) have been most impacted by the quality of the books, so I'm choosing to put the bulk of my energy into writing better books.

But that's just me. There are others who are firm believers that an author's career will die if they don't do insane amounts of self-promotion, and maybe they're right.



HOW DID YOU PICK THE COVER FOR YOUR BOOK?

The truth is that most writers have very little say on what their book covers look like. VERY. LITTLE. SAY. The publishers have people who design book covers for a living, and they're very good at knowing what will look good on shelves or appeal to readers. Authors usually see the image and can sometimes make minor suggestions, but really that's out of our hands (and that's okay.) I'm a believer in leaving things to the professionals!



CAN I TRY OUT FOR THE MOVIE OF LYKY?

Again, I'm afraid that's really out of my hands. Once a writer sells film rights, we are really out of the process. My job is to write another really good book, and the Hollywood people are responsible for the movie, and that's okay by me.


HOW MANY GALLAGHER GIRL BOOKS WILL THERE BE?

Don't know. At least one more (Cross My Heart).


WILL THERE BE ANOTHER BOOK AFTER LEARNING TO PLAY GIN?

I won't say never, but that's not my plan right now. Part of me thinks it would be hilarious to have a book with Julia being pregnant, but...nah...



HOW MUCH MONEY DOES AN AUTHOR MAKE?

It REALLY depends. As you can see, Ann Brashares is doing okay for herself, but most authors make very little from their books. In fact, I know very few writers who don't also have a day job to pay the bills (I do.)



HOW DO AUTHORS GET PAID?

When a book is sold to a publisher, the author is paid an "Advance" or an advance against royalties. This is up-front money the author never has to give back.

For the sake of easy math, let's assume we sell a book for a $10,000 advance (a not-unreasonable number, by the way).

According to the terms of our contract, we will earn royalties in the amount of $1 per book (this is the easy version, in truth it's more of a sliding scale, and more complicated, but go with me...)

That means that for every book SOLD we earn a dollar. But remember the publisher has already advanced us $10,000, so we don't actually see any additional money until we sell book number 10,001. Then we see another buck. Book 10,002 gives us another, and so on.

Keep in mind, though, that your agent has earned 15% of all of your book earnings. Taxes will take another chunk.

Now do you see why most writers have to have another job to keep the lights on?



HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO GET A BOOK PUBLISHED?

It's not like the NFL, there's not a minimum age. SE Hinton wrote and sold THE OUTSIDERS when she was in high school. A lot of authors started writing when they were really young; some sold right away, others didn't. The key is to WRITE! Don't worry about selling a book, worry about writing a really good book.


ARE LEARNING TO PLAY GIN AND CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE REALLY OKAY FOR TEENS AND PRE-TEENS TO READ?

Yes. I don't think there's any subject matter within those books that you won't see/hear every night on television. I write PG and probably couldn't do R if I had to.

That being said, though, Gin and Solitaire are about characters in their thirties, so teens might not relate to them quite as much, but I think it's worth a try.



Okay. That's all I've got. Does anyone have a question I didn't cover?



-Ally

It's still hard

Writing is still hard, but sometimes i'ts really really worth it. ( and I'm still not editing or proofreading or caring how I type, so, you know, sorry.)

the thing that most makes it worth it is you guys and you're great cheerleaders and bloggers and funny people. So you rock. So thanks. And you make it worth it.

And then there are my editors and agent and the people who are on TEAM ALLY and they rock too and I REALLY don't want to let them down, so they make it easier.

And there are the characters and yes, I do kind of think of them as real because I'm sick that way and alwyas have been and so it's really good there's a job where you get paid for being a little too into your imaginary friends.

oh, and then there's this. The NYTimes just did a story on Ann Brashares and her husband and the house the Traveling Pants built

Which makes me think about the Ally Dream House. It doesn't exist yet, but that doesn't mean I can't give you a tour, right?



This is my favorite view of my (nonexistent) living room.



And this is where I like to read. One it exists and all.




Oh, and I think I'm going to LOVE the AllyDream bath






And finally, here I am with my husband at the Emmy's last year. He was sorry he couldn't be there when I gave the house tour, but you know how it is when you're on the run from psycho FBI guys who want you dead to coverup a vast government consipiracy?




And all of these things mean that the hard work...

is worth it.




-ally

Writing is hard

First, let me say that I'm not going to edit this or think about this or anything, I'm jsut writing free-form because that's the kind of wriing I'm doing today because

WRITING IS HARD

It frequently sucks.

Serisous suckage.

As does my spelling and typing, but I'm not editing, so deal.

It's a hard, hard, hard, hard profession and no one ever says it or when they do people don't believe it because they watched that cheesy rob lowe christmas movie and he wrote his #1 bestseller in about four different lovely montage moments, but my montage isn't lovely. It sucks.

As do I, evidently.

I want to tell you that the new Gallagher Girls book is going to be really good, and I think it might be. But it almost might kill me from all the suckages, so there. You're warned.

THanks to everyoen who writes asking for the sequel and telling me how much you're looking foward to it, you're like cheerleaders, and there aren't enough cheerleaders in professions that don't also involve balls, so thanks. I could also use a band. And halftime shows. And a constant supply of those really good stadium hotdogs, so if you guys could get on that, that'd be great.

(I'm particularly partial to when the band spells out stuff if that helps at all...)


thanks,
ally

New Year = New news

Two big pieces of news to start off 2007.

First, Brilliance Audio, the good folks who brought you the audio version of I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU are going to be doing an audio version of CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY as well. Yippee.

(Note: still no firm release date on Cross My Heart, but when I know it I'll post it. I promise!)

Second, Hyperion (my publisher) has asked me to be their guest for a really big, really cool book fair this summer that ALL the cool kids will be at. It's been my secret dream for ages to get to go to this, and now I feel like George Clooney just asked me to be his date to the Oscars. Seriously. Just that giddy. And almost as worried about what to wear.


--Ally

2007...so far so good

So far, 2007 is significantly more fun than 2006 because...

% of days in 2007 spent with Jen Barnes...100
% of days in 2006 spent with Jen Barnes...0.5

% of days in 2007 spent seeing Matt Damon spy movies...100
% of days in 2006 spent seeing Matt Damon spy movies... 5 (I do own The Bourne Identity after all)

% of days in 2007 spent eating yummy Mexican food...100
% of days in 2006 spent eating yummy Mexican food... 96


So, Mexican food aside, you can see why 2007, so far, is shaping up to be a far superior year.


hope everyone can agree!

Ally


PS...Many people have asked when Learning To Play Gin will be available and the answer is...it's already out. But, and here's the kicker, most people are having trouble finding it at their local stores. So if you're at a store and can't find it, PLEASE ask a salesperson for help.

It could be that it's shelved someplace funky, but probably they don't have any in stock. Don't worry, though, most stores will gladly order books they don't carry and hold them for you for no additional fee. You just have to ASK!

thanks!