More A's to some popular Q's

Q: At the beginning of LYKY Cammie says that she'll turn 16 next month, but at the beginning of CMH Cammie says she's still fifteen? How is that possible? When is Cammie's birthday?

A: You are very observant. But sort of mistaken. Let me explain.

Cammie writes each book (or each book so far) during the school break that follows the semester in question.

So Cammie, the narrator, is telling the story of LYKY during winter break--in other words during late December or early January. So when she says "I'll be sixteen next month" she's talking about turning sixteen in late January or early February (to tell you the truth, I've never really narrowed it down.)

So she actually turned 16 during the course of CMH. Initially, there was a scene in there about her birthday, but it didn't serve any purpose, so it got cut somewhere along the line.



Q: When are you going to go on tour and will you come to my town?

A: The short answer: Don't know. And maybe.

The long answer: touring is a lot of work and expense. Sure, I'd LOVE to do it, but so far there aren't any plans for me to hit the road for an official tour. But those things change.

Regardless, whenever I'm going to be signing books or doing public appearances I'll always post it here and I'll try to send it out to my newsletter as well.



Q: Are your cabinets still evil?

A: YES!



Q: Did you hear that Friday Night Lights might get renewed?

A: OH MY GOSH! If that's true I'll love you forever!



Q: Did you hear Diablo Cody thank Sarah Self in her Oscar speech? Isn't she one of your film agents?

A: Yes! and YES! One of my agents was thanked during the Oscars. That makes me practically a nominee! Which makes me practically in attendance! Which makes me practically George Clooney's Oscar date!

(Yes, I know I'm delusional. But fortunately I've found a career where I get paid for it.)



Q: Will we ever hear more about Blackthorne?

A: No comment.


Q: Can you tell us something about the new series?

A: Let me think. I can't really remember what I've already told you, so some of this may be repeated stuff, so forgive me.

The new series doesn't have a title yet, but my agent and editor and I all call it "The Heist Book" or "Kat" when we're talking about it.

Basically, it's about a girl named Kat who is a world-class burglar because she grew up in a family of world-class conmen and thieves. But Kat wants out of the family business. Badly.

This is the story of how her family keeps sucking her back in.

(And there's a boy. Actually there are two boys. Well, now that I think of it there are a LOT of boys. But Kat is better than all of them.

And they know it.)



Q: If I could only read one of the books you've recommended, which would it be?

A: Well, I'd first recommend you get cozy with your local library and figure out how you can read as many of them as you want. (Note: some may not be age appropriate for younger teens.)

But if I HAD to pick a favorite, I must say that the book that kept me reading latest into the night and rushing to it earliest in the morning was THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart. It was the closest thing to perfect I've picked up in a long, long time.



Q: Aren't you finished with GG3 yet?????

A: Nope. I'm sorry.



Q: When will you tell us the GG3 title? Or release date?

A: Soon I hope.

And by the way, I'm thinking of having a title contest again. Maybe not a code this time, but something. What do you guys think of that?



Okay. It's late and I'm sleepy.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ally

Questions!

Hi guys,

Lately it seems like I've been hearing the same questions...A LOT. So I thought I'd answer some of them. Two birds. One stone. All that fun stuff.


1. Is the Gallagher Academy real?
--only in your minds or in top secret government circles to which I am totally not privy.


2. Who is the girl on the covers?
--no idea. Actually, all I know is that there are actually two DIFFERENT girls since the model the publishing company hired for book one was unavailable for book 2.


3. What is your email address?
--it's on the website. And no I'm not going to tell you where exactly since you have to go through hoops to find it for a reason.


4. What is the reason?
--the vast majority of questions I was receiving for a while were about...

a. the movie.
b. future books.
c. school projects

and all of the information available on those three topics is currently ON the website. So there's no need to write and ask when the movie tryouts will be...

BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW AND IT SAYS SO ON THE WEBSITE.

(And yes, I'm talking to you--the girl who emailed me nine times last Sunday with some derivation of that question.)

I love. I mean L-O-V-E getting emails from readers, but I'm not a Hollywood talent scout or homework service, so I don't reply to emails about those subjects...

BECAUSE EVERYTHING I HAVE TO SAY ON THOSE SUBJECTS IS ON THE WEBSITE.

Are you guys noticing a trend?


5. I know it says on your website that you don't know anything about the movies, but I was wondering if you know anything about the movie.
--sigh.


6. Will Zach be in GG3?
--See answer 4b above.


7. I'm a writer. Will you read my book and tell me if it's any good.
--No. I'm sorry, I really can't for many reasons. (This, by the way, is also answered on the website.)


8. I'm a writer. What tips do you have?
--Write a lot and read a lot and don't worry about getting published. At all. When you're ready it will happen. (Also, check out the info "for writers" that is...

(say it with me, everybody!)

on the website.


9. What other writers can you recommend while I'm waiting for GG3?
--Oh, geeze. There are SO many!

I've already mentioned Jennifer Lynn Barnes's new series, THE SQUAD, that I think GG fans will love.

Also, I just finished SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr and SOMETHING ROTTEN by Alan Gratz that were both excellent.

I absolutely adore anything by E. Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski. I just started my first Lauren Myracle book. And look for HOW TO BE BAD to be released soon which was by E., Sarah, AND Lauren! How fun!

One of my long-time favorites is AMAZING GRACE by Megan Shull.

AIRMAN by Eoien Colfer was amazing.

Do I really need to tell anyone about the TWILIGHT series or does everyone already know?

I periodically grab GIRLS POKER NIGHT by Jill A. Davis off the shelf and ready thirty pages before I even make it to the couch.

John Green is always a hoot.

I haven't gotten a chance to read WAKE by Lisa McMann, but I've met Lisa and I'm genuinely looking forward to her book.

You can never go wrong with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

THE OUTSIDERS was the book that first made me want to become a writer.

Janet Evanovich is the queen of laugh-out-loud funny (although she probably isn't appropriate for younger teens.)

Tara Altebrando has a couple of books that look amazing and I can't wait to dig into them when I get a chance.

Next up in my personal to-be-read file is a book called THE SPELLMAN FILES. My film agent, Sarah Self (who, by the way, I think was mentioned in Diablo Cody's Oscar speech!!!), was raving about when I met with her last summer.


10. Can my friends and I make a fansite devoted to your book?
--Are you sure? I mean, there are only 24 hours in a day and life is short (especially the part of life where you look good in shorts), so do you REALLY want to spend your time doing this?

Well, if the answer is yes, I can't see why the answer would be no. Just know that I wouldn't be able to have an official part of the process or anything. But I would be honored, and I would wish you nothing but the best.




--Ally

So happy

How happy does this make me?

Very, very happy!



THE SISTERHOOD IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--Ally


ps...and while we're on a YouTube kick, today I was running errands and I heard this song and IMMEDIATELY I knew it belonged on the Gallagher Girls Soundtrack. In fact, it might be the PERFECT song for GG3.




And remember...it was the 80s. EVERYONE looked stupid.

But that doesn't mean Pat Benatar isn't a Gallagher Girl.

Chapped! (A blog in bullets)

--I am TWO weeks behind on LOST and Friday Night Lights.

--And Friday Night Lights might be going off the air! NOOOOOOOO!

--Because I love every single character on that show. In fact, I KNOW 90% of the characters on that show.

--Last night I went to dinner with my entire church.

--It's a sign that you go to a really tiny church if your entire congregation can go to a steak house and not even require its own room.

--It's a sign that you go to a church in a really, really rural area when, at dinner, someone tells a story about how a few months ago there was a man selling chickens in town and to advertise he tied up a rooster to a fire hydrant out in front of the diner. (No word on whether or not the advertising worked or if the rooster in question ended up battered and fried by the end of the day.)

--My lips are chapped. Badly. And I REALLY need suggestions for good chapstick because the four or five kinds I've tried totally aren't working.

--Today for the first time ever I actually beat my dad at Jeopardy! (But then he totally whipped me at Wheel of Fortune.)

--I'm halfway through Sara Zarr's SWEETHEARTS and I'm starting to believe all the people who said it might even be better than her first book (National Book Award Finalist STORY OF A GIRL.)

--For those of you who are curious, I can tell you that I've finished draft one of GG3 and my editor, Donna the Magnificent, is working on it now. I'll probably get her feedback in the very near future and will then roll up my sleeves for round 2.

--And speaking of GG3, I talked a little about it (and even gave some people a sneak peek about the title) while I was in Arizona. You can read what uber librarian Mr. Griggs has to say about it here.

--And now I'm going to go finish Sweethearts. Or possibly challenge my dad to a tie-breaking game of $25,000 Pyramid or something.



--Ally

Operation Evil Cabinets

The target: Ally's pretty (yet internally evil and ultimately poorly designed kitchen cabinets)

The mission: To infiltrate the evil cabinet organization and change their very makeup.

Yes. It's true. I'm still hung up on the cabinet thing. I was kinda sorta starting to get over it, until I got to feeling better last night and decided to unpack the final boxes.

And one was a box of bowls.

And none of the bowls could fit in the upper cabinets! At all. And these are perfectly NORMAL sized bowls!

(Yes, this is what constitutes drama in my life.)

But the good news is that I ventured to Home Depot today and was informed by a very knowledgeable-appearing kitchen remodeling professional that it might be possible to de-evil my cabinets!

(Also known as a cabinet exorcism.)

I'm still not sure on the details, or even how high this should be on my priority list. But it's possible. And that gives me hope.



--Ally



ps...I'm going to be re-enabling comments! But I will also be having them monitored, which means that they will have to be approved by a moderator before they appear. Any off-topic or inappropriate comments won't make the cut, I'm afraid.

Things I brought home from Arizona:

--the most awesome t-shirt in the world (I mean, how can it not be if it's from the Gallagher Academy, right?)

--raspberry-filled chocolates that make even a delayed flight soooooo much better

--a renewed appreciation for librarians (who always rock, but who rock especially hard when they're 1. showing you the most amazing hospitality ever and 2. blaring the Gallagher Girls soundtrack and 3. a singer in an actual band!)

--a knowledge that it actually DOES rain in Phoenix

--a newfound dedication to my diet (since not one but two groups of teenage boys asked why I don't look like my author photo...but on the upside, one group of teenage girls informed me that I smelled like flowers)

--a realization that I do much better when traveling west than when traveling east (that extra hour of sleep is vital!)

--the knowledge that a very, very, very cool author likes my books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--the mother of all viruses. I mean seriously.

--a personal vow to never, ever do a school visit without antibacterial handwipes. And lotion. And possibly an entire body suit like the ones people working with that flesh-eating bacteria wear.

--an extreme sense of gratitude toward all the amazing booksellers, teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, and readers who have given the Gallagher Girls such good homes!


-Ally

Tired at home

Wow. So much to blog about...so little energy.

But I did have to say a quick THANK YOU to everyone in Arizona who made my trip last week so incredibly fun!

There were Gallagher Academy t-shirts!

There were display cases with blue boxes, and silver crosses, and I Heart Roseville buttons!

There were baked lays and speakers blaring the Gallagher Girls soundtrack!

There were libraries and auditoriums full of incredibly cool, savvy readers with AWESOME questions!

And now I'm home in my new house...

That's full of boxes...

Take care, gang!

And happy reading!


-Ally


ps....one of the most common questions I get is "what books can you recommend?"

Well, let me tell you, if you like the Gallagher Girls, you're going to flip for THE SQUAD by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It's in stores NOW! So get thee to a bookstore, pronto!

Tired in Arizona

What's new with me? A house. A trip. Two new fabulous teacher/librarian acquaintances...

Oh. And I'm exhausted. Too exhausted to elaborate, I'm afraid. But I do want to remind all of you Arizona Gallagher Girls that there will be an event Thursday night at the Phoenix Book Company.

Contact Phoenix Book Co. for details.

later,
Ally

13 boxes

The movers come tomorrow to transition me out of one phase of my life and into another one. It's stressful (did I pack everything?) and worrisome (am I making a mistake?) and just generally a lot of work (where did I put my pink duct tape?)

But it's almost here and now all I can do is enjoy my last night in the house where the Gallagher Girls were born.

I'm a little sad to be leaving, but on the whole I know it's time to move on. I spent all weekend getting everything ready for the movers and now I stand in the middle of my dining room where almost everything I own is stacked and packed and waiting for tomorrow.

And I can't help but stare.

And marvel.

And feel more than a little ashamed of the embarrassment of riches when I remember that nine years ago when I left grad school I shipped all of my belongings home via UPS. I had 13 boxes. That's it. Thirteen boxes.

Times have certainly changed.

Could I do that again, I've wondered. Could I find the things most important to me and fit them into 13 boxes? Yes, I've decided, I could. And would if need be. And I'm glad of that fact. I'm also glad I don't have to do the weeding at this very moment.

In other news I'll have internet access at the new house but it might take me a few days to get it set up, so if you don't hear from me in a while-that's why.

I hope you guys have a great week and are able to keep all your boxes in a row.

-Ally

But where will all the Baked Lays go?

Yes I really screamed that.

Loudly.

To no one but myself.

Because 1. I love Baked Lays (all flavors) and 2. I hate my new kitchen cabinets.

Of course, I haven't even technically moved in to the new house, but I did drop some stuff off last Wednesday, and as I was unloading the boxes of my most breakable kitchen stuff, I couldn't help but notice that...

MY NEW KITCHEN CABINETS ARE EVIL!

That's right. They look all nice and shiny on the outside, and people who hear about my kitchen ("oh, it's so pretty--with granite cabinets and stainless steel appliances") are totally not getting the whole picture. At all.



Because my cabinets are evil, and everyone knows that evil lives on the inside.

You see, it's not until you open the cabinets that you notice that there is a support brace in the center of the front of cabinets. For support, I guess. And it's three inches wide.

(note in the above picture how the spacing between the cabinet pull knobs is freakishly wide? Yeah. That's because of the evil support brace! That I'm not even sure is actually supporting anything!)

So yes, that means it takes three whole inches out of the center of the front of the cabinet, so in order to put a platter into the cabinet you have to turn it on its side and twist it around and maneuver it into place as opposed to...you know...just putting it in the cabinet.

WHAT MORON TAKES THREE INCHES OUT OF THE CENTER OF THE CABINET?

I should point out that I knew all this going in. I've been telling people for weeks that my kitchen looks good but will not function well, but that I liked the rest of the house well enough that I could persevere.

But that was before I stood in the middle of my granite and stainless steel filled kitchen and really, truly realized that it doesn't have anything resembling a pantry.

Where will the Baked Lays go? I asked no one but myself (and maybe the powers of evil that no doubt designed those oh-so inferior cabinets.)

And then the panic really hit me...

WHERE WILL THE BAKED LAYS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah. It wasn't pretty. The counters...they're pretty. But the scene...it wasn't.

Now, I fully realize that in the grand scheme of things inferior cabinets are not all that bad. It's not war. It's not torture. It's not death or disease or any of the really bad things the world has to offer.

But it's still a force of evil. Small evil. But evil none-the-less.

Okay. Back to packing!

-Ally



ps...several of you have written and asked what's going on with the comments sections. Well, it was getting a little out of control--becoming less about the blog and the books and more about...well...I don't really know what. And since I'm not really good at policing things, I disabled comments for a while.

If you want a place to discuss the books, I recommend the Ally Carter group on MySpace.

If you want a place to do other things...well...I'm afraid I can't help you there.

A Request

Hi Gang,

I love how popular the comments sections have become, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to please respect them.

The "rants" where people post incredibly long posts begging for deleted scenes take up a great deal of space and make the comments difficult to navigate, therefore they will be deleted.

Also, I love that you guys love the deleted scenes, but there are only so many, you know? I can't exactly write a deleted scene with the exact elements you guys are requesting...or well...I COULD. Instead of writing GG3. Would you prefer that?

So, in short, please keep on commenting if you'd like, but also please respect the comments section and the others who have things to say.

Have a great day,
Ally

Moving. Also, it's NOT Wednesday

How many ways has today been Tuesday?

Well...it was SUPER Tuesday...

And it was FAT Tuesday...

And there was a whole new episode of House on tonight...

SO WHY HAVE I SPENT ALL DAY TALKING ABOUT HOW IT'S WEDNESDAY?

Sigh.

I blame the fact that half of my belongings are now in cardboard boxes and labeled with hot pink duct tape.

Oh, and by the way, my new favorite thing in the world is totally HOT PINK DUCT TAPE!

It combines my love of duct tape with my love of hot pink!

No wonder I can't keep track of what day it is!


nighty night,
Ally

Valentines Day signing in Arizona!

Where are YOU going to be on Valentine's Day?

Now I should point out that I am normally very anti-Valentine's Day. I mean really, really anti.

But this year I'm totally psyched about it because this year I'll be celebrating in style...

in PHOENIX...

in an enormous building full of 400,000 children's books...

WITH ALL OF YOU!!!!

(Hopefully.)

So if you live in the Phoenix, AZ area and are looking for a really, amazingly, overwhelmingly cool way to spend Valentines Day, please please please try to come to the signing/reception that I'm having at the Phoenix Book Company that night.

In other words, will you be my valentines?

But there is some bad news: the signing is invitation only.

But there is also some good news: I'm officially inviting all of you!

The only catch is that you need to email the Phoenix Book Company and ask for an invitation. (jadecorn@mindspring.com )



So...just to clarify:



Step 1. Check calendar

Step 2. Make decision to spend your Valentines Day with the Gallagher Girls (and me!)

Step 3. Email Phoenix Book Company for details and to RSVP.

Step 4. Stay awesome!


Have a great night!

Ally



ps. I don't have any "tour" plans right now, but I can let you guys know that I'll probably be attending the signing at the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco this summer. Stay tuned for details!

Super Bowl? Or Super Books?

So I hear the Super Bowl is today.

I don't know who is playing.

I don't know where they are playing.

I don't know when they are playing.

Have I been living under a rock? I think so, maybe.

Or maybe it's all the GREAT books I've been reading since there's nothing to watch on TV.

Like SOMETHING ROTTEN by Alan Gratz

And the first book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy, A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, by Libba Bray.

I'm also sooooo excited about SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr.

And have I told you guys that I came home the other day to find an Advance Reading Copy of HOW TO BE BAD by Sarah Mlynowski, E. Lockhart, and and Lauren Myracle? I can't wait to dig in!

Oh, and while we're on the subject of TV, please let me remind everyone that the BEST show on television is still showing new episodes.

That's right, people: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is allllllll new!

New Tim Riggins!

New Matt Saracen!

New! Coach! Taylor!

Swoon. (Yes, actual swoonage!)


-Ally