Give

Happy Black Friday, everyone! (or, as I like to call it: "Barricade yourself inside your house and don't go within five miles of the mall" Day),

Today is, of course, the busiest shopping day of the year, but I'm not a big shopper, so instead I found a couple of things online (including my first-ever Christmas tree--I feel like such a grown-up) and helped my sister drag all of her holiday decorations up from the basement.

As frequent blog readers will know, my sister has two little girls (Niece 1 and Niece 2) and today she was telling me about how she finally got around to packing up all of her infant gear (newborn car seats, teeny tiny bathtubs, etc) and taking them to a local charity--not even sure what they'd be willing to accept.

They took EVERYTHING.

They were incredibly grateful for EVERYTHING.

They kept saying that they have had a record number of people this year who are coming to them, looking for ANYTHING.

I know not everyone can make a large donation to a fabulous charity, but I bet a lot of you have an old coat in the back of the closet that you haven't worn in a few years. Or a pair of pretty decent shoes everyone in your house has outgrown. Or a box full of toys you haven't played with in ages.

If so, then your gift to me (and yourself) could be to dig those things out, clean them up, and contact a local organization that specializes in helping those who are less fortunate.

It's going to be a very hard year for a lot of people, so if we all dig a little bit, I bet we can find some things that will help make it a little easier for someone in need.


--Ally

Something to be thankful for

Hey gang,

It's Thanksgiving Eve, here in the United States. And I am reminded once again that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Maybe it's because it's one of the least commercialized major holidays. Maybe it's the pie.

Oh, who am I kidding? It's totally the pie.

But in any case, I dearly love Thanksgiving and this year I find myself with more than my fair share of things to be thankful for--not the least of which is all of you.

And to (hopefully) repay the favor (a little bit) I'm excited to let you know that there will be some special, never-before-seen bonus materials available in the CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY paperback from Barnes and Noble!

This is, of course, in addition to the excerpt from DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER!

Please note that all Cross My Heart paperbacks will have the Don't Judge a Girl excerpt, but only the ones at Barnes and Noble will have both the GG3 excerpt and the bonus materials.

If you're unable to get one of the special edition paperbacks, don't worry! Both of these things will be available here on allycarter.com in a few months!

I hope this news makes you guys a little bit happy and helps to tide you over until June 9, 2009 when DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER hits the world!

Happy turkey day, everyone! And safe travels.



-Ally


ps...just so you know, the bonus scene is not critical to the understanding of the series--it's just like the stuff on DVDs that you can watch if you want or skip. It won't affect the overall story either way.

NCTE/ALAN highs and lows

I'm back and pseudo-rested after four days at NCTE/ALAN, and I guess I owe you guys a recap of the highs and lows.

HIGH: meeting my fabulous new editor.

LOW: me. literally. I'm freakishly short in comparison.

HIGH: the hotel where we were all staying was tremendously nice and right on San Antonio's Riverwalk.

LOW: The river(walk) branches! And I had no idea the river would branch. And so I spent a good deal of the first day not knowing where the convention center was in relation to...anything. Which means I totally lost all of my "I'm an excellent navigator" street cred with my fellow authors.

HIGH: Getting to see so many of my favorite author friends and making so many new ones.

LOW: Now they've all gone back inside my computer (or so it feels) and I won't see them in person again in a very long time.

HIGH: LIBRARIANS AND TEACHERS ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've always known this, of course, but I never think of my books as "critical acclaim" books. That's okay. I think they're well-written (or as well-written as I can muster) but I know the words "Printz Award for Excellence in Literature" and "Ally Carter" will never be used in the same sentence.

Unless the sentence is "Ally Carter will never win the Printz Award for Excellence in Literature".

And that's cool. Seriously. It is.

So that's why I was COMPLETELY unprepared to have so many amazingly cool, kind, and KNOWLEDGEABLE librarians and teachers say so many kind things about my books.

Librarians and teachers like me?

Librarians and teachers like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definitely a high.

LOW: Having to meet so many cool people while my feet hurt. A lot.

HIGH: Guacamole. So much guacamole. They could rename that area to "Guacamolewalk" and I think it would be just as appropriate.

LOW: (while trying to zip my jeans) Guacamole. So much guacamole.

HIGH: Free books! So many free books!

LOW: (while packing) Where the heck am I supposed to stick all these books?

HIGH: Easily, by far the highlight of the convention was walking the floor with a super smart, savvy teen, Christine, and her mother, Jenny Moss, and learning that of all the dozens--possibly hundreds--of books and Advance Reading Copies that Christine had taken home, DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER had been the one Christine had read in one sitting before coming back the next day.

Best. High. Ever.


--Ally

Mini Blog: recommended reading

Hey everyone,

I just got home from San Antonio about an hour ago. I will blog in more depth about the awesomeness later, but for now I'll just recommend that you all go here to read John Green's amazing speech from today's ALAN conference.

If I hear of any of the other speeches being posted, I'll be sure and spread the word.

Great conference!

-Ally

Mini blog: mojo

It's a super busy, crazy day here as I prepare to attend the National Council of Teachers of English convention in San Antonio this weekend.

But I had to let you guys know that if I can't find my own title mojo I have have a new plan...

I'm going to steal Rick "The Last Olympian" Riordan's title mojo!

This could totally work.

-Ally

Title Mojo

I have been doing some serious investigating as to exactly who might have stolen my title mojo and exactly what I might have to do to get it back.

The leading suspect was, of course, John "An Abundance of Katherines" Green who has clearly made off with SOMEBODY'S mojo but he has been on the great American Nerdfighting Tour with his brother and sister-in-law and is fully alibied.

Granted, they're the alibis of relatives and nerdfighters (who I suspect would gladly alibi John for just about anything) but he's alibied just the same.

The next leading contender is, of course, E. "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" and "The Boyfriend List" Lockhart.

She's sneaky, that E. Plus, we used to have the same editor so it's incredibly likely that she has inside information which would allow her to infiltrate Fort Ally and make off with my mojo without triggering the silent alarms.

But E. just had a baby.

And I don't want to think ill of someone who just had a baby.

And that brings us to Carrie "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" Ryan.

Listen to that title, will you?

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH...

You may think you're fooling someone, Carrie, but you are BUSTED! No one comes up with a title like that without some serious title mojo, so you have one week to prove where you got yours or else I'm getting mine BACK!


-Ally

FAQ, the writers edition

WHAT'S THE HARDEST PART OF THE BOOK FOR YOU TO WRITE?

Tough question. It's all tough in its own way, to tell you the truth. But the part that almost always gives me trouble for every book is the part that leads up to the big climactic moment--the mission or heist or whatever it is where the "action" of the book all culminates. The on-ramp of that is always tough for me. Don't know why--but it is.


ARE YOU DOING NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH THIS YEAR?

No. Sadly, I'm doing Finish Your Rewrite of the Titleless Heist Book, You Doofus month.

There is far less camaraderie for that one, I'm afraid.



WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU START A NOVEL AND YOU WRITE ABOUT 20 PAGES AND THEN YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO WRITE?

Well, in that case I would say one of two things have happened. 1. Either you need to add more conflict (things that stand between your character and his/her goal) or 2. You need to be open to the possibility that you don't have a novel on your hands--you have a short story or novella. Those are good to write, too. Just shorter.


WHAT HOW-TO BOOKS ABOUT WRITING DO YOU RECOMMEND?
See Jane Write by Sarah Mlynowski
Screenplay by Syd Field
On Writing by Stephen King


DO YOU HAVE TO BE AN ENGLISH MAJOR IN COLLEGE TO BE AN AUTHOR?
Well, I hold two--count 'em TWO--degrees in applied economics. So no.


WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF BEING AN AUTHOR?
Getting paid to do what I would gladly do for free.


HOW MUCH MONEY DO WRITERS MAKE?
That depends. A LOT. Some authors do get filthy rich but the VAST majority will never make a living wage from writing. Ever. You do it because you love it first. Always.


HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO PUBLISH A BOOK?
You can publish a book at any age--just as soon as you write a book worth publishing.


HOW MANY DRAFTS OF YOUR NOVELS DO YOU DO?
Always at least three. Always. Usually many more.


WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE THAT YOU CAN GIVE TO ASPIRING AUTHORS.
This business isn't for wusses. Not. Even. A little bit.


DID JOHN GREEN REALLY STEAL YOUR TITLE MOJO?
I sooooo wouldn't put it past him.



-Ally

FAQ, round 2

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE A BOOK FOR BOYS?

Well...technically, any book could be a "boy" book or a "girl" book. In fact, I know a lot of boys who are man enough to read a book with pink on the cover who have really liked LYKY. They even liked CMH more.

Oh, and I have to say that the boy-to-girl ratio in the new Heist/Kat book is high. Seriously high. Boys as far as the eye can see...


DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS OR ADVICE FOR WRITERS?

Sure do. You can read the tips here. Also, search the blog because there are a lot of things that make it in there from time to time, especially the posts with the label "for writers".


ARE YOU EVER GOING TO UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE?

Yes. In fact, that will be one of my major priorities in the near future--probably after we have cover art and whatnot for the new Heist/Kat book and I have the time to really think about what needs to be added/streamlined/expanded, etc.


ARE YOU GOING TO GO SEE THE TWILIGHT MOVIE?

Uh...yeah!



IF I LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO AND AM NOT GOING TO THE NCTE CONVENTION BUT WOULD LIKE TO GO TO YOUR SIGNING ANYWAY, CAN I?

Honestly, I don't know. My gut is no, but you could do some checking around and contact the National Council of Teachers of English--go directly to the source, in other words.



WHAT WAS THE LAST REALLY GREAT BOOK YOU'VE READ?

A few weeks ago I read WHAT HAPPENED TO CASS MCBRIDE and it's still haunting me. It's a powerful book (but some of you pre-teens might want to wait a little while before reading it or check with your parents or librarians--it's pretty scary in its own way.)


WHY HAVEN'T YOU FOUND A TITLE FOR THE NEW KAT/HEIST BOOK YET?

Because I've lost my title mojo. It's seriously gone. Missing. Vanished.

I fear sneaky John Green might have stolen it.



ARE YOU STILL NOT DRINKING DIET COKE?

Well...yes. And no. I used to drink 2-3 a day. Now I drink 2-3 a week which I consider to be a moral victory.



HOW ARE YOU HANDLING NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS UNTIL THEY START RE-AIRING EPISODES ON NBC THIS WINTER?

How do you THINK I'm handling it? I'm supposed to give up Diet Coke AND Tim Riggins in one go?

It's not pretty here. Not pretty AT ALL.



DID YOU EVER BUY FURNITURE?

Uh. No.


WHY DON'T YOU BUY SOME FURNITURE?

Good question.


WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET AROUND TO BUYING FURNITURE?

Hey, I'm not drinking Diet Coke or watching Tim Riggins and I'm doing it all without my title mojo...I'm dealing with a lot of stuff here, okay?

Darn it.

I really need a Diet Coke.



-Ally

Frequently Asked Questions

Hey Gang,

It's Frequently Asked Question time again, so let's get right to it, shall we?


HOW MANY GALLAGHER GIRL BOOKS WILL THERE BE?

I'm not 100% positive, but right now my gut is that there will be six total--one each semester for Cammie's sophomore, junior, and senior years.


WHAT CHARACTERS WILL RETURN IN FUTURE GG BOOKS?

No comment.


WHY ARE YOU WORKING ON A NEW BOOK? SHOULDN'T YOU BE WORKING ON GG3 SO THAT IT CAN COME OUT FASTER?

Actually, GG3 is essentially finished. Publishing just takes a long time, I'm afraid, so even though it seems like I should be rushing to finish GG3 right now, I'm actually rushing to finish the new book which will come out over a year from now.


I WANT TO BE A WRITER. CAN I SEND YOU MY BOOK/STORIES?

Congratulations on knowing what you want to be! That's awesome! Unfortunately, I'm not really a very good critique partner. Instead, I'd recommend that you join a local writers' group and network with people closer to you. And, of course, the best thing you can do is just keep writing! You really don't need me for that.


WHO IS THE GIRL ON THE COVER OF THE BOOKS?

My wonderful publisher, Hyperion Books for Children, makes all the decisions about the book covers, and they've hired the cover models (yes, plural, the original model wasn't available for book 2) and I'm afraid I don't know their names.


WHY ARE YOU AFRAID WE WON'T LIKE GG3--WE'RE GOING TO LOVE GG3!?!?

See--that's exactly what worries me. The more people convince themselves that they're going to LOVE something the easier it is for them to be disappointed.




Okay, I'd better get back to work now!

-Ally

Mini blog: questions for the universe

--Why do designers/manufacturers even make purses that don't zip on the top?

--Why, after years of wanting a fireplace, do I have to live in a house with a fireplace that I can't even begin to be able to work?

--How in the world am I going to be able to control my fangirl giddiness when I meet Rick Riordan at NCTE next week?

--Will my publisher figure out I'm not nearly cool enough to be at the same house as Rick Riordan and kick me out?

--Will there be apples at the hotel in San Antonio where my publisher is putting me up and will I be brazen enough to eat one?

--What the heck am I going to wear?

--Is it possible that my hair keeps getting curlier? Cause, seriously. I don't think it used to be this curly.

--Will the new book ever have a title? Ever? Because I'm not so sure at this point.

--Will the new tights by Spanx be as awesome as I think they must be?

--Are my new boots comfortable or not and why-oh-why must I be so indecisive I can't even make a determination about the state of my own feet?

--How is it possible that Joshua Jackson got so much hotter between being Pacey and being the totally smart son of the mad scientist on Fringe?

--Am I the only person who thinks David Boreanez is way hotter on Bones than he was on Angel/Buffy?

--Are people going to like GG3? Cause I really, really need people to like GG3.


-Ally

Two news-ish things

Thing the first:

I just heard from my wonderful, fabulous, amazing publisher, Hyperion Books for Children, that I will be signing Advanced Reading Copies of DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER at the Hyperion Booth (#118) at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention on Saturday, November 22nd from 10-11 a.m.

So if you or a teacher you know is going to be at the NCTE convention in San Antonio this year, please come by, say hi, and grab an ARC.

(Please note that I'm not sure if they'll have ARCs of GG3 at the Hyperion booth during the entire convention or just during my signing time. My hunch is that they will, but I haven't heard that from the people in charge, so don't bank on it.)



Item the second:

This isn't really news so much as something that makes me happy.




The CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY paperbacks will be out on December 23rd! And look at the pretty cover with the pretty words "New York Times Best Seller".

Does that make it official? Because it finally feels kinda official.

Don't forget, the paperback will also contain the first chapter of DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER, so all of you who are itching for a hint will get a HUGE one December 23rd!


Take care,
Ally

Travel

It's one of the great misconceptions about writing that it is somehow glamorous. When the truth is that it isn't--not even a little.

Seriously.

I try and try and try to get people to believe me when I say that my job is basically looking at a whiteboard covered with sticky notes and/or a computer and/or big stacks of paper all day long.

While wearing my pajamas.

That's writing, folks.

But every once in a while you have a day or two where it really is what people THINK it is and today is sort of one of them because I'm writing this tonight from a REALLY nice hotel room.

How do I know it's a really nice hotel?

Exhibit...

A: There's an Armani store next door.

B: There's a separate shower and tub. I've never been in a hotel that didn't have a tub/shower combo.

C. The tub is large enough to do laps.

D. The lights are so fancy I still can't work them very well.

E. There are housecoats and fuzzy slippers and a DVD player. I might never leave.

F. Two words: honor bar

G. There's a window seat. If you ask me there are simply too few window seats in the world.

H. I'm pretty sure the chair I'm sitting in cost more than all the furniture in my house (sooooo not an exaggeration).

I. There is a bowl of fresh apples. But--get this--the apples aren't listed on the price list for the honor bar. So are the apples free? Would I be the biggest hick in the world if I called down to the front desk to ask if the apples are free?

J. I really want an apple.


I'm here for a lot of meetings and things--nothing relevant to you guys right now.

In the meantime, please keep reading (and remember, Alan Gratz's SOMETHING ROTTEN is available for free and will be our first ever book club book), and I'll be back to regular blogging soon I hope.

-Ally

VOTE

Tomorrow is election day. How is it possible that I can feel both like this day has taken FOREVER to get here an also that the day shouldn't be here yet?

Sigh.

Anyway, I hope everyone will vote. I hope those of you who can't vote will remind everyone around you who can that it's worth waiting in line and being patient to have a voice in how the next four years shape up.

I'm also very, very grateful that I did the absentee ballot thing and will therefore not have to stand in line myself.

Now back to the rewrites! (On the new book Kat, or Heist, by the way--not GG3)


-Ally