Hey everyone!

People will frequently ask me if I can recommend books that Gallagher Girl fans will also like. To be honest, this is actually very challenging for me because, like many of you, I'm what we in the book biz call a "reluctant reader."

(Which is basically a fancy way of saying "picky".)

But there is one series that I always LOVE and I'm thrilled that the newest installment is finally available in stores!

If, like me, you fell in love with Ruby Oliver in E. Lockhart's endearing book THE BOYFRIEND LIST then you should be excited to know that book 3 in the Ruby series, THE TREASURE MAP OF BOYS is in stores now!

I had the honor of getting an advanced reading copy way back in November and this reluctant reader zoomed through it in one sitting--just like I do with all of E. Lockhart's books.

If you're looking for a great summer read, then you should definitely check these out!

-Ally

I just answered about a hundred emails and am starting to see some more trends. Here are the top ones:

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO WRITE A BOOK?

Short answer: it varies. A lot. I've done it as quickly as a couple of months, and I've had it take as long as a year and a half.

I've realized recently that--when I know what I'm writing--I write about 500 words in 30 minutes. Take a break. Come back. Repeat until book is finished.

The problem is getting to the point where you can crank out those 500 words. Today, for example, wasn't a writing day. It was a "floor day" where I sat on the floor and stared at my board of post-its that outline the story until I figured some things out.

The floor days matter too. Big time.

WHAT ARE SOME GOOD BOOKS I CAN READ THIS SUMMER?

The Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan.
THE SQUAD books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart
BRAS AND BROOMSTICKS by Sarah Mlynowski
And there are no doubt hundreds more that your local librarians would love to tell you about.

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOKS?
Under each "book" on my website there's a page called "Story Behind The Story" that tells the whole tale in detail.

WILL YOU COME TO MY TOWN ON TOUR?
Maybe. Please go to www.eventful.com/allycarter to help us track your request.

WILL GG3 BE IN HARDBACK OR PAPERBACK?
It will most likely be in hardback first and then about a year later the paperback will be released.

CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT GG3?
Um...not right now. Sorry.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW THE TITLE FOR GG3?
I'm working on a puzzle kind of thing right now, and as soon as that is ready and as soon as my publisher says I can, I'll release it. Don't worry, I'll let you know in advance when that will be. We're not sure now, however.

Nighty night,
Ally

One of the questions I seem to get a lot when I'm doing school visits is "who is your biggest competition?"

I think people are usually surprised by my answer: "bad books."

You see, I was a reluctant reader as a kid (a fact that I've heard a lot of other authors echo lately), and I spent a long time thinking I didn't like to read simply because the first books I tried to read were bad books.

So I never think of authors like Stephenie Meyer, E. Lockhart, Rick Riordan, Sarah Dessen, Meg Cabot, etc., as my competition because if readers love their books then those readers are going to go through life looking for MORE books and eventually they might read some of mine.

If readers--particularly reluctant readers--pick up a few BAD books then they're going to start thinking that they don't like to read--period. And that's not doing me any favors whatsoever.

-Ally

PS...I'm still a reluctant reader, by the way. I finish maybe a third of the books that I start--we're talking big, national best-selling books and award-winning books and books that everyone and their dogs just loves and I'm like "oh, yeah, I'm 30 pages from the end of that but I sat it down one night and never had the desire to pick it up again."

(By the way, I never actually SAY that, I just think it!)

I don't know what kind of example that's going to set the readers of the world, but I think it's a pretty good lesson for the writers of the world: never, ever, ever give a reader an excuse to walk away from your book--or readers like me will take it.

Hey gang,

No time these days for SERIOUS blogging, so how about a mini-blog?

Do you know what my favorite series is these days? Hands down it's the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.

Hands. Down.

These books are smart, hilarious, and very, very tightly crafted. A lesson in pacing (and fun to boot.)

And the fourth one will be out very, very soon! (I know because I've been begging my editors for an early copy for weeks!)

So, that's it: another GREAT recommended read to tide you over until GG3.

-Ally

Okay, so last week was AWESOME! I got to visit the uber-amazing people at Coppell Middle School West (Hi, Ms. Brock!) and honestly I don't know when I've had so much fun.

But something weird happened. Actually, it wasn't all that weird because, to tell the truth, it's more like a disturbing trend.

Because, you see, people have a tendency to ask me who MY favorite writers are.

And I have a tendency to choke.

And stammer.

And clam up as if I've never read a book in my life!

Why this question leaves me so incredibly intimidated I will NEVER know, but as soon as someone asks I inevitably behave like a total idiot.

So I think it's probably a good idea for me to write a list of my favorite books-slash-authors. And memorize it. Or maybe get it tattooed on my forearm. Or something else that doesn't hurt as badly.

So here goes.

--The Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan
--The Twilight Books by Stephenie Meyers
--anything by Dennis Lehane*
--anything by John Green
--anything by E. Lockhart
--the Bras and Broomsticks books by Sarah Mlynowski
--The Squad books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
--The Kiki Strike books by Kirsten Miller
--anything by Laurie Halse Anderson
--the Harry Potter books
--anything by Meg Cabot
--anything by Sarah Dessen
--anything by Jennifer Weiner
--Amazing Grace by Megan Shull
--Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem*
--Girls' Poker Night by Jill A. Davis
--Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Now the problem about me and this particular list is that I ALWAYS FORGET books and authors that I LOVE.

So I may have to come back to it.

A lot.

But this is a pretty dang good start.

--Ally

I just got word from my editor that CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY is slated for its FIFTH week on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Five.

That's five weeks, people.

As in more than a month.

As in I'M FREAKING OUT HERE!!!!

So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who has bought the book--or recommended that a friend buy the book--you guys did this. And I adore you.

In other news, I had a kind of challenging writing day because--after waking up and getting to the library early this morning--my space bar broke. Do you know how crucial the ability to space is when writing a novel? Well, it turns out, it's really, really crucial.

But then I called the helpline and got expert advice on fixing the space bar, so catastrophe averted, but I still managed to waste several space-free hours.

Speaking of hours, (or not really hours, so much as time, but hang with me...) as excited as I am that you guys are excited about GG3, there's something you need to know:

I'm working on a ROUGH draft. As in bad. As in needing many, many more drafts. As in it really will be a long time until the book is in stores. I'm sorry--so, so, so sorry--that it's going to take this long, I'm afraid that's just how these things work.

In the meantime, though, there are a lot of other great books coming out in the coming months...

Like THE SQUAD books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

And HOW TO BE BAD by Sarah Mlynowski, E. Lockhart, and Lauren Myracle.

Not to mention THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS, also by E. Lockhart, which is probably the best book I've read in a long, long time.

So see...so much good reading!

And don't worry, I am writing as fast as I can, but this book is big--like really, really big--and I've got to get it just right because...well...I'd tell you, but then...you know.

later gators,
Ally

I just...like literally two minutes ago...finished ECLIPSE and I have to wonder, would you guys think I was crazy if I kinda, sorta chose Jacob over Edward?

I know--craziness, right? But Jacob is flawed and passionate and Edward is cool perfection. Plus, I'm INCREDIBLY cold natured and I think having a soul mate whose natural body temperature is 100+ degrees might come in handy.

But Edward...very, very yummy.

Still, Jacob...technically still human.

It's waaaaaaay too close to call.

Speaking of too close to call and choosing sides, I have to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has embraced Zach so completely. I have to admit I was more than a little worried about that. I remember having very long pieces of email correspondence with my good friend Jennifer Lynn Barnes after she read an early draft of CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY.

I can't remember exactly, but they went something like this:

JEN: By the way, is it sick and wrong if I'm totally in love with Zach?

ME: You like Zach?!?!? Really? You're not just saying that?

JEN: Totally. I mean, I liked Josh...but I liiiiiike Zach.

ME: But the girls! The girls like Josh. They're probably going to hate any boy who isn't Josh.

JEN: Yeah, but Zach is not a normal boy.

And he's not. And Jen was right. Zach is uber complex and sorta yummy. (And...no, I'm not going to give away anything that will happen in the future books. Gallagher Girls are patient, remember?)

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has written to say that you liked him. I like him. And I'm glad to see I have good taste.

In other news tomorrow kinda, sorta marks my first day as a full-time writer. I have some work commitments later this month, but beginning tomorrow I'm going to be taking all of my accumulated vacation time so...it's official. I'm unemployed and if you guys don't buy books I might starve (no pressure or anything!)

have a great week!

Ally

Oh my gosh! I'm soooo happy.

The National Book Award finalists were announced today and one of my absolute favorite books of the year is on the list!

Yay STORY OF A GIRL!

Yay Sara Zarr!

Yay me for having such awesome taste!

And big yay to all the finalists!

Have you guys read this amazing book yet? If not--get thee to a library or bookstore ASAP.

later gators,
Ally

In terms of story line, do you just start writing and let the characters dictate what story they will tell, or do you have clear milestones mapped out and then figure out how the characters will get there?

Both. I think. Story always comes from character in my opinion. You change the character you change the story. (After all, can you imagine The Wizard of Oz if Dorothy had been a street-smart bully?) But in terms of mapping things out ahead of time I write best when I know generally what's going to happen--I know the story--but I don't always know the scenes, or the individual steps the story will take.

What does Cammie look like exactly? is she tall, average, brunette, blonde?

Cammie is average. In every way average. She's the chameleon, remember? She's not too tall, too short, too chubby, too thin, too anything. I think she's probably got light brown hair eyes that change color depending on what she's wearing. She is, however, prettier than she probably gives herself credit for (but who wouldn't feel ugly next to Macey or boring next to Bex or fat next to Liz?)

Who are friends of yours that are well known ya authors?

Unfortunately, I don't live in an area where there are a lot of fun YA authors who get together and write and make wacky videos. However, I have met some great writers at conferences and such and I still keep in touch via email with some.

But friends? Well, I don't know about you, but for me friendship has always been a really fickle thing (probably because I'm someone who tends to have a LOT of acquaintances and very few people calling to see if I want to do something Friday night.)

Anyway, I do know some amazingly cool YA authors, and I think I can best sum it up "the friendship paradigm" by thinking of the literary community like a high school...

I probably eat lunch with Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Maggie Marr (we read each others' work and listen when we need to gripe. And also talk about boys.)

I'd like to think that I'd be invited to any parties E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, Alan Gratz, Sara Zarr, and Tara Altebrando might be throwing.

John Green has a locker near mine and always says hello when he sees me.

Meg Cabot mentioned me once on her message boards so it's very much like finding out the head cheerleader knows my name.

Jenny O'Connell, Mari Mancusi, Kelly Parra and I all have the same agent, so I think that makes us cousins.

And Megan Shull sent me a Cornell T-Shirt, gourmet coffee, and autographed books once, so that was kind of like having the hippest girl in school come up to you and say, "Wow! You always look so cute!" And then you say, "No YOU always look so cute!" And that feels good for a long time.

And then there are the people who I've met, and who I TOTALLY remember meeting, but I highly doubt they remember meeting me...

Like how S.E. Hinton asked me to autograph a book for her once!

And one time, I got to ride in a limo with and get kissed on the cheek by Eoin Colfer!!!!! (Who is very European that way.)

And at BEA someone introduced me to Libba Bray and Holly Black and Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson and Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and Gail Carson Levine and a bunch of other people who are pretty much rock stars....but I highly doubt they remember me.

And then there are the people I don't know and have never met and yet I FEEL like I know them. Like Sarah Dessen. And Stephenie Meyer. And also Jennifer Garner (who isn't a YA author, and yet I feel so much like I know her because there are people who are related to me who are very close friends with people who are related to her, so I'm going to include her anyway.)

Do you like the Twilight books? are those the ones you were talking about when you said you and your agent agreed you didn't like them?

Yes, I really really like the Twilight books. (I have Eclipse but haven't had a chance to read it yet.)

But no, I'm not going to tell you what book it was my editor and I didnt' care for because...well...it's mean. And unfair. And I don't want to insult authors who are probably very, very nice people and whose work is probably justifiably beloved by lots of adoring readers.

My opinion is just my opinion. I'll talk about books I really like because I want to spread the good word, but I'm not going to spread the bad.

Have you ever thought about doing a "book tour"-esque thing where you visit some big cities to do signings and talk to people? I know that tons of people would love it. you should definitely come to Cleveland if you do ;)

Yes, I've absolutely thought about it (I think all writers d0), but the truth is that tours are probably a lot more fun in theory than they are in practice and unless you're a huge mega-star like Stephenie Meyer or Meg Cabot chances are there will only be two or three people who will come see you. And that makes you sad.

So while I do think it would be incredibly fun to go around and meet tons of you guys I'm probably more scared that there wouldn't be many of you, so I haven't toured.

I will be doing events, though...

Like the big LAUNCH PARTY on Oct. 2, 2007 at 7:00 at the Barnes and Noble on 41st Street in Tulsa.

And the Kansas Book Festival on Oct. 5th in Wichita.

And the Midwest Booksellers Association meeting on Oct. 7.

And I think I'll be doing something at the Manhattan, KS public library sometime in October as well (stay tuned for details).

So thanks for the great question. Touring is something I'd like to do eventually, and when that happens I'll let the whole world know--especially the good folks in Cleveland!

THANKS!!

Ally

--more questions?

E. Lockhart is a friend of mine, but right now I'm a little bit mad at her. After all, do you have any idea what it's like to be sitting on an airplane, innocently reading a book, only to laugh out loud and have people stare at you?

And how about when that same book brings back in riveting detail all the utter insecurity that consumed you during high school?

And the worst part had to be that since Dramarama takes place at summer drama camp I've been walking around singing showtunes for days now. I simply can NOT get "and the people all said sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat" out of my head.

So I say darn you, E. Lockhart for writing such a funny, achingly true, addictive book.

Darn you, indeed.

Ally