Ally's Diary

Mini blog: apples

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:48:00 +0000

There are two apple trees on my grandparents' old farm. We had a very wet summer.

For those of you who may not have agricultural backgrounds, let me help you with the math.

2 apple trees X very wet summer = 9 bazillion apples.

So far my mother has frozen enough cobbler fillings to feed the entire country on the fourth of July. Tonight, I recommended she make some apple butter (which I LOVE and haven't had in ages.)

(If you don't know, apple butter is kind of like apple jelly. But not quite. It's AWESOME!)

And I'm looking up recipes for apple cakes and apple muffins and pretty much all things apple related.

So do you guys have any ideas?

-Ally

Mini blog: when do you go back to school?

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Hey gang,

Just a quick question: when do you go back to school?

-Ally

Inside the copyedits...

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:59:00 +0000

This is what it looks like.

I maybe be too loopy to blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:58:00 +0000

Hi gang. It's one a.m. and I'm 180 pages into the GG3 copyedits--you know, the time when I sit in a room the size of a closet with a manuscript, a colored pencil and pencil sharpener and the big orange eraser that I've had since my days at OSU.

Oh, and there's usually Diet Coke.

LOTS of Diet Coke.

And little mini Kit Kat bars.

And some banana bread.

And microwave popcorn.

SO. MUCH. POPCORN.

hey, maybe that's why I'm feeling a little loopy?

Anyway, I just finished watching a (mostly) fast forwarded version of tonight's Olympics coverage and I'm seriously trying to decide what Olympic event I should try for in 2012.

I mean, I know that a 33 year-old woman took home a medal on the vault (YAY HER!) but seriously, she's probably been doing gymnastics for years and I don't think I could really learn it at this point in my life.

And I've pretty much ruled out track because...well...it appears to involve an awful lot of running.

And obviously beach volleyball is a non-starter because of the offensive bikinis (that I would rather have root canal than wear). Plus, I'm not big on sand. And I don't live near any beaches.

I've considered speed walking since walking is a skill that I currently posses.

Also, competitive table tennis holds a great deal of appeal since I think it would be incredibly handy to participate in a sport for which you can train in your garage.

I saw a clip of the women's air pistol competition and frankly that looked like something that I could totally do and not have it take away from my banana bread/Kit Kat obsession, so that's a huge plus.

Oh, and let's not forget archery. I don't know anything about archery, but I know a lot of men who hunt deer so I'm thinking I could pick it up.

So what do you guys think? Because to be honest I should probably decide pretty soon if I'm going to make the London games.

-Ally

The most important Olympic observation yet...and an anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:13:00 +0000

First things first...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD!

That's right. My parents have been married 44 years (I think) today. Yep, you read that right--44 years.

THEY ROCK.

Can we have a round of applause for my parents please? (And, just so you know, they routinely read the comments section of this blog.)

What's the secret to their success, some may ask. Well, I think it's that they never let the romance die.

For example, I asked my mom a day or two ago what they had planned to celebrate the big day and she said, "Oh, we'll probably go out to dinner."

"Where?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe Subway."

Which is probably slightly less exciting than the year he got her the manure spreader. Nothing says true love like a machine that is built to hurl...manure.

Oh, and one time I asked my father what he was going to get Mom for Valentine's Day and he said, "Well, I was thinking about maybe taking her to Wal-Mart and letting her read a card. Heck, I might even let her read two."

(Am I starting to make more sense to you guys now? Because, seriously, this explains A LOT about me.)

So happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. Just don't go too crazy with the celebrating.

And now on to the Olympic moment of the day...

Last night I watched the women's gymnastics all-around finals with bated breath as Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson flew and flipped and forged their way into history. It was a thing of beauty.

And then, during the medals ceremony, I cried. Again.

And not because two American women stood atop the medals stand in this event for the first time ever.

And not because, as happy as I was for Nastia, a part of me couldn't help but feel bad for Shawn because no matter what, they couldn't both come home with gold.

And not because I'm way too old (and fat) to fulfill my Olympic dream of medaling on the beam.

Nope. The reason I cried last night was because as I sat there I remembered something that I've known all along and hope the world never forgets: the power of the teenage girl.

All you have to do is look at the sheer single-mindedness that all of the competitors exhibited for not only that night but for their entire lives to know that this is not a group to be taken lightly.

YA authors frequently get asked when we're going to write for "grown ups" or when we're going to write "real book" or whether or not we want to stretch our muscles by writing for someone other than teenage girls.

To this, I've always shook my head felt a little sorry for people who have never seen the precision with which a teenager can see through a book's mistakes--who have never witnessed the voraciousness with which a teenager can latch on to the things that they value most and the strength with which they will work to meet their goals.

So to the critics of YA fiction I have to say I write books for the Nastia Luikins and Shawn Johnsons of the world... Is there anyone better to write for?

-Ally

MORE random observations from the Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:25:00 +0000

1. I now really, really want to go to London in 2012. Or maybe Vancouver for the winter games! I know I never will, but it's something I can talk about in vain and google for a while.

2. Why is it that every four years ordinary people become experts on things they only see every four years? I know I don't actually know anything about the gymnastics, for example, but that doesn't keep me from commenting (very loudly. and to no one.) on whether or not someone actually "stuck" their landing.

3. If those little Chinese gymnasts are all 16 I will eat my socks.

4. I still really like Michael Phelps--he seems like a very hard working and admirable young man. But I can't help but feel a little sorry for all the other swimmers because...come on...they're swimming hard too.

5. How did people watch the Olympics before TiVo? Seriously? I'm asking.

6. Is it just me, or does Bob Costas get a little loopy after a while?

7. The medal ceremonies make me cry now, too. Even when it's for a country other than my own. If you ask me, it's just really hard to give up on world peace when watching a medal ceremony.

8. I think someone (maybe Bob Costas when he's loopy) should do a montage or tribute or something to little metal hair clips and their role in gymnastics through the ages.

The U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team celebrates their silver medal.
They also showcase the age-old pairing of gymnastics and little metal clips.

9. My sister and I have decided to boycott beach volleyball because the men get to wear shorts and tank tops and the women have to wear teeny tiny bikinis.

10. To be an Olympic-caliber athlete you must travel...a lot.

--Ally

Completely random observations from the Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:18:00 +0000

1. It's waaaaay too late for me to go for the gold in anything gymnastics related.

2. If Michael Phelps's swim trunks get any lower, the Olympics might end up rated NC-17

Michael Phelps, world's greatest swimmer.
World's most gravity-defying pants.

3. Seriously. Am I the only person who is constantly afraid that Michael Phelps is going to dive into the pool and lose his pants!?!?!

4. Whoever made those Visa commercials narrated by Morgan Freeman totally had me in mind as their target audience.

5. Have I mentioned that the Olympics MAKE ME CRY?

6. And the little Chinese boy from the opening ceremonies who survived the earthquake and then went back to his school to pull his classmates from the rubble and told people after that he wasn't a hero--he was a class leader and he was just doing his job?

7. HOW CAN THE OLYMPICS DO ANYTHING BUT MAKE ME CRY?

8. And perhaps my favorite Olympics moment wasn't even from the actual Olympics. Did anyone else see Project Runway last week when the challenge was to design an outfit for the opening ceremonies and that one guy made a purple cocktail dress? I almost died when Michael Kors said, "What's her sport? Drinking?" And then later, "It's great if she's representing the United Republic of Cocktail Land?"

9. And speaking of the opening ceremonies... I thought the U.S. athletes looked great. A little like they were getting ready to go sailing off the Cape, but great just the same.

10. And not only that, but their pants stayed on. (But Michael Phelps wasn't there, so it wasn't a true test of pantage.)

-Ally

I Heart the Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:51:00 +0000

I heart the Olympics.

They make me cry.

That's really all I have to say.

-Ally

Heist. Draft 1.

I feel like I should blog today...

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:31:00 +0000

I feel like I should blog today, but I'm having trouble being clever. Or interesting. Perhaps that's because I haven't exactly left the house in a while.

Maybe I'll go see THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 tomorrow.

But HEIST isn't going to finish itself, people! It simply WILL NOT.

I've tried staring at the keyboard and thinking TYPE, TYPE, TYPE really intently, but that didn't work.

And then I tried sleeping with my Alphasmart under my pillow. Nothing.

And then I tried going into a trance-like state...

But I just ended up falling asleep. Again.

Sigh.

Maybe I should just be like James Patterson and hire someone else to write my books FOR me!

YES! That is totally what I should do!!!!!

So there you have it, people. I'm now taking applications for people to write my books for me. Oh, yes. This is definitely going to be easier. Just imagine how many movies I could see then?!!?!?

Best. Idea. Ever.

-Ally

Progress on the book that someone else will hopefully soon be writing.
Because it's kind of kicking my butt.
And I'm pretty sure someone else could do it better.

Last week...in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:16:00 +0000

It all started Wednesday night with the RWA literacy signing. There were over 520 authors in one room. Craziness!

But the really good news is that the signing raised something like $60,000 to help promote reading programs in the Bay Area.

Following the signing, my fabulous agent, Kristin Nelson, took all of her clients (who were at the conference) out to the kind of restaurant that mere mortals don't usually get to frequent.

You know, the kind where the food looks like this...

The next day my ultra cool roommate, Maggie Marr, and I hopped in a cab and went to Menlo Park for my signing at Kepler's. (Remember, if you're in the market for an autographed book Kepler's can help you out.)

The next day, we went to a lot of sessions and caught up with fellow Nelson Literacy Agency clients.

Like Maggie Marr and Rita finalist Simone Elkeles.

And double Rita finalist Kelly Parra.

And a bunch of other amazingly cool authors from all over the world! Here I am with Kelly Parra, Sara Hantz and Amanda Ashby (who are from New Zealand!) and Teri Brown.

Then came Saturday night and The Ritas ceremony (which is kind of like "the Oscars". But with fewer real diamonds--Nora Roberts notwithstanding--and eating disorders) where we got all dolled up and waited to see if any of my agency sisters won (NLA had SIX nominees).

Sadly, none of the NLA nominees won.

But Melissa Marr did!

Here she is accepting the Rita for Best Young Adult Novel for WICKED LOVELY.

And after the Ritas there was chocolate, so we all managed to drown our sorrows quite nicely.

That's pretty much last week, gang.

Wish you all could have been there!

-Ally

Book Progress

The next best thing to being there...

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Hey gang,

I know most of you couldn't make it to Kepler's last night for the signing. But don't worry, Kepler's is doing their part to bring the signing to you.

I've made it to Youtube!

I feel so special.

-Ally

Part 1:

Part 2:

Progress on Heist. Or Kat. Or whatever.

Mini blog: RWA/Kepler's signing

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:05:00 +0000

Hey gang,

1. it's way freaking cold in San Francisco. I knew it would be colder, but I had no idea it would be like winter where I'm from.

2. RWA is huge. And sort of intimidating. 3,000 romance writers in one place? Yeah, there are a lot of funky shoes.

3. The RWA literacy signing was a blast. I even got to hang out with my fabulous agent Kristin Nelson, and thriller writer Barry Eisler whose daughter is a GG fan (and who proudly wore an "I'm a Gallagher Girl" pin.

This is especially important because Barry was a REAL CIA OPERATIVE.

Barry Eisler, real-live Joe Solomon

His books are also great. Please note, however, that they're definitely not for young teens.

4. I LOVE KEPLER'S BOOKSTORE.

5. There were so many incredibly cool readers and moms and grandmas at the Kepler's event. Two girls dressed up like Cam and Co. and drove 3 hours. Another girl came FROM FLORIDA. Yeah, the state. It was pretty crazy.

6. Did I mention that I LOVE KEPLER'S BOOKSTORE?

7. The awesome folks at Kepler's had me sign a couple of hundred books before I left, so if anyone wants to buy an autographed book, just contact Kepler's and they can arrange that for you!

Take care, everyone. More details will follow.

-Ally

RWA

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:30:00 +0000

Hey gang,

Just a reminder that I'll be in San Francisco this week for the Romance Writers of America convention.

And this year I'm taking TWO suitcases.

Of course, they're not big suitcases. But there are, in fact, two of them.

Remember I'll be signing books and hanging out at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park at 5:00 on Thursday, so please come say hi!

-Ally

Eventful events (that aren't real events)

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:05:00 +0000

Hey gang,

I have to say, so far I've really, really loved having the www.eventful.com/allycarter page where you guys can request I tour in your areas. It's been incredibly helpful and insightful and I'm very, very grateful to everyone who has filled it out!

But...

Unfortunately, I think someone has made a mistake and entered two "events" in Spring, TX in August. These are NOT real events.

My hunch is that someone was trying to "demand" (or request) that I come to Spring, TX and they accidentally said that I already had events scheduled there instead.

There are two problems with this.

1. I can't delete any event I did not add.

2. There are no events in Spring, TX, and I'm terrified that people are going to show up. And I, of course, won't be there.

So if you've signed up with the name "GallagherGirl" at eventful.com, please remove the two Spring, TX events.

And for everyone else, please don't add events to the eventful page. (For the life of me, I don't know why eventful allows non-performers to add stuff to a performer's page. But they do. I could go to Miley Cyrus's page and say she's going to be touring with the Easter Bunny and there's nothing Miley's people could do to stop me.)

Therefore, you should also check here, at AllyCarter.com to verify events because it seems that the eventful page won't be 100% reliable.

Thanks!

Ally

ps...I WILL be at Kepler's books in the SF Bay Area this Thursday night at 5:00, though! I hope to see you there!

I'm moving to Ireland!

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:39:00 +0000

Okay. Maybe not really. But I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about it because I've been at the Fangs, Fur, and Fey conference this weekend hanging out with fellow Nelson Literacy Agency author, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Who is awesome.

And Irish.

And who informed me that writers/poets/musicians in Ireland DON'T PAY INCOME TAX!

I'm almost dizzy thinking about it.

-Ally

Have you marked your calendars?

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:40:00 +0000

Hi again, gang.

Just in case you've missed the news, I'm going to be in San Francisco next week!

Yay!

Trolley cars. Fancy, famous bridges. Really good restaurants.

So, so much fun stuff!

Oh, and I'll be at the Romance Writers of America Annual Convention. It should be great to catch up with some of my favorite writers (and people).

And, of course, I'll be signing books and chatting with readers (that's you guys!) on Thursday night, July 31st at Kepler's books at 5:00.

I hope to see you all there!

-Ally

Progress for the new "Heist" book

Word count update

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:55:00 +0000

Progress on Kat. Or Heist. Or whatever else we're calling it today.

More furniture options

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:27:00 +0000

What can I say? Decisions are STILL the worst!

And those are just the beds.

-Ally

It's back.

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:05:00 +0000

Project Runway is back!

PROJECT RUNWAY IS BACK!!!!

Project Runway...

IS BACK!

Oh Tim Gunn, won't you please come over and read Heist. Or GG3. And look over my shoulder and say "This is stunning. But this concerns me... Make it work!"

--Ally

ps...all you writers out there need to head on over to Libba Bray's blog today to read all about the love story that is the author/novel relationship. Funny--and true--stuff.

Progress on The Book That Has No Name

A growing trend

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Hey gang,

I've noticed a growing trend in the last few months where--at least a few times a week--someone will write me with a "great idea" for a future Gallagher Girls book.

Of course, I'm very touched that you guys are so engrossed in the characters and the stories that you're wondering what might happen next.

But, as much as I'd love to accommodate every single request, I'm afraid books aren't written by committee.

I actually already know where the books are going, and I'm going to have to ask y'all to believe me on that one. I'm not saying I know every little detail, but the big picture has been mapped out for quite a while now.

So for legal and creative reasons, (the legal reasons are really, really big, by the way) any emails I receive that say something like "here's what needs to happen in GG3" have to be deleted immediately. I'm sorry.

-Ally

Decisons are the worst

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Who remembers that line in Clueless where Cher is looking at her (revolving) closet for something to wear and she says, "Decisions are the worst"?

Anyone? Anyone?

Well, I do.

And it pretty much sums up my life.

You see, I am the worst decision-maker. Ever.

Now this doesn't apply to big decisions. I recently decided to buy a house in about twenty seconds. The decision about what color to paint the living room of said house?

Well, that one has been going on for about to six weeks.

Not only that, but should I HIRE it painted? Should I do it myself? Should I hire someone to paint the living room (where the heavy entertainment armoire will have to be moved) or should I just hire movers to come move the armoire and then paint it myself?

And curtains?!? I'm going to need new curtains!

And my couch! I've made three separate furniture decisions in my life and two of them were bad so now I REALLY want to get rid of the world's most uncomfortable couch and chair, but then what?

I had a sectional in my apartment in college and I loved, loved, loved it, but I just don't know if that would fit in the room I have now.

And my bedroom furniture is old and dated and not all that jazzy, but have you seen all the beds there are now?

Do I do a wooden headboard? Or the cool old-looking metal ones? Upholstery?

AND SHOULD THE UPHOLSTERY MATCH THE CURTAINS I CAN'T PICK OUT!

Crud.

I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that this is a source of some serious stress in my life right now. On the one hand, I wouldn't mind paying for a little assistance in making these decisions. On the other, I have opinions and I want a house that represents my likes and preferences and not someone else's.

I do know that I really, really like this dresser.

Although I had initially had something darker in mind.

And this is the bed that goes with it...

And I think it is really, really pretty.

But seriously... do you really think I'm going to clean under the bed? I'm a dust-ruffle person for a reason, people! I have dust under my bed. And probably a few random socks. And books. And maybe a half dozen dried out pens and highlighters.

I know that really cool, hip, fashionable people don't buy all the furniture from the same collection. But let's face it, I'm not nearly cool enough for that.

And don't even get me started on the dining room situation.

There's this table I really like at Pottery Barn.

But I'm not in love with the chairs. And, ideally, it would extend slightly farther than this one (even though my current dining room probably isn't big enough for it to extend too far).

But then maybe I'd need a bigger dining room.

But that would require a different house.

Double crud.

So maybe those "twenty-second decisions" aren't any better than no decisions.

-Ally

The Hulk

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Do you know what a writer (or...well...this writer) gets to do when she finishes 20,000 words (see chart below)?

She gets to go see a movie.

What does she see (and by "she" I mean me)? The Hulk.

Who does she see it with? Jennifer Lynn Barnes because Jen just finished an entire book and she deserves to get to see A LOT of movies.

Why do they choose THE HULK? Because the first writer (that's me) loves Edward Norton, and the other writer (that's Jen) loves comic books.

Well, all I can really say is that there is a lot of shirtless Edward Nortonness (so I got my money's worth.)

There were also very long stretches of time when people were shooting at Bruce Banner who, when shot at, turns into a big ugly guy who is (evidently) bulletproof.

How do they respond to that?

By shooting some more.

This was a little perplexing to both Jen and me (and, by the way, it is Jen and Me and not Jen and I in this case since you wouldn't say "it was perplexing to I". No real point to this except that is my number one grammatical pet peeve since it's the grammatical pet peeve that seems to stem from pretension. And ignorance. My least-favorite combination.)

Jen and I would have just waited until The Hulk stopped being Hulky and shot him then. Or, we would have taken all the scientific data and blood that Bruce Banner left behind to make more Hulks instead of shooting the (bulletproof) Hulk. A lot.

But that's just us.

Still...shirtless Edward Norton? Worth eight bucks.

Okay.

To bed.

-Ally

Heist. Or Kat. Or something that's significantly better progress.

In answer to some questions...

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:17:00 +0000

Hi Gang,

Lately, it seems like I've been getting a lot of emails from you guys all asking the same questions.

Let's take a second to answer some, shall we?

Question #1: Do you not know the title for GG3 and that's why you're not telling us? Or do you know and are just waiting?

Answer: Yes, I know. And yes, you have to wait. A little while. But I have to say that this title fits the book REALLY well and that makes me very happy.

Question #2: I was reading your book and I got to page (insert page here) and the part where (insert part here) happens. And I'm confused. What did (insert character's name here) mean by (insert line here).

Answer: This is a tough question for me to answer because a lot of the time it's a case where you need to read further and the answer will be revealed. Sometimes you just need to re-read. But the key is that I can't explain every little thing in the books. I'm sorry. It's out of my hands now and the relationship is between you and the book--what YOU think happens is what matters. (Oh, and if you didn't already know, a lot of the BIG QUESTIONS are answered in future books.)

Question #3: I want to be in the movie, but it says on your website you don't know anything about the movie. So what can you tell me about the movie?

Answer: Yes, I am still getting this question. And no, I'm afraid the answer hasn't changed. I wish I could tell you all exactly when/where/how to try out but as far as I know they're still months--or years--or centuries--from that.

Nighty night,

Ally

"Heist" Progress

For all the writers...

noreply@blogger.com (Ally Carter) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:52:00 +0000

Hey gang,

All of you writers out there should head over to Maureen Johnson's blog for her latest entry, Death to Muses.

Good, good stuff, gang.

I couldn't agree more--especially about the bread fairy.

A lot of times people who were raised like I was raised try to down-play the good things in their lives.

"I've been very blessed."
"Things have really worked out."
"I guess I was in the right place at the right time."

Etc. Etc.

What we don't come right out and say is, "I put my butt in my chair every day until the book was finished. And then I took a nap. And saw a movie. And then I put my butt in the chair every day until the book was GOOD."

Yeah, that's something we don't say.

But Maureen Johnson did. And I really, really hope you guys will go check it out.

-Ally