16 Favorite Things
Hi guys!
We just got word that LYKY is still on the top 10 of the New York Times bestseller list.
That's 16 weeks, people!
As in...four months!
So, to celebrate...
1. food: tough one...probably pork roast with mashed potatoes and gravy
2. movie: really tough one...but I think either Roman Holiday or To Kill a Mockingbird. Either way, I love me some Gregory Peck.
3. book: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
4. reality show: Project Runway
5. thing I've purchased recently: a really small TV that hangs over my treadmill.
6: season: spring
7. holiday: Easter
8. article of clothing: STRETCHY PANTS!!!
9. luxury item: Netflix
10: sport: (to play or to watch? Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not going to play, so I'll say watch) college basketball. Or college football. I have no use whatsoever for the pros.
11. part of any of my books: the ruby slippers scene in Cross My Heart
12: line in any of my books: "Crying is like everything else we do--it's best if you don't get caught."
13: author working today: too many to count, so I'll just say Rick Riordan since the Percy books just keep getting better and better (and, let me tell you, that's waaaaay easier said than done!)
14. place I've ever been: I went to Scotland once when I was in high school and it seemed very much like the kind of place where a person could be supremely happy.
15. compliment: two way tie between "I couldn't put your books down" and "it's nice to have found books that my daughter and I can read together."
16. flower: Zinnias
Thanks for another amazing week being among amazing company, gang!
-Ally
ps...bonus thing that made me happy: I saw both LYKY and CMH at Target today. Somehow this made me giddier than almost anything to-date. Yay!
Mini blog: Mother's Day
I have no idea what to get my mom for Mother's Day.
Now taking suggestions in the comments section.
--Ally
Mini blog: Why George Clooney is still my fictional boyfriend
I took some time off to refuel the creative fires by watching MICHAEL CLAYTON. I still love George Clooney. Seriously--love him.
I'm also quite smitten with Tony Gilroy, who wrote at least two of the Bourne Identity films AND the ice skating masterpiece THE CUTTING EDGE. How can I NOT love him with those particular films under his belt, I say!
And the whole time I was watching George in Michael Clayton, I was thinking "whoever wrote this is good. I mean seriously good. Whoever wrote this has got some serious chops!"
And then the credits rolled:
Written and directed by Tony Gilroy.
And I screamed "Aha!"
And then I called George:
Me: Hey.
GC: Hey back.
Me: So I just watched a really good movie.
GC: Anything I've seen?
Me: Maybe?
GC: So you really liked it, huh?
Me: Yeah. In fact, I think I don't want you to be my fictional boyfriend anymore.
GC: I thought you liked it?
Me: I think I'm dumping you and Tony Gilroy can be my new fictional boyfriend.
GC: You both have my blessings.
Me: Thank you.
GC: But I'm making a spy/hitman movie with the Coen brothers and Brad Pitt... So...you'll be back.
-Ally
Mini blog: Help E. Out
Hi Gang,
Mini blog time!
Good friend and super-author E. Lockhart is in the process of finishing her third book in the Ruby Oliver series. (Book one was THE BOYFRIEND LIST; book two was THE BOY BOOK.)
Anyway, E. has some questions for readers under 18, so if you've got a chance, please pop over to her blog, read the instructions carefully, and help her out. It should only take a minute.
thanks!
Ally
Mini blog: GREAT SERIES
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
15 Little Pieces of Random
Yep. LYKY will soon be enjoying its 15th week on the New York Times Bestseller list. Forgive me if I pass out now.
In honor of the occasion...
15 LITTLE PIECES OF RANDOM:
1. I know heat rises (duh) but I had no idea how much hotter the second story of my house would stay than the first story. At one point this week I was honestly tempted to run the air conditioner upstairs and the heater downstairs. I didn't. But I was tempted.
2. people who have problems focusing should not try editing their books at Panera Bread while, at the next table, somebody else interviews for a job.
3. I love pretty flowerbeds.
4. I'm the world's worst person at planting and maintaining pretty flowerbeds.
5. The Hostess 100 calorie chocolate cupcake packs will probably be the death of me.
6. I have a new "no stretchy pants before 7 p.m." rule.
7. It's now 7:02.
8. Care to guess what I'm already wearing?
9. Two GREAT books just came out in paperback this week: THE BOY BOOK by E. Lockhart and SPELLS AND SLEEPINGBAGS by Sarah Mlynowski. Check them out!
10. I think I've finally realized why I LOVE Dancing with the Stars!
11. It's because it's the only thing I can think of in this day and age where even the AUDIENCE dresses up! I swear, there's a little Madame Dabney inside of me, and she loooooooves that!
12. Trying to set up new health insurance can SERIOUSLY cramp a girl's day. (Especially if she's not allowed to wear stretchy pants!)
13. Spring has officially begun. Not because there have been tornadoes. Not because the dogwoods are in bloom. Nope. I have had my first Diet Cherry Limeade of the year from Sonic, so spring is here.
14. 15 is a big number. Bigger than you'd think.
15. But I'm so, so, so grateful!
-Ally
The ickies
I've got a bad case of the ickies.
Note that this is not quite severe enough to say that I'm really, truly sick. But I'm ick. Hence, the ickies.
Sore throat.
Horrendous cough.
And I think I slept about 42 of the 48 hours last weekend.
But there is no real rest for a Gallagher Girl...especially one on a deadline.
later gators,
Ally
14 things about Donna
Hey Gang,
Yep. Week 14 on the TIMES list. I'm floored. And in honor of this, I give you...
14 THINGS ABOUT DONNA BRAY
1. Donna Bray is my editor at Hyperion Books for Children
2. Way back when Love You Kill You was in its infancy, Donna was at a conference in Texas when the sample chapters ended up on her desk, and her assistant at the time, Ari, called and said "You have to read these chapters", so Donna downloaded the files and had the hotel print them out for her. But the hotel charged A LOT for printing, so she had them print them out in a teeny tiny font so that it wouldn't be too expensive. She later told me that any book that could make her excited to read it in 8 pt. font was a book she needed to publish.
3. In totally unrelated news, I have complete and utter faith in Donna's taste in books. (Case in point: she was one of the first U.S. editors to see and bid on Harry Potter.)
4. Donna is a fabulous mentor. (As is evidenced by the fact that Ari, from #2 above, is now a kick butt editor in her own right.)
5. Donna is kind. (Did you know she sent me flowers both when I finished CMH AND when it debuted on the TIMES list?)
6. Donna has gone through every single GG book line by line, word by word, to help them to be as good as they can possibly be.
7. Donna has the rare ability to both see the big picture and the small details--the forest AND the trees, so to speak.
8. Donna frequently makes me cry. (Not because she's mean...at all! But because when you've been killing yourself for a book and there's a little part of you that says "it could be 10% better...but maybe no one will notice"...well, Donna always notices.)
9. Donna is also the editor of my favorite book of the year, THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart.
10. The Gallagher Girl books are what they are because Donna Bray is my editor, but sadly, as of Monday morning, Donna won't be my editor anymore.
11. Because Donna is so spectacular that she and her colleague, Alessandra Balzar will soon be launching their own imprint (fancy publishing word for subdivision) at HarperCollins.
12. I can't think of anyone more deserving of an opportunity like that than Donna Bray.
13. Because she made me a better writer.
14. So even though I can't tell you much about GG3 at the moment, I can tell you three words that will most definitely appear in it:
For Donna
ps...I have it on good authority that there is another AMAZING editor waiting in the wings (I'll share more details when I can, but for now know that she edits one of my favorite series ever--like, a seriously AMAZING series--and I can't wait to see what phenomenal things I will learn next.)
A request
Hey gang,
As you probably know I'm really, really busy these days trying to finish GG3--which is a good thing, right?
And as you may or may not know, finishing a book requires a lot of TIME.
So I'm going to ask that you do me a favor and help me out with a couple of things, okay?
First, please don't include me in the address books of your email software--especially if you're someone who likes to forward messages to everyone in your address books.
Because every minute out of my day that I have to use deleting tons of forwarded messages is a minute I'm not writing, right?
Next, please acquaint yourselves with the little "SEARCH BLOG" box at the top of the blog.
Go look for it.
I'll wait.
There, did you find it? Well, it's pretty awesome, and just by using that you can get answers to probably 95% of the email/blog comment questions I receive.
For example: what are some good books I can read?
Well, by typing in "recommend books" and scrolling down a bit you get TWO DIFFERENT posts that include other books I think you guys would like.
And if, for example, you get confused about whether or not I'm writing a new series, you could always search for "NEW SERIES" or "Kat" and, guess what, you'll find A LOT of posts on the subject and get all of your questions answered and then some.
So see, it's a very handy little box, that SEARCH BLOG box. And that's why we put it there, to...
1. get you guys the information you need in a timely manner, and
2. free up my time to do what's most important--write the books!
I still try to answer personal emails that are not already answered on the website/blog, but if your question is about territory that's well-covered here...
Well, then writing time is going to have to take priority, I'm afraid.
By the way, this post is something I've been thinking about for a while, but I've finally decided to post it for two reasons:
1. my time is getting more and more valuable as we get down to deadline time for GG3.
and
2. this is a really important life lesson, gang. I'm betting a lot of you want to go to college someday, right? Well, it's going to be really important that you be able to read the instructions for your college applications and follow them. It's going to be important that you show initiative in classes and find information for yourselves.
Self-reliance is a GOOD thing.
Trust me.
-Ally
ps...another good rule of thumb for questions--especially questions about blog posts--is to always RE-read the post before you comment asking for clarification. I'm as guilty of skim-reading and not letting things sink in as the next person, but I think if you will slow down and REALLY read then a lot of your questions will be answered.
pps...of course I'm not dating George Clooney. If I were really dating George Clooney do you think I'd be wasting my time blogging? When I could be dragging George to every event in my hometown and rubbing it in the noses of all the girls who were (and likely still are) skinnier than me? Please, people? I totally have my priorities in order here.
Some things about Kat
Okay, since you guys are soooo excited about GG3 (and your excitement is contagious), I thought I'd share some cryptic facts about the new series as well.
1. it still doesn't have a title. I call it "Kat" (after the main character) or "Heist" (after what happens) when I talk about it. But I don't know what it'll say on the actual cover.
2. it will probably have more boys than any book I've written yet since I kind of grew up in a very male-dominated field, and that's one part of my life that I think will creep into Kat's life--she's used to being the only girl in the room.
3. bad people are fun to write
4. I think Kat's dad might give Mr. Solomon a run for his money in the "yummy" department.
5. To really write Kat well I should probably spend six weeks in Europe. Darn it.
6. Of all the books I've written, Kat is the one that I'd most like to adapt into a screenplay.
7. I have no idea if there will be future Kat books. There very well COULD be--there most likely WILL be--but I don't have any under contract because...well...I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.
8. Kat would fit right in at the Gallagher Academy.
9. And I really, really can't wait to write this book!
-Ally
ps...I've read and re-read the post to try to determine what about it was so confusing, but I guess it's my turn to be confused.
When I say "the new series" I'm talking about a new series.
Yes! NEW!!!!
This year I will write one Gallagher Girls book (GG3) and the NEW book, Kat.
Kat will not be a character in the Gallagher Girls books. She will not be replacing Cammie.
They are two DIFFERENT series.
Hopefully that will clear things up.