RWA
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)
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!
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?
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
Word count update
More furniture options
What can I say? Decisions are STILL the worst!
And those are just the beds.
-Ally
More Questions
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
It's back.
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.
A growing trend
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
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