The Gallagher Girls (and guys!) must have been very busy the last few weeks. You know how I know? Because a whole bunch of newspapers and other book tracking organizations have told me!

You see, thanks to all of you, DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER has been on the best-seller lists for the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, Bookscan, and IndieBound (the national association of independent bookstores).

And, of course, the series as a whole has enjoyed two weeks on the Children's Series list from the New York Times.

So, yeah, I owe you guys. Big time!

In fact, I've been trying to think of a way to thank you and I think I have a place to start. How about another AllyChat where we can all come together online to discuss a book? And what if that book is DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER?

-Ally

Hi everyone!

I'm just about to get rested up so I thought I'd share with all of you the reason why I've been so sleepy.

You see, I've been doing a little bit of traveling.

A little.

It was wonderful being on tour. I had a fabulous time and I'm incredibly grateful to my publisher for making it possible, all of the stores and schools I visited for welcoming me with open arms, and most of all for all of the people who came (sometimes from hundreds of miles away)!

These pictures won't begin to do it justice, but it's a start!

On Saturday, June 6th, I packed my suitcase, called a cab, and headed for the airport.

The first stop was beautiful San Francisco where I did a writers' workshop at BooksInc on Sunday. On Monday, I was able to visit some schools in the Bay Area

...and that night I had a wonderful signing at Kepler's!

So many awesome Gallagher Girls! Seriously the tour could have ended right then and I would have been happy. But we were actually just getting started because the next morning bright and early I woke up.

And and flew to...Seattle!

Where I had a very cool goldfish named Mike in my hotel room. See? Totally not making Mike up.

I also got to visit several schools in the Seattle area, including this one where I did a presentation in a junior high gymnasium (and that night I may or may not have had nightmares about climbing a big rope and playing dodge ball).

Next we were on to Vancouver!

I had never been to Vancouver before, but I sincerely hope I get to visit again very soon. Simply put, it was a beautiful city full of very nice people. Not to mention one of the most awesome bookstores in the world!

Kidsbooks, you rock!

I got to spend a little time at the store (you know, the one with the most gorgeous windows ever!) And then that night Kidsbooks hosted a fabulous signing at an absolutely beautiful church.

Over 140 people came and listened carefully while I spoke, answered wonderful questions, and then stood patiently in line while I signed books.

The next morning I dragged myself out of bed and boarded a plane for St. Louis. I must say that this was probably the most stressful day of all because there was a very tiny of window of time between when I was supposed to arrive in St. Louis and when I needed to head to the signing, but fortunately all of my flights were on time and everything went great.

The people of St. Louis are so incredibly lucky to have the St. Louis County Library. The librarians and staff there are absolutely amazing!

And for all the authors out there, if you ever get the chance to do an event at the St. Louis County Library I highly recommend it!

From St. Louis I went to Wichita which was a little like coming home because Watermark Books is a store I know and love. Sadly, I forgot my camera for this one, so I don't have any pictures, but I want to thank everyone for coming out--especially Brent Crawford who was kind enough to be on the program with me. It was a blast and his book, CARTER FINALLY GETS IT, is an absolutely hilarious book for older teens.

The next morning saw my third 4 a.m. wakeup call in a row, but I was starting to get used to it. And besides, I knew that I was just one plane ride away from getting to spend two full days in Chicago!

Sunday afternoon I did a FAB event at an absolutely beautiful Barnes and Noble in Oak Brook, IL with an amazing staff full of Gallagher Girl lovers.

And, of course, completely amazing readers!

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The next day was absolutely glorious because I got to sleep in (which was good) and then I got to go to Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville--one of the most famous bookstores in the country!

I talked and answered questions...

And then I signed books, including one that was a total blast from the past--my very first book, CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE (which is now out of print and no longer for sale at most stores).

And then I had to say goodbye to Chicago and hello to Nashville!

I did two events in Nashville. One at the Barnes and Noble in Brentwood and one the next night at Davis-Kidd.

But both had one thing in common--the most adorable readers ever!

At one point during the tour, though, we had to enact a firm "no spoilers during Q&A;" rule, so as a result we had a lot of whispered questions but everyone got answers.

There were two other highlights from Nashville. One was visiting the Ingram Book Company's headquarters and meeting with people from Ingram, my AudioBook publisher, Brilliance Audio, as well as the people who make the Gallagher Girl books available on playaway.

The second awesome thing was The Parthenon. Yes, Nashville has a perfectly-to-scale replica of The Parthenon. (The Percy Jackson fangirl in me was freaking out. Believe me.)

And then there was only one city left: AUSTIN!

I've been hearing for years about BookPeople, one of the best bookstores in the world, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to finally be there!

I talked. I signed. And most of all I got to spend one more day with the best readers on earth!

Thanks again to my publisher, to the bookstore owners and managers, to the moms and dads who drove so many girls to the events and, most of all, to the girls themselves.

I had a blast and sincerely hope that you did too.

Now, don't worry, I'm going to go get started rewriting GG4 (title and release date to be determined).

-Ally

ps...before you ask, let me remind everyone that I don't get to choose the cities I visit on tour. I have no idea if there will be more tours in my future. I hope so, but there are none scheduled at this time. To request that I visit your city, please note that requests in the comments s
ection are not tracked or logged, so if you want to your request to matter please go here.

Hello world.

Today I checked into a lovely...house.

It feels a little dejavu-y, if you want to know the truth. And there are pictures of me everywhere. And the closets are full of clothes--MY clothes!

I think that maybe this is MY house!

But that can't be, can it? I thought I no longer had a home.

The bed looks really comfy and there is TiVo full of shows that I love, so this is either my house or the most accommodating hotel room I've seen in a while.

But on the other hand every time I pick up the phone and dial 0 and ask for room service or a wake up call the operator is really rude and hangs up on me, so maybe not.

-Ally

I'm in my beautiful hotel room (this one is really pretty and nice! yay!) eating a Moon Pie. I'm in the South now!

Tonight's signing at Barnes and Noble was absolutely great! Thanks to the staff and everyone who came--some people from as far away as Atlanta--four hours away!

And I just noticed this post that recaps last night's signing at Anderson's in Chicago!

Tomorrow night I hope to see another great crowd at Davis-Kidd at 6:00!

-Ally