The three things...
Hello, everybody!
I am happy to report that I'm still alive! However, I am sorta busy which is why it's been a slow week here on the blog.
You see, I've been very this week with three things.
1. Being sick. I think it's probably allergies, but nevertheless I have the itchy throat, runny nose, sneezey, wheezy, loopies. And it keeps me up. So I take Nyquil. And then I sleep great but I have Nyquil hangover the next day and then the Nyquil wears off and I start the whole cycle over. It's sorta brutal.
2. I'm painting my house. Now, I use both the terms "I" and "house" loosely. Actually, Gary and John the awesome housepainter dudes are doing the painting and they're only doing the living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway. Which isn't my WHOLE house but it's some pretty important parts. Luckily, I've figure out a way to go out the back door of my office and access almost every other room in the house without going through any of the painting areas.
Which made me feel sorta like Cammie.
3. GG4 isn't going to rewrite itself. Which is a shame. Because that means I have to do it!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Ally
A Heist Society mini excerpt!
Because you asked nicely (and--who am I kidding--I really can't wait for you guys to read it!) I am offering a Heist Society mini excerpt!
Enjoy!
Ally
in stores February 9, 2010
If the stories were to be believed, Uncle Eddie had once won a million dollars in one weekend playing poker in Monte Carlo. Without cheating. For the first time in her life, Kat believed in the power of her uncle's poker face.
Mini blog: still working
Hey everybody,
Many people have been writing, asking the status of GG4. I still don't know what it will be called or when it will be in stores, but I can share that I've just started working on the second draft. I will probably be rewriting for at least several months. If and when that changes I'll let you know.
-Ally
Mini blog: Robbish
Dear Gallagher Girls everywhere,
Just so you know I just swam laps next to a guy who looked A LOT like Rob Pattinson.
Hate me if you must.
Ally
ps....please note that I did not see HIM--just someone who looks a lot like him. But I was willing to take it.
A big long list of random
In D.C. last week I had sushi for the very first time. And I LIKED it! To be honest, this is a very big surprise.
Today I'm doing "bad cop" work--emailing people who were supposed to get me estimates, do things, get back to me by now, etc.
I am a very, very bad "bad cop".
In the very near future I'm going to paint my living room, but I don't know what color to use, so I currently have patches all over the room in about six different colors. It's like I'm living in a quilt.
I know that technically I got the cardboard cut-out from the GG3 display to keep in my office. But right now it's in my dining room. And, yeah, it's probably going to stay there a while.
I know that the Advanced Reading Copies for Heist Society have started going out, but I still haven't seen a real review. This makes me very, very nervous.
We also don't have a cover for Heist Society yet, but I'm told we're getting really close.
And speaking of heists, Leverage (on TNT) is probably my favorite summer show. Grifter, Hitter, Hacker, Thief... Oh, it makes me SO happy!
I'm very proud of two of my writer friends: Tera Lynn Childs whose Oh. My. Gods. won Best First Book at the Romance Writer's of America's "Rita" Awards. And Rosemary Clement-Moore won for Best YA novel for Hell Week. Yay!
Yesterday Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I went to see I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER.
I still haven't seen the new Harry Potter.
And that has got to change.
-Ally
RWA in pictures
It's great being home from the Romance Writers of America's annual convention in Washington, D.C. Even though I don't technically write romances I belong to this organization because it has long been a great advocate for writers. Especially female writers.
Also, there are usually a lot of great people to see and fun things to do.
For example, every year my agent, Kristin Nelson, hosts a fun dinner for all of her clients who are attending RWA.
From Left to Right: Courtney Milan, Agent Kristin Nelson, Simone Elkeles, Leslie Langtry, me, Sherry Thomas, Lucienne Diver, Carolyn Jewel.
And, of course, I am lucky to have the cutest fans on the planet.
Simone Elkeles, teen author. And bodyguard.
And, of course, it has perhaps the most awesome gift shop on earth.
Int'l Spy Museum, home of truly awesome books.
And truly tiny t-shirts.
The staff at the Spy Museum gift shop were not only very supportive of the Gallagher Girl books, but they were also incredible research resources!
Spy books! I have so many new books about how to be a spy! (Seriously.)
It was a great week. Here's hoping that tomorrow morning will be the start of another one!
-Ally
The differences between writing for adults and teens
Hey everyone!
Soon I will be leaving Washington D.C. and saying goodbye to the 2009 Romance Writers of America convention. It's been a good year, and I'm glad I came. I'm also especially glad I had the opportunity to present a session with my agent, Kristin Nelson, on the differences between writing for teen and adult audiences.
This is a session that actually grew out of this very blog. About a year ago I wrote a couple of entries about the questions that writers should and should not be asking when considering writing for young adults. In honor of today and how popular this subject seems to be I thought I'd re-link to those original posts.
The Wrong Questions
and
The Questions That Aren't Getting Asked at All
Hope this helps,
Ally
Mini Blog: greetings from D.C.!
Hello, world! No, I haven't died, been captured, lost my memory OR been trapped in an abandoned farmhouse by a rabid beer. Those are all just rumors. The truth is that I'm still in Washington, D.C. at the Romance Writers of America convention and the hotel's internet access is...icky.
But other than that I'm having a great time.
Last night's signing at Politics and Prose was AMAZING--one of the best yet. Two writer friends Simone Elkeles and Leslie Langtry were kind enough to go with me and they were both VERY impressed by the questions, comments, and just general awesomness of the 90 or so girls in attendance!
And then today to celebrate the three of us went to the International Spy Museum--perhaps my new favorite place on earth. I signed oodles of books for their gift shop and took very detailed notes when walking through the exhibit itself. Believe me, if you like the Gallagher Girl books and you ever get the chance to visit Washington, D.C. then you absolutely must visit the spy museum for at least a couple of hours.
Okay...sessions are starting, so I'd probably better get back to work.
Later gators,
Ally
New video
The Gallagher Girls are getting way too much time in the spotlight lately. Seriously, it's starting to be a problem. No top secret school for spies should have this many awesome videos devoted to them.
I mean, the one at www.gallaghergirls.com is pretty bad but then today I got ANOTHER one. And it might be the most awesome--I mean dangerous--one of all!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mQemsUDdk8]
It's all Mari Mancusi's fault. You guys know Mari, don't you? She the author of oodles of fun books for adults and teens and she's the one who interviewed me on behalf of BetterTV. I'm really grateful to Mari and everyone at BetterTV for making this possible. But I'm also really mad at them for compromising Cammie's cover. Both.
-Ally
ps...another reminder that THURSDAY I will be at Politics & Prose in Washington D.C. at 4:30, signing books, answering questions, and enjoying being back in D.C.!
Big week!
Hey everybody!
Just a quick reminder that I will be attending the Romance Writers of America convention in Washington, D.C. this week! Yay!
I LOVE DC!
If you or someone you know is going to be at the convention then consider yourselves invited to the session that I will be doing with my agent, Kristin Nelson: Beyond the Basics--What Really Differentiates YA from Adult Fiction.
The session will run from 4:30-5:30 on Friday, July 17th in Washington Room 6. (Please note that this session is only open to conference attendees.)
And for those of you who will not be attending RWA (but will be in the DC area anyway) don't forget that I will be at Politics and Prose on (CORRECTION) THURSDAY afternoon at 4:30! We'll be talking about the series and signing books for at least an hour, so please come by! (Please plan to arrive by 4:30 if you want to see the presentation.)
Have a great week, everyone!
Ally