So as you know, I just got back from Italy and the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

Here are the pictures that prove it:

Hanging out in Venice with Natasha, my agent Kristin Nelson, and super author Sarah Rees Brennan.

Venice is an incredible city that is really unlike any other place in the world.

And, of course, while we were there we had to take a (very short and probably over-priced) gondola ride.

But it was fun seeing the back alleys of Venice (that are, by the way, water.)

And then it was on to Bologna!

I spent most of my time at the fair in and around the Literary Agents' Center where my agent and I had meetings with the various editors who publish the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society around the world.

Luckily, there was still a lot of time for walking the beautiful (and covered!) sidewalks of Bologna.

One of the absolute highlights of the trip was visiting the Kinder College outside of town for one of the most amazing school visits ever!

And not just because the school was in an old monastery and this was the view out the windows!

Finally, my last official stop was the first ever Bolibri book event that was designed to--for the first time ever--allow the people of Bologna to get a taste of this world-famous book festival.

So I guess the moral of the story is that I had a great time on my first trip to Italy.

I sincerely hope it won't be my last!

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--Ally

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Hi everyone!

I'm home from the Texas Book Festival, and can I just say that the Lone Star State does book festivals right?

They set up big tents all around the grounds of the state capital and then fill the tents and surrounding churches and other buildings--and even the capital itself--with books and authors and readers and corndog vendors.

Really. Seriously. There are books AND corndogs. Does life ever get better than that?

It was amazing. Volunteers picked me up and dropped me off at the airport. There were fancy, swanky parties that festival supporters and employees generously threw in their own homes.

Pseudonymous Bosch and Sara Zarr and I spent a long time hanging out with a bunch of YA authors in our host's bathroom. Yeah. It was a REALLY nice bathroom.

Everything was so well-organized that I didn't think it could get any better...

And then I did my panel.

And what do you know? It DID get better! It really, really did!

So what do you think, guys? To bow or not to bow. That is the question.

When my publicist contacted me several months ago about attending the Decatur Book Festival near Atlanta I had no idea that I was being invited to one of the best book events ever!

As several people pointed out, this festival has grown up very quickly (just in five years or so) to be one of the best book festivals in the country and over Labor Day Weekend approximately 70,000 people descend on the town square in beautiful Decatur, Georgia.

The old courthouse--AKA the heart of the book festival

Decatur is an absolutely adorable town that maintains so much small town charm and individuality that it's easy to forget it's a part of the major city of Atlanta.

I got into town on Thursday and spent a lot of time walking around Decatur, checking out Little Shop of Stories (one of the greatest bookstores ever), and eating extremely good tacos.

Bookzilla!

I was lucky enough to get to visit a wonderful middle school in Alpharetta, GA on Friday, and then we spent all Friday afternoon driving to various bookstores in the Atlanta area, signing stock. So if you live or shop in Atlanta, keep your eyes peeled! You never know where they might pop up.

And then it was time for the main event!

Saturday, thousands of people descended on the square. There were big-time authors and musicians and readers and writers almost as far as the eye could see.

And I highly approve of some of their reading selections.

I didn't count and I'm terrible about guessing crowd sizes, but I would say that there were probably at least 100 people who squeezed into the dance studio that was serving as the festival's Teen Stage. (Some panels were in churches... some in tents... some in hotel conference rooms... )

As always, everyone asked great questions and it was incredibly fun to be with all of you. So thank you SO MUCH for coming!

I would have been happy to just hang around the festival all day, going to panels and stalking my favorite authors, but the fun was only just beginning because I was back in the car, heading up the Alpharetta for the big B&N; signing with...

LAUREN MYRACLE!

I LOVE doing events with other authors. There's laughing and joking and someone to talk to if no one else shows up! (Unless the other author doesn't show up either. Which would probably be the saddest signing ever.)

Fortunately people DID show up!

Not just people--Gallagher Girls!!!!

So again, in summary:

Decatur Book Festival---AWESOME!

Little Shop of Stories--AWESOME!

Lauren Myracle--AWESOME!

Gallagher Girls--the most awesome girls in the world.

Have a great Labor Day, everybody and thanks again to everyone who came out this weekend!

-Ally

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.

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

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.

Hey gang,

Full details about the tour aren't available just yet, but I am starting to get some fun hints, tips, and clues, and I thought you might like to get some too.

Like these AMAZING pictures that I got yesterday.

Okay, gang, go to work!

-Ally

The Texas Librarian Association (TLA) convention, just in case you didn't know, is the second largest librarian convention in the nation (second only to the American Librarian Association convention, ALA).

And I would argue that it is probably the best. At least, it certainly felt like nothing could be any better.

Things were well-organized and well-run and well-attended. The librarians in attendance were smart and savvy and incredibly, incredibly sweet.

Everyone who was there was professional and prepared and courteous.

So, in short, if you ever get the chance to attend this amazing event DO IT. You'll have an amazing time.

At least I guarantee you I did.

It all started when I checked into my super hip/cool hotel room:

(For some reason I've started taking pictures of all the hotels I stay at when I travel for business. I don't really know why. Maybe because they're always so much cooler than where I actually live?)

And then I got to attend the Young Adult Round Table dinner with a lot of very amazing authors and some of the most phenomenal librarians in the country.

See! Here I am with Meg Cabot (yes, the Meg Cabot), Rose Brock (who was just on the Newbery committee, people) and Renee Dyer.

One of the best parts of the conference was definitely being on the Lone Star Authors panel moderated by rock star librarian Jennifer Smith, discussing writing and books with rock star writers Roland Smith, Gary Schmidt, and Scott Westerfeld.

Oh, and of course there were AMAZING librarians--amazing librarians as far as the eye could see!!!

See?

And, of course, it's always great getting to see author friends who live all over the country.

Like John Green and Sara Zarr (two writers I LOVE even though their books are so good they always make me feel like a hack).

And fellow member of TeamCastle, Cassandra Clare.

And my fellow Hyperion authors, Coert Voorhees and Kean Soo, who decided that Hyperion family dinner wouldn't be complete unless they assumed the role of "kid brothers" and ordered the grasshopper appetizer. And then ate them. Every one.

So, yeah, TLA was a great, great week full of great, great people. I'm incredibly grateful to my amazing publisher for sending me and to the conference organizers for inviting me.

If you should ever decide to ask me back, I'm there!

-Ally

I'm home!

Even though living in a castle does have its advantages, I am nevertheless incredibly glad to be home. My home.

With my bed and my shower and my fridge and my washing machine and my internet connection and my stove--all of which I know well and always work when I need them.

Still, castle living did have its fair share of pretty.

See?

Springfield Castle
Limerick County, Ireland

This is Springfield Castle. It was incredibly reasonably priced and the owners, Jonathan and Betty, were phenomenal hosts. So if you or someone you know is looking for a great place to spend a week with a group of family members or friends, please check it out.

The whole group (with the sad exception of Sarah Rees Brennan)

One night we treated ourselves to an evening worthy of...a castle. It all started with appetizers in the formal living room.

Jen Barnes, Maureen Johnson, me, Holly Black, Sarah Cross, Carrie Ryan, Diana Peterfreund, Sarah Rees Brennan, Robin Wasserman

And then the caters fed us an AMAZING meal in the castle's beautiful dining room.

Jen Barnes, Holly Black, Sarah Cross, Sarah Rees Brennan, Carrie Ryan

And, of course, there was a lot of walking around, enjoying the castle grounds and the surrounding area.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Carrie Ryan celebrate the releases of FATE and THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH.

And did I mention the Cliffs of Moher were windy? Cause they really, really were.

More photos tomorrow!

-Ally

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