Hey everybody!

Just a reminder, we will be having an online chat to discuss DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER tomorrow!

Yes! ALL of Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover, including the thing that happened that one time... And the people who did that stuff... And that person who showed up at that one place--all of it! We can include as many spoilers as we want!

But I am going to make one request. The chat is only one hour long, so if you've got questions that you think might have been asked before (like how did I get the idea for the GG books or will there be a Gallagher Girls 4 or whether or not I have any tips for writers) it might be a good idea to look over the frequently asked questions sections here to see if your questions are already answered.

If everyone will take the time to get familiar with what's already here we can spend our chat time tomorrow covering NEW territory. Yay!

Remember, the chat will start at 5:00 Eastern time. (To calculate what time that is for you go here.)

To enter the chat you'll need to go to this website. The password will be ABBY. (Please note that the room will not open and the password will not work until a few minutes before the chat officially starts.)

You will not have to download any software, sign up for any accounts, or anything like that. All you really have to do is choose a username and join the chat.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and hope a lot of you can be there!

Keep on reading!

-Ally

This Sunday we will be having an online chat to discuss DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER! This chat will include spoilers, so be warned. Details about where and how this will work can be found here.

The second thing I'd like everyone to remember is that I will be having a signing next week in Washington D.C. I absolutely LOVE D.C. and can't wait to see a lot of you there! (Hopefully)

Details are as follows:

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DATE: Thursday, July 16

TIME: 4:30 p.m.

Today was so much fun! First, thanks to Third Place Books who arranged for two awesome school visits and then let me come hang out at their AWESOME store and have lunch. Yummy.

And then tonight was an absolute BLAST! I was told we had 40-50 readers and parents come through the meet & greet at the BN cafe, and I had so much fun sitting and talking with everyone.

I'd be happy to stay in Seattle for weeks, but early tomorrow morning I must head north to Vancouver (which, I'm told, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so it isn't much of a hardship).

For everyone in the area, please oh please come see me at the West Point Grew United Church where I'll be doing an event courtesy of the great people at KidsBooks!

As awesome as touring is, I know that not everyone is going to be able to make it to one of the events. That's why I'm so happy that

the awesome people at Kepler's bookstore in Menlo Park, CA, we're able to bring a little bit of book tour to you!

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Hey everyone!

I'm thiiiiiiis close to finishing the FIRST first draft of GG4 (yes, Gallagher Girls FOUR!!!) but I wanted to take a second to answer some of the questions I've been hearing a lot regarding the release of DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER and the upcoming international (I heart you, Canada) tour.

So here we go, Frequently Asked Questions--The GG3/tour edition!

WHEN WILL GG3 BE RELEASED IN COUNTRIES BESIDES THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA?

Well, that's a very good question and, unfortunately, one that's almost impossible for me to answer. You see, my wonderful publisher, Disney-Hyperion, publishes the books in the U.S. and Canada but in every other country the books are published by whatever publisher bought the rights to publish the book there.

Some countries have already snapped up rights to GG3 and are planning releases in the future. Some countries haven't had a publisher buy the rights at all. Really it varies immensely, and I'm afraid all I can do is advise you to check with a local bookstore to see if there are release dates scheduled for where you live.

The only thing I know for certain is that it is already out in Australia and has been for a couple of weeks.

IS GG3 GOING TO BE IN HARDBACK OR PAPERBACK?

Hardback for now. I suspect the paperback will follow in about a year.

I CAN'T MAKE IT TO ONE OF YOUR SIGNINGS, SO WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO SEND YOU A BOOK TO AUTOGRAPH?

I'm afraid I'm not really set up to accommodate that at this time. I'm sorry.

IS ZACH IN GG3?

You will know the answer to that question very, very soon now.

ARE YOU NERVOUS?

Yeah. Crazy, insanely nervous if you want to know the truth.

WHY?

Because worrying is one of the three things I do well. (And as soon as I finish GG4 this afternoon I will commence with the other two--baking and sleeping.)

WILL DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER BE ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST JUST LIKE LYKY AND CROSS MY HEART?

Um...it's sort of...complicated.

First of all, it's impossible for anyone to know whether a book will be a bestseller before the book is released. Despite many rampant rumors to the contrary, the list is based on sales--actual sales. Spots on the list aren't purchased by publishers or manipulated by large advance pre-orders or anything like that. People have to buy the book. (Here's a great article on the subject for anyone who wants to read more.)

The second thing that makes this complex is that the Times list is sort of weird because once upon a time there were these little books called Harry Potter. And for a while there the the NY Times Children's bestseller lists were so dominated by Harry Potter that Harry Potter was pretty much all there was on there.

So that's why a few years ago the NY Times started a new section of the list. Now children's bestsellers come in four categories: Picture books (like for little kids), Chapter books (which include hardback versions of anything older than a picture book but younger than an adult book), Paperback books (the paperback version of the chapter books list), and the relatively new Series list.

A book that is the first in a series goes on the Chapter or Paperback lists (depending, of course, on whether it's a hardback or paperback.) The second book in the series--or the sequel--also goes on the Chapter or Paperback lists.

These lists are where LYKY and Cross My Heart were fortunate enough to reside in the past.

But when book three comes out the entire series will be picked up and hauled over to the Series list and dumped there among the major, earth-shatteringly-huge, heavyweights of our business.

Twilight.
Percy Jackson.
House of Night.
Wimpy Kid.
Mortal Instruments.
Etc. Etc. Etc.

From this point on no single GG book will hit the Times list--it will be the series as a whole or not at all. Come June 9th the Gallagher Girls are going to be in the big leagues and, to be perfectly honest, it would take something of a miracle to run in that company for long.

And that's okay. Really it is. Being on "the list" is an amazing feeling, but honestly it's not the best part of this job. Not even close.

As long as you guys are reading and enjoying the books then that's all that really matters to me.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO PUT THE SERIES ON THE TIMES LIST?

Buy books, my friends. Buy lots and lots of books.

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT FOR GG4?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: it probably depends on how the rewrites go. As you guys know, it takes A LOT of drafts to get a book right and I'm just now finishing the very first draft. I'm personally hoping that GG4 will be in stores sometime in 2010. I will, of course, keep you posted if/when an official release date is announced.

WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANY EVENTS ON THE EAST COAST?

I guess it just didn't work out this time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the future, though.

I'M COMING TO SEE YOU ON TOUR. WILL I BE ABLE TO BRING MY BOOKS FROM HOME TO HAVE YOU SIGN THEM TOO?

It's my understanding that the individual stores that are hosting the events will all have different policies on this. My advice is to check with the store you're going to be visiting to see what their specific policies might be.

CAN WE TAKE PICTURES AT THE SIGNING?

As far as I'm concerned, yes! (So long as you promise to immediately delete any pictures where I look like a doofus.)

That being said, however, it's probably a good idea to teach your mom/dad/friend/teacher/neighbor, etc. to use your camera ahead of time just in case there's a long line and we need to keep things moving.

I WON'T BE ABLE TO GO TO THE STORE UNTIL WEDNESDAY--WHAT IF THEY'RE SOLD OUT?!?!?!

Well, I really don't think that will be a problem, but if you're really, truly worried about it you can always contact your local store and have them pre-order or reserve a copy for you. Most stores are more than willing to do this.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER MIGHT BE ON SOME SHELVES BEFORE NEXT TUESDAY?

Yes. It is possible. June 9th is the official release date, but sometimes stores get their shipments early and sometimes those shipments find their way onto shelves.

Really stores are only worried about what we in the business call a "hard lay-down date" when the book is mega-huge like Harry Potter or Twilight. So it's very possible some of you might find GG3 early, but it is in no way guaranteed.

WILL YOU BE BLOGGING WHILE YOU'RE ON TOUR?

Yes. I am certainly going to try. It might be tough some days, though. Luckily, it's pretty easy to update my Twitter from my phone, so check there for the latest news.

WILL DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER
BE OUT ON AUDIOBOOK SOON?

Yes! I'm thrilled to tell you that Brilliance Audio is planning on releasing the audiobook versions on Tuesday, June 9th as well!

WHAT ABOUT KINDLE?

Yes! The Gallagher Girl books will all be available on Kindle in the very near future. (Maybe not June 9th, but soon.)

DON'T YOU HAVE TO GO FINISH THE FIRST FIRST DRAFT OF GG4 NOW?

Yeah, I really do.

-Ally

ps...remember to check here to see if I'm coming on tour to a store near you!

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Hey Everyone!

Hot off the presses tour news: We've got two more events to add--including one in Seattle!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10: Seattle
TIME: 5:30 PM
Barnes & Noble Meet & Great in the B&N; Café
19401 Alderwood Mall Parkway
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Phone: 425-771-2220

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17: Nashville
TIME: 6:00 PM
Davis-Kidd Booksellers
2121 Green Hills Village Dr
Nashville, TN 37215
(615) 385-2645

Yay! I'm so happy about both of these because, of course, I've always heard what an amazing store Davis-Kidd is and I'm thrilled to finally be signing there. And I'm sooooo happy to be able to find a great store to replace the event that was canceled in Seattle.

Double yay!

Hope to see you there or somewhere else along the tour.

-Ally

I asked for suggestions and, again, you guys came through with some great ones. Since almost everyone wants a deleted scene or a sneak peek at the opening chapter, I decided that I'd give you some of both...

The deleted opening chapter of DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER!

Please remember that what follows is simply a draft and, in fact, it never made it into draft 2, so I'm sharing it with you merely for your enjoyment. It does not reflect on the actual, finished book.

Also, please note that there are not many entire scenes that were deleted from GG3 along the way so there really is no use in asking to see more--there aren't any, I'm afraid.

But there is this one and I'm happy to share it with you now.

Take care,
Ally

Spies have hideouts and safe houses; deep hidden vaults filled with cash and passports in almost every major city in the world. We have places we can go to sleep, to think, to disappear. My friends call me the Chameleon, because, believe it or not, I have more of those places than most. But there are some places where even the most seasoned operatives can’t hide.

“Cammie,” a voice carried on the wind and found me and I made a mental note that most counter-intelligence professionals have nothing on grandmothers when it comes to tracking someone down.

“Cameron Ann, I know you’re out here.”

“Hi Grandma,” I said, swinging from the rafters of the barn and dropping to the dusty floor beside her.

“Ooh!” she snapped, bringing her hand to her chest as if I’d just scared the breath out of her. “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry,” I told her.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Homework.”

She looked at me, her eyes asking a hundred questions ranging from “what sixteen-year-old girl voluntarily does homework in the middle of summer vacation” to “why would you do your homework in a barn rather than an air-conditioned house?” But her lips didn’t utter a single word. (Which was a very good thing because I didn’t want to say that this particular homework was for Dr. Fibs’s science class and even I couldn’t lie well enough to explain the aromas that even massive amounts of cow manure might not disguise.)

“Well, come on inside,” Grandma said, turning and starting toward the barn doors that stood open, framing a scene of the Sandhills that rose and fell behind her.

“In a minute,” I said, already starting for the ladder to the hayloft above.

But Grandma turned and snapped, “Now.” She rubbed her hands on her apron, and I knew it wasn’t a request. “You have a call. Long distance.”

-*-

As I trailed behind her my thoughts flew on the dry wind.

I thought about my classmates who seemed to scatter to the far corners of the world whenever school wasn’t in session. I thought about my mother who had put me on a plane the first day of summer break and hadn’t sent so much as a postcard since.

And finally I thought of two boys: one who probably wouldn’t have a clue how to call me; and one who didn’t really strike me as the telephone type. Performing a classic single-operative surveillance operation while tracking me through the local Wal-Mart, sure. Calling a girl up like a normal person, not so much.

“Which one of us is the old woman?” Grandma asked, walking faster, but still I lagged behind, searching the wide horizon because even though two semesters of Covert Operations training had taught me that the Morgan homestead would be a surveillance nightmare, I still looked around for eyes I could always feel but never quite see.

To our right, sheets hung on a line, flapping in the strong wind. In the west, a storm clouds grew, so I called, “I’ll come back and get the laundry before it rains.”

“It’s not gonna rain,” my grandmother told me as she started up the steps.

“But—” I pointed toward the dark clouds.

“That rain isn’t for us,” she said in the manner of someone who has learned long ago that the Sandhills can play tricks on you. A dry patch of highway can catch the sun and look knee-deep in water. A grain elevator can seem like it’s just down the road, when in truth it’s forty miles away. Clouds can bellow and brew, but then three plump drops of rain might land in the front yard, sending plumes of dust up in their wake, and that will be all of the storm.

“Things, Cammie,” Grandma said, pulling open the screen door, “are not always what they seem.”

My grandmother is wiser than all the geniuses I know put together sometimes. She knew what my school has spent more than a hundred years teaching—what every spy has to know in her soul. But I didn’t appreciate it then like I do now. I heard the sound of the ranch around us—a gate swinging free inside the corrals; newly weaned calves pacing fences, bawling for their mothers; and the noise of an old, boxy television blaring the sounds of the six o’clock news.
I listened to all that, but I didn’t I didn’t truly hear my grandmother’s words until much, much later.

If I had, I probably wouldn’t have picked up the phone.

Want to know what the finished version looks like? Or what happens next? Well, I can hardly believe it but you will know very, very soon!

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone! Which, if you didn't know, is National Make a Veteran Snickerdoodles Weekend. No lie.

And now for a mini excerpt.

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Hi everyone!

I know that for the past few months I've been talking about going on tour. Yep. A TOUR!

Now, I feel that I should start by saying that very few authors get to go on tour. Very few. So few, in fact, that I have never gone. (I have attended conferences and festivals and whatnot but never a full-blown leave-your-house-with-a-suitcase-and-don't-come-home-until-you-can't-remember-what-city-you're-in tour.)

But the time has come, I'm told, for me to pack that suitcase and hit the road.

This is, of course, VERY exciting news! There will be airplanes and taxis and hotel room service and fans and books and sharpies and hopefully nice people saying nice things.

But if you think about it airplanes get delayed and taxis can be sticky and sharpies can stain your clothes and room service can be very fattening, so the only thing that is inherently awesome about tour are the fans and the books!

So if my tour is to be saved I need YOU. Yes, I need you to make it awesome!

So if you live in or near any of these cities please mark your calendars, tell your friends and family, and, if you can, please come.

Please note that I'm including all the information for all confirmed events that are open to the general public.

Some additional events may be added later. If/when that happens I will post the news immediately.

Please contact the individual host stores for more details as some events may require you to purchase a ticket or reserve your spot in advance.

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TIME: 10am-2pm

Books Inc. Opera Plaza

WordPlay writing seminar- A Movie Lover's Guide to Writing Novels, with Ally Carter

601 Van Ness Ave

SF, CA 94102

(415) 776-1111

(*tickets may be required for this event. Please contact Books Inc. for more information)

TIME: 5:30PM

Kepler’s in-store

1010 El Camino Real

Menlo Park CA, 94025

Phone: 650-324-4321

www.keplers.com

*Please note that DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER will officially be released on Tuesday, June 9th. However, due to the overwhelming awesomeness of Kepler's and BooksInc copies will be made available early--on June 7th and 8th--for people who attend these events.

EVENT CANCELED

TIME: 5:30 PM

Third Place Books in-store

17171 Bothell Way

Lake Forest Park WA 98155

(206) 366-3333

TIME: 7:00 PM

Kids Books off-site event through

West Point Grey United Church Sanctuary

4595 West 8th Ave., Vancouver

TIME: 7:00 PM

St. Louis County Library (book sales through Borders)

1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd

St. Louis, MO 63131

www.slcl.org

TIME: 2:00 PM

Watermark Books

4701 East Douglas

Wichita, Kansas 67218

(316) 682-1181

This will be a joint event with Brent Crawford, author of Carter Finally Gets It

TIME: 3:00 PM

Barnes & Noble

297 Oakbrook Center

Oak Brook, IL 60523

Phone: 630-684-0586

TIME: 7:00 PM

Anderson’s in-store event

123 West Jefferson

Naperville, IL 60540

(630) 355-2665

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TIME: 7:00 PM

Barnes & Noble

1701 Mallory Lane

Brentwood, TN 37027

Phone: 615-377-9979

TIME: 4:00 PM

BookPeople

603 N. Lamar

Austin, TX 78703

512-472-5050

I'm very sorry if, on this tour, I won't be coming to a city near you. Rest assured that if this tour goes well there could possibly be other tours and hopefully I'll see you then.

-Ally

It's been a while since I've answered from Frequently Asked Questions, so here goes:

1. Do you read all of the blog comments?
--Yes. Every single one.

2. Why don't you reply to blog comments?
--I do sometimes but only very rarely. This is mainly because of time and also because 90% of the questions that are asked in comments are already answered elsewhere on the website (how many books will there be? When will the new book be out? What is the Kat/Heist book? etc). The answers to these questions are available once you look. I'm a big proponent of looking.

Probably 5% don't have answers yet and possibly never will. (Where are you going on tour? Who will Cammie end up with? When will the movie be out?)

Three percent are questions that are too personal in nature to answer in such a public forum.

One percent I try to answer and then probably don't get around to it.

And that leaves the 1% I do answer, I guess.

3. Will there be any more contests soon?
--Um...probably not. I might do something to reveal the title of the heist/kat book, but I've learned my lesson about prizes. It will be a long time until I do another contest with prizes.

4. Why can't you make DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER come out sooner?!?!?!?!?
--Even though my part in bringing you GG3 has been over for a few months now, it takes A LOT of people to make a book happen and many of those people still have to do their jobs.

Like the people who print the books. And the people who deliver the books to stores. And the people who work at the stores to make room for and shelve new books. Those wonderful people are on deck now and it's in everybody's best interest if we give them room (and time) to work.

5. What are you reading right now?
DULL BOY by the lovely and adorable debut author Sarah Cross.

6. Are you sure you can't come to my city on tour?
--I would honestly love to, but again, that's really out of my hands. My publisher is working on the tour details right now and hopefully within the next couple of weeks I will have dates, places, etc. to share.

7. Do you really have an intern? How can I get that job?
--Yes, for the next week or so I will have an intern who will be working with me part-time. His name is Denny and he is a senior at a local high school. Denny wants to be a writer when he grows up so he's helping me out for the internship requirement at his school. Hopefully Denny himself will weigh in on the subject in the near future.

8. I want to be a writer, how do I do it?
--You start by reading a lot and writing a lot. Oh, and you can go read the extensive list of "for writers" things available on the blog (under the "Tips for Writers" label) and on the website (under FOR WRITERS in the Ally section).

9. Can I send you my book to autograph? Or can you send me autographed bookplates?
--I'm afraid I'm not really set up to accommodate those requests at this time. I'm sorry.

10. Is George Clooney still your fictional boyfriend?
--Yes! Of course he is! (Why? What have you heard?)

11. Any movie news?
--Nope.

12. Why don't some blog comments ever show up on the site?
--Not all blog comments get approved. This can happen for a wide variety of reasons.

Sometimes we get comments that are inappropriate or offensive, so those get rejected. Other comments might contain spoilers for future books (if someone has read an ARC of GG3 for example) and those get rejected because...well...not everyone has read GG3.

Blog comments that contain personal information (like your name, your email, your MySpace, etc) aren't approved because I don't think that's wise or safe in this day and age.

Sometimes I hit the wrong button. (And, sadly, this has happened on more than one occasion.)

But probably the most frequent reason that comments get rejected is because they contain incorrect information. For example, if someone submits a comment that says "I'm so excited Brad Pitt is going to play Mr. Solomon in the movie!" well, then that's just a rumor waiting to happen. Because 1. as I've said many times they aren't casting people for the movie at this time. And 2. They certainly haven't cast Brad Pitt. (Not for a lack of praying and daydreaming on my part.)

Sure, I could approve the Brad Pitt comment and then take the time to comment directly after that person and share the facts, but this has two downsides as well:

1. usually the incorrect comment originated because someone misread or misunderstood something, so there is no guarantee that my correction would be read and understood either, leaving the rumor out there to swell.

And 2. honestly this happens so frequently that I would spend far more time writing blog comments than I spend writing books.

And I think you guys are more partial to the books.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

-Ally

Mini hint: the very last word in DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER is "thaw".

Mini excerpt: Mom turned to Professor Buckingham. "We have alumni in Switzerland?" "Of course" was Buckingham's reply.

Mini update: Progress on the first first draft of Gallagher Girls 4...

Mini status report: This morning I woke up to the sound of the overnight delivery guy bringing me the galley pages for the new heist/kat book (to find out more about heist/kat please use the search bar at the top of the page). Galley pages are flat pieces of paper that look like a real book. (Except for being flat pieces of paper.) This is always very exciting.

Mini favor: I'm going to turn the comments back on. As always, please be respectful when commenting.

And now I have to get back to a very non-mini day of work!

-Ally

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Edited to add:
Many have asked why the comments section was turned off. That's something I have to do from time to time when the negative/hurtful comments start outweighing the positive/productive ones.

Hopefully this will not happen anymore, but if it does I'm afraid we will have no choice but to disable the comments feature indefinitely.