Thank you all for a most excellent week! I hope you've had as much fun as I had.

I know I promised you a final contest...

But I thought I'd just skip that and give EVERYONE a gift instead.

I'm spending Christmas exchanging gifts with my family and loved ones today. I hope this is gift enough to share with all of you.

--Ally

Hi Everyone,

Well, I guess it's official: Gallagher Girls 4 (title to be announced) will be in stores June 15, 2010.

Does that make you happy? Because it makes me pretty happy.

In other happy news, I will be doing a signing on December 12th from 11-1 at The Book Exchange in Pryor, OK. The Book Exchange was my local bookstore growing up, so I'm very, very glad to be going back there to do my one and only holiday 2010 event.

Maybe you can't make it to Pryor, OK but would like to pre-order an autographed book? Don't worry--they're set up to do that too. Just contact the store for details.

I hope to see many, many of you on December 12th in Pryor. I hope the rest of you are able to mark your calendars for June 15th!

Take care and have a great weekend,
Ally

Oh my gosh! It's been a week since I updated the blog! I don't know if that has happened since I started blogging four or so years ago. I'm so sorry, everyone!

Of course, I do have pretty decent (but boring) excuses--the biggest is that I've been putting all of my writing energy into rewriting Gallagher Girls 4!

It's not finished yet, but it's getting slowly but surely closer every day. I can't say much about it at this point except that this is a very, very tricky book to write because, as all of you who have finished DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER already know, Cammie is going to be in a precarious place during the spring semester of her junior year. She's dealing with a lot of issues, and it's my job to make sure she's dealing with them in the most satisfying way possible.

It's also been a busy week looking at awesome covers for both HEIST SOCIETY (in stores Feb 9, 2010) and GG4! (Yes, even though GG4 isn't finished quite yet, we're already well on our way to having a cover for it!)

While the covers are made by my amazing publisher, I still get to look at them and talk about them and make suggestions and stuff, so they can take up quite a bit of time sometimes.

Another thing that's been keeping me busy is this website. In the next few weeks I really hope to start a major remodel here at AllyCarter.com, so I've been looking around at other author sites, making notes, and just getting organized so that I can hopefully start working on making this site better in the very near future.

So that's been my week. See? I told you it was boring!

I hope that all of you have been busy reading and studying and, of course, working on your designs for the T-shirt design contest! (Full details available here.)

Entries are due one week from tomorrow, and even though we've already had several great entries there's still time to add YOUR entry to the mix!

Remember, we need a digital image that would be added to a t-shirt. All you need to make is the image itself--not an actual t-shirt. Not even a picture of a t-shirt. Just a high quality digital image that can be printed right on a t-shirt itself.

And now...well...I think I need to get back to doing the boring stuff. Because without the boring stuff the fun stuff never, ever happens!

-Ally

Hi everyone,

Lately we've been getting a lot of questions but I don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to do the FAQ thing mini blog style. It's gonna be quick. It's gonna be simple.

Are you ready for quick, simple answers? If so, read on!

IS THERE GOING TO BE A LYKY MOVIE?
Maybe.

I READ ON THE INTERNET THAT THE LYKY MOVIE IS GOING TO BE OUT IN 2010. IS THAT TRUE?
The internet lies.

CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT THE LYKY MOVIE?
When I can, I will.

IS THERE GOING TO BE A FOURTH GALLAGHER GIRLS BOOK?
Yes. I'm writing it now. Look around this site and the blog for about a million posts about it to read more.

WILL YOU TELL US WHAT GG4 WILL BE ABOUT?
Not yet.

WHEN WILL GG4 BE OUT?
Don't know.

WHY WON'T YOU TELL US THE TITLE?
Haven't finalized it.

WHY WON'T YOU GIVE US A GG4 MINI EXCERPT?
Because I'm still writing.

HOW IS GG4 GOING?
Good days and bad days.

WILL YOU NAME A CHARACTER AFTER ME?
The only people I do that for are related to me and see me on holidays and harass me about it while I'm eating turkey and sometimes pie. Without pie the answer is probably no.

YOU SHOULD HAVE ____ HAPPEN IN GG4. THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
Thanks for your interest in the series and the characters, but I'm afraid this is something I've really got to do myself.

YOU SHOULD TITLE THE BOOK ______. THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
Sorry. See the above answer.

ARE YOU FEELING BETTER?
Why yes I am, thanks for asking!

DID YOU FINISH PAINTING?
Yes. And it looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOUR DECORATING PROJECT?
Well, I currently have trashbags over my windows, so I'm really hoping curtains.

WHAT'S THE BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ LATELY?
Best book for older teens is LIAR by Justine Larbalestier (not out yet). Best book for all ages is THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman.

ARE YOU GOING TO BE DOING ANY APPEARANCES IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
Yes! I'll be at the Decatur Book Festival in Decatur, GA (near Atlanta) over Labor Day Weekend. (*Find all the info you need by following these links.*)

ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE MORE CHATS IN THE FUTURE?
Hopefully.

ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A NEW BOOK FOR THE ALLY BOOK CLUB?
Yes. In fact, I already have one in mind.

ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE MORE CONTESTS?
Maybe.

DO YOU HAVE A COVER FOR HEIST SOCIETY YET?
Not quite, but we're getting very close to having something AWESOME!

GG3 CAME OUT ON JUNE 9TH. AND HEIST SOCIETY WILL COME OUT ON FEBRUARY 9th? WHY ALWAYS THE 9th?
Coincidence.

ARE THERE BOYS IN HEIST SOCIETY.
Oooh, you betcha! In fact, there are only two girls in the whole book.

CAN WE HAVE ANOTHER HEIST SOCIETY MINI EXCERPT?
Sure.

Hey, I told you this was going to be super-mini!

-Ally

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all having a lovely August. I've been pretty busy working on the second draft of GG4. I can't say much, but I will share that I'm at the part of the rewriting process where I'm pulling everything apart and putting it all back together again sort of like a great big puzzle. Some bits I'll keep. Some bits I'll scrap. Some brand new things will have to be added.

It's a BIG job, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

I don't have a title or a release date yet, but there is one thing I do have...

The grass was damp against their stomachs as the three of them lay on the top of the hill, looking down on the villa below.

Have a great end of summer, everyone!

-Ally

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!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7fbdt76RE]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug9b_l-t9e4]

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!

http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=Countdown.sbw

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

http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=Countdown.sbw

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.

Hey gang,

I'm 46,000 words into Gallagher Girls 4 (yes, four!) Or, well, the FIRST first draft of book 4, and I'm building some momentum, so it's mini-blog time!

Lately it seems like one of the most frequent questions I've heard from readers revolves around ARCs--what they are, what the A the R and the C stand for, what purpose they serve in the industry, how to get them, etc. etc.

So that's one of the many reasons why I'm glad uber librarian Liz Burns is answering those questions on her blog. So if you've got questions about ARCs please go read this. It'll be worth your time.

-Ally

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about whether or not there will be a Gallagher Girls 4? When it will be released? What it will be called? Will Zach be in it? Etc. Etc.

The short answers to those questions, by the way, are Yes!!! (yay!); I don't know; I think I know but I'm not saying; And I'm totally not saying.

The long answers are...

WILL THERE BE A GALLAGHER GIRLS 4?

Yes, I'm absolutely thrilled that my wonderful publisher has offered me the chance to continue writing about the Gallagher Girls. I actually started the first draft of the fourth book when I was in Ireland last month and, so far, I'm about 100 pages into it. And it is bad. Terribly, painfully bad.

Because it's a first draft and that's the job of the first draft--to be bad.

In fact, I've started referring to what I'm writing now as the first first draft because this one is proving to be incredibly complicated, so I'm probably going to have to start from scratch a few times before the pieces all fall into place.

(After you guys read GG3 you'll know that GG4 is going to be a lot more...stressful. And that's all I'm going to say about that.)

WHEN WILL GG4 BE RELEASED?

Because we're still so early in the writing process I'm afraid I don't have a clue when it will be released. Because, after all, this is just the first first draft! After this there will be second and third and fifth and probably fifteenth drafts! And copyedits. And galley edits. And all the other things I talked about in this blog post a long time ago. So, in other words, GG4 won't be out right after GG3, I'm afraid. These things just take a while.

WHAT IS THE TITLE OF GG4? / DO YOU KNOW THE TITLE YET?

I do have a title in mind for this book, but I like to keep my mind open to alternatives in case a better title occurs to me while I'm writing. I suspect that once I know for sure what the title will be I'll do another contest of some kind where you guys get to figure it out.

WILL ZACH BE IN GG4?

Oh, Zach. Will we see him? Will we not? Will he and Cammie live happily ever after or will he elope with Madame Dabney and break Cammie's heart? For the answer to that, my dears, I'm afraid you'll just have to keep reading.

(in stores sometime a looooong time from now)

ps...edited to add: The Madame Dabney thing? Totally a joke.