Ally Carter

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Uncommon Criminals!

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Well, as most of you have probably figured out by now the title of Heist Society 2 is going to be…

 

UNCOMMON CRIMINALS: a Heist Society novel

 

I really hope everyone likes it because, let me tell you, this was a doozie of a book to title.  There is A LOT going on in this one and we (me, my agent, my publisher, etc) all wanted a title that captured the spirit and tone of the book without giving too much away because, like I said, doozie.

People always ask where titles come from and usually the answer is (honestly) some variation of “I don’t know.  They just…appear.”  And this one is no different.  If I had to pinpoint one place, though, I’d say it actually comes from a line in the first book.

In the opening passages of Chapter 29, Kat thinks of Arturo Taccone “It didn’t matter that they were in one of the greatest restaurants in the world; he was still a common criminal.  But then again, Kat realized, so was she.”

That was one of the lines/moments that always stuck with me from book 1, and as I got deeper and deeper into book 2, that line kept coming back to me as I thought about who Kat was and, most importantly, who Kat was becomming.  When we first met her at Colgan, she was a recently-reformed thief, trying to go straight.  Throughout Heist Society we got to see her fighting against her nature and her family, telling herself that this was her last job–she was out; done; finished.

But then, by the end, Kat has realized that she IS a thief.  She is a great thief.  And a great thief can still be a good person.

I don’t want to spoil too much about UNCOMMON CRIMINALS, and I’m not really sure what I do and do not have the green light to share, but I can say this: Kat has finally made her peace with the fact that she’s a criminal.  But she’s not a common criminal–not by a long shot.

And that, my friends, is the true heart of book 2.

 

UNCOMMON CRIMINALS

In US Stores June 21, 2011

 

–Ally

EDITED TO ADD: go right here to read the book description.

 

Comments

  1. nice… but I love the title MORE since I know WHY it’s called that. and I love the fact that we have a release date maybe even more than the fact that we have a title… 🙂

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  5. Great title 😀 what’s weird is that i actually think cinnamon micro slum is a cool title, tho not for this book obviously, for something that’s actually relevant lol. but yeah i love “Uncommon Criminals,” and how it actually means something. like don’t judge a girl by her cover. i LOVED that title! anyway, yeah. congrats on the title, ally!

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  6. (A big thank you to whomever makes those online anagram solvers!)

    I ADORE this title now that I know why you named the novel that. Your description gives us the perfect insight into Kat’s character and her motivations with just enough juicy hints about what’s to come to tide me over for a few months.

    Let’s all hope they get the same model for the cover. The last Heist Society cover was GORGEOUS!

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  7. Love love love the title! And very pleased that I got it. Even if it took the better part of my sunday morning procrastinating at work and writing the letters to cinnamon micro slum out on post-it notes in various jumbled orders, then sticking the post it notes all over my desk until it looked like a scene out of a “A beautiful mind for dummies”.

    In the end I even tried outsourcing the problem to my brother, the scientist, who spotted the “ium” and helpfully went through the periodic table to try to find an element that might fit.

    In our brainstorming session we also came up with the perfect title for a Gabrielle-centric spinoff of of the Heist series: Pretty Theft 😉

    All in all loved the puzzle, solving it was a morning well spent, and the title has me even more excited for Uncommon Criminals and June 21st (squeeee! I can hardly wait!)

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  8. Yay I got it!! It’s a really cool title Ally!!! I seriously can’t wait for Uncommon Criminals!!!!! It’s gonna rock!!!! Can’t wait for GG5 either!!! I love all of your books!!!!!!!

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  11. darn! I guessed common criminal…. so close. i couldnt get it with the first thing(cinnamon micro something) but i almost got it when u said pg 219. oh well-AWESOME title!! :):):):):):):):)

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  14. I can’t believe I got the title right! Now I’m going to be trying to guess the plot of the book until it comes out. I can’t wait.

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  15. Ally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You just made my day!!!!!!!! That is the SAME day as my birthday!!!!!!! I started screaming at my chair and my mom came running into the room asking what was wrong when I told her it was about you she was just laughing at me. Anyways I’m excited. Me and my friends were talking about it today and we both guessed it was Uncommon Criminals! 🙂 So excited!!!!!!! 🙂 Thank you! thank you! thank you!

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  16. This is so bad, but I’m really bad at anagrams, so I got my mum to figure it out for me. On the bright side, she was right. 🙂 Brilliant title!
    It’s too bad that it’s coming out around final exam season, though, but c’est la vie. 🙂

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  17. Yay! I got it right! *begins to jump up and down while gleefully shouting*
    I’m so insanely phsyched! IT’S LESS THAN 7 MONTHS AWAY!!!
    Hooray!!!!!!!!!

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  21. AAHH!!
    Oh. My. God.
    Oh. My. God.
    I /love/ it!
    I can’t wait June is now my favorite month right now!

    I love the heart of the second book.
    It’s so sweet.
    <3

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  22. OMG OMG OMG OMG. I can’t stop saying it. i saw it just yesterday and was searching for my book at 2 30 am. My mom and i were shopping next to a borders and i got her to go with me there. i saw your book and went write to the page. when i saw it my mom and i both agreed that it was like common criminals. it was the only 2 worded perfet title on the page. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG all my calendars are marked for June 21. Thank you sooo much. do you know when the cover will come or the first draft of GG5 will be done. Who cares forget the future deal with now.Yay thanx sooooo much.

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  23. I LOVE this title! Plus, considering your explanation, it makes perfect sense. Can’t wait ’til June 2011! 🙂

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  25. Ok so first I LOVE the name, and second I LOVE LOVE all your books you like seriously the best author out there so i hope you keep writing even though you have to stop at some point, and i just hope I can make through the rest of the year til June in the rest of That year til 2012

    Oh and did i mention that I LOVE LOVE LOVE all your books

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  26. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!
    The anagram challenge was also way cool, I woke up and checked the usual (email/facebook and of course AllyCarter.com) and started working immediately on cracking the ‘code’ the day you posted Cinnamon Micro Slum and was able to track down Uncommon Criminals on my own without having ever seen the movie Sneakers in no time. 🙂

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  27. That is a great title Ally! I am soo excited for the book!! Now that you have shared the title I am going to be waiting for the COVER!! Hurry Hurry!! 😀

    -Wynne G.

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  28. Yay! I totally got the Scrabble tiles out to figure this one out. And then, while I was puzzling over what I could do with ‘communal’, my fiance started helping. Thanks for making our Sunday morning more interesting! 🙂

    Reply

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