Ally Condie's Blog, page 4

(c) Brook Andreoli

I wrote a post when MATCHED came out and another when CROSSED was released, talking about how I felt, and how none of this could have happened without the help of other people. My agent and editor, my publicist, the marketing team, the cover designer, librarians, bloggers, my family…everyone had a part in this book and it belongs to them too.

And, as I said a couple of years ago, it belongs to you now. In so many interviews lately I’ve been asked if I felt sad. Each time, I said no, not yet. Because the series doesn’t feel over until you, the readers, have it and have the story. I love this picture (taken, as always, by the incomparable Brook Andreoli) because you’re not entirely certain where the book is on the path–is it the beginning? the end? Both?

This series is truly yours now. And in some ways I don’t ever think I will feel sad that it’s “over”–though I will certainly miss these characters!–because it’s been one of the greatest blessings of my life to have readers who care. Part of the acknowledgments of the book are “to you, the reader, for taking this journey with Cassia, Ky, and Xander, and with me.”

I will be forever grateful.

Photo courtesy of Jill Bailey, taken at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, CO.

If the series is good enough for William Shatner (‘s paper cutout) then it’s good enough for anyone, right?

There is exactly ONE WEEK left until the release of REACHED! And we received some very good news yesterday–Publisher’s Weekly gave REACHED a starred review! That makes two (from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly). The full review from Kirkus is also available online now.

I’m gearing up for the launch event next Tuesday, November 13th in Salt Lake City, and then it will be on to Chicago on November 14th and Omaha on November 16th! If you are in any of those cities, I’d love to see you there. Then we take a little break for Thanksgiving, and then it’s on to Houston, Miami/Coral Gables, Washington, D.C./Bethesda, and Raleigh! I hope to see any of you there who can make it! For more info on events, click here.

A week or so after the book releases, I’ll be sure to post the official REACHED playlist. I’ve had so much fun putting it together and can’t wait to share it with you.

And, finally, today is Election Day! I feel so blessed to have the chance to vote. Happy Election Day to all of you!

As part of the preparation for the release of REACHED, I’ve been answering lots of excellent interview questions. One of the ones that I hear a lot is, “How do you feel now that the series is over?”

I keep saying that the series doesn’t feel over to me yet, because the readers don’t really have the last book. I know there are a very few galley copies out there, but there aren’t lots of ARCs the way there were for MATCHED and CROSSED. So, right now, I just feel excited and anticipatory (and yes, nervous) because the series does NOT feel over. It feels like things are just beginning…because when the readers at large have the book, that’s when the story starts to feel finished. Right now it’s just waiting for all of you.

I have some more REACHED links for fun:

*If you missed the twitter chat online, one of the awesome fansites (thesociety.net) compiled all the questions and answers here. Lots of great questions that night…

*Did you know that there are MATCHED TRILOGY boxed sets coming out on the same day (November 13) that REACHED will be released? You can order them here, and also from your independent bookseller. Preorders should have a signed copy of REACHED inside.

*You can also order signed, personalized copies of any of my books from The King’s English Bookshop if you call/place the order prior to November 13th. I will be sure to sign and personalize them all on the release date when I’m with The King’s English for the launch.

And my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the storm this week…stay safe, and best wishes.

image via Shannon Hale’s website (www.squeetus.com)

We are getting closer and closer to the release of REACHED and there are (even more) great things happening online:

The official Matched Trilogy website has this very fun event kit up on the site. You can download the kit and use it for your book club meeting, etc. There’s a recipe for cake pops, a calendar, a craft, lots of Q&A, and more. I’ve been planning kid birthday parties and I’m thinking…can I talk one of my boys into having a Matched Trilogy party? No?  Ninjago it is.

Also, did you know that there is a Pinterest board for the trilogy? Neither did I until a few days ago!

And here is the really, really big news. Entertainment Weekly (ew.com) will be revealing the official trailer for REACHED (this reveal is tentatively scheduled for WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24). And they will also be revealing the first three chapters of REACHED online (tentatively scheduled for THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25). I will be sure to let you know here on the blog and also on twitter if anything changes!

We only have three weeks left until REACHED is here. As we lead up to the release date (November 13!), I’ll be sure to keep posting each Tuesday with updates and info, and also answer the questions you asked in September when I opened up questions. Here are a few of those Q & A now:

Ashley: Do you come out with approximately a book a year?

Yes! I’ve had a book a year out every year since 2006, with the exception of 2008 and 2010 (when I had two books come out) and 2009 (when I had none).

Angel:  Does Ky make a reappearance in Reached, specifically in Central?

I don’t want to say where Ky appears (too spoiler-y!), but I can reassure you that he will be in REACHED. The story is partially told from his point of view and he has a huge role to play.

Jenny: How did you come up with the title REACHED? Does it have an epilogue?

I came up with the title for two reasons. First, it has something to do with the Emily Dickinson poem (“I did not reach thee”) that is the central poem for this book (as the Dylan Thomas poem was for MATCHED and the Tennyson poem was for CROSSED). Second, it fits what happens in the story really well. And no, there is no epilogue.

I’ll answer the rest of your questions in next Tuesday’s post. Many thanks for all your support!

Back in August, as we watched the Olympics, with all those video clips of the athletes when they were small (tiny Missy Franklin! darling little gymnasts!), my son, who is nine, turned to me and said, “Mom, is it too late for me?”

He’d realized the dedication it takes to become an Olympian–and also how early you have to start to realize that dream.

Also in August, I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) with my brother, my sister, and my husband (and also my sister’s cute roommate). My husband and I used to run half and full marathons together before we were married and we thought that signing up for this race was a great idea. We’d hire a babysitter and go running together this summer for dates! We’d train properly and have a great time!

Well, this summer was, to put it frankly, chaos. We both had work deadlines, work travel (Portland, New York, Los Angeles for me, Cambridge, MA, and the annual working trip to England for him), church stuff, and of course all the wonderful and crazy summer things that having a house full of four kids entails (swimming lessons, soccer, etc.). We both kept running, but we didn’t train as far or as much as we should have. While we were reasonably pleased with our times (we ran 8:06/mile for the race), we both were pretty stiff afterwards and knew we could have been faster and recovered more quickly had we properly prepared.

As an amateur athlete, you can kind of do this (although I realize that we are begging for sports injuries). This kind of thing doesn’t fly for the pros. To get really, really good at something you have to put in the time and the workouts.

I know this about writing. I put in the time, (just about) every day except Sundays, and I have for almost a decade now. I know that if I don’t put in the time, I won’t be able to write well. (And please know that I realize that “putting in the time” looks different for each author; when I give specifics about what I do, I am just acknowledging what I have to do to get it right.) I have been writing since I was four, but putting in hours and hours every day the way the Olympians did? Not so much, not until the past 10 years.

But the really nice thing about writing is that it is almost never too late, if you’re willing to put in a lot of work. You can start at 10, you can start at 20, or 30, or 50.

So if you’re feeling like it might be too late, it’s not. Like any worthwhile endeavor, it will be a LOT of work, but there’s no expiration date on writers. Look at Agatha Christie, Lois Lowry, P.D. James. The only way it’s too late is if you don’t do it at all.

Back to work for me now…how about you?

P.S. An interview with me over at Design Mom posted yesterday, in which I answer a lot of questions about being a mom and creativity. Check it out!

P.P.S. There is less than a month left until REACHED is released! EEEEEEEK!!!

I have some wonderful news. REACHED received its first industry review, and it is a STARRED review from KIRKUS! The full review isn’t up online yet, but I can quote the part they do have up online: “While staying true to the science fiction and romance at the core of Matched (2010) and Crossed (2011), the trilogy’s breathless finale blossoms into a medical thriller too, adding breadth and resonance.”

!!!!!

I have a few very fun things to share that people are doing to get ready for REACHED:

1. You can find a great countdown widget for REACHED here.

2. MATCHED and CROSSED facts are up here on tumblr. I love these facts…there is a new one ever day…and it’s a great way to just refresh your memory of the books without having to do a full-on reread. But, should you also want to do a full-on reread…

3. …there is a read-along of MATCHED and CROSSED here that you can join to prepare for REACHED here and here. And if you do this, you’re entered to win some great prizes.

4. And, I mentioned this on twitter, but I have another song for the REACHED playlist: “Be Still” by The Killers. It’s just perfect, for both Ky and Xander, for different reasons. And yes, technically I discovered it AFTER the book was finished, but I have to include it.

Okay. That’s it for today. Within the past month, I’ve been to Edmonton, Denver, Austin, and Gainesville, GA, and my house is a mess and my office…we shall not speak of it. Hope you are all having a wonderful October so far!!

Before I get started with today’s post, which is a fun interview with a good friend, I have a quick announcement for you, and also a thank you:

–I am speaking THIS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, at 7:00 p.m. in Gainesville, Georgia, in the Pearce Auditorium at Brenau University. The event is free and open to the public, with a signing to follow, and I would LOVE to see you there.

–The #allychat on twitter was unbelievable! We were the top trending topic for a while–nationwide! Thank you so much for your great questions and for participating. It was amazing!

Today is the release date of many wonderful books (among them SUMMER AND BIRD, by Katherine Catmull, which is absolutely beautiful and bittersweet) and FEEDBACK by Robison Wells, a fantastic follow-up to his novel VARIANT. Rob and I had a great time interviewing each other last year, and so we decided we’d try it again, this time focusing on survival situations and how/if we would make it through…

Ally: We both like to throw our characters into survival-type situations. Let’s say that YOU had to work through a survival situation. Since you’re not a book character, you get to have some choice. Which would you choose–Creepy Isolated Forest (the scenario from VARIANT), Isolated Desert Canyon (the scenario from CROSSED), Arctic Tundra, or the ever-popular Desert Island? And why?

Rob:  I would totally go for the isolated forest, because it seems the least severe of the options. Desert Canyons, Islands and Tundra all sound too hot/cold/dangerous. In a forest you have cover from storms, wood to build fires, and (hopefully) animals or plants to eat.

Ally: We were very kind in that we did give our characters other people to be with. If you could pick two people to bring with you, who would they be? Why?

Rob: I lived in New Mexico (very near the mountains where I set VARIANT and FEEDBACK) back when the Y2K scare was going on. I had a friend there who ran a dude ranch and was convinced that on New Years Eve the world would fall apart and we’d all be fending off hordes of anarchists. I took a survival class from him, which included instructions on how to hide from the government. He may be a little nuts, but I’d take him in a survival situation any day of the week.

I’d also take MacGyver. Because, come on.

 Ally: Are you a hunter or a forager? Which food would you miss most?

 Rob: I’m a hunter, but that’s just because I don’t have the patience to be a forager. (Admittedly, the only time I ever killed an animal and ate it was fishing, but that still counts, right?)

 As for foods I’d miss: I’d go into caffeine withdrawals immediately and spend my first week of survival lying on the ground with massive headaches.

Ally: Let’s say you DID get to choose one book…what did you bring? 

 Rob: I once found a paratrooper survival manual at an army surplus store. It had all sorts of survival tips, like how to start a fire with a grenade, and how to dig a nuclear fallout shelter. I’d totally take that book.

Ally: Hiking rules/protocol say that you’re supposed to take care of your own…additions…to the environment. Do you follow procedure or say to heck with it, we’re dying anyway?

Rob: Oh my gosh. I went backpacking in the Grand Gulch in Southern Utah (seven days in the wilderness) and they had rules where you could bury your waste but you had to pack out your used toilet paper. By day five, it was getting PRETTY DISGUSTING.

Ally: So now that we’ve talked about how you would survive in your less-than-optimal environment, where is your absolute favorite place in the world? Why?

Rob: Actually, my absolute favorite place in the world is remote forest! It’s the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound, the waterway between Seattle and Vancouver. I’d still be isolated and lost, but at least I could dig for oysters.

If you want more Rob (and who doesn’t?) you can find his website here. Happy release day Rob! And congratulations!

Don’t forget, the chat on twitter (use the hashtag #allychat) is from 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST (that’s from 6:00-7:00 p.m. for those of us on MST) TONIGHT, September 25th! I’m excited to talk with you, answer questions, etc. And many thanks to Penguin Teen for putting this all together!

Someone on twitter asked me about the REACHED playlist. While I won’t post the full playlist until about a week after publication (that’s what I did with MATCHED and CROSSED, if memory serves me), I will post a few teasers. I’ve already mentioned that “Red” by Natalie Walker is on the playlist (I listened to this one CONSTANTLY). Another addition is Glittering Clouds (Locusts) by Imogen Heap.  It’s perfect for the story in many ways…some of which I might be able to talk about tonight on the twitter chat.

Because I know that not everyone is on twitter, if there are some questions you have that you would like to leave in the comments (nothing TOO spoilery from MATCHED AND CROSSED, please!), I’ll do my best to answer the in next week’s post.

We are getting closer, and closer, and CLOSER to the release of REACHED. I cannot believe that it is less than two months before the end of Ky, Cassia, and Xander’s story is in the world. I know I’ve said it before, but after working on this story for four years, it feels strange and sweet to let it go. I hope you all enjoy it.

In other news, I am reading Michael Phelps’ autobiography and loving it (I know you are not surprised), heading to Austin this weekend for the Austin Teen Book Fest (if you are anywhere in the area, please come–so many authors to see, including Libba Bray and Neal Shusterman!), and trying to find my popcorn popper (which has, sadly, been misplaced)…because it is the season for caramel popcorn, don’t you think?

Happy fall to all!

with this blog post. Sometimes I get paralyzed thinking I need to find a great picture to go with a blog post, and then I don’t post.

I missed posting yesterday because my kids came down with strep. My writing time (I have a babysitter for eight hours a week so I can get writing done, and then I make up the rest of the time during the evenings/on Saturdays) quickly devolved into me shuttling kids to the doctor in a very inefficient manner and then obtaining medication in an equally inefficient manner. At one point, I realized I hadn’t eaten yet that day, and I ended up sitting in a Walmart parking lot eating a Quarter Pounder in my very messy minivan, and I thought, “What have I become?”

And I thought: I know what I want to become.

A better writer.

A better mom.

Someone who prepares healthy meals and keeps them in sealed BPA plastic containers in the fridge and can grab them at any instant so I always have something filling and nutritious to eat on the go.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

What do you want to become?

Melissa Marr, Bethany Griffin, Kelley Armstrong, me, Margie Stohl, Richelle Mead. I’m not entirely sure what Margie did to this picture (the woman has Instagram skillz), but I like it very much. Also, we are wearing borrowed hats from the drama room at the school where the event was held, and I think we look superfab, especially because Kelley’s hat is actually a stuffed cat.

Smart Chicks last night was very, very fun (thank you, SLC!). They are in Vegas today, and I get to meet up with them in Edmonton for Thursday’s event (yahoo!). I’ve been to Canada before, but never for a book-related event, and I kind of can’t wait. If you live in the Edmonton area, I would LOVE to see you there!!

Also, for those of you who can’t make it to any events (or for anyone who has questions/wants to chat!) Penguin Teen is hosting the 2nd annual #allychat on twitter (and yes, I am a little embarrassed about the hashtag, but it’s fun!):

So, if you have any questions, I’ll be answering them over on twitter on Tuesday, September 25 from 8-9 p.m. EST (that’s 6-7 p.m. for us MST folks). Make sure you use the hashtag so that I see your questions!

Many thanks again to all of you for your support–as REACHED gets closer and closer, I get more and more excited/nervous. I can’t say how grateful I am to my readers. And I hope to see/”talk” with some of you very soon!