Ally Condie's Blog, page 16

utah tour

My hometown, Cedar City. This is what I got to see growing up–that red hill, that beautiful little town with SUU buildings and church steeples poking up above the trees.

I have a lot of signings coming up in the next month or so, and many of them are in Utah!

Do you live in Cedar City (shout out to Cedar City!)? Or Orem? Or Orem again? Or Logan? Then I am signing in your town in either March or April. Click here on the Events page for more details. I would LOVE to see you there! The first one is this Saturday, the 19th, in Orem. The Logan event has lots of awesome authors including (I believe!) Shannon Hale, James Dashner, Jessica Day George, Brandon Mull, and Nathan Hale (an amazing illustrator).

Also, I am coming to Mississippi, Texas, and LA in March and April and more events in other cities are on the horizon! I'll be sure to keep the Events page updated with any more info.

P.S. Okay, one more Cedar City picture. This is the soda fountain inside Bulloch Drug, which is owned by the Vickers family. (My sister married Robbie Vickers, pharmacist extraordinaire.) Don't you need to come to Cedar City? Now?

enthralled

It's beautiful cover madness around here! Look at this gorgeous, gorgeous cover for ENTHRALLED. ENTHRALLED is a collection of short stories–and my short story, Leaving, is a part of it!

I am very thrilled to have been able to contribute to this collection. Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong are the editors, and they were so wonderful to work with. I haven't read any of the other stories, but I can't wait to do so! I feel very honored to have had a chance to do this. It's been such a thrill for me.

The short story I contributed takes place in the future (again) but in a different future than the one that is the setting for the MATCHED series. My two main characters are named Sora and Elio, and I won't say much more about what happens to them except:

1. Leaving is my husband's favorite thing I've ever written.

2. There is a fancy formal event in the story. Apparently I like that, because MATCHED had a banquet and this has…well, you'll have to read to find out.

I really loved writing this short story and am very grateful to Kelley and Melissa for giving me the chance.

ENTHRALLED will be released on September 20 of this year. Click here for more info.

relief for japan

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and all those affected by the earthquake and subsequent tragedies. To donate via the Red Cross, click .

the cover of crossed!

Here it is…

It's beautiful.

Perfect.

I love the way she has shattered the bubble and is breaking free. LOVE. It's exactly what happens in this part of Cassia's story.

And I love the color. (And yes, for those of you who asked, the green cover of MATCHED and the blue cover of CROSSED do represent the tablets, as well as other thematic elements in the books.)

The model, photographer, and designer are the same talented people who worked on MATCHED and I think they've done an incredible job.

Don't you?

And here is the official summary of CROSSED:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced

with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia

journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky—

taken by the Society to his certain death—only to

find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues

in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what

she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a

different life across the border. But as Cassia nears

resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an

invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and

a surprise visit from Xander—who may hold the key

to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart—change

the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the

edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses

make the path more twisted than ever.

Oh, I can't wait for November 1!

matched madness! and some q & a

Penguin Teen has declared March to be MATCHED MADNESS month! (I love Penguin Teen.) Click here on Penguin Teen's facebook page for more info (you'll have to scroll down a little to find the MATCHED MADNESS entry, but it's there, I swear).To promote MATCHED this month, they've also made these awesome twibbons:

You can get yours here. And if you wonder why I don't have my twibbon up on twitter yet, well, you and me both. I cannot figure out twitter sometimes. I'm working on it.

And now for a few questions and answers from the comments and my inbox:

Do you have any book group or book club discussion questions you can send me?

I don't. That is something I would love to put together someday…when I have a bit more time. I love book groups (I'm in two of them and they are great fun). If I ever do put together some questions, I will be sure to post them here and in the FAQ. And a HUGE thank you to you for featuring MATCHED!

Anthony asked: How many times have you read Ayn Rand's Anthem and Atlas Shrugged?

I actually haven't read either of those books. I also haven't read The Fountainhead. In fact, the only Ayn Rand I've read is We the Living. I know. It's a bit disgraceful and I should definitely read more of her work.

When are you going to reveal the cover for CROSSED?

I don't know…but rest assured that as soon as I have the go-ahead, I will post it here.

Can you come visit my school?

I love school visits, but I'm all booked up for the rest of this school year (I only do a set amount of school visits because I have to have time to write and also I am still home full-time with my kids, and arranging for a sitter can get tricky).

You've revealed a few songs from the CROSSED playlist on twitter. Will you post them on your blog too?

Yes! Two of the songs I loved while working on CROSSED are "In for the Kill" by La Roux and "Dustland Fairytale" by the Killers.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by.

german gorgeousness and raleigh recap

I've been wanting to post some pictures that my publisher in Germany (Fischer Verlag) sent me recently. They've been really great about keeping me posted on how MATCHED (which is called DIE AUSWAHL in Germany) is doing. DIE AUSWAHL has reached as high as #6 on the German bestseller lists which is amazing!

The picture above shows the lovely Fischer team (including Julia, Carla, and Christina) in Frankfurt, standing in front of what is apparently called a "Flashmob." They put this big outdoor display up in one of the squares in the city to help launch the book. If you look closely, you can see the cover on the flashmob behind them. Isn't that awesome? (And aren't they all so lovely?)

And this is a picture they sent me of the display in a German bookstore. Love. I'm so grateful to the team at Fischer and also to my other foreign publishers for all their hard work on translating, publicizing, and promoting the book.

I also wanted to mention the end (sob!) of the Breathless Reads tour, which happened last weekend in Raleigh. I have done the cross-country flight with kids (from NY to UT, NY to Seattle, and back) many times. I always think traveling alone without tiny people and their cargo is such a luxury. But then I travel with myself and I realize how much like a small child I am. I always want a snack! I forgot something (my camera)! I need to go to the bathroom again! I spilled my drink! (My steamed milk from Starbucks. So embarrassing, especially because people were like, "What was that?" and I said, "Steamed milk" and tried to act as though people order that all the time from Starbucks. I like it, okay?) But at least I didn't cry when I spilled it. Ha.

Because of the forgotten camera, I have only this picture of the Raleigh trip (e-mailed to me by the lovely Heather Macbeth, who also brought me a jar of barbecue sauce, which was awesome). But not only does it show Heather, who was so sweet to come, it also shows the awesome bookshelves at Quail Ridge Books and Music. What a great indie store. It was really wonderful to get to see all these fantastic indie stores while were were on tour.

The crowd was fantastic–many of them had driven several hours to be there. I got to see my college roommate Abby (love Abby!) and Rebecca, the sister of another of my college roommates, and also many people I'd "met" via twitter, etc. (Corey!) but never in real life. Thank you all so much for coming and supporting the Breathless Reads Tour! My fellow authors, as always, were hilarious and funny and awesome on the panel and before/after. We got to have dinner together as kind of a finale and it was really bittersweet. I will miss getting to see these ladies and talk with them.

I've also responded to all the comments on the past two posts. Thank you very much for your comments and for reading my books even though I am the kind of person who repeatedly loses/forgets her camera and spills things at airports.

creative people: visual arts

I've been thinking about creativity and how wonderful it is that we all have talents and different ways of expressing ourselves. I am lucky to know so many incredibly creative, talented people. Amazing authors, incredible cooks, fantastic organizers, kind and gentle teachers.

So I think it would be fun to spotlight some creative people I know. And for this post I thought I'd focus on people I know who are creative visually (and of course they are also amazing in a myriad of other ways as well). I am absolutely terrible at art, design, photography, you name it. So I am very glad to be surrounded by people who excel in all these areas!

My mom. She painted the gorgeous picture above. Click here to see more of her art. I grew up in a home with paintings like this on the walls and I think it influenced me profoundly to be able to live in the midst of her creativity. (And once, as a toddler, I ruined a painting by coming in and drawing a big red smiley face on it–sorry, Mom!)

She retired this year after 30 years of working as a professor at SUU, and now she paints more…and she also is the one who drives up from southern Utah and takes care of my kids if I have travel. She's so fun and creative and it makes me so happy to know that while I'm gone my kids are soaking up Grammy time. She has won many awards and been in many gallery shows and was named Utah Art Educator of the Year, and she will still use her talents to draw dinosaurs for my kids at their every whim. I adore her.

Erin Summerill…there is nothing she can't do. She writes, is a photographer, a mom, a fitness instructor, and she doesn't eat sugar. (I know!) She has taken our family photos for the past two years and done a great job. Her site is here and you will love her work. She is also one of the few people in the world who can make my kids laugh when they are having their picture taken and they all think she's very fun. Erin is magic. I'm feeling extra grateful for Erin today because she is helping us get our family photos ready for framing (her husband Mark makes frames and they are seriously gorgeous–click here to see more).

My friend Brook is also a photographer and has a beautiful, beautiful blog. She isn't currently booking photo shoots but I am lucky enough to have her take my author photos. Brook was my first new friend when we moved back to Utah in 2007 and I am so grateful to know her.

My friend Mariam makes watches and bracelets and she just sent me a watch she made that was inspired by the colors of the cover of MATCHED so that I could wear it (the watch, not the book) on tour. I was really touched. Mariam was a senior on the cross country team when I was a freshman. She was one of the team captains and she was (and is) incredibly kind, grounded, gracious–the kind of person I wanted (and still want!) to grow up to be.

And Rachel Coleman (blog here) designed the banner for this site and is supremely talented in many, many ways. I love everything she designs. It's all so clean and lovely.

So there you have it: creative people, the visual arts version. My life has been made more beautiful because of them and I very much appreciate it.

P.S. I haven't forgotten about the last stop on the Breathless Reads tour–I'll post about it on Thursday. And if anyone was there and has a picture of the event they could e-mail me, I would love it!

spring break and spinach

I know it's not technically spring or spring break but it's the point in the year where I start pretending I'm in the picture above. In actuality I'm doing the usual (carpool, lunch-making, homework-helping, appointment-keeping, and WRITING). But then on Friday I take off for Raleigh and the last stop on the Breathless Reads tour!

I also have two great articles to share that featured MATCHED. The first was in the New York Times Magazine and I was thrilled that they included MATCHED as part of their roundup of YA dystopian novels in the market right now. Click here to read the article. The second was in the Ogden Standard-Examiner. Teen columnist Alexandra Burton interviewed me and she was delightful. Click here for that interview. She had a lot of great questions about how to fit in the writing process around being a mom.

And I wanted to give a heads-up that we've added another event on March 19, 2010. It's here in Utah at the Orem Costco. I have never signed in Costco before. So please feel free to come by because if no one shows up I can't promise you that I won't go buy a big tub of their spinach artichoke dip and eat it all up. I am addicted to that stuff.

I've responded to all the comments in the last two posts–thank you so much. I know I'm not the best at replying but I truly appreciate your comments. If you've asked a question and I've missed it somehow please feel free to comment here.

upcoming travel/events, facebook, and thanks!

Hey everyone!

A lot of lovely readers have been asking if I'm coming to CA–and I am! On April 30th I'll be part of the LA Times Festival of Books. Click here for more info. There are signings associated with the event and they will be open to the public. I don't have a specific time for my signing yet, but it will likely be on April 30th. I'll be sure to keep the Events Page updated.

Speaking of the Events page…I have added a lot of fun things. One of them is the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference. I'll be the keynote speaker at the conference this year and I am thrilled. They have an amazing lineup of authors this year, including Holly Black, Martine Leavitt, A.E. Cannon, and others. Click here for more info (you must be registered to attend).

I'll also be going to Austin, Texas for TLA and to Mississippi for the Oxford Conference for the Book. And a lovely indie bookstore (The Purple Cow) here in Utah is having a Mother/Daughter event in May where I'll be signing as well, and in June I'll be at the Utah Festival of Books. It's a busy spring–and I hope to be able to see some of you in one of these four states!

I also have a new facebook page (thanks, Lizzie!) and will be deleting the old account VERY soon, so if you are interested you can find that new page here.

And I really need to thank you all for your support of MATCHED. We're at #9 on the NYT list this week, and we've been there for 11 straight weeks, since the release. I cannot tell you how floored and grateful I am about this. Thank you so much for your support of the book!

tour report (and contest winners!)

Wow. What a great week it's been. The first leg of the Breathless Reads tour was fantastic and I'll announce the poster winners at the end of this post. But first, I need to give you a full tour report (but without very many pictures because it was so busy that I took exactly five pictures with my own camera)!

Our first stop of the tour was in NEW YORK CITY. The event was held at Books of Wonder, and it was awesome and very well-run. What a beautiful store!

One of the highlights for me was seeing Brittany and Sara, two of my favorite girls from my time being a house mom at KKG. They were always so sweet, so cute to my kids, and a lot of fun. I haven't seen them in about four years and it was really wonderful of them to make the time and come to the event. I really appreciated their support.

In fact, that is always what kind of blows me away–how many people it takes to make an event like this successful. The store owners and employees at Books of Wonder, our lovely moderator Sabrina from mtv.com, teen blogger Allison, and all the bloggers and readers who took the time to come and listen to us speak. GAYLE FORMAN! STACY WHITMAN! And, of course, everyone at Penguin who organized the event and attended as well. It was a wonderful kickoff to an incredible tour.

After our NYC stop, we were off to MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. The event was hosted by the Hennepin County Library and the Red Balloon. Once again, the event hosts (including the lovely Amy) were fantastic and we were able to meet a lot of great bloggers and readers. The questions the audience asked were very thoughtful! And it was freeezing there (and also incredibly beautiful-I'd love to go back again someday). Many thanks again to all those who braved the cold (seriously, it was subzero) and came to see us. (Hi Jes!) The picture below is from lovely blogger looksielovitz and it shows all of us looking pensive. That's what authors do.

The next stop was DENVER, COLORADO. Andrea Cremer and I had a great time getting lunch and wandering around before our event at the Tattered Cover Bookstore. This was another of my favorite parts of the trip–getting to know my fellow authors. Andrea, Brenna, Kirsten, and Beth were all a lot of fun and great tour companions. I loved listening to their answers on the panels and hearing about their writing processes and also just their thoughts on life in general.

My dear friend Leslie and her daughter Elle also came (photos above are courtesy of Leslie, and how cute is Elle?). I hadn't seen them in a long time (they are dear friends from Ithaca) and I hugged the heck out of Leslie. And BECCA FITZPATRICK, the author of Hush, Hush, was there. She was just lovely. I'd never met her before and was very excited to have the opportunity. The Tattered Cover is truly an amazing store and they were kind and gracious hosts.

After Denver, it was time to come HOME to SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH and The King's English Bookshop!

That picture is of the awesome crowd at the event, which was held in the Salt Lake City Public Library (a very beautiful building). It was so fun to show off SLC and our fab YA community to all my fellow authors. (I am sure they felt the same way about their amazing communities–we all are so lucky to live in so many places supportive of reading and YA lit in particular.)

Once again, the panel was great and the audience had some great questions. I should also add that they made us feel like rock stars by cheering like crazy when we walked out onto the stage. And, as always, The King's English did a wonderful job organizing the signing and having books on hand and coordinating everything.

It was great to sign books and as the line wound down, I started feeling a little sad, as though it were the last day of school or something. It really was such a privilege for me to be in the company of such great authors, librarians, booksellers, book bloggers, and READERS for so many days.

Luckily we still have RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA on the 25th of February.

For those of you who are sad that we didn't come near your city, never fear! We signed stock at the King's English, so for a limited time at least, there should be signed copies available for purchase. Contact them here.

I know that it's not the same as meeting authors, though, so if you also want to write to Penguin and let them know you would like us to come to you someday, that would be great! As authors, we are lucky enough to go where our publishers send us. In the case of this tour, we are going to each author's hometown, which is how the cities were chosen. We still have our stop left on February 25th in Raleigh (click Events page for more details). We truly wish we could come to every city but it's just not possible (we would never finish our books)!. But I very much hope to come to other cities in the future and, of course, will post on the blog if anything else is in the works.

And, also, as consolation to some of you, here are the poster winners! Please e-mail me your address ASAP so that I can have Penguin send off the posters right away. And huge congratulations!

Vivien

Ashelynn

Christi

Lindsay

Mia Mamone

Jessica Tapia

Mallary

Kaitlin

Christina

Jenny N.

That was certainly a long post. If you made it all the way through, an extra happy late Valentine's Day to you!