Ally Condie's Blog, page 21

the penguin five: guest post by andrea cremer

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the lovely Andrea Cremer, author of NIGHTSHADE and today's guest post. (Isn't her author photo cute?) If you want a chance to win the first of two signed copies of NIGHTSHADE, please leave a comment!

Triangulation

Thank you so much for having me, Ally. (Your book rocked my socks off!) Since you and I joke about sharing a muse I thought I'd spend today's post examining something our books have in common: the love triangle.

Ah, the love triangle. While they certainly existed before Twilight it probably was Ms. Meyer's vampire + human + wolf trio that got this geometric relationship so much attention. Now you'll find love triangles all over the place, some more convincing than others (I'd like to think that Ally and I pulled off some dazzling romantic triangulations in our books, but we'll let you be the judges of that!).

Love triangles are tricky and I'm going to assert a couple opinions about them.

1) In real life love triangles are bad. For a love triangle to exist it means that someone's affections are divided and this division of self usually extends into dishonesty and heartache for at least one if not all members of the triangle. Good, lasting relationships (and yes I'm talking about hot-as-Hades passionate relationships too) won't manifest under deceitful circumstances. In the lives we lead each day, romance triangles are simply a romantic bust and generally a recipe for disaster.

2) Love triangles are fabulous in books. It's different on the page than in the real world because love triangles offer what every novel needs: tension. If crafted carefully love triangles can provide enough electricity to power a jet engine. I would argue, however, that some of the real world rules still apply. For a love triangle to be convincing you have to have some sympathy for the character whose affections are torn in two. This aspect is yet something else Matched and Nightshade have in common: the heroines of our novels aren't sure who to give their hearts to because they never expected to have a choice to start out with. When the interloper appears, he introduces a key piece of the internal struggle for the heroine: doubt. Doubt adds yet more tension to the narrative. The debate between fate and free will pivots on this very point. Where does your faith lie: in the system you've always been part of or in your own heart?

I'm frequently asked whether I'm Team Ren or Team Shay. Amongst readers it's an even split, which makes me very happy. My answer is always, and will always be, the same: I'm Team Calla, because it's her choice not mine, and therein lies the most important part of the love triangle equation.

Great post, right? Let Andrea know how much you enjoyed hearing from her by leaving a comment (and you will also automatically be entered to win a hardcover copy of NIGHTSHADE). You have until Friday night MST to enter–and the contest is open to US only. Sorry about that!

adventures in germany

Just a reminder about this Thursday (two days from now). I'll be speaking at 7:00 p.m. as part of Orem Library's Big Read. The event is free and open to the public. This is my hometown library and they are awesome. For more info, click here.

Longtime blog readers may remember a post from the old site back in 2006 in which I talked about how I don't like to fly very much. And yet…I have been traveling quite a bit these days. I just got back from California and am going again this weekend, and next month I will be going to Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia, Boston, and Orlando. I love the reasons for traveling and I adore actually being places. It's just the planes themselves that scare me.

So you can imagine my joy on the way to Frankfurt when, several hours into the flight out of JFK, they told us that the plane had a mechanical problem and we had to turn around and go back to New York. Ha! Fun and games! I was not nervous AT ALL! But then we got a new plane and started over and that time the trip worked.

And I am glad. Because of the Book Fair, of course, and because of the gorgeousness that we got to see before we went to the Book Fair:

My in-laws live in Munich, so I couldn't go all the way to Germany and not see them! They are very busy, and also we were half a day late due to the faulty plane, and also we got stuck in traffic coming back from the Bavarian Alps (which are GORGEOUS, and where these pictures were taken–the Konigsee, Berchtesgarten) and so I didn't see as much of them as I would have liked, but I did get to stay up late talking with them at night, eat dinner and breakfast with them, etc. They are so lovely. My mother-in-law and I can talk forever. During one of those evening chats, I remembered how she came to stay with me when my first boy was born and how, when I got up to feed the baby, she would get up too and just keep me company. I really do have amazing in-laws. It was such a pleasure to see them. I was also able to see my dear friend Josie, who flew from London to visit, rented a car, and then drove Jodi and me all over the Bavarian Alps with infinite patience. Josie is one of those friends of a lifetime and it was wonderful to see her.

Then it was time to get down to business and go to Frankfurt. Well, kind of. We did take a day to wander around the city. Frankfurt is lovely! Witness the Romerstrasse:

and this very lovely church across the Main:

and the one picture I took inside the Book Fair. I liked all the yellow. And the fact that this was the publisher of my German dictionary from high school.

I wish I had taken more pictures inside the fair, but the fact of the matter is that I was overwhelmed. Picture BEA on steroids. Polite and organized steroids. There were buildings and buildings full of different publishers, different languages, etc. There were little buses driving people around. There were people talking about books and looking at books and living and breathing books. There were ice cream stands in every building.

In a word: heaven.

Here are all the things that happened that I don't have pictures of (they are all on Jodi's camera, and while I am talking about Jodi, I should probably say that she has to be one of the best and most fun traveling companions ever):

-The party at the Frankfurt Presse Club where I got to meet so many lovely, lovely people who care about Matched. Cecilia and Maja at Writers House put the whole party together and it was one of those evenings I'll always remember. Thank you to everyone who came!

-The meetings with different foreign publishers–we had formal meetings with eleven of them and also met others at the party. This was why I came to Frankfurt–to meet the people who are doing so much work on behalf of the book–and it was simultaneously heartwarming, unbelievable, and overwhelming. It was especially fun to have a chance to hold the darling baby daughter of my wonderful publishers at Lemniscaat. I was missing the kids quite a bit at that point.

-Dinner with Jodi, Cecilia, and Angharad and hearing all the stories about Writers House that I would never have known otherwise.

-The photo shoot that Fischer Verlag arranged for author photos. Never have I felt so pampered!

-The lovely ladies of Fischer Verlag–Carolina, Carla, Susanna, and my editor Julia, among others. They were unbelievably gracious, are doing so many wonderful things for the book, and even invited us to a fantastic party that Fischer has every year during the Book Fair.

I love Germany. And maybe that is how I should end this post.

the penguin five: nightshade

This month's Penguin Five spotlight is NIGHTSHADE, a steamy paranormal romance by Andrea Cremer. And, once again, Penguin is providing two copies for giveaways later this week! We'll get to hear from the lovely and very talented (she's also a college professor!) Andrea Cremer on Wednesday (when she guest posts) and on Friday (when I'll post an interview with her). Until then, visit Andrea's blog here and/or read on to find out more about NIGHTSHADE…

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything–including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

reviews and crying and not giving up

I received some reviews this past week for MATCHED. Some official reviews.

And they were lovely.

And two of them (Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly) even had stars. Stars. Never in my life did I think I would see a starred review for something I've written.

Here is why.

I have only written one other national market title besides MATCHED, a book called FRESHMAN FOR PRESIDENT with my first publisher. I worked hard on FRESHMAN. I loved writing it. At the time, I felt it was the best thing I'd ever written. And when my publisher sent it off for review, I knew it wouldn't rock the world, but I also thought it was a good little book. I thought it would be fine. When the first reviews came in, they were fine. Nothing starred, certainly, but all right. And then this one came in (I remove anything spoilery-y from the reviews because I am a complete spoiler-phobe):

FRESHMAN FOR PRESIDENT.

Condie, who has published two novels about Mormon teens under the name Allyson B. Condie, starts with an interesting premise. Milo aside, the characters don't develop much beyond one dimension, however. The text is repetitious and larded with unnecessary scenes, and the pacing is truly glacial. Could be useful for integrating civics and language arts, but not much else.

So maybe you will understand why I was so surprised, and happy, and why I might have cried a little when I read this, from the same journal:

MATCHED. (Starred)

Condie peels back layer after dystopic layer at breakneck speed, Dylan Thomas reverberating throughout. If the Society's at war, who's the enemy? …A fierce, unforgettable page-turner in its own right.

Do I think the other review is fair? Yes, because the reviewer has to call it like they read it.

Am I equally proud of both books? Yes, because I did the best I could on both of them. My best was different.

Do I like the starred review better than the other one? Um, yes.

So keep writing. Even if someone says your pacing is larded and glacial. Don't give up.

(I kind of can't believe I just posted that other terrible review. Don't hold it against me.)

this week

I am listening to Only the Young by Brandon Flowers.

I am reading this book of poetry to my kids. I adore the little Everyman's Library books and have ever since my Gram first gave me one years ago. I'm a total sucker for them and own quite a few. There's just something so lovely about a book of poetry that fits right in your pocket:

I am not watching anything.

I am eating apples from the tree in our yard.

I am revising, revising, revising.

What about you?

launch party news and contest links

I'm back from Germany! Big thanks to my husband for guest posting (you rock) and to all of you for commenting and making him feel loved. Maybe I'll have to have him post again someday…

I'll post a real post tomorrow, but there are a few links and updates that I wanted to post ASAP.

First of all, have you checked the EVENTS page lately? I have two events that are free to the public coming up this month. And, we have a launch party scheduled for MATCHED! I'm not entirely sure of the time so I need to double check that. But the date is definitely December 4th and the location is definitely The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. I am over the moon about this. I have never had a launch party before and I am VERY excited. And very grateful to The King's English for letting me come!

Also, Enna Isilee is running a contest for a signed personalized ARC of MATCHED over on her blog. I'm so excited about this contest because Enna asks you to design a cover for MATCHED. Click here for more info.

Also, Linda Gerber is having great giveaways, etc., over on her blog and she let me join the party (click here for the link).

I'll be back tomorrow with a real post. I hope. I can't seem to get my body back on MST time. It thinks it's still in Germany.

guest post from the husband

(Ally asked if I (her husband) would write this guest post about what it is like being married to an author. If there is one thing that I know from being married to an author it is that you have to have a clear picture of your audience. To that end I have decided to address this blog post to what I am sure is this blog's single largest demographic: young, unmarried males who are considering embarking on a long-term relationship with an author.)

So, you are considering marrying an author? Here are a few things that you should know.

Language will be one of the currencies in your home. Other currencies will include a willingness to bring home Indian food when your spouse is pregnant, and knowledge of the location of the last clean diaper. One example of language as currency will involve the word similitude. Your spouse will note that similitude is so much more than a noun which sounds similar to the adjective similar (wordplay!). Similitude is special because it ends with the (grossly underutilized-in-English) sound 'tude.' Somehow, in the course of her experimentation with words she will begin to use the suffix 'tude' whenever it becomes imperative to change an adjective into a noun. The television program Castle will possess a high amount of funitude, your children will act with crazitude, Gerard Depardieu will possess serious Frenchitude and so on. These types of lexical shenanigans will win you points.

Your wife's authortude will rub off on you and your children as well. Your children will enjoy writing stories with titles like Horrible Beasts of the Mind, complete with cover art and blurbs. At times your son will comment on your habit of critiquing his work on moral grounds when often the reader-response perspective is more useful. One example of this will be when he tells you about an event at school in which a girl kicked a boy and then the girl, using the kind of cunning necessary for survival in grade school classrooms, proceeded to tell the teacher that in fact the boy had kicked her! Your son will conclude this narration with the exclamation, "it was so unfair!" Following this he will pause for a second and then request politely, "Dad, please don't go on about how life isn't fair. I just wanted to tell you that story."

Through your spouse you will have a window into a community of interesting and intelligent people that you would have otherwise never met. These people will function well at parties because they feel at home with the nuances of a well-told story. After three unsuccessful attempts at telling a story about how you only got a B+ in freshman English because you didn't understand the first assignment and the teacher didn't like your persuasive essay topic and you got the flu the night before the final, you will realize that you have no clue what makes a story interesting. You will institute a new party strategy of smiling and keeping your mouth shut. Authors at these parties will be kind and appear to want to hear your opinion on various topics. You will not fall into their trap.

You will choose a career that also requires that you write a lot. You will be thankful that you are not required to avoid to be verbs like the plague. You will note that your use of to be verbs has become excessive. You will make more use of a thesaurus. You will find yourself inadvertently responding to office memos with the critique "show, don't tell."

After having read several drafts of your spouse's work you will look at your own writing and feel glad that society allows you to hide your passion and insecurities behind equations. You will be glad that you are not required to carefully etch the breadth of human emotion into everything you write. You will appreciate that through reading your spouse's writing you have a better angle from which to view the breadth of human emotion. You will come to admire the courage that it takes to write something so personal and allow others to see it. As you watch the characters in your spouse's work develop you will become more aware of the depth and intricacy of everyone around you. This will help you to love people in part because of their flaws, not just in spite of them. You will not tell this fact to anyone other than your spouse because if you did your friends would remind you that you are a wuss.

In short, your life will be great. You will feel intellectually stimulated. You will have beautiful and entertaining children and get to interact with fascinating people. It will be pure awesometude.

Guest post from the husband

(Ally asked if I (her husband) would write this guest post about what it is like being married to an author. If there is one thing that I know from being married to an author it is that you have to have a clear picture of your audience. To that end I have decided to address this blog post to what I am sure is this blog's single largest demographic: young, unmarried males who are considering embarking on a long-term relationship with an author.)

So, you are considering marrying an author? Here are a few things that you should know.

Language will be one of the currencies in your home. Other currencies will include a willingness to bring home Indian food when your spouse is pregnant, and knowledge of the location of the last clean diaper. One example of language as currency will involve the word similitude. Your spouse will note that similitude is so much more than a noun which sounds similar to the adjective similar (wordplay!). Similitude is special because it ends with the (grossly underutilized-in-English) sound 'tude.' Somehow, in the course of her experimentation with words she will begin to use the suffix 'tude' whenever it becomes imperative to change an adjective into a noun. The television program Castle will possess a high amount of funitude, your children will act with crazitude, Gerard Depardieu will possess serious Frenchitude and so on. These types of lexical shenanigans will win you points.

Your wife's authortude will rub off on you and your children as well. Your children will enjoy writing stories with titles like Horrible Beasts of the Mind, complete with cover art and blurbs. At times your son will comment on your habit of critiquing his work on moral grounds when often the reader-response perspective is more useful. One example of this will be when he tells you about an event at school in which a girl kicked a boy and then the girl, using the kind of cunning necessary for survival in grade school classrooms, proceeded to tell the teacher that in fact the boy had kicked her! Your son will conclude this narration with the exclamation, "it was so unfair!" Following this he will pause for a second and then request politely, "Dad, please don't go on about how life isn't fair. I just wanted to tell you that story."

Through your spouse you will have a window into a community of interesting and intelligent people that you would have otherwise never met. These people will function well at parties because they feel at home with the nuances of a well-told story. After three unsuccessful attempts at telling a story about how you only got a B+ in freshman English because you didn't understand the first assignment and the teacher didn't like your persuasive essay topic and you got the flu the night before the final, you will realize that you have no clue what makes a story interesting. You will institute a new party strategy of smiling and keeping your mouth shut. Authors at these parties will be kind and appear to want to hear your opinion on various topics. You will not fall into their trap.

You will choose a career that also requires that you write a lot. You will be thankful that you are not required to avoid to be verbs like the plague. You will note that your use of to be verbs has become excessive. You will make more use of a thesaurus. You will find yourself inadvertently responding to office memos with the critique "show, don't tell."

After having read several drafts of your spouse's work you will look at your own writing and feel glad that society allows you to hide your passion and insecurities behind equations. You will be glad that you are not required to carefully etch the breadth of human emotion into everything you write. You will appreciate that through reading your spouse's writing you have a better angle from which to view the breadth of human emotion. You will come to admire the courage that it takes to write something so personal and allow others to see it. As you watch the characters in your spouse's work develop you will become more aware of the depth and intricacy of everyone around you. This will help you to love people in part because of their flaws, not just in spite of them. You will not tell this fact to anyone other than your spouse because if you did your friends would remind you that you are a wuss.

In short, your life will be great. You will feel intellectually stimulated. You will have beautiful and entertaining children and get to interact with fascinating people. It will be pure awesometude.

commercial premiere today!

Click here to visit MTV's Hollywood Crush blog and see the full commercial for Penguin's Breathless Reads…including MATCHED!

What do you think? I'm in love…

And here's that beautiful still from the commercial just one more time:

breathless reads

Fun news. Have you heard of MTV's Hollywood Crush blog?

Well, on Friday (this Friday! October 1st!) the commercial for Breathless Reads (aka, The Penguin Five books I've been mentioning here on this blog) will premiere over at Hollywood Crush (!). To tease the commercial, I get to post a still (see above picture) from the Matched part of the commercial. Isn't it lovely?

To check out the stills for the other books, you can go to the other blogs:

The Eternal Ones

The Replacement

Nightshade

Sapphique

Excerpts of all these books, including Matched, are available for download here, on the Breathless Reads website.

And come back Friday for a direct link to the commercial premiere! I haven't seen the full commercial yet, so I am completely intrigued to see what they do…