BrianGriggs.com

Ally Carter’s new book has a finalized cover now:

Fun book, due out this June.
Check out more at Ally’s site.

Many people have seen me reading this book; many want a copy of it. A funny thing that has happened is that as I’ve been answering questions about the book, people are saying, “Sounds like a great book. I just don’t like the cover.”

I have an advanced reading copy. There are only words on the cover. So… people were judging…based on the cover. I found it funny.

Fans of the series will be happy. More questions are answered, but just like any good spy story, more questions arise as you delve deeper.

We see more of Macey as her dad is on the campaign trail for vice president. We’re no longer just in training, though, since the book starts out with a helicopter and a kidnapping attempt.

We see more of Zach, but he may have some connections to the villains. Intriguing.

We learn more about Gilly Gallagher, the sword, and spy heritage. Very cool.

The best part for me? Sure, there’s great character interactions, funny dialogue (I was glad that Ally fulfilled a promise by putting in a “boys do make passes at girls who…” line from Liz), and all of that. But the spies confront lethal situations. I liked Cross My Heart, but I wished that there was more spy combat. Just like any good series, it’s building progressively as they become more proficient pavement artists.

It’s always good to know that a series continues in quality and what made it successful in the first place. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out this June.

Check out the crossword puzzle that Ally Carter created to reveal the name of book 3. (Although some of you who attended the author visit may have a clue.)

If you liked the Gallagher Girls books, I’m guessing you’ll like her book about Kat the burglar. She just finished the book. (But of course there are all of those edits and revisions and all that still to go.)

My advice? Have her visit your library. Here is what I learned and appreciated:

1.  She’s funny, in a The Office/Joss Whedon sort of way. You’ve got to pay attention or the wit will fly right by.
2. She knows character development and purpose. A student asked, “Why did you make Josh like he is?” Ally: “Josh is everything that Cammie wants but can’t have. The white picket fence, the mom who bakes giant apple pies.” She went on to explain how Cammie lives in a mansion but eats microwave burritos because her mom doesn’t know how to cook. The normal life escapes her.
3. Ally intended Bex to represent Cammie without any reservations. Bex doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a dad.
4. Book 3 is going to rock, plain and simple. Macey, a character who originally would have left after book one, has some very exciting scenes.
5. In book 3 there is another cool character with some hilarious dialogue.
6. The title is just as fun as the others.
7. If I told more about book 3 (or the rest of the series), Ally would kill me with a piece of uncooked spaghetti. I’ve seen her do it and I’ve had trouble sleeping ever since.
8. The first Gallagher book was dedicated to someone that Ally knew who sounds like an extraordinary woman that deserves the title Gallagher Girl.
9. Ally understands the balance between internal and external conflict. Where I am one to always require more explosions, the balance between Cammie wanting to look elegant at a ball and Cammie tracking down an infiltrator is what I love about the book series.
10. Ally has a secret identity.
11. That secret identity has trouble checking in to hotels.
12. I may not look at the printed signs to tell you which hotel lobby I am in, but I can tell you based on carpet.
13. Ally is very forgiving when you show up and wait to pick her up at the wrong hotel.
14. Ally has great metaphors regarding the writing process. “If you turn on a hose after you haven’t used it for a while, what comes out?” Someone honestly said mice. Ally had a witty response on her feet.
15. Her writing space involves sticky note storyboards on four separate walls, a wall for each story she’s working on. She may describe it as the mind of a serial killer, but I am going to start doing that in my library office. (Maybe that’s not good evidence that she’s not crazy.)
16. I am going to start a letter/e-mail writing campaign to get George Clooney to play Joe Solomon in the movie.
17. When you sign a contract with Disney, it is worded that you are giving rights to the story for it to be a Disney production anywhere in the universe. (Not just measly little Earth.)
18. When you sign with Disney, you agree that your story can take many forms: film, straight to DVD, made for TV movie, stage, and on ice.
19. I would love to see Gallagher Girls on Ice on the planet Neptune.
20. Ally is great with kids (and knows some good songs to sing with a preschooler).
21. My Little Pony Live has higher production values than The Wiggles.
22. Ally is a very humble author who doesn’t complain about carrying a diaper bag and riding to the airport in a minivan with a crying infant.
23. Ally inspired a teacher to follow her own “high concept idea” and start writing again.
24. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a good friend of hers that wrote The Squad, about covert cheerleaders. They just came out this month and I will be checking those books out.
25. Ally Carter can do well presenting to the large groups but she excels at the question and answers, so keep that in mind when bringing her to your library.

Yes, bringing an author is a lot of work. Yes, I am exhausted (woo, President’s Day!). But it is so worth it and so much fun, especially when you get the talented Ally Carter to your library.