STATUS: Manhattan had some rockin’ thunderstorms last night about 3 in the morning. Chutney is not a fan. Took me 20 minutes to coax her out of the closet.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? MY PREROGATIVE by Britney Spears
Interesting Fact #1: I signed Ally as a client for an adult novel—not a young adult novel. In fact, her first two published novels were adult women’s fiction for Berkley.
Interesting Fact #2: This series has over a million copies in print.
Interesting Fact #3: The first two books in this series, I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have To Kill You and Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy, both hit the New York Times Bestseller list. For this book to hit the NYT list, we’ll have to land on the series bestseller list along with the Twilight Series, Percy Jackson, Night World, House of Night, Mortal Instrument, Vampire Kisses, Nicholas Flamel, and Pendragon.
If we do, it will be one of only three non-paranormal/fantasy titles on the list (with Diary Of A Wimpy Kid and Maximum Ride). [I stand corrected! I hadn’t read Maximum Ride but according to the comments, I guess it has a paranormal element. I amend, “If we do, it will be one of two non-paranormal/fantasy titles on the list.”]
Happy Release Day Ally!
DON’T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER
When Cammie “the Chameleon” Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she’s in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she’s there to watch Macey’s father accept a nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world’s best school (for spies), “exciting” and “deadly” are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnapper’s dangerous plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.
As her junior year begins, Cammie can’t shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn’t feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion’s corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can they keep her safe?
Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey’s private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn, as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth…
Best of luck!
P.S. Poor Chutney.
Oh, wonderful! I have to tell you, I LOVE this series, absolutely love it. It was my first YA. I’ve been keeping my eye out for the next one! 🙂
Good luck, Ally!
I tried to purchase the first two books at a Borders while on a mini-vacation at the beach this weekend. They were completely sold out! That’s awesome for Ally, but wasn’t so great for me.
I settled on Maximum Ride, and couldn’t get past the first few pages, which made my disappoint even stronger.
Good luck to Ally! I’m waiting for my copies through Amazon.
Go Ally!!
The thunder was CRAZY last night!! I’m exhausted today from being kept awake. And gross rain today!
MARI
Yay, Ally! Already read the book and love it! 🙂
Hooray! I can’t wait to read it. Loved the first two.
By the by, Maximum Ride IS paranormal, so the book would have only Diary of a Wimpy Kid for non-speculative company on the NYT list.
Congrats to Ally! Can’t wait to read it!
Skeezy looking cover. I wouldn’t let my daughert read that smut.
Happy Release day, Ally!!!
My 24-year-old nephew discovered this title and handsold it to me! I was lucky… I met Ms. Carter at BEA, and devoured the book that night!
Great book, hoping the movie is successful, so I can buy a Blackthorn sweatshirt!
(And a secret… Ally has a blog as well, complete with snickerdoodle recipes and stalker birds and fabulous vacations to Ireland!) (I’d be jealous, but I’m having a fabulous vacation in Amalfi…)
Harsh words anonymous….didn’t anyone teach you “if you can’t say something nice…don’t say anything at all???”
Sending lots of good luck wishes!
Ps….I am partial to the Bobby Brown version of My Prerogative! 🙂
“if you can’t say something nice…don’t say anything at all???”
Boring cliche.
Besdies, if you’re going to put books out, you should be able to handle criticism . The cover is embarrassingly trashy IMO.
Indeed, making $$$ off the exploitation of young women in this manner is morally questionable, to say the least. Not that I think this publisher/author team are the only ones doing it (and don’t even get me started on network TV). But it doesn’t change the fact that they’re thinly veiled smut peddlers.
I’m really looking forward to reading this one. I discovered the first two by reading this blog and loved them. The plot of this one sounds fantastic.
Did I miss something? A teen in a school uniform is trashy? I can’t see it myself but everyone has a different opinion.
The story sounds interesting Ally. Kind of a modern day Nancy Drew. Nancy was always getting herself and her friends into trouble by poking into things I hope my kids never do. But teens like to read stories that empower teens, that play up their thinking and problem solving abilities. They don’t think of themselves as ‘little kids’.
Wish you the best of luck with this series. 🙂
Teens in school uniforms are only slutty to older males with paedophilic tendencies.
I’d say anonymous has a bit of a secret fetish and doesn’t know how to deal with it…
I’m pleased to see a series about a young woman who’s smart, proactive and driven to take control of her own life. We need more books like this!
It’s a trashy, explitative cover, guys, I’ve never seen school uniforms like those in reaal life, ever.
The book may be good, but some of us will never find out because they feel they need to use sex to sell it.
People do judge books by their cover! Not that I think it will stop it from selling.
Also, it has a kind of dated look to it, like an 80’s Aerosmith music video.
I hate to find myself agreeing with usually mean-spirited anonymous, but the cover does look kind of dated. My eyes would pass over it with nary a jog.
Agree on the dated/cliche look for this cover.
Wouldn’t go so far as to call it “trashy” though. Lowbrow, maybe, but not trashy.
Then again, the autor probably had no or very little say in the cover art, like it or not.
No- authors really don’t get a say in the cover.
I still think it’s cute!
Good luck! I’m looking for a copy to read :0)
I’ve been reading for a while now, and I saw that you wrote you originally signed Ally Carter for adult, not young adult.
How does one know which one a manuscript is (and thus, which agent to send it to?)
Are their specific rules? I’m a college student, and I feel I happily read young adult and adult books, and am not quite sure what the difference is.
Thanks for this blog, and all you do!
Anonymous, if you want to see school uniforms like this then come to London. I see hundreds of girls looking like this every day. And they don’t look especially slutty…
Just read Liana’s comment about authors and covers – it really depends on your publishers. Mine asked me right at the beginning if I had any ideas for the cover, took those ideas on board and have consulted me on every version. I thought I couldn’t like anything more than the first one they came up with, but they’ve just improved it even more!
Hi Kristin,
That thunderstorm passed through the Thumb of Michigan on its way to you and evidently didn’t spend itself until it got over the Atlantic. I love watching an approaching storm, the dog quivering under my feet. About genre….I understand it’s more the pacing than the age of the protagonist that determines market placement but whenever there are young characters this question seems to come up. Pacing and adult themes should be the determining factor, but why are we obsessed with pigeon-holing? As a teenager I read many so-called adult books. I don’t get it. Many books (and I like to think my own as well) appeal to upper teens through adulthood with no magic cutoff, i.e. 35…45…
About this cover…to me it flags the book as YA but then, remember Prep?
YES!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this book! Glad it’s finally out! Now I can add it to my collection! 😀
Happy release day, Ally!
I hope the less than diplomatic words here haven’t put a damper on your day. 🙂
I’m so excited this is out!!! I LOVED the first two and even bought them for my teenage niece, who loved them too.
Happy release day, Ally and here’s to hoping we see you on the NYTimes list. 🙂
I got my copy yesterday! Can’t wait to read it.