So as you guys know, Only the Good Spy Young will be in stores in just a couple of weeks and that means...

1.  Worry

2.  Fear

3. Freak-outs

4. Tour

Now, not every author gets to tour, and boy am I glad and grateful that I get to do it, but every time I'm about to go on tour I GO CRAZY!

Shoes!  You must have shoes that are both dressy and comfortable and match practially everything you will wear for two weeks.

Dresses!  You must have dresses (or other clothes, but I, personally, am a fan of the dress) that are comfy AND dressy, that don't wrinkle or stain; and, most importantly, that you can mix and match in about a dozen different ways because, dude, you're going to be wearing them...a lot.

Bags!  You get two bags.  Two.  A big bag, a little carry-on bag, and in those two bags you must pack everything.  Everything.  (Some people choose to check their luggage for tour.  I think those people are crazy--or, more likely, they just do not have my checked luggage karma.)

Sharpies!  Yeah, there will be a lot of sharpies.

All of these things must be obtained, tailored, polished and packed prior to tour.  And, of course, the single-most important thing is that I get the first draft of Heist 2 finished before I get on that plane because absolutely no work will commence once tour starts because--once tour starts--I will focus my spare moments on things like eating and sleeping.

And that's it.  That's where I am these days, being crazy.

-Ally

PS:  BIG NEWS! If you're going to be at the American Library Association Convention in Washington, DC in a couple of weeks, please plan to come by the Disney-Hyperion booth on Monday, June 28th between 2:00-3:30 for the official GG4 Launch Party!  I'll be signing copies of the book and hanging out!  (all the cool kids are going to be be there...)

Please note that ALA is the kind of thing people have to register for.  I highly doubt that the launch party will be open to the public, but I will be going around town, signing stock at all kinds of stores, and I'll be sure to post where so all you DC area folks can swing by and pick up a signed copy.

Hi Everybody!

I just realized it's been a while since we've done FAQs mini blog style, so let's get right to that, shall we?

Are you going to tour for ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG?
Yup.

Do you know where you're going yet?
Nope.

When will you know?
Probably the week before I leave.

Do you know ANYTHING?
I know I'll be at ALA in DC and RWA in Orlando.  I also know there are some Canada and Southern California dates in there.  There will be more stops than just those, but I don't know when or where just yet.

Can you come to my city?
Maybe.  Unfortunately, it's totally out of my hands.

When will Heist Society 2 be out?
Not sure (but it will be sometime 2011 I suspect)

What will it be called?
Don't know.

Is it going to be any good?
I sincerely hope so but fear not.

Read any good books lately?
Raised by Wolves by Jen Barnes
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
White Cat by Holly Black

Is it hot where you live?
Oh yeah.

Do you like the heat?
Not really.

Are you still dieting?
Yes.

Then why do you look exactly the same?
My body hates me.

Any news on the movie?
Nope.

When will ____ be out in _____?
As a general rule, the answer to that question is likely "I don't know."  Local bookstores are your best source for local release dates.  (Nobody ever tells the author anything.)

Skirts or shorts?
Skirts.

Tanks or T's?
T's

Sandals or flip-flops?
Sandals

Treadmill or eliptical?
Treadmill

Coke or Pepsi?
Iced tea

Ocean's 11 or Thomas Crowne Affair?
If you make me choose, then you are truly not my friend.

Team Peeta or Team "the other guy"
I think the fact that I can't off-hand remember the other guy's name answers that question.*

Are you going anywhere fun on vacation this summer?
I'm touring, which means I'm going everywhere!

But will tour be fun?
It will if you guys are there.  You guys are going to be there, aren't you!?!?

-Ally

*To be fair, I haven't read Catching Fire yet, so that might change.

To thank everyone for being so understanding about the Heist Society Live Chat debacle, I give you this--a SUPER MINI Excerpt!

ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG

in stores June 29th

Despite having known him for almost a year, there were a lot of things I still didn't know about Zachary Goode.  Like how soap and shampoo could smell so much better on him than anyone else.  Like where he went when he wasn't showing up at random (and frequently dangerous) points in my life.  And, most of all, I didn't know how, when he mentioned the jacket, he made me think about the sweet, romantic part of the night last November when he'd given it to me, and not the terrible, bloody, international-terrorists-are-trying-to-kidnap-me part that came right after.

Hello, everyone.

My most sincere appologies.  I've been on the phone with the team from authorbytes for 40 minutes, trying to get the chat to work, but it's just not.  The problem is ours, we underestimated your collective awesome, and according to them, about 500 people tried to log on at exactly 4:00 and it totally hoodwinked the server.

Nothing worked.

I'm sincerely mortified and sorry for wasting everyone's afternoons.

I was, however, able to see a few questions come through before stuff went totally boom, and I'll answer those in a blog post tomorrow.  Also, I will plan to do another chat-type thing in the very near future (maybe on twitter or something else).

So, so sorry again,

Ally