BCM: When did it finally hit you that you were going to be a published author and what did that feel like?

AC: My first book was published in 2006, and I remember getting those books in the mail and just looking at them. Flipping the pages, reading a paragraph here and there. It was totally surreal. I did this same thing when I first saw Matched in book form. Something about holding the actual book in your hands makes you realize: “This is really happening!”

Check out Books Complete Me for the rest of this great interview with Ally and also a chance to win a copy of ‘Matched’!

First, “Matched’ will be featured on NPR tonight! Tune in around 5:50pm (in all time zones) to hear about ‘Matched’ as a holiday book recommendation!

Also, Ally Condie will be live chatting with MundieMoms from 9-10pm EST. Click here for more information! Can’t wait!

Madeleine recently won a chance to interview ally through the Spinebreakers Friday@Five book club on facebook. Check out the interview to find out more about ‘Matched’ and even a little bit about the second and third books in the trilogy! Find out more here

Do you like podcasts? There’s a great new podcast with GirlsintheStacks! They talk the Society, the Matching and more!

From her website:

The playlist is in chronological order. By this, I mean that the songs at the beginning of the playlist make me think of things that happen/feelings that are felt at the beginning of the book, the ones in the middle make me think of events/emotions in the middle, etc.

I hope you enjoy! And if you like any of the songs, PLEASE purchase them. We want the musicians to be compensated for their artistry!

1. Only The Young by Brandon Flowers
Love the line “Only the young can break away.”

2. The Story by Brandi Carlisle
This has been played a lot in various forms, but it’s such a great song and it’s perfect for Cassia, Ky, Xander…and Grandfather.

3. Extreme Ways by Moby
I always picture Cassia striding through the streets of the Society with this playing in the background.

4. Be Still My Heart by The Postal Service
A lovely upbeat song about that first flush of love.

5. This Love (Will Be Your Downfall) by Ellie Goulding
My cousin Lizzie is the one who helps me find a lot of my music, and she discovered this one. I prefer the non-live version.

6. Grapevine Fires by Death Cab for Cutie
A beautiful song about love and the end of the world.

7. Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley
Love the beat, the clock ticking, and the finding of a silver lining.

8. Kingdom Come by Coldplay
I can picture Ky singing this.

9. The Hill by Marketa Irglova
A gorgeous song…and it resonates on a lot of levels with the story.

10. Thick as Thieves by Dashboard Confessional
Or, as my husband refers to it, The Prisoner’s Dilemma Song.

11. Run by Collective Soul
An old favorite that I played a lot when I was stuck.

12. Till The Sun Turns Black by Ray LaMontagne
Does anyone have a more heartbreaking, beautiful voice than Ray La Montagne?

13. Someday You Will Be Loved by Death Cab for Cutie
I think of Xander when I listen to this song.

14. Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy
Bittersweet and beautiful!

15. Further On (Up the Road) by Bruce Springsteen
Perfect for the ending of MATCHED…a journey song. Big thanks to my dad for introducing me to Springsteen when I was four.

16. How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox Twenty
And we have to end with something apocalyptic but spunky.

Susan Carpenter had great things to say about Matched- including that it’s not just for kids!

You can read the article here

The fact that publishers in so many countries have bought rights to Matched “speaks to the author’s unique voice and the incredible world she has created,” observes Don Weisberg, president of Penguin Young Readers Group. “A novel with this breadth of appeal comes along only once in a while. Ally delivered a phenomenal novel and our team did a first-rate job to make it all come together. We spent an enormous amount of time and energy trying to create just the right package.” In fact, the arresting cover of Matched proved to have such universal appeal that all of the foreign publishers will use the same art rather than create their own.

You can read the entire article at Publishers Weekly.

Excellent news! MATCHED is number five on the New York Times bestseller list.
Congratulations, Ally!

Ally recently made a guest post over at Penguin BTL’s blog! Read more at Between The Lines!

A great new interview was posted today at Lost in Stories that asks a lot of great questions that haven’t been asked yet.

I’m curious as to why you chose to make the citizens unable to write even though they could still read?

I made the citizens unable to write because it’s a shift that I’ve seen happening when I was teaching and now as a parent. We can still tap and type on keyboards and phones, but more and more we are losing our ability to actually write because we don’t need it as much.

My husband, for example, can’t write in cursive because the public school system never taught him to do so (he was going through the system at an “experimental” time). I’ve also seen one of my young sons really struggle to learn to write; it does not come naturally to him and is a skill that very much has to be learned and practiced. And then, when a friend who had read a draft of the book came across this article on msnbc.com and sent it to me, I knew I wasn’t the only one noticing this rather interesting trend [to read the article click HERE].

Read more of the interview with Ally Condie at Lost in Stories