1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE BLONDE IDENTITY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
It’s about a woman who wakes up with amnesia and everybody thinks she’s a rogue spy on the run from the CIA—but she’s not. She’s a rogue spy’s identical twin sister. Her only hope is the super-hot, super grumpy operative who is the only person who realizes that she’s not the spy they’re looking for (but she just might be the woman that he needs…)
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Years ago, a scene popped into my head, fully formed: a woman was lying in the snow, staring up at the lights of the Eiffel Tower, and a man was standing over her, shouting, “Get up, Alex! Run!” But there was just one problem: she wasn’t Alex.
No matter how many things about the story changed, that scene stayed exactly the same. So it wasn’t so much that I chose Europe. It was more like Europe chose me! Which makes sense. It really is spy catnip, with so many great potential set pieces. I had a blast with it, and the setting became a massive part of the story.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Oh, absolutely! We’d probably be best friends.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Smart. Strong. Sunshine.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Through the years, I’ve developed a terrible habit of over-thinking everything. With this book, I desperately wanted to stop doing that because, ultimately, I was writing this book for me. I was the target audience! But that meant teaching myself to listen to my gut again—which is hard for a world-class over-thinker. Luckily, I managed to pull it off. Now I just have to remember how and do it again.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I absolutely cannot edit as I go. If I did, I’d still be rewriting the very first line of my very first novel. I can’t even edit out of order, which means every single draft starts at page one and goes all the way to the end. I wish I could jump around but, ultimately, books are cumulative. If I tweak a character or a line of dialogue in chapter one that will, on some level, impact chapter twenty. So I don’t dare go back until I’ve already gotten to The End.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I don’t know how “foodie” it is, but I eat entirely too much popcorn. Especially when I’m on deadline. You can always tell how close I am to finishing a book by the number of kernels on the floor under my desk!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My office is actually the reason I bought this house. It’s not particularly huge or fancy—just a big space at the top of the stairs with windows on both sides. But there’s no door, and that’s key. I have a tendency to feel a little claustrophobic and trapped sometimes, but this space is open and airy, and the first time I saw it I thought to myself, “I can write here.” Now I’ve added whiteboards on almost every wall and there are copies of all my books on the shelves, and I feel extremely lucky every time I see it.
10--Who is an author you admire?
For my money, no one writing today has a better voice than Ali Hazelwood. She is so genuinely funny, and very, very fresh. I honestly think you could rip the covers off of a hundred books and I could pick the Ali book out of the stack. I know I could. In an age when so many books feel like copies of copies, Ali Hazelwood is in a league of her own.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Two books come to mind. First, THE OUTSIDERS by SE Hinton, because that was the book that made me want to be a writer when I was twelve years old. The second would have to be THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood. Two years ago, I was in one of the worst reading slumps of my life. Nothing tasted right. But by the end of the prologue of TLH I knew it was something special. By the last page of TLH I knew it was time for me to try to write an adult rom-com.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
The Blonde Identity is my nineteenth novel, but I was still very nervous when we sent it out. Maybe no one would want an adult novel from me? Maybe it wasn’t any good? I didn’t know. But it felt right, and I told my agent that, even if no one offered, I’d write it anyway because I needed this book to exist in the world.
She called me back four hours later: we had our first offer.
I remember sitting at my kitchen counter feeling…relieved. Not that we had an offer. No. I was overwhelmingly relived that my instincts were right. I told myself then that I had to keep listening to my gut no matter what.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Romance. Always romance. Of course, now that I’m writing romance it can be hard to silence my internal editor and enjoy it, so I’m trying to branch out. I’ll pick up mysteries and thrillers sometimes, but then I inevitably get mad when no one has a love interest, so I always go back to my romance roots in the end.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Oh, I can’t pick just one. Probably the first movie I ever loved was ROMAN HOLIDAY with Audrey Hepburn. It doesn’t have a HEA, but it’s just about perfect in every other way. I also know I wouldn’t be the writer I am without THE STING and OCEAN’S ELEVEN. I’m also low-key obsessed with Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Really, those four movies are deeply ingrained in my DNA.
15--What is your favorite season?
I really love fall and spring. The weather is usually more forgiving then and I like to watch the trees change and flowers bloom.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I don’t! I hate birthdays with the fire of a thousand suns.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The show I’m most excited when I see there’s a new episode is ABBOTT ELEMENTARY. We don’t have nearly enough feel-good things these days, and the writing is sooooo good. I’m really in awe of it.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Oh. Make it hard, why don’t you? I’m a sucker for Italian, but I have never in my life turned down a hamburger or TexMex. Or really anything sweet and carb-y.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to read, watch TV, and plan trips I’ll never take. I also really like cooking. Spending time with my family, of course. Even though I don’t have any exciting or glamorous hobbies, I do think it’s important for writers to do things beyond writing. Sometimes I’ll be behind and think “oh no. I can’t afford to take a break.” But the truth is, when I feel that way, I can’t afford not to.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on something I’m soooo excited about, but, sadly, it hasn’t been announced yet. I can say that it’s NOT a spy book, but it is a high-concept rom-com that feels very on-brand for me. Even though Zoe and Sawyer’s story is fully wrapped up, I’d love to write more books in that world as well. Honestly, I just want to write high-concept rom-coms as long as I can because it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in this business.
The New York Times bestselling YA author of the beloved Gallagher Girls series bursts onto the adult scene with a fast-paced, hilarious road trip rom-com about a woman with amnesia who discovers she’s the identical twin sister of a rogue spy… and must team up with a rugged, grumpy operative to stay alive.
It’s the middle of the night in the middle of Paris and a woman just woke up with no memory.
She only knows three things for certain:
1. She has a splitting headache.
2. The hottest guy she has (probably) ever seen is standing over her, telling her to run.
And oh yeah…
3. People keep trying to kill her.
She doesn’t know who. Or why. But when she sees footage of herself fighting off a dozen men there’s only one explanation: obviously. . . she’s a spy!
Except, according to Mr. Hot Guy, she’s not. She’s a spy’s identical twin sister.
Too bad the only person who knows she’s not the woman they’re looking for is this very grouchy, very sexy, very secret agent who (reluctantly) agrees to help her disappear. Which is easier said than done when a criminal organization wants you dead and every intelligence service in the world wants you caught.
Luckily, no one is looking for a pair of lovesick newlyweds on their honeymoon. And soon they’re lying their way across Europe—dodging bullets and faking kisses as they race to unravel a deadly conspiracy and clear her sister’s name.
But with every secret they uncover, the truth shifts, until she no longer knows who to trust: the twin she can’t remember or the mysterious man she can’t let herself forget…
Romance Comedy | Action [Avon, On Sale: August 8, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063276642 / eISBN: 9780063276697]
Ally Carter is a writer living and working in the Midwest. She loved school so much she kept going...and going...and going...until finally she had to graduate. Now she has degrees from Oklahoma State University and Cornell University and a house and a job and other very grown-up things. Her life is either very ordinary or the best deep-cover legend ever. She'd tell you more, but...well...you know...
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