Interview with MATCHED author Ally Condie and Winner Announced!

Today is the day!!  Happy release day to MATCHED, one of our favorite books of the year, and our featured book in this month's Reading Clean Spotlight!  We are very excited to share this Q & A we did with Ally about her book! 

-Describe Matched in five words.

*Star-crossed lovers, secrets, and poetry! (I think star-crossed is one word, right?)

No, I'm sorry, you have to do it again....lol!  :P

-The setting in Matched is such an amazing world!! Was it hard for you to create this world, or did the idea come to you naturally?

*The world was really fun to build, actually. I started with the idea of the Match Banquet and then basically built the world around it, thinking What kind of society would have to exist in order for this scenario (the Banquet) to take place?

I don't think I'd want to live in Cassia's world, but I have to say I would love to go to that Match Banquet!  

-My favorite character in Matched was definitely Ky (although Kit and Abigaile liked Xander), did you have a favorite character?

*I'm so glad you liked Ky! I like both Ky and Xander, and I think this is because I gave them both different attributes of my husband. So they feel very equal to me. I guess that's not really a fair answer since I picked both of them. ;)

Yes, they were both VERY likable!!  I really don't know how Cassia could choose between them!

-What has been the greatest moment so far in this journey?

*Oooh, tough question. There have been a lot of really great moments. But the one that stands out to me happened before I even had an agent. I had sent MATCHED to my teenage sister, Hope, to read. She's very honest and an avid reader. When she called me up to tell me how she felt about it, she said, "I have a new favorite book." After I hung up the phone, I cried a little. It meant a lot to me that she enjoyed the book so much and I knew she wouldn't say it if she didn't mean it! And that moment gave me the confidence to start querying.

-Do you have any quirky/strange "must haves" when you're writing? What are they?

*I drink a LOT of water while I'm writing, and I have to wear one of my two special hoodies. They are magical and keep me the perfect temperature (my "office" is in the corner of the basement and it gets cold even in summer).

-What do you wish I had asked you? What's your answer?

*I wish you had asked me if I would like free tickets to the London Olympics in 2012 and I would have said, yes, please! (I'm dying to go--I love the Olympics and I studied abroad in London--but I don't think it's going to happen.) ;)

Hmmm....I think you may have cheated on that question :)  Oh, and don't tell Kit that you studied abroad in London, she won't stop begging me to do the same if she finds out!  Thanks, Ally SO much for the interview!  And for the awesomeness that is MATCHED!!  Happy Book Birthday!


Thanks again for featuring Matched and for being so wonderful and supportive. I'm so excited that it's a Clean Read. :)

And now for the winner of the ARC of Matched!!

#42 Mindy J

I will email you!!  Congrats!!  If you didn't win, go grab a copy from your local bookstore, or order it now!!  I can't wait to hear what you think of it!