CROSSED Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway w/ Ally Condie

We're thrilled to be the next stop in Penguin Teen's CROSSED blog tour. Today Ally Condie has stopped by with a guest post talking about her character inspiration for Vick, a new character who's introduced in CROSSED.

Released on: November 1st, 2011

Read my 4.5 star review here

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever

Read a CROSSED chapter sampler.

New Characters in CROSSED

People often ask if I base characters in my books on people in real life, and, up until I wrote CROSSED, the answer to that question has always been “kind of.” For example, Grandfather in MATCHED has characteristics of my own grandparents, but he’s not firmly based on any one person. I took my favorite things about my husband and split them up evenly in between Xander and Ky. Cassia likes to run, and so do I, but other than that we’re very different. You get the picture.

But in CROSSED, there is one character who is based, more than anyone else I’ve written, on people from my real life. And that’s the character Vick, who you’ll meet on the very first page in Chapter 1 in CROSSED.

Vick is a combination of these two people:

Nic with my sister Hope

my brother, Nic and sister Hope

Robbie, finding ways to fish even while on daddy duty

my brother-in-law, Robbie

When Vick first appeared on the page, I knew the kind of person he was and had to be—someone who could survive in the wild, who knew about land and fish, who was tough but who could love deeply. Though they are very different people, Robbie and Nic both share these characteristics. And, while Vick is ultimately his own character, he has these attributes as well.

I’m excited for readers to meet Vick—and also Indie and Eli, other new characters in CROSSED. Often, the “minor” characters in a story shape and change the other characters and the plot in unexpected and exciting ways. Vick, Indie, and Eli are all very integral to the plot of CROSSED and to Ky and Cassia’s growth. I hope you like them too!

Ally Condie is the author of the international bestseller Matched, and its newly-released sequel, Crossed. Matched was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten, named as one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010, selected as the #1 Pick on the Winter Kid’s Indie Next List, and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. In a starred review for the sequel, Crossed, Kirkus called the Matched series an “addictive, layered dystopic trilogy.”

A former English teacher (who still keeps her license current, just in case!), she lives with her husband and three sons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, writing, running, and listening to her husband play guitar.Al

l, play guitar.

Please visit Ally on her Website, follow her on Twitter, add her books on Goodreads

Be sure to visit the MATCHED website and get your MATCHED Facebook app.

Thank you to Penguin Teen on lucky winner will receive a finished copy of CROSSED, along with a double sided CROSSED/book 3 poster and 3 MATCHED buttons.

To Enter: please fill out the form below

- Only to residents of the US only

- You must be 13 yrs or older (or have a parent/guardian permission to enter if under 13)

- 1 entry per person

- This giveaway will end on November 23rd, 2011