Ally Condie
About Author
Ally Condie received a degree in English Teaching from Brigham Young University and spent a number of years teaching high school English in Utah and in New York. She lives with her husband and three children near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Interview
What brought you into writing for YA readers?
"I used to be a high school teacher, and so I think this is an age group to which I am naturally drawn. Teenagers are interesting to teach and they are interesting to write about!"
Is there another age range you'd be drawn to writing for?
"I would love to try writing something middle-grade someday."
Was there any particular story or event that sparked the idea of Matched for you?
"Matched was inspired by a few different events-specific ones, such as a conversation with my husband and a time we chaperoned a high school prom, and general ones, like falling in love and becoming a parent."
What attracted you to writing about a dystopian world?
"I had the idea for Matched - a girl whose perfect mate is chosen for her by the government - and then I knew I needed a world to fit the idea. So I built a world around it, and it was great fun. I'd always written contemporary YA before, and this felt very creative and different."
What do you dislike most about the world you've created?
"Definitely the lack of choice. I think it would be very hard to live in a world where so many decision are made for you - and very sad if you didn't even know that was happening!"
Is there anything about our world now that you feel is heading towards the world of Matched?
"I see us more heading towards the world that takes place before Matched, where there is so much technology that people can't keep up, where the environment is suffering profoundly, etc."
Why do you think there is so much interest at the moment in 'worlds gone wrong'?
"People have been writing dystopian for a long time - I think it's always resonated with us, this idea of the end of the world. I think the idea of 'worlds gone wrong' has really enjoyed an upswing in YA fiction because the YA market is such a busy, exciting place right now."
Is there anything you would adopt from Cassia's world and integrate into your own life ie ready cooked meals?
"Contrary to what I said above, sometimes I think a lack of choice would be nice! I think that is also why those lists of '100 Best Books of All Time' etc are so popular. And they are a great starting point, which is the intent. I just think they would be a really terrible ending point."
You touch on poetry in Matched is that a passion of yours?
"I love reading poetry but I'm terrible at writing it! I don't think I could pick a favorite poem, but my favorite poets are Dylan Thomas (obviously!), Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost."
What was the hardest part of Matched to write?
"The part just before the end. I actually wrote the final chapter fairly early in the story; but the few chapters leading up to it gave me fits. I had to make sure that everything came together and that all the reveals felt right, plus the story needed to keep moving to that final moment. It was tough. But eventually I was happy with it."
Will there be a sequel?
"Yes! There will be three books in the Matched series."
What are you writing now?
"Actually, I'm working on the sequel right now."
What are you reading now?
"The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, by Alan Bradley. I absolutely adored his first book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. His writing is so clever and his narrator is so entertaining."
What do you enjoy doing when youre not writing?
"I love running, reading, and, most of all, just hanging out with my husband and laughing."
Do you have any advice for aspiring teen authors?
"Yes! Write a little every day. Read a LOT. And live your life. That's the most important part. You have to have something to write about."
What did it feel like to see your first book in print?
"It was wonderful. I did all the stereotypical things: smelled the pages, ran my hand over the cover, put it on the shelf to see how it would look, cried. It was great."
Matched
