In the past, I've met my idols, I've danced onstage with my role model, I've hugged and had conversations with those who influence me, and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world, but sometimes, something very small makes one different than the rest. As with Rachel Platten, it's different, but that's not what I'm talking about here. What I'm talking about is the difference it makes when your favorite author, your writing inspiration takes the time to interact with you and have a conversation that shows she genuinely cares about what you have to say, even though we've never met in person. To me, that's different.

Ally Carter is a New York Times best-selling author and you may know her from the Gallagher Girl series, the Heist Society, the Embassy Row trilogy, among others. And on top of all of her great literary work, her Twitter account is pretty spot on too, what with her treadmill motivation, baking escapades, her Panera sit-ins, and Oklahoma college sports anxiety (insert wink here). Twitter is also how I first started connecting with her, especially when I realized how active she actually was. Sure, Meg Cabot follows me, but part of me still believes she has some assistant controlling her social media. With Ally, it's a little different.

The first time Ally interacted at all with me on Twitter was when she asked a question, probably five or so years ago, about the Gallagher Girl series (had Zach ever met Josh, to be exact), and I responded, along with a dozen others, and had no hope she'd recognize me. You can just imagine the shock and joy on my face half an hour later when I went back to my phone and found that she had liked the tweet. I was overjoyed. Here and there over the next couple of years, she liked some tweets, such as my autographed copy of the final Gallagher Girl book and suggestions about where she should tour, but then I got the second Embassy Row book, See How They Run, for Christmas and just inside the cover was a little inspirational message from Ally herself: "Mandy, Follow Your Dreams. - Ally Carter." Let's just say I haven't let the book out of my sight (at school it sits in my bedside drawer for when I need a reminder of someone to believe in me, as it does at home). I tweeted a picture thanking her, and she actually responded to me, making the week a million times better if that was even possible, thanking me for getting the book.

Since then, a little more than a year ago, she has continued to go on liking sprees, and just a few weeks ago, we had an actual Twitter conversation. I tweeted out a little humor picture to her when I was Panera Bread, saying I was channeling my inner Ally Carter, and when I got the "I approve" response, I thought I was seeing things for a moment. That same day, I headed to my local bookstore (BAM in Dickson City, PA) to finally pick up the third book in Embassy Row, Take the Key and Lock Her Up, that had come out the Tuesday after Christmas. An extremely helpful employee and I were all set to order it after renewing my membership and finding Friends (The TV Show) magnets when I couldn't find it, but she wanted to search the whole store one more time because she knew she had just seen it, and search we did, for fifteen minutes. Thank you to that employee, because I was thrilled to be walking out of the store that night with the next piece of literary genius.

I tweeted a response to Ally again with a picture of the book and short version of what I just told, and she tweeted back again in the thread thanking me and the employee, and asking what store it was, taking actual interest in me yet again. I responded and she liked the tweet, showing she took note of it. It was a very surreal and joyful day for me.

An inspiration to tell this story actually happened just today, when Ally tweeted that it was going to be okay, and I quoted it with my own words in that it will always be okay, thanking her yet again. And she liked. Again. And this was just the icing on the cake showing me that my voice does matter. Someone who speaks what they believe and with a much more powerful and as big of voice as Ally Carter cared not once, not twice, but many times about what I said and took time out of her days to talk to me or show her presence, and that's something that I'll never forget as I continue my journey in writing, a passion that I don't think will ever die in me (along with reading, of course). So this a thank you. Thank you, Ally, for writing that first book ten years ago and never giving up. Thank you for giving me an escape in your books, and hope with your voice. Thank you for inspiring me and what I perceive as you believing in me. Thank you for everything. I love you and I cannot wait to see what you write next.

Love,

The Girl With A Little Voice That Wants To Do Big Things (Mandy)

P.S. Here's a list of Ally Carter's books and I highly suggest you give them a read (and if you want to read my takes on a few Gallagher scenes, let me know, and pop over to FanFiction):

GG:

• I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You
• Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
• Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover
• Only the Good Spy Young
• Out of Sight, Out of Time
• United We Spy

These six also have ten-year anniversary versions with new epilogue chapters in each!

HS

• Heist Society
• Uncommon Criminals
• Perfect Scoundrels
• The Grift of the Magi

ER

• All Fall Down
• See How They Run
• Take the Key and Lock Her Up

Other:

• A Gallagher Wedding
• Double Crossed
• My True Love Gave To Me
• Cheating At Solitaire
• Learning to Play again

You can get them ALL at your local bookstore or Amazon.com!! Go go go! Remember, the spies are always watching.