I feel ugly but I know I still turn you on ([info]tekla) wrote in [info]matched_trilogy,
2011-11-07 23:33:00
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Crossed Blog Tour



We are thrilled to announce Penguin gave us the opportunity to participate in the Crossed Blog Tour!! This means Ally herself wrote a blog entry to share with our community! We are deeply grateful for this and we want to thank her!!



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.




Blog Post: What’s in a Name (Ky and Xander)

It took me some time to come up with the perfect name for Cassia (Read this blog entry here at the Matched Department). The boys in the story were a little bit easier for some reason. Maybe it’s because I have three sons so I have experience choosing boy names!

I came up with Ky’s name first, and it was so easy and automatic that I can’t even remember how I first decided on it. He was just always Ky. The spelling is my own variation on the name (though I’m sure others have spelled it this way too). When it is spelled Kai, it’s Polynesian for ocean. When it is spelled Cai, it’s an abbreviation of Caius (which, according to some sources, means person of earth).

I like this dichotomy, because it reflects the dual nature of Ky himself. He’s very connected to the earth and grounded in that aspect of the natural world, but he’s also the kind of person who has a lot of depth to him (still waters run deep). I also like that the changeable nature of the sea is reflected in his eyes.

It was a bit trickier to name Xander. I wanted something a little futuristic-sounding but still classical. It was my sister (the same one who helped me name Cassia!) who pointed me in the direction of the name Xander. I’ve never watched the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I know, I’m horrible!) and so I hadn’t encountered the name before. I loved the name immediately and the meaning—defender of the people—fits him very well too, although you might have to wait a bit longer in the series to fully understand why. ;)

One last bit of information on the two male leads and their names—in earlier drafts of the book, the boys’ last names were switched, which is why you can sometimes catch me mixing them up now when I’m speaking.

In the final version of Matched, their names are Ky Markham and Xander Carrow. But earlier on it was Ky Carrow and Xander Markham. I had picked the last name Carrow because it means “a strolling gamester,” which I loved for Ky because he’s been on the move and because he could win at the games if he wanted to—and even by losing, he’s playing his own games.

Then my husband pointed out that “Ky Carrow” had a lot of hard c sounds together and so I switched them up. While I am very visual and always think of how a name looks on paper, my husband always thinks of the sound because he is more of a musician. So, I switched them. Because Xander is a bit of a gamester too. And because, since I had based both Ky and Xander partly on my husband, it seemed only fair that he should have a say in what they were named. :)



We have one (1) prize pack for you to give away to a winner in the US. The prize pack includes:

• 1 signed, finished copy of CROSSED
• 1 double sided CROSSED/Book 3 poster
• 3 MATCHED buttons

All you have to do is comment on this post to participate. We will use random.org to pick a winner November 16th.

Thanks again to Ally and the awesome staff at Penguin for making this experience possible!


CROSSED chapter Sampler
Official MATCHED website
Get MATCHED Facebook App

*Wed 16th Nov: Comments are officially closed. We will be announcing the winner tonight. :)
Tags: !mod post, book: crossed, crossed: blog tour

  • 57 comments
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[info]saltybread

November 7 2011, 23:12:54 UTC 6 months ago

Congrats on being selected for the blog tour [info]matched_trilogy XD
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[info]Debra Hawkins

November 7 2011, 23:32:51 UTC 6 months ago

I love these books!

I love their names! I think naming is one of the hard things about writing. Love these books!
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[info]Globug70

November 7 2011, 23:45:35 UTC 6 months ago

Corssed

I'm so in love with Ky and Xander. All I can do is want more.
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[info]jenny_wildcat

November 7 2011, 23:46:04 UTC 6 months ago

"Matched" is one of the best books I've read in a long time! (and I'm still waiting to get "Crossed" from the library).
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[info]mimi_pancakes

November 7 2011, 23:46:53 UTC 6 months ago

I love Matched and Crossed they are so amazing, i just finished crossed today, I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out
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[info]hannah712

November 7 2011, 23:50:54 UTC 6 months ago

Love Matched! Haven't read Crossed yet but I can't wait to!
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[info]mae9

November 7 2011, 23:53:23 UTC 6 months ago

This is def my new fav series!
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[info]perfectsadie

November 7 2011, 23:54:48 UTC 6 months ago

Yay! I love names!

Ahhh... Interesting approach to naming your characters! I'm always interested and the details. The make the story richer.
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[info]Megan Fitzsimmons

November 7 2011, 23:57:49 UTC 6 months ago

Love their names

Ally,
I'm currently reading Crossed and I was just discussing the boys' names today with one of my coworkers. We're middle school teachers and read YA lit so we can book chat with our kids. I'm coming to your signing on Wednesday and can't wait to meet you. A signed copy of Crossed would be awesome to share with my students!
-Megan
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[info]Vivien Propst

November 8 2011, 00:14:24 UTC 6 months ago

Love

I really love Xander. That name is so unique, and I adore unique names.

Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com
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[info]Wendi K Coleman

November 8 2011, 00:20:02 UTC 6 months ago

Crossed Blog

I love the Matched series! There is so much that readers can relate to, no matter their age. It's amazing to read about how the names were chosen.
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[info]Andrea Frisby

November 8 2011, 00:21:59 UTC 6 months ago

I'm so excited to read Crossed!
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[info]Rachel Bohlin

November 8 2011, 00:29:42 UTC 6 months ago

:D

I love Ky's name!! I actually found out I had a cousin named Kai also!!! But I like Ky better than his name lol!
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[info]Lenmeo

November 8 2011, 00:34:25 UTC 6 months ago

Ky and Xander

I love both of their names. Ky is so mysterious and Xander so trustworthy. I have to agree with your husband and the sound of their last names, Ky Markham and Xander Carrow just sound so much nicer. :-)

I love the story of Cassia and am grateful that you are able to share her journey with us.
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[info]dreamyzingg

November 8 2011, 00:39:29 UTC 6 months ago

Very cool! I love both Ky and Xander's names :D
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[info]Laura K.

November 8 2011, 00:47:00 UTC 6 months ago

Re:

I'm not surprised at the depth of thought behind Ky and Xander's names since the story itself has a lot of deliberateness to it!
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[info]CharleeVale

November 8 2011, 01:01:05 UTC 6 months ago

I'm excited about this! I love the meanings of Ky's name.

CV
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[info]wleh_02

November 8 2011, 01:11:10 UTC 6 months ago

Thanks for becoming an author of an amazing series and i hope you know how much people love you series and appreciate it as well!!! Good luck with future books to come and I will be waiting to read them :)
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[info]Jenny Lowe

November 8 2011, 01:12:05 UTC 6 months ago

Love it!

I loved Matched and I'm so excited to read Crossed!!! Great job Ally!
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[info]pancakesystem

November 8 2011, 01:13:07 UTC 6 months ago

I love hearing about how people name their characters, because I think about that a lot when naming my own and when reading books too! Also, congrats on getting a chance to participate in the blog tour!
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[info]parisalexandra

November 8 2011, 01:21:48 UTC 6 months ago

Awesome

Ah, love the book trailer! Awesome. I'd love to win the book (:
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[info]starmack

November 8 2011, 01:33:08 UTC 6 months ago

I love all three of their names. I think Cassia and Ky are such beautiful names, as is Xander... and since I'm a Buffy fan the name Xander holds a special place in my heart. :D
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[info]paper_pinwheels

November 8 2011, 01:57:01 UTC 6 months ago

That's so interesting how the names were switched before the book was finished!
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[info]Benji Kenworthy

November 8 2011, 02:13:10 UTC 6 months ago

Awesome giveaway!
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[info]Emma015

November 8 2011, 02:16:39 UTC 6 months ago

I love the name Ky. I would spell it Kai though.
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[info]Mary F.

November 8 2011, 02:30:11 UTC 6 months ago

I love how she listened to her husband about the last names. That was sweet!

anxirium at yahoo dot com
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  • 57 comments
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