Alice in Germany

Question:

I just wanted to tell you that I absolutely love your Alice-books! I started to read them in German a long time ago (I was probably 11?) until book 14 plus the prequels, and then they stopped publishing them. So after a while I started reading the rest in English and I have to say that I enjoy them even more than the German ones because the German publishers left out a couple of the scenes that deal with ‘body issues’ (like Elizabeth’s first encounter with a tampon or the whole story around the douche). Wow, that sounds like I’m only interested in this kind of topics. What I meant to say was that through reading the original books I feel closer to Alice and the world she lives in.
I should probably tell you that I’m 23 now and that one of my subjects at university is English, so your books really help me to improve my language skills. Moreover, I learn a lot about everyday life in the USA.

A couple of months ago I bought a kindle and Alice on Board became my first ever ebook. Then I decided that I wanted to read the first books in English, too, so I bought all the books for my kindle and read them all again. I cannot wait until the final book comes out and find out what happens to Alice and her friends. I wonder whether you include information on Rosalind in the book? Because I’d love to know if she really works in the elephant house… 🙂 I hope that Alice does not die at the end of the book, probably of leukemia just like her mom… I’d rather see the book ending with Alice and her friends gathering again to open the time capsule at age 60. But please, please, please change the title back to Always Alice, the other title sounds so wrong for the series since the word “Alice” is not even in it. In addition to that, it’s much too long. 🙁
I’m wondering if Alice on Board is going to be published as a paperback edition; not as one of the ones including three books, but as a single one? Since I already own the two books that were published before I don’t need them again on my shelf but I  started with paperbacks I would like to have all books as paperbacks so they look more alike. I also noticed that you use some words related to Germany, like German chocolate cake or even Himbeersaft. Have you ever been to Germany or do you even speak German? And you once mentioned that you would upload a kind of Alice-encyclopedia on you website because you want to give you reader free access to it. Would it be possible to offer a kindle version of it, too? It would be great if the whole series was complete on my kindle.

Phyllis replied:

Thank  you for your well-written email.  I’m delighted that you were willing to go to all the trouble to get the Alice books in English.  I know that a lot of publishers in other countries leave things out, and I believe that a book should be read the way the author wrote it.

How I wish that I could do all the things you asked.  I’m afraid that the final book will be titled “Now I’ll Tell You Everything.”  We know that it doesn’t use “Alice” in the title (I think there will be a sub-title using it, I’m not sure).  It will be different from all the other Alice books because it’s twice as long, and geared to adults as much as teenagers.  I don’t think that “Alice on Board” will be published as a separate paperback either; it will come out this May as part of a bind-up with two other Alice books–all the books of her senior year of high school.

No, I have not been to Germany, but I understand it’s beautiful.  The publisher still plans to allow fans to download an encyclopedia type of data book on Alice, but I’m not sure just when that will be.  What I can tell you most definitely, however, is that Alice does NOT die at the end of the last book.