Your Questions Answered

Long Live Alice!

Question:

My older sister had introduced me to your books 5 years ago. And I have to tell you those books have changed my life personally. The way you write.. well i can’t put it to words. I cannot wait until the Summer of 2010(: your so talented and gifted and your no doubt my favorite author. honestly, sometimes i fantasize of having a life like Alice. To be one of her close friends such as Pamela and Elizabeth. anyways i hope im not getting to carried away. I love your books. LONG LIVE ALICE! iloveyou!

Phyllis replied:

I’m just delighted that you enjoy the books so much.   Writing the Alice books has been one of the most enoyable projects too, for me, that I’ve ever done.

Why?

Question:

hi! i have a few questins.
1.why does alice always have embarrasing moments?
2.i’ve read alice alone, but i still don’t understand why elizabeth quit piano.
3.what book comes after achingly alice?
                 p.s i love the books!!!

Phyllis replied:

1)  Don’t we all?   2)  I wish I had time right now to leaf through “Alice  Alone” and see why she wanted to quit piano, but I don’t.  Maybe readers can help me out on this, but I think she was remembering how her parents had urged her to be friendly with a friend of theirs who, unknown to them, was molesting Liz, and now, she was reliving the memory of that when her Mom urged her to take piano lessons with a new teacher.  He wasn’t molesting her, but the memory of her mom’s urging brought back previous memories .  3)  Alice on the Outside follows Achingly Alice.

His Stupid Mom is Ruining Things Again

Question:

What Name Do You Prefer?

Question:

Phyllis replied:

I truly don’t care:  Phyllis, Mrs. Naylor, Phyllis Naylor–whatever works for you.

The Wiccan Religion

Question:

Here is the Wiccan belief system in a nutshell.
    Wicca is an earth based religion. Most worship the Goddess and the God who are both equals. The main rule that we live by is ” Harm none, do what you will.”, which translates into living your life as peacefully as possible. Wiccans believe in the Threefold Law, it is the belief that whatever energy you send you get back. So if you give out negative energy you get negative energy back and vice versa. Regarding magic, just forget anything that you have seen on TV or read. Magic is considered a sacred act that brings you closer to deity. We will not try to convert you, as their are many paths to the same destination. Most Wiccans believe in reincarnation, though because it is a very individualized religion this belief differs slightly. We celebrate eight Sabbats, or holidays a year, and also celebrate Estbats which are celebrated when the Moon is full. (Sorry it wasn’t exactly brief)

Thanks for the advice concerning my friend, and you’re right, I just want her to accept me as me. The next time we have a quiet moment I will try to explain to her thank you so much for your help.

Phyllis replied:

Thank you for describing the Wiccan beliefs for our readers.

The Girl Who Feels Left Out

Question:

I was reading the letter about the girl who feels left out when her friends fawn over their boyfriends. I love the advice you gave. 
I have been my own best friend for many years. Generally, I like it, but sometimes it gets lonely. I do all sorts of activities and things, but I’ve never found someone who really clicks. Why do you think this is? 
& I also really liked the way you dealt with religion in intensely alice- not taking sides at all. 

Phyllis replied:

When you say “someone,” are we talking  boyfriend or girlfriend?  Since I don’t know you, I have no answers as to why nothing has “clicked,” but I also don’t know how long you’ve been hoping to meet someone.  Sometimes you have to ask yourself if things seem to go all right when you first meet and then the other person cools, or if the other person seems to like you more than you like him/her, or vice versa.  If  this has been going on for a long time, do you know any friend close enough whom you could ask if you have some correctible trait or habit you could work on?  Thank you for your email.  I do appreciate it.

Alice Seems So Real

Question:

 i love how alice seems so real and you’re the only writer who really understands kids and teens!!!! i love ur books!!!! ive read almost all the alice books and love them!!! keep writing!!!!!

Phyllis replied:

Thank you, but actually there are a lot of writers who understand kids and teens, but I’m grateful that you like my books so much.

I’m Afraid to Tell my Close Friend

Question:

I love your Alice books. I usually don’t read a lot of realistic fiction because it is normally extremely unrealistic, for the most part I read fantasy/sci-fi/horror because you know going into it that it is unrealistic. Reading the Alice books is like reading someone’s life-story, it is very realistic. I’ve been reading your books since 6th grade, this year I’m entering 9th grade and I will continue reading your books for many years to come.
   I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed the topic of religion in Intensely Alice. The majority of YA books either ignore religion or religion is part of the storyline/plot. I liked how you showed both sides of the story concerning religion. I’m Wiccan and my views are different than many. I have been practicing for over a year and have only told my parents (who are fine with it) and few very close friends. I’m scared to tell my one close friend because she has voiced her opinion before about what she thinks about pagans. I would like to be honest with her, but I don’t want to ruin our friendship, especially before the start of school, it would make school even more stressful. I would really appreciate it if you could help me with this, I need some third-party advice.

Thank you so much for writing such wonderful books,

Phyllis replied:

I’m glad to hear you liked my treatment of religion in “”Intensely Alice.”  Regarding your own religious views, (and it might be helpful to our readers if you briefly described the Wiccan beliefs), you need to focus on what it is that gives it meaning and how it enriches your life.  I would come at it from this angle when discussing it with my friend.  You also need to be clear on why it is you want to tell your  friend.  I assume it’s because you feel close to her and want her to accept you for who you are.  Perhaps you could start the conversation by simply telling her how you hope you can tell her anything–that you respect her and her beliefs and have no intention of trying to convince her to become Wiccan.  That may set her mind at ease and enable her to discuss religion with you–hers and yours; perhaps you’ll each come to understand the other better.

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