Your Questions Answered
Question: What book are you working on right now?
Phyllis replied:
I’m calling this one “Alice in Charge.” We might change the title, but it will come out next year.
Posted on: April 8, 2009
Question:
I am a senior in high school and have been searching for a perfect prom dress. I really like vintage clothing so I have been going to a number of stores, but nothing fits! I have suddenly gotten such large breasts, and I hate them. Some people act like having large breasts is some great thing, but it is not. My back always hurts, they are in the way, and above all, clothes do not fit me anymore because of them. Not to mention I am only 110 points and 5′ tall. I think I look absolutely ridiculous. I have always had a good self esteem, but lately I just feel terrible. All of my friends have small breasts and complain about how they wish they could have ones like mine. I want to say, “Take them!” I cannot embrace how I look anymore! Do you have any advice?
Phyllis replied:
I understand. Really. There is probably not a girl out there who has not thought, “Everyone else is going to wear a short dress, but I have thick legs; I cannot stand how I look!’ “My body is great but my chin is awful, and that’s the first thing anyone sees!’ It is the very rare girl (or even guy) who is completely satisfied with the body she (he) was born with. I know, I know, this doesn’t really help. You may have to adjust your idea of a “perfect” dress somewhat. One suggestion I have is to go to an upscale store or shop when it’s not too busy. You don’t have to tell them you’re not planning to buy from them, but ask a professional what kind of dress would look best on you. She will ask what you have in mind, what kind of look you are striving for, and perhaps she will be able to think of a style that you hadn’t considered before. If she shows you a dress you like but can’t afford, thank her profusely for her help and tell her you’d like to think about it a bit. Then see if you can find something with that style in the vintage type stores. Readers: any suggestions for this girl?
Posted on: April 6, 2009
Question: We are in a Blogger Bookclub at the Harris Library in Granger, IN. We are all in 4th and 5th grade. We just finished reading The Boys Start the War and really enjoyed it. One of us liked it so much she already started reading the second book. What is your favorite part of the book? We liked when the girls made the boys believe that Caroline was dead. It was really funny! Where did you get the idea for this series? Who is your favorite kid in the series? We liked Wally and Caroline. Did you design the cover of the book? Did you play any jokes on anyone for April Fool’s Day?
Phyllis replied:
I didn’t play any April Fool’s joke this year, but I still remember the year I told my husband that his car was rolling backwards down the driveway, and he almost spilled his cereal leaping out of his chair.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the Boys/versus/girls books, and hope you’ll read all twelve of the books. I particularly loved writing the parts for Wally and Caroline, but I also loved little Peter. Buckman is really Buckhannon, West Virginia, where my husband grew up and went to college. I always wanted to place some books there.
Posted on: April 3, 2009
Question: I LOVE the Alice series!!!!!!! Since you only write 1 Alice Book a year, do you write any other books similar to the series??
Phyllis replied:
I don’t write any other books “just” like Alice, but there is a boys/versus/girls series (12 books) that you might like to read, starting with The Boys Start the War, as well as many single novels. Try Jade Green, Ice, Send No Blessings, Blizzard’s Wake, Sang Spell, Night Cry, Witch’s Sister, A String of Chances, The Keeper, Cricket Man (especially Cricket Man) and many more.
Posted on: April 3, 2009
Q. No matter what I do my parents won’t let me date. How can I make my parents let me have a boyfriend?
Phyllis replied:
You can’t “make” your parents do anything, and if you try to force the issue, they’ll probably dig their heels in even deeper. I don’t know how old you are, but I would suggest that you begin by showing that you are mature and responsible enough in other ways. Tell them the truth about what you and your friends are up to, be home when you’ve promised to come in, do your part in chores about the house, take good care of younger siblings. If none of this seems to help, calmly ask your parents when they are in a receptive mood just what you need to do to convince them that you are old enough to have a boyfriend. They may prefer that you invite a small group over instead, the boy you like included, so they can get to know your friends and your potential boyfriend in advance. Sometimes parents are more afraid of the idea of your having a boyfriend than they are of a particular boy, once they meet him.
Posted on: April 2, 2009
Q. Mrs. Naylor i know that writing is hard work but how exactly do you form the ideas inyour head befor you put them down on paper?
Phyllis replied:
It’s really hard to describe how I write exactly, just as it would be hard to describe riding a bicycle. There isn’t a list I follow, but through years of experience, I find myself mentally calculating a number of things with each new chapter, each paragraph, even each sentence I write: Does it follow naturally from what came before? Is it necessary for furthering the plot and/or defining a character? Is it well motivated? If dialogue, is it natural? If descriptive, and told in the first person, is this the way that character would talk or think? Is it exactly what the reader would guess would happen next and, if so, is it too predictable? These are just some of the things I think about as I write, but also, I have to make sure all the parts equal the whole, that everything seems to come together in the end.
Posted on: April 2, 2009
Q. hey phyllis, i am soo excited about intensley alice! its only 2 more months til it comes out! i was wondering if it was going to be longer than the other books? i hope so, i usually finish them in 3 hours, and then i have to wait another year for the next one 🙁
Phyllis replied:
About the same length as the most recent books, I think. What I send in manuscript form is always different than the page numbers in the book. I know it’s hard to wait a whole year to see what happens next, but I always write some other kind of book in between the Alice books, and this helps to keep the stories fresh.
Posted on: April 1, 2009
Q. Its 2 months before the book comes out!!!Where is the excerpt or summary on your page?????!!!You just have to tell us SOMETHING about the book…ANYTHING at all…a hint about anything:the death,patrick,alice’s major,where she’s applying,pamela or liz…etc.We’re dying here!!!!
Phyllis replied:
The most I can tell you is that I cried when I wrote it, my agent wept when he read it, and my editor said that she started crying on the train…..
Posted on: March 31, 2009
Q. i have a question if a guy you hardly now comes and sits down beside you and sarts talking to you douse that mean he likes you?
Phyllis replied: He certainly wouldn’t do it if he didn’t!
Posted on: March 31, 2009
Q. It has been years since I’ve written to you, but I still consider myself an avid Alice fan! I started reading the series when I was twelve, and I’m now twenty-one. I’m always sure to keep an Alice book or two with me throughout college as I’ve moved from dorm to dorm and apartment to apartment, because they’re fail-proof when I need a pick-me-up. In all honesty, I’m not sure how I would have survived my teenage years without Alice!
This summer I will be interning at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and as I’ve been searching for housing in the area (no luck yet), I become so excited whenever I see mention of Silver Springs. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to spend a Saturday there this summer, exploring Wheaton Plaza and the other places mentioned in the books, as dorky as that may be! 🙂 And, of course, I’m looking forward to reading Intensely Alice.
I hope all is well, and thank you for creating such a wonderful series that so many people can relate to. I’m already anxious to have my niece start reading the books when she’s old enough!
Phyllis replied:
I love hearing that college girls are still reading the Alice books. Because you’ve known Alice since she was twelve, I can imagine that you want to know how she’s dealing with life as she grows older. What a wonderful internship you will have this summer! There’s so much to see in Washington that I’ll be surprised if you get to Wheaton Plaza, but don’t worry. Alice will keep you up to date.
Posted on: March 31, 2009
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