Your Questions Answered

Letter from a Grandpa

Question:
 
I’m always on the lookout for stories that I think my young granddaughters might enjoy and learn from at the same time. Having discovered Alice in Lace in a list of banned books at my local Library, I decided to read it to find out what the banning fuss was all about and to determine for myself if it’s the kind of book that I think my beloved granddaughters would enjoy reading.
 
After reading this censored book, I was delighted to find that it is a wonderful story that dealt realistically with some of the very real human concerns experienced by young people in their daily lives; that it was in very humane ways, a story that my granddaughters would likely enjoy not only for it’s interesting and engaging plot, but for its honest portrayal of young people trying to deal with problems and concerns, joys and sorrows, that are so very much like their own. The notion that this book should be censored for any reason is ridiculous.
 
 
Phyllis replied:
 
It’s hard for me to remember anymore which Alice book is challenged for what reason.  But I think that giving middle school students a hypothetical problem situation and having them research how they would deal with it if it happened to them is an excellent way to introduce them to real life problems.  I’m grateful to you for reading the book and coming to your own conclusions, and hope that your granddaughters will enjoy many more Alice books in the future.

Win a Complete Set of Alice Books!

Hello, friends of Alice; Phyllis’s publishing team here once again!

Now I’ll Tell You Everything, the final book in the Alice series, is less than a month away! Now, we’re offering a special opportunity to get caught up on the entire series!

Like Alice McKinley’s Facebook page here, and you can enter a sweepstakes to win all 28 books in the Alice series!

If you’re a huge fan of the Alice series, be sure to like Alice on Facebook–you won’t want to miss this countdown OR the celebration when Now I’ll Tell You Everything hits shelves!

TO ALL MY ALICE READERS IN THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA

I will be speaking at the National Book Festival on the Mall this coming Saturday, September 21st, at 3:20 in the afternoon in the “Teens and Children” tent. Then I will be signing books from 4:30 to 5:30 in the book signing area.  Please come and bring your friends.  I would love to meet you in person!   

Phyllis

Going Crazy in New Zealand

Question:
 
hi im emailing here from newzealand. I absolutely love your books so much. I know you get that from every person but I know everyone loves you books the same as I do. I’m only 13 and I have finished all you books waiting for the last one, coming out in november. I’m year 8 and school finishes in like 2 and a half months and we are in september. i enjoyed this year so much. and i don’t want the year to end but then I want it to go even faster when i think about the last alice book coming out in october. I dont know what to do please help!!! by giving us a little hint. PLEASE!  Crazy fan
 
 
Phyllis replied:
 
It’s coming out in October, not November, and that’s only a month off!  But I don’t want you to go crazy, so here’s a second hint.  The first hint, remember, was “Oklahoma.”  The second hint is, “PC.”   Now, NO MORE HINTS, okay?  But I’m delighted you are a true blue fan, way off in New Zealand! Thanks for writing.

A Future Librarian

Question:
 
I just wanted to thank you for writing all the Alice books. The series was the first series I ever fell in love with. The librarian at my public library first turned me onto the series when I was in 6th grade. Soon enough I caught up and then surpassed Alice in age. The older I got, it definitely was a different experience to be reading about a girl younger than me, but I was a devoted fan and had to find out what was going on in Alice’s life! I began working at the library when I was old enough and that same librarian, always snuck me the newest Alice books while they were still in cataloging, so I could read them first. Even when I was bogged down with school work, I’d drop everything when a new Alice book came out, and breeze through it in a day or two. The amount of joy I got from these books made me want to bring that joy to others and definitely contributed to my love for libraries. I have just started my studies to get my Masters in Library Science so I can be a public librarian myself and I find it very symbolic that Alice’s final chapters are about to be released. I think Alice is timeless and as a future librarian I will do my part wherever I end up, to direct young girls to the best coming of age series I’ve ever read.

However you’ve ended the books i’m sure will be fitting, and I can’t wait to have the joy one last time of opening a brand new Alice book.  Thank you for making the series go on as long as it has.
 
 
Phyllis replied:
 
And what a joy it was for me to read your letter, and think that the Alice series may have contributed to your decision to become a public librarian.  I think one of the most rewarding jobs there is would be the ability to match the right books with the right students, and help them choose the right direction for their lives.  Gives me the shivers just to think about it.

An Alice Encyclopedia?

Question:
 
I know you said you were going to tell us everything in the next book, but I’m so obsessed with Alice that I want to know more than everything. Like all the characters’ middle names, birthdays, favorite colors and that sort of thing. And it would be nice if there was more backstory for some of the characters other than Alice. JK Rowling is working on an encyclopedia for Harry Potter, so I was wondering if you were planning to do something similar. I’m really excited for October, but I’m also a little sad that the Alice series is ending.
 
Phyllis replied:

No encyclopedia, I’m afraid, but even better, an Alice “bible,” as the publisher calls it, listing every known thing about every character.  You will see what the editor, the copyeditor and I referred to all these years in writing and editing and checking each Alice manuscript to make sure we had it right.  You won’t even have to buy it.  My publisher is going to put it online so that everyone can read it.  You’ll be able to check out something you had forgotten, you’ll see a synopsis of each of the 28 books–every possible thing there is to know about Alice and her friends.  We’ll announce it when it’s up.

A Letter from My Past

Question:
 
I just read your short story “Like Ships in the Night” from the book A Triangle Has Four Sides and just wanted to compliment you for it. Being a high-schooler, I find it painfully honest. The saddest part is that the book was published in the 80’s and the high-school scene today is still the same. Everyone walks around with thick, thick masks on and that’s that, and I don’t think there’s a better way to describe it other than like ships in the night. Here’s to hoping those tragic characters give each other a second chance one day.

P.S. I remember reading your first Shiloh book (and seeing the movie somewhere) back in third-grade, I liked it.
 
 
Phyllis replied:
 
Wow!  I’ve not had a fan letter about that book for several decades, and I’m amazed that you found it and took time to write to me!  It’s interesting that you feel the high school scene is much the same today.  Feelings are the same no matter what the year, and I’m glad you found the stories honest.

Love Your Books!

Question:
 
How you write so amazingly I don’t know, how you capture me by the first line I don’t know, but what I do know is that you are an exceptional writer and you draw me in with your books with a click of your fingers. Every book is a new life of the same story, as Alice’s life goes on I feel I go along every journey. I haven’t been able to read all your books (which I will soon) but I am overjoyed that I came across your books. Your books are like no other, I have never felt bored reading your books because some get boring but yours aren’t at all! To me Alice is real, you have made her real and I only wish that I could meet her. You are awe inspiring and I don’t know how I could live without your books (literally). I really do hope you get this and are able to reply.
Hope you keep writing more amazing books!
 
 
Phyllis replied:
 
Well, I’m delighted to hear you are never bored, because the final book is over 500 pages long.
Thanks so much for writing to me.

What Did They Decide About College?

Question:
 
I’m a senior now so I’m kind of obsessed with college applications and stuff. I really enjoyed the part about Alice’s college visits in Alice in Charge and when Alice got college letters in Incredibly Alice. Reading about Alice’s experiences helped me relax a little about my college applications. I was just wondering, where did Brian, Karen, Penny, and the rest of the gang end up going to college? Or will this be revealed in the last book?
 
Phyllis replied:
 
The final book, coming out October 15, will tell you the college choice of some of her friends,
but not all of them.  You’ll need to decide on the college that’s right for YOU, but of course, you
knew that.

Mom Chose Well

Question:
 
I just wanted to tell you how much I love the Alice series. I was 12 when my mom handed me Outragously Alice at the library and said “You’re going to read this.” I didn’t want to at first since it was my mom who picked it out for me. But I am grateful I did. I read it all in one day and then re-read it over as soon as I finished. It’s been a long time since I was 12 and since then I’ve read the whole series through 16 times. (Working on my 17th before the last book comes out.)

Now I’m married and have a toddler and I finally own some the books and I plan on keeping them around (and getting teh rest of the series)  till  my daughter is old enough. I want her to experience the wonderful realness of them.

Thank you so much for writing such a great series. Thank you for keeping it real and thank you for touching lives with them.

 
Phyllis replied:
 
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what attracted your mom to that book, and why she thought it would appeal to you at that particular time?  (Have you dared asked her?)  Thanks so much for writing to me.  I think you are especially going to enjoy the final book coming out in October.