Your Questions Answered

Read the Whole Series?

Question:
 
I know that probably everyone says this to you but I will do it anyways. You are one of my favorite authors! I really do look up to you and Alice. I have read from “I like him, He likes her” to “Alice on Board”. I can’t wait to read the last one though it will be depressing for me because I don’t want the Alice series to end. Before I read it though, I’m wondering if I should start reading from the beginning up to “I like him, He likes her”. I’m thinking I should. I know that you have a page listing the books in order, but I have heard that there are prequels too. What are the prequels and should I read them first? Thanks so much for writing these books!
 
 
Phyllis replied:
 
If you go to the Alice blog and click on “books in order,” it should list all the books including the prequels, which are Starting with Alice, Alice in Blunderland, and Lovingly Alice.  If you are a totally 100 % dedicated Alice fan, you would probably enjoy the series most by starting at the very beginning, with “Starting with Alice,” when she is eight and Lester is fifteen, to see what they were like then and follow their family through two different moves.  You’ll see Alice growing and changing, and perhaps all the books will be more meaningful to you.  But I also hear from girls who read them in whatever order they can find them in the library, and they seem to enjoy them almost as much.

Unexpected Pleasures

Question:
 
I was catching up on your blog this afternoon and found that another one of your readers just read Unexpected Pleasures too! I couldn’t find it in any library within a hundred miles of me, so I bought it on Amazon about two months ago, and finished it in one day. What a beautiful book! One of the things I appreciate about you as a writer is that you always surprise me. This book was full of surprises. Foster and April were so well written and easy to identify with, I’ll never forget them. I put the book on my favorites list before I was even finished with it. (I have a VERY long list of every book I’ve read since I was 10, and I have a special list of only my favorites. Unexpected Pleasures made the list for sure.)
However, I am extremely disappointing with how obscure this book is. Have you considered re-releasing it, or doing something to get it a little more attention? This needs to reach a wider audience!
Anyway, I’m recommending it to as many people as I can.

p.s Can’t wait for the last Alice book. I grew up with her. And after mourning the ending of the series for over a year, I finally feel ready for the last book.
 
Phyllis replied:
 
Believe me, I mourn it too.  That’s my all-time favorite book (of my own, I mean).  I should tell you that two movie producers were interested in making it into a movie.  One of them even came to this area and drove with me and my husband to many of the places mentioned. We found a restaurant similar to what I thought The City Chicken would look like and ate there (the walls covered with velvet paintings of Elvis Presley), we went through a tobacco auction, crossed the Bay Bridge…..  But she couldn’t get funding, and the other producer died.  Back then I thought that Sissy Spacek would be perfect to play April Ruth and Robert Duvall to play Foster.  I’m so glad you found a copy.  I love that book to death.

A Hint?

Question:
 
I love the Alice series so much. You are the best author in the world. I have read every Alice book, and they all are so good. I love reading them. Can you give us 1 little hint on ‘Always Alice’?

Phyllis replied:
 
Remember that the title of the last book has been changed to “Now I’ll Tell You Everything,” and I’m afraid that’s my answer. October’s not too far away and then you’ll find out everything you ever wanted to know about Alice.

The Agony of Alice

Question:
 
I just started re-reading the entire Alice series in preparation of the final book. I just noticed that the first two books were written 4 years apart. Was “The Agony of Alice” meant to be a stand alone?

Phyllis replied:
 
Ah!  An observant reader!  Yes, I had no idea when I wrote the first one that there would be a series.  It was only after I heard from reviewers and fans that my editor and I decided to make it a series.

Always Alice

Question:
 
I have read that the last alice book is “Always Alice”, but i have also seen where it is being called “Now ill tell you everything”. I am wondering if they are the same thing. I also wanted to know the release date. It has changed so many times and now i have no idea when it will be out. I have seen on goodreads.com where some people have already wrote reviews, but i am not sure if they received an advanced copy or what.

Phyllis replied:
 
Yes, they are the same book.  At the last minute, the publisher decided the book deserved a better title and better jacket, so there was a new photo shoot and the book is coming out October 15th under the title, “Now I’ll Tell You Everything.”  I’ll be going on a book tour in October, with the kick-off at the Takoma Park Library in Takoma Park, Maryland.  This will be the evening of October 15th, where I’ll be both speaking and signing.

Unexpected Pleasures

Question:
 
I ordered a copy of Unexpected Pleasures last week.  It was so hard to find, the only copy I could get was an old library book.  I’m a bit OCD about books, so I was upset at first that I couldn’t get a hold of a new copy.  However, after reading half of it, I’ve become very attached to the poor worn out book with “WITHDRAWN” stamped across it half a dozen times.  It’s a first edition and not in that bad of shape.  I can’t help but wonder if it was removed from the “Susquehanna County Library” because of its sensitive subject matter.  I just finished my freshman year of college this past week during summer classes, and I must admit, it took quite a bit of willpower to stay focused on totalitarianism and existentialism, knowing Unexpected Pleasures was on my bookshelf waiting for me.  More than once I panicked, thinking, “Oh no! I’m missing it!”  Then I would realize, “Oh wait. It’s a book, it won’t keep going without me.”  In short, I love your story of Foster and April, and I can’t wait to finish it up this weekend!
 
Phyllis replied:
 
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it.  That is probably my favorite of all my books–certainly one that I enjoyed more than any of the others.  I too fell in love with shy Foster and feisty  April Ruth Bates, and loved every minute of writing about them.  I was especially delighted when I found a real live bridge builder who was part of a raising gang, just as Foster was, so he was a great help to me in writing the book.  A Hollywood producer was interested in making a movie of it, and came to Maryland to tour the countryside around the Bay, attend a tobacco auction, eat in a restaurant like the City Chicken, and she loved the book too, but in the end, couldn’t get funding for it, so the project was dropped.  But Foster and April will stay in my head forever.

Other Fiction Books?

Question:
 
I am now reading the book, “Alice in Charge”, I had started at the beginning with “Starting with Alice”.
Out of all the books I have read so far, i really liked the ones in the middle of the series…i found them the most interesting to read…i did miss one book “Dangerously Alice” so i have gone back and started to read that one.
I am excited for the final book which will come out soon!  Are you planning to write other books, other fiction books?
Do you write non-fiction?  Fiction is usually my favorite…
I like the covers on the latest books too.
Would you ever come back to the Alice series after you finish it and continue with it or not?
Im not a writer, sometimes poems..but i am a reader.
 
Phyllis replied:
 
I’ve written both fiction and nonfiction.  Actually, I’ve written over 140 books, a few of them for adults, and most of my books are fiction.  Go to Amazon.com to see the titles and read a bit about some of my other novels.  No, I would not come back to the Alice series after this last book is published.  I think you’ll find that it says everything I would want you to know about Alice.

So Sad To Read The Last Book

Question:

I’ve been reading the Alice books for years and truly felt like I grew up  with her.  Even though I’m a few years older (21, preparing to graduate college), I still enjoy the books so much and waiting for the final one is  bittersweet.  I’ve recently purchased all of the bind-up books to re-read and recommend to the children that I babysit and I was awed again by how well you are able to capture the essence of a girl in the most confusing and exciting part of her life.  Thank you so much for years of fantastic reading, I’m so sad but excited to read the last chapter in the Alice series.

Phyllis replied:

I know.  There’s a sadness for me too, but it’s time for Alice to grow up and be on her own.  And I know you’re at least a little bit curious to see how she lives her life, no?

Bought The Whole Series

Question:

I read ‘Starting With Alice’ in third grade over and over. I never knew there were 25 (and soon to be 26) more books. Now, I’m a sophomore in high school. I just ordered the whole series including all three prequels and I am not such a fan of prequels, which led me to wonder if I should just read the prequels first or save them for last?

Phyllis replied:

I’d read them now.  It’s fun to see what Lester was like as a teenager, and to watch their interaction as they grow up.

MITCH

Question:
 
I loved Mitch in Alice on Board. Will we learn about him in the last book?

Phyllis replied:
 
I loved him too.  Alice….?