Your Questions Answered
Question:
I am 13 and in the 8th grade. There is this boy that I like and i have known him since 6th grade. He has a girlfriend at our school who came last year and she’s really nice. I invited him to my bat mitzvah in june, and he invited me to his, but his parents and mine had a series of emails because at first we did not get one… Anyway, I was not sure if he really was going to invite me in the first place, and it was really awkward. I have several classes with him but seems like he does not like me. I am wondering if and what i should say to him or his girlfriend, and when.
P. S. I love your books and i will always.
thanks.
Phyllis replied:
This is one of those awkward situations in life because you’re not sure what has been said or discussed behind the scenes, probably just a general misunderstanding of who invited whom. I would stay friendly but casual, and treat this boy and his girlfriend no differently from anyone else. If he doesn’t like you or want to get more friendly, he’ll be glad you don’t seem to be watching him all the time, and if he does like you and wants you to be more than a friend, he’ll probably find some way to let you know.
Posted on: December 10, 2011
Question:
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Mrs. Naylor,
Thirteen years ago, I was introduced to the Shiloh series. I was nearly eight years old at the time and a new student at a school in East Texas. My family had just moved from Southern California, and I was both frightened and excited by the prospect of attending a new school. Little did I know that my second grade year would be one of the most memorable in my life. My teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, who is no longer with us, used the series to teach valuable lessons to all of us, and from what I understand, it was a tradition that she kept up over the years.
Recently, I watched Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season on television and it made me remember all the good times I had in that class. It wasn’t until the film was over that I remembered Mrs. Schwartz had passed on, but instead of feeling sadness, I felt blessed for all the good memories I have.
I want to thank you for writing this series, as well as Beetles, Lightly Toasted and Jade Green: A Ghost Story. All of these books, among countless others, inspired me and fueled my passionate hobby. In fact, they inspired me so much that I am now pursuing a Bachelor’s degree from Full Sail University’s online Creative Writing for Entertainment program. I’m a big advocator of children’s and young adult programming, and in the future, it’s the field I hope to be working in.
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Phyllis replied:
I so appreciate your writing to me. You obviously like a wide variety of books and plots, and I wish you every success in your career.
Posted on: December 10, 2011
Question:
I have to start out by saying, I love your books! I can’t even remember the summer I started reading them because it was a while ago, but I remember checking out over 20 of your books from the local library and I hid myself away until I read them all! A few years had gone by and I was at the book store and had found a new book out “Incredibly Alice” and was so excited because it reminded me of my younger youth a bit. But I have just wanted to know one thing, why Takoma Park as the main setting? I am from Pennsylvania, but I am always in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia (DMV). I was on my way to University of Maryland, College Park to see a Women’s Basketball game against the Georgetown Hoyas, and I drove through Takoma Park and I thought it was the coolest thing, for a second I felt like I was living in the Alice books especially when I had read the books because it was always fun to make the connections and say “ooh I know that place” or “I have been to that mall!” ha. But as I was driving through, Takoma Park I was wondering why did you pick that particular place out of anywhere else? …I have to say though, doesn’t Alice know that Georgetown University is way better than University of Maryland?!! 😉 ha. ha.
Thank You for writing such awesome books.
Phyllis replied:
Ahem. Do you really expect me to get into an argument about which school is best? Nah. Knowing Alice, I think she’d choose the least expensive school to go easy on her dad. I chose Takoma Park for Lester because it’s close to the U. of Maryland, it has a flavor of individualism, I know some artists who live there, and I thought it would be just right for a grad student. Also, it’s close enough to where Alice and her dad live, without being in the same city, that Alice could easily get there, and provide more scenes for my books. Thanks for writing!
Posted on: December 6, 2011
Readers, please notice: If you have tried to send emails to me and I haven’t answered, the new web address
for reaching me is friendsofalice@mail.com
Posted on: December 6, 2011
I am a 16 year old girl and I’m from Germany.
I’ve never written to an author before (but I think it’s a great thing to do!)
Well, I remember picking up the Alice books in my town’s library when I was … like ten or eleven and I really loved them. It’s funny really, until I was fourteen or fifteen, I never did buy an Alice book but just kept borrowing them.
I think Alice was always a bit younger than me but I could easily relate to her.
I really liked all the characters, their problems and feelings. Lester was the older brother I’ve always wanted (I remember being really touched when he helped Alice overcoming her fear of deep water) I loved the friendship between Alice, Elizabeth and Pamela … and basically everything else 😉
As you may already know in Germany people stopped publishing the Alice books after “Simply Alice” was published. But I found out that there are more books and as I was really into English books I ordered “Patiently Alice” from Amazon. I was hooked once again and ordered the next ones very soon. And so it turned out that Alice became older than me – I actually liked this – but I still could relate to her.
The last year changed me a lot as I finally accepted that I am at least bisexual.
I finally told my friends, I told my parents and I just don’t hide this part of my life anymore. The reactions were all really good and I am really glad for having such amazing friends and parents.
Well, I don’t know how everything will turn out… if I’m homosexual or not … I just don’t know – but I’m having the confidence just to see what happens next.
But during this time the Alice books were always there on my bookshelf and the Alice-world remained the same when things around me changed a lot. So I take this opportunity to thank you for creating this world! 🙂
I’m really excited for the last book, seeing where Alice’s journey goes…
Greets from Germany 🙂
Phyllis replied:
I love reading emails from other countries. I’ve heard the same complaint from German fans before–about the publisher stopping halfway through the series. It wouldn’t hurt to let the German publisher know that you’d like them to continue. But it’s great to know that Alice’s problems resonate with readers all over the world. It was also wonderful to know that your parents and friends are accepting you as you are. Don’t feel that you have to label yourself right now. Things will work themselves out and become clearer the older you are. I tend to look at sexuality as a continuum, with avid heterosexuality at one end and homosexuality at the other. In between are all the different shades of sexual feeling. I’m glad the Alice books have seemed to be an anchor for you. Alice’s world changes too, of course, and she has to change along with it. Thanks so much for writing to me.
Posted on: December 6, 2011
Question:
Let me start by saying that I am a very avid Alice book reader. I am twelve, and am in the 7th grade. I can’t wait to read the final book!
Anyhow, I had a question. Remember in ‘Outrageously Alice’ that part about Crystal’s wedding? And Alice is paired up with Danny, the groom’s brother? Well, I was wondering why, if Danny is only seventeen, that he was drinking beer in the first place? It always sort of puzzled me, as to why he was even able to GET the beer. He still had four years to go before 21. Could you please clarify as to why you put this like this? Thank you, your reply is MUCH apreciated!
P.S. I am going to dedicate one of the books I publish, to you, my role model in journalism.
Phyllis replied:
He shouldn’t have been drinking, of course. But sometimes drinking is overlooked at a family affair, and with champagne sitting around on trays while people are dancing, it would be very easy for a 16-year-old to help himself to drinks that adults had left on a tray or a table. P.S. I would be very honored if you dedicated a book to me!
Posted on: December 5, 2011
Question:
I grew up reading the Alice books and LOVE them. I would like to have all of them one day and hope to have a daughter who loves reading as much as I do that I could share them with. Do all the books come in a complete series type package? I know many television shows have complete series in one uniform package that are nice to have around. Is this something you have or have ever considered?
Phyllis replied:
I’m asked this question a lot. Unfortunately, the 28 books aren’t published in any package. They’ve come out one by one, a year at a time, over a 25 year period, and there have been a number of editions and different covers. You would just have to find them online–perhaps Amazon.com–and select the one you want, then order it that way. Recently the three books of her freshman year have been printed as one book, the same with her sophomore and junior years (and eventually her senior year), but there’s no way to order the complete series all at one time. I wish there was.
Posted on: December 5, 2011
Question:
I’m in love with your alice books. It’s like a series that i love to read now. I’ve only read two but there really good.
I think “Alice in the know” was one of the best yet.Right know i’m reading “simply Alice”, and i like it alot. i can never put it down.
My teacher has to tell me to.
You inspire me write a lot of my own books to. After reading your books it encouraged me to start writing. I’ve writen one book so far.
And in these books, Are any of these stories true?????????
Phyllis replied:
I write about things that happened to me, or to my friends, or that I read about, but most of them come from my imagination. The Tarzan episode in “Agony of Alice” really happened to me. Falling down the stairs the first day of high school happened to my mom in 1917!
Posted on: December 5, 2011
Question:
On holiday in the summer, I picked up one of your books (with three in it) and read them all in two days, I loved them so much! I was wondering if your books would ever be released as a kindle version so I could read every single book?
Phyllis replied:
Yes, I believe they will. They’re working on the contract now. I don’t know just when they will be on Kindle.
Thank you so much 🙂
Posted on: December 5, 2011
Question:
I don’t know what to do. I lost my virginity with the boy I thought I “loved” last week. He hasn’t called, texted, or talked to me in person since. I am so full of grief that I can hardly feel anything at all.
Phyllis replied:
I’m sorry for you. To be ignored is so painful. But you haven’t lost your life or your chance for a better relationship. You didn’t say if you’ve tried to contact him, but if he is not returning your calls, there is little you can do other than chalk it up to experience and be very careful in the future. If he is a person who would go around telling others about his experience with you, I would say simply to those who ask, “It was a big mistake, but it’s over.”
Posted on: December 1, 2011
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