Your Questions Answered
Question:
Hello Phyllis,
I found this really funny actually, because my dad was turning 50 this year, I planned a surprise party for him!
Then one day, maybe two days before the party, I remembered in Alice in April, she does the same thing for her dad!
I told my friends this and they thought this was funny……i guess I am truly an obsessive alice fan!
thanks for writing these amazing books!
Phyllis replied:
Your dad’s lucky to have a daughter like you! Hope the party was a great success!
Posted on: October 25, 2010
Question:
i love your Books verry much!
Alice its so lovely and funny and embarrassing. I hope you write many, many
books from Alice!
Phyllis replied:
Thanks very much for telling me how fond you are of the Alice books. I appreciate it.
Posted on: October 25, 2010
Question:
Hey PN, In English this year we are reading The Scarlet Letter and I think it is such a good book. We are talking a lot about the symbon bolism of the A and others things and it made me wonder if there are any symbols in your books. I don’t really pick up on symbols that much so it made me think. Also, our teacher talks about names such as Pearl and Aurthor Dimmesdale and there is a reason him name starts with an A and Roger Chillingworth and how his name has the world chill it in because he is a cold man. So are there any meanings to the names in Alice? Or are they just names you randomly picked?
Also, I have a question about a guy. So my friend set me up for with her ex’s for homecoming (he goes to an all boy school and I attend and all girls school) So I went to the dance with him and had so much fun and he seemed to too. We were dancing and “freaking” and I told him he was a really good dancer and he told me I was one too and included a smiley face in the text message. Anyway, so when he walked me to the door I asked him to my school’s homecoming and he said yes. He didn’t kiss me at the door or anything but that may have been becuase his mom could see us on the porch. I also invited him to a school function in January that I am participating in and he said he will try to go. I am also thinking of inviting him to come to my school play with me. But the thing is I really like him and I’m sure how he feels about me. We text sometimes but he is kind of a weird texter and takes a while to reply and I’m fine with that because my friend says he does that to everyone. But I have hinted how I felt but I don’t know if I should straight out just tell him or if I should wait a while. The last time I felt like this about a guy at the beginnign I fell completely in love with him. When he first wanted a date he told him friend that he wanted a girl who would give him a BJ but then said he was just kidding but I’m not sure he was. He also told a friend before he met me that he wanted a girl skinnier than him which I am not but I’m not like super fat or anything. But I don’t know whether he cares anymore. But we really seemed to hit it off. So what do you think? Should I tell him directly how I feel now? Or should I wait? And do you think he likes me back?
Phyllis replied:
Why do you need to TELL him? Don’t you think he already knows? By all means, if you like him, keep inviting him places and accept his invitations. But since you have some reservations about things he’s told his friends, get to know him better. Guys often react goofy once a girl actually says she likes him, because he feels that now he has to commit himself somehow or put his feelings for you into words. And this has wrecked many a budding romance. As for symbolism in the names I choose for my characters, I don’t consciously plant a symbol, but I do think a long time about names, and choose them for a variety of reasons.
Posted on: October 25, 2010
Question:
I would like to start off by saying that you are so nice and awesome for replying to not a few but ALL of my letters to you. I think you’re amazing as a writer, role model, and person. Alice has always been my ‘secret’ best friend, and I love how much I can relate to her. I’ve read all of your Alice books, from “Starting with Alice” to “Alice in Charge”, at least twice. If there’s one thing I’m positive about, it’s that I’m going to introduce Alice to my daughter when I grow up and have children. You helped me get inspired to start writing as a hobby — and now I’m on almost page 70 of the novel I’m writing. I just really hope you know how much of an inspiration, role model, and all-together fantastic woman you are. Please keep writing — I can’t live without Alice! 🙂
Phyllis replied:
I’m glad if I’ve been keeping up with your letters. Sometimes I get so bogged down in a manuscript that I don’t get to my emails for a week or two, though I hope to do a better job. Best of luck in your own writing. Seventy pages is a lot! But the number doesn’t matter as much as whether or not you are enjoying yourself and are happy with the way the words arrange themselves on paper. And the older you get, the more you experience of life and the more you remember, the more you’ll have to write about.
Posted on: October 25, 2010
Question:
Hey PN, I want to go on the pill to regulate my period and help relieve cramps. My sister is already on it for those reasons and says it helps a lot. I don’t have a very open relationship with my mom. Growing up, she never told me anything about life, puberty, or sex. We are close but we don’t talk about those things. I sent her an email telling her I wanted to go on it. She said we will have to talk about it. She never mentioned it. I know the worst she can do is say no, but I feel extremely uncomfortable asking about it. We recentely got into a fight and she doesn’t trust me as much so I’m worried that she thinks I’m using this as an excuse to have safe sex. But I’m not. I have had the opportunity to have sex a couple of times and every time I have said no because I’m too young and not ready, but she doesn’t know that. But I’m scared she will get mad at me for wanting birth control. And I can’t get it secretly because I can’t drive even though I’m 16 and she sometimes goes through my stuff. Plus I don’t want to lie to her, I am trying to regain the trust we have lost. How do you think I should approach her in a way she will understand?
Phyllis replied:
You need more than a driver’s license to buy birth control pills; you need a doctor’s prescription. And you should be talking with a doctor anyway about what would be best for your health. For older teens who want to be sexually active and don’t have a doctor, Planned Parenthood can discuss things with them and provide a prescription, though I’m sure there’s an age limit. But it would be wonderful if you could improve your relationship with your mom. Why not just tell her what you told me? Be honest. Begin by saying you want to be able to discuss things like this with her, and hope she’ll listen. Then make sure she gets a chance to say how she feels about it.
Posted on: October 23, 2010
Question:
I am a huge fan of your alice books!!!(: just wanted to tell you that they are awesome. I can never put them down I finished one in only a day it was so good(:
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Phyllis replied:
Thanks so much for letting me know!
Posted on: October 21, 2010
Question:
Hi, I’m so glad you have a website like this, because honestly. I need someone to talk to. I love your Alice seires, it really is fantastic. But, now, I need to vent to someone, who actually might understand me. I’m 12, I am in the seventh grade, and I am obsessed with make up. I love it, I love how you can look pretty bad one moment, but the next you can look gorgeous with just some makeup. One HUGE problem, my mom forbids me from it. I never minded, until around the end of Sixth grade. Lots of girls wear make up now, and they look very pretty. I know I do, when I wear it. (Not to be concieted) but, when I don’t….I feel plain, and ugly. But when I do, I feel pretty, and confident. It really just…I don’t know. So I’ve been in 7th grade for about three months now, and every day; I run to the bathroom to put make up on. Every morning, as soon as I get there, that’s where I head. I hate doing it, I hate betraying my parents. But I’m very self-concious. I get so jealous when I see my friends wearing make up, and having no worries in the world. Because guess what? Their parents understand, and know what its like. My parents don’t. So, I thought maybe if I tried really hard in school, my parents would finally let me. Because in the past, I’ve been quite the slacker. Hardly turned in homework, got b’s and c’s. And my parents are total physcos about being a good studnet. So, our first report card just came back. Straight A’s. Every subject. Oh, and get this. A+ in english. Guess what my reward was….a book. I do love reading, but a book? For straight A’s? I just don’t see the point in trying anything anymore. All my parents reall every pushed me about was, school. Both my parents are smart, and have great jobs that pay very well. Both of them went to good colleges, and blah blah blah. My dad really pushed me to do good in school. So when I finally do, a book?! I cry to them, and tell them. You probably think I’m shallow, which I guess I am. But I can’t help that. My friends don’t understand, because they can go around wearing make up whenever they’d like. “Lade la la” It felt really good to let this out. You wouldn’t even know. I hope you answer soon….
Phyllis replied:
Okay. I understand your pain, and I know that make-up can help a little–sometimes a lot–with a girl’s looks. (I also know that it takes real skill to apply it so that it looks natural). Since my own mother made no rules about what we could or could not wear, when we could have a boyfriend, or when we could wear make-up, I never had your problem. We just had to figure all these things out ourselves, with an occasional comment from Mom if she felt we overdid it. But here’s where your reasoning is all wacky: I get so jealous when I see my friends wearing makeup, having no worries in the world. Are you serious? I get a few letters about make-up, but tons of letters about best friends deserting them, about parents divorcing, about their legs or butts not looking as they like them, about weight, about pregnancy, about boyfriends threatening suicide… All your problems will not disappear if you are allowed to wear all the makeup you like. That said, you are getting to the age where you should be allowed to make some decisions for yourself. And though I’m not recommending that you keep secrets from your parents, as you get older you won’t feel the need, nor should you have to, tell them everything little thing you think or feel or do, though it’s wonderful if you have a relationship that allows this. What I wish is that sometime when your mom is feeling relaxed and in a good mood, you tell her that you want to talk. That you would like the kind of relationship with her where you could tell her almost everything, but that you are really upset that you are not allowed to wear makeup, and that you’ve been wearing some at school. That you don’t feel good about this, but feel that she and your dad are being unreasonable about a decision that you should be able to make yourself. Assure her that wearing makeup is not going to affect your grades (and make sure it doesn’t), but that you feel prettier and more confident when you look nicer, and perhaps she could even help you with makeup to decide what looks the most natural. I would at least give her the chance to be your buddy in this, if she’s willing. If I were your parent, which I’m not, I would consider this a small decision that you could make yourself, and I’d choose my battles carefully, and argue about bigger issues than this. But I’m not your parent. You have to deal with the ones you have, but I hope this opens the door to a better relationship with them, and a little more freedom for you.
Posted on: October 21, 2010
Question:
I am a fan of your books. I started reading them last year and i love them. My question is are you going to make another book in the alice series? I just finished alice in charge which is the latest book and i would like you to make more of like where she goes off to collage and what happens between her and patrick. By the way I am glad you brought him back. I thought they were a great couple. I love the series and i hope you make more.
Phyllis replied:
There are three more Alice books coming after Alice in Charge. Look for a new one each June, the very last one to be published in 2013.
Posted on: October 21, 2010
Question:
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hi,
I am a huge fan of your alice books!!!(: just wanted to tell you that they are awesome. I can never put them down I finished one in only a day it was so good(:
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Phyllis replied:
Thank you for telling me! A nice way to start my day.
Posted on: October 12, 2010
Question:
Thank you so much! I am sorry about that email. don’t know what i was thinking. Okay, my question was…… are there going to be anymore Alice books???? I am really excited about reading the next one after intensely Alice. I am also looking forward to reading your newer book Faith, Hope, and Ivy June. I am going to try to check it out of my school library. Thanks for your time!
Phyllis replied:
I’m glad you like the Alice books. There is already a book published since “Intensely Alice;” read “Alice in Charge.” Next June look for “Incredibly Alice.” Then there will be two final books after that before the series is over.
Posted on: October 12, 2010
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