Your Questions Answered

Thank You!

Share These Books with my Parents

Question:

As you know the alice series are my favorite!
I have shared these books with my parents and they love them!
both my dad and me agree that the alice series is a great father/daughter series, the moments between alice and her dad we both can relate too!
sometimes my mom and me have book discussions on alice, ever since i was young! So thank you for writing these books! its a great bond i can share with my parents! 🙂

Phyllis replied:

 

I love hearing that readers share the Alice books with their parents.  I know that there are Alice book clubs, and mother/daughter book clubs and even clubs that study banned books, some of which are Alice books.  The more teens can share with their parents, the stronger the bond, the easier the journey.

Finding Inspiration

Question:

           Wow! I don’t even know what to say. Let me start by telling you that I am a HUGE fan of your Alice books, I am 12 years old and have read (almost) every book. When I find out that a new one is out I jump to get it and that is all on my mind until i can get my hands on the book! I know you probably get letters like this all the time, so i’m pretty sure i won’t be getting and answer from you. But let me just say that I think you are an incredible writer, i envy how in these books you feel like you are a part of Alice and I know when you write them that you have to put yourself in her place. I have always found peace in writing, but don’t know where to find inspriation for my story. Can you please tell me how you found inspiration for the Alice series? And for a writer like me, how can I learn to do what you do by connecting yourself to your books?
Thanks so much!

Phyllis replied:

 

 

It’s difficult to tell someone how to find inspiration, just as it would be hard to tell another person how to enjoy spaghetti and meatballs.  There’s just something about the taste, or the idea, that really appeals to you.  I started wanting to write about a motherless girl who is being raised by her dad and older brother, and immediately realized that there could be a lot of funny scenes between Alice and her brother as she asks for advice.  You don’t want to copy me.  You want to dig into your own life and your own feelings to write about something unique to you.  The older you get, and the more you experience and see and feel, the more you will have to write about.

Complaints

Phyllis replied:

 

I think you’re right-on about most of this.  I suppose some of it can be  traced back to long-ago criticisms; some fans complained that Alice had no African-American friends, so I felt–or feel–obliged to indicate at least once in every book–for the benefit of new readers–that she does indeed have friends of various races, religions,etc. etc.  But then I’ve also been criticized if those of other races don’t have any traits or mannerisms that show their ethnicity, with the comment, “Gwen could just have well been Caucasian; why did you feel she had to be African-American?”  Etc. etc.   I agree: that “girl” is getting old.  Hope I didn’t repeat that in the current manuscript.  I don’t, however, agree that Lester made a big deal out of announcing his attraction to Tracy.  It was not a big deal to him, and he didn’t even think about it until he had listed her other qualities.  And because he had not had an African-American girlfriend before, this would certainly have been of special interest to his family.  That they stopped chewing momentarily is not
“all shocked and crap.”  Sylvia’s teasing comment is, “Les, is there anything not perfect about Tracy?” since he’s been raving about her so. Thank you for being such a faithful reader; I don’t at all mind you “getting that off your chest.”

Another Series?

Question:

I don’t know if you will ever get to read this, but I love your Alice series. I bet you get that a lot but I guess it’s never enough to hear/read someone say they admire your work.

I live in Portugal and I love the Alice series. Firstly they were one of the series I first really ‘enjoyed’ reading, opposed to read something just for the sake of it and make my parents happy.

As a child/young teenager they were one of the only books that felt as if I was reading about a real ‘kid’. I am sad to say I completely forgot about the series until last Friday when I was scheming trough my bookshelf for a small book to read while I was outside. I found my Alice collection and I fell in love all over again. Even if, now, much older I feel like rolling my eyes at a lot of young-Alice issues. Still, it was cute.

I then remembered to search for the series online and I was shocked that it had ‘grown’ so much. To say the least I just ordered a ton of Alice books from Amazon (since I couldn’t find them here and when I can I prefer to read the books in their ‘original’ language) and didn’t feel guilty. Not even a bit.

I can’t wait for them to arrive so that I can devour them.

The point of this long rambling email is that I admire you and it’s amazing that you stuck with ‘Alice’ for so long. A lot of your readers grew up reading her. It’s as if we are watching a friend grow, make mistakes, realise that she’s not perfect and keep living and doing her best. They’re very inspiring and you show the readers someone who screwed up several times (as any teenager) yet kept trying to make things right. She’s a character with a lot of facets and I love reading about her.

Anyway, my questions:
– Will you ever attempt to write another series (like Alice) based on another character that will cover a large portion of their life and their growth ?
– Did you ever consider doing a spin-off of the ‘Alice’ series? I personally would love to read more about Pamela or Patrick.
– What are your opinions on fanfiction? Does it offend you and do you think they get the characters wrong (and should invest in writing some original work) or do you feel ‘honoured’ that people like your characters enough to ‘play’ with them and write down some twists situations they’d like to see them go trough.

(Yes, I think the last one pretty much says that I’m a fanfiction addict. *blushes* To be honest I was disappointed that Alice wasn’t that famous in that world.)

I hope this didn’t bore you or annoy you. I hope you keep doing what you’re best at (writing) and keep inspiring us all.

Phyllis replied:

 

It’s always wonderful to hear that an old fan rediscovered the Alice books.  Yes, you have a lot of books to catch up on, and yes, I read all the emails to this website myself.  I’m really not interested in writing another series which follows one character for most of her life.  I will have invested 25 years following Alice (writing one book per year–two books for the years I wrote the 3 prequels) and there are just too many other kinds of books I want to do.  As for fans writing their own versions of Alice for their own enjoyment, why not?  I think it’s wonderful that you care so much.

How to Write Long Books

Question:

How do you write such long books? I’m
trying to write a book but its so hard! I really
love your books. I have a few different authors that I
love but I already finished all of their books! The only
books that I take out from the library are from you or
Erin Hunter b/c I didn’t finish your books. If you have a
 trick of how to make a long book please tell me!

Phyllis replied:

 

You’re really asking the wrong question, I’m afraid.  Long or short doesn’t matter; it’s whether the book is any good.  Is it interesting?  Does it have a plot that grabs you?  Is there conflict?  Are the characters engaging?  Is the dialogue realistic?  Concentrate on writing the very best story or book that you can.   Length is SO unimportant.

In Love with Patrick

Question:
 

           I am such a big fan of Alice and I admire her a lot.  I know that you hear that from your fans everyday, haha.  The way I became a fan of the Alice series is a bit unusual in fact.  It was in Grade 5 when someone came to our school and introduced us to some new books.  One of these books was, “Alice in Agony”.  He gave us a very short summary, but listening about Alice’s struggle without her mother, completely engaged me to read the book.  So when I saw the book in our school library, I grabbed it. Let’s just say since then I’m in love with Alice.  I’ve read every single book until “Intensely Alice.”  I can relate to her; I laugh with her, I cry with her, I get confused with her, I love with her, and I learn with her.  Knowledge; that is the biggest thing I have gained from this book. I learned many things about growing up, love, and most importantly how relationships work. Whether it is with your siblings, parents, peers, teachers, or friends, Alice always had ways to overcome her challenges.  I especially admire the way the series deals with common issues among teens because without knowing, you are helping out regular girls like me. And how can I forget to say that I am in love with the character, Patrick! I hope you continue to write such amazing books! I am so excited to read the upcoming books.  

 
Phyllis replied:

I’m delighted that the books that meant so much to you.  Thanks for being such a faithful reader.    
                  
                     

=

Want That Kind of Relationship

Question:

Ive been an Alice fan for over 7 years. Today I went to
get some books at a library and I found Alice in Charge. I thought i had
finished them all and read them over and over again. You could not even believe
the excitment I felt. Your Alice books completly inspire me. I’m in 9 grade and
recently Ive been expirimenting with boys a little too much. But seeing how much
Patrick and Alice care for each other makes me want to wait and have that kind
of relationship. So thanks for all of the days I’ve spent curling up with these
books on a rainy day and continuing to inspire me. Can’t wait to read the next
Alice book!    Forever a fan
              

 

Phyllis replied:

I’m so glad you found the latest book.   I love hearing from readers who have read them all.

Embarrassments

Question:

Alice seems to have sooo many embarresing moments, the thing is i never have embaresing moments! is there somthing wrong with me?

Phyllis replied: 

No.  You’re just lucky.

Alice in College

 

I wish I could carry on correspondence with all my readers, but I just can’t.  I’m always eager to read your thoughts or questions about the Alice books or life in general.  Yes, the 28 books include the prequels.  The very last book that will come out in 2013 includes some about Alice’s college years.