Alice Blog

Alice

Dear Phyllis,
My name is Pia, I’m 26 (nearly 27) and I live in Avignon (South of France).
I read the Alice series when I was 11-12 years old and your books were my favourites. I only have three, the others came from the library. I’m moving in a new house soon, with my husband and 2 year old daughter Zelda soon. This afternoon I was packing my large collection of books when I stumbled across my three Alice books. And now I’m on my couch, reading and laughing, a teenager again. I’m so glad I have your books, and one day Zelda will read them, I’m sure. Thank you for your amazing books, I love Alice so much.
Bye !

How wonderful that you took the time to write to me while you are packing to move!  It’s fun to hear from grown women who loved Alice as much as I enjoyed writing about her.  Give Zelda a hug from me.

Just some love

A few years ago I contacted you to share my love to your series and how much I loved it. You kindly answered me and sent me a wallpaper poster and a letter. You also sent me an email telling me that you shared it with your editor and asked me about the differences in the Portuguese translation.
I don’t think I ever answered you back though I wanted. Life got in the way and then I was embarrassed to answer you back. Well today I drank a little bit and here I am.

Still love your books. Still think about them and, since I am a teacher, I recommend them to my students. I still reminish about Alice losing her dad, whenever I’m more sad about losing my dad.

Just wanted to let you know how much your books meant and thank you for that.
And hope you have a wonderful life, that you always know that you are treasured by millions of people worldwide.

 

Thank you so much for thinking of me again.  Things that happened to Alice keep popping up in my own life or friends’ lives now and then, and I find myself thinking, “What would Alice do?”  “What would Alice say?”

Shiloh movie

Is it possible to get a Shiloh movie from you?

I had thought I had a project that would enable me to do that, as so many schools teach the movie along with the book, but it just didn’t work out.   I’m so sorry that the movie is hard to find.  I’ve suggested to teachers who write to me that they look for a used disk.  I’ve seen a number of those listed for very reasonable prices.   Look for the movie on Amazon or other sites and see if you can’t find a used one.  Then rent or loan it out to other schools.

few questions about Alice

Hello. I’m 15 years old and I’ve read all the Alice books and I’m in love with them! I have a few questions about the Alice books. I remember in one of the books, Pamela gets pregnant & has a miscarriage, did you ever think about making Pamela have the baby & show the struggles of being a teen mother? It’s unfortunately sometimes the case for some teens. Also, did you ever think about making Alice pregnant as a teen? or at least a pregnancy scare? My final question is, Were you scared to bring up certain topics in the Alice books and afraid some girls would take it the wrong way? or that parents would get upset with you talking about these topics?

I was never afraid because I knew I was  writing true-to-life stories, and because I had a good editor and publisher, and countless librarians, whom I knew would stand up for me and for your right to read.  I did hear occasionally from parents who thought that ten years old was too young for children to know how babies were conceived (Lovingly Alice)  and others shocked at the intimacy of Alice and Patrick when she visited him at the University of Chicago.  In fact, angry letters  that Alice thought about sex at all.  Some told me that “…my daughter never thought about sex until she read your Alice books…” but I got far more letters from girls saying things like “I could never ask my mother things like that.  She has no idea how much I think about sex.”  No, I never planned for Alice to have a scare with pregnancy, but I knew Pamela would.  Of course I know that many teenagers get pregnant–Teen Mom–but to show her having to cope with a baby would extend my series on beyond the 28 books I had planned.   Over the years I got many, many letters, suggesting things I should have happen to Alice:  make her a diabetic, make her try drugs, let her marry Sam, etc.  and I simply had to carve out the life I saw for her myself.

Thank You for important topics

I just wanted to say thank you for writing the Alice series. I loved reading so much throughout my childhood, and even though it’s been years since I’ve read the series, I continually realize how many important topics covered in a way that is approachable to kids-from homosexuality, to religion, rebellious phases, sexual assault, suicide, etc…thank you for impacting my childhood, my understanding of the world, and my love of reading

I’m glad to hear from you, especially with book banning beginning again in some states and cities.  The best libraries are those that try to have books for all people, all races and religions, and on as many different topics that can be handled well.  I also wish there was more communication in families between parents and children.  I’ve received numerous letters from parents saying that they object to the episodes in the Alice books dealing with sex.  “My daughter never even thinks about sex,” some of them write.  But I have received far more letters from girls saying, “My mom has no idea what goes on in my head .  I think about sex all.the.time!  I so appreciate your email.

Another Alice movie?

I grew up reading the alice books in middle school all the way up until highschool and I always get attached to the series. will it be another movie about the Alice books ? and is Alice a story based off someone you know?

Sometimes I’m the last one to know that one of my books has become a movie.  There’s a lot of chatter, but I would certainly let my readers know if another Alice movie was made.  Alice’s life is based partly on mine, on my friends, on things people tell in in their letters, all mixed up with imaginings.  I  hope you are able to read all 28 in the series.

Two Generations of Alice Fans

I remember reading the Alice books as a kid and teen. I loved them, and re-read them many times in the 90’s. When I was pregnant with my first child, I started thinking of favorite book characters for baby names. As you may have guessed, my daughter is named Alice! She is seven years old, and has just read the first two Alice books. She LOVES them, and we wanted to tell you thank you for writing these books.

My Alice wants to know how long it takes you to write an Alice book.

I’ve loved sharing the Alice books with her, and look forward to reading more as she grows up.

Sincerely,
Alice & Jessica

I love knowing that moms are sharing the Alice books with their daughters (and sons).  I know that some school librarians have organized Alice “mother and daughter clubs,” where they read the books aloud and discuss them afterwards.   I usually set aside six months to write an Alice book, though it usually took less time than that because I knew her and her family and friends so well in my head.  Then I used the other six months of the year to work on any book other than Alice.

the cat I got because of Alice:)

Hello!

I am 23 years old. I am from Nashville, TN.
I just wanted to thank you for your books. When I was in 3rd grade we moved and I had to start a new school. My mom bought “Starting with Alice” at the book fair:). She read it to me and my sister at night. I related so much to that book! And it made me want a cat sooo bad!!! The next Christmas my parents got us cats!!! All I wanted was a kitty that looked like the kitty on the cover of the Alice book. My Dad called all the local pounds asking for gray striped kittens and found a kitty named Shannon! I didn’t have the heart to change her first name, but named her Shannon Alice. She is my best friend! She is 14 now and is still a bundle of chaos. She has been there for me since 2007! She was there when I went to college in Arkansas, moved to Pennsylvania for my first job, and to my move back to Tennessee!

Unfortunately, I have lost my original Alice books. Lord knows where they ended up after all these years. But my little cousin, who is in the second grade, has been falling behind on reading. And as the family book worm, I was enlisted to try and help her out and find fun books, I thought back to the books I enjoyed as a kid. The Alice books were high on the list. When I looked them up on line and saw the yellow Alice cover, I got chills! The cat is a carbon copy of my Shannon Alice!!

So sorry if that was a little all over the place. I just wanted to say thanks for your books. They made a huge impact on me. I am a HUGE reader and always am reading multiple books, and my earliest memories of really enjoying books can be traced back to yours!! Even though my taste is mainly paranormal romances now, I am looking forward to getting the next generation of my family excited about reading!

Thanks:) And I hope you have a great holiday season.

I think readers will enjoy your story as much as I did.  I had to smile at the thought of your dad calling all those pounds.  Thanks for your email and best wishes to you and your little cousin.

Drafting Alice

Hello! I’m a senior in the Patapsco High School (in Dundalk, MD) literary arts program. Currently, we’re working on senior theses which will be full-length novels. Mine is going to be the longest in the class at over 400 pages! I’ve loved the Alice books for nearly a decade and I own every single one of them. I’ve lived in a single-parent household my entire life and I’ve learned so much from Alice. When I was in middle school, I talked about the series so much that my mom said she knew Alice better than Allie. When I have bad days, I still go back and read my favorite sections (which I have bookmarked)! Right now, my class is about to start revision and we’ve been discussing how the books we see and love have come a long way from their initial drafts. We thought it would be interesting to request a peek at an initial draft from some of our favorite authors and I immediately thought of you. Do you have anything from the drafting of Alice that you’d be willing to show me? I appreciate any response from you!!

I wish I had a draft to show you, but I no longer have room to keep them.  I can tell you this, however.  As I have been writing full time for sixty years, there were no computers then.  Final copies were typed up and sent to the the editor.  I wrote at least three drafts for every book, and wrote longhand on a clip board.  The first draft was sloppily written and it was more like stage directions, just figuring out which characters were in each scene, dialogue, action, etc.  After the first chapter was done, I immediately, if possible,  rewrote it, taking more care, extending the scenes, developing the characters, polishing the dialogue, etc.  But the third draft was the one I liked writing best, because the hard work of thinking out the structure had already been done, and I knew there were probably two more drafts to write yet to come, so the third draft was when I could just play around , try out new things, make it funnier (or more scary)….  My husband gave me a book once and on the inside page he had written May your life always be a third draft…..

Best of luck with your own writing!

 

Appreciation on Alice !

I cannot thank you enough for writing the Alice series . I’ve never been captivated by a series as I have by yours. The fact that Alice seems so real is amazing. I felt like I’ve known her my whole life ( which I have =) ). I’ve never resonated with a character as much I have with Alice. I’ve learned so much about life than I probably ever will from anywhere else. I’m forever grateful for Alice for normalizing a lot of things that I and pretty much everyone I know assumes is weird and abnormal. She is pretty much the big sister I never had – even from her young age, she taught me a lot about my life. Absolutely love this series, and how realistic you made her feel – even thought its the life of a girl, its not boring, its not something I wanted to put down until I finished. I got so close to Alice, that I actually cried when it was her graduation and her wedding. I cannot stop praising, and I won’t. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for writing this series. I only finished the final book today, and I’ve never felt so lonely in my entire life as I have now. Changed my point of view of life in a huge way !

Thank you again so very much ! Stay safe and take care .

 

It’s not unusual to hear from male fans of Alice, as well as female.  I’m so glad that the series resonated with you.   I still remember one of my book signings when three boys, around eleven or twelve, stood in line to have their pile of Alice books signed.  Grinning, they told me, “we learn about girls this way.”  (I wish I had the Alice books too when I was growing up.  I didn’t learn very much from Nancy Drew). Thanks so much for taking the time to write to me.