Times I Wanted to Throw your Book at the Wall

Question:

There is a very good chance I’m doing this wrong. Oh well. I just wanted to tell you that if there is ever a time where you feel like you have done nothing, don’t. The Alice series did more than bring me to tears multiple times. I didn’t exactly start the series right when they came out. I don’t think I had even been born yet. This way I was fortunate enough to have every book already out. No waits! I literally read I Like Him He Likes Her, It’s not like I Planned It This Way, Please Don’t be True, and Now I’ll Tell You Everything in three months tops. I was probably too young for some of the content, but that didn’t matter to me. Alice touched me in a way that I thought only existed with siblings. She felt like a sister to me. And it wasn’t only Alice that I loved. Every character, real or fiction, made a difference in my life. I don’t have a brother, and Lester fixed that problem right away. Pam and Liz resemble my friends in more ways than one.
                                                       
There were times I wanted to throw your book at the wall. Times like when Patrick went with Penny. When Tracy broke Lester’s heart. And when Pam was pregnant. I think that’s the weird part though. When I absolutely despised one character, I got closer to another. And eventually my slate with every person was wiped clean. As though I was never mad. Sorry this is dragging on. I just can’t find the words. I was so emotionally invested in this series, that any series to follow will be like going to a talent show and finding out you go on after the Beatles. I guess what I wanted to say wasn’t thank you, but well done. Without knowing it, you touched the hearts of children all over the world. You touched mine most of all. Alice will forever hold a spot in my heart. Take over my mind when I have nothing to think about. And for that, I can say thank you.

Phyllis replied:

Oh, there were times I wanted to throw my manuscripts against the wall, believe me, when I couldn’t seem to figure out what it was I was trying to say.  Or why a character behaved as he did.  But in the end, Alice and her friends seemed to do exactly what was right for their personalities, and as their author, I went along with it.  Thank you so much for your letter.  Made me tear up.