What Inspired the Series?

Question:
 
I began reading the Alice books about three years ago and fell in love with how much I could relate to Alice. I loved the books so much I recommended them to two of my friends and we all dressed up as Alice, Pam, and Liz for my school literacy week.
You’re books have insipired me to write. I have just started reading Almost Alice and I would like to know what your inspiration for the Alice books was and is. Also did you always want to be an author when growing up?  Please keep writing.

Phyllis replied:
 
When I was growing up, I wanted to be either a teacher, an actress, an opera singer or a missionary to China.  Mother said that if I were an actress, I’d probably faint under the bright lights; missionaries, so tales were told, were sometimes eaten alive; and somewhere along the way I gave up wanting to be an opera star, though I’ve always loved singing, and I also taught for awhile.  But from the time I learned to read and write, I loved making up my own stories, collecting the pages into a book, and providing the illustrations.  And finally, my hobby became my life’s work.  The Alice series began when I simply wanted to write a book about a motherless girl, looking for a role model, and then the reviews and letters started coming in….