Who was Alice?

Comment:

I’ve been dreading the end of the Alice series for a very long time.  The fear was that once I finished the books, Alice’s story would become stagnant–her story would become stuck in the past rather than feeling like Alice is right there with me in every step of my life.  Now that I’ve reached the end of the series, I’m thrilled that my fear didn’t come true.  Alice lived a full and complete life, and thanks to you, I have a full record of it.   Are the Alice books autobiographical for you in any way?  How did you feel saying goodbye to Alice?

Phyllis replied:

I was both sad and relieved when the last book was done.  No one can guarantee how long she’ll live, and I SO wanted to complete the series (and write a zillion more books that are in my head).  At the same time, I enjoyed writing the series so much.  Whenever it was time to do another Alice book, it was like vacation to me, settling down with a family I felt I knew so well.  And how I loved writing those discussions between Alice and Lester!  I guess I’d have to say that the books were autobiographical in the sense that I could feel absolutely every emotion Alice was experiencing, whether the same situation had happened to me or not.  I was so into her, into her head, that I could feel what she was going to do or say next.  So it was great being 18 again, or 24, or 36.  Even 60, with a whole new career before her.