Alice Blog

What Motivates You?

Question:

I’ve already told you how much I love the Alice series, and I figured I would probably love your other storied too. I looked up your books on Amazon and the book Jade Green really interested me b/c I love ghost stories. The problem was, I couldn’t find any of your books other than Alice at the library or bookstores (don’t ask me why, I thought everyone who reads has heard of you =) ). Eventually I found Jade Green, Sang Spell, and Blizzards Wake at an Edward McKay’s bookstore. Well, I read Jade Green first and it was SO good. At first I wasn’t sure if I would like it because of old fashioned way of speaking that the characters have, but it didn’t make a difference. It was a GREAT book. Now I’m reading Sang Spell. I’m still close to the beginning, but it’s just as captivating as everything else you’ve written that I’ve read. You are such an inspiration. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I hadn’t really been pursuing it. I suppose I haven’t been motivated enough. But then I started reading your books and it got me going again. I still don’t write as often as I should, but I do have 2 jobs and I’m tired a lot. I know I have to get serious about writing sooner or later because that’s what I want to do with my life. What motivates you to write when you’re tired and you just don’t feel like doing anything?

Phyllis replied:

If you are working two jobs, I wonder that you have strength for anything else. I guess I’m motivated because when a good story is churning inside of me, it’s like a rock in my shoe; I just can’t wait to get it out. I enjoy what I’m doing, even when it’s hard. The only caution I will give you is to make sure you want to write, not just that you want to be a writer. You must really be in love with the process itself. And if this is true for you, I imagine you will eventually find the time to do it, or adjust your schedule in a way that allows you a little time each day to see what you can do. Best of luck!

Posted on: May 6, 2010

Your Books

Question:

i never read books but one day i looked at your book blizzards wake and i thought it looked good and so i asked the teacher if i can change my author Gary paulson to Phyllis/you so she said OK ill give you an extra week so i can start over so i read it and i would not put it down i took it to restaurants why’ll i was waiting for food i read it to my parents before bed time sometimes i pretended to be asleep so i can read myself to sleep i read at school on the bus in class it was so good i finished it in a week then i read send no blessings cause we have to read 3 books by the same author it was really good i like how Beth has seven siblings and she prays to god to send no more blessings and it came true but not the way she wanted it to happen the third book i read was night cry it was really really good best one i read in my life i like how she goes to save the 4 yr old boy and finds out its Gerald Alma’s boy the old women who likes to be called granny Bo i just finished that book last week I’m going to order the book faith, hope and ivy June I’m waiting for it to come in the mail ill write you almost everyday saying what i think about the book so far. i don’t care how old you r 77 isn’t that old my great grandma is turning 85 and i will always like you and love your books i will bye all of them if i can ill read them read them to my baby sister when she gets older read them when i have kids read them to my grand kids and die with the books maybe not die with them but give them to my family to read to their siblings

Phyllis replied:

Wow! You are a serious fan! I’m so glad you like my books. So I will seriously suggest you read “Jade Green: A Ghost Story,” “A String of Chances,” “Ice,” and “The Agony of Alice.” Enjoy!

Posted on: May 3, 2010

Next Book

Question:

PlAESE Mrs NAYLOR. i really need to know!

when does the next book (the book after intesley Alice) come out?
and how many more books are left,

THANK YOU SO MUCH! KEEP UP THE AMAZING WRITING!

Phyllis replied:

The next book is “Alice in Charge,” and it will be out next month, I don’t know the exact date. There will be three more books after that.

Posted on: May 3, 2010

In Love with a Teacher

Question:

Recently a major problem has come about in my life. In fact it is alot like what Elizabeth went thorugh, in one of your books, I’m not which one it is.

Anyways, the problem is, is that i am in love with my P.E. teacher. He is very young, only 25 or something, and is married too another one of the teachers in the school. He is always very nice to me, and i have found myself madly inlove with him. I dont know what to do, since clearly, nothing could ever come out of this little crush, but i have been finding myself dreaming that something more could happen. Please give me advice as to what i could do to fix this crush i have.

Phyllis replied:

It’s not always easy to get over a crush, so I won’t say it is. You are probably not the only girl in your class, or the whole school, who has a crush on him and wishes it could develop into something more, even though you know it can’t. It might help to remind yourself that 1) you’re not the only one with a crush; 2) He’s young and probably newly married, and madly in love with his wife; 3) When you love someone, you don’t want to do anything that would hurt them in any way, and if you were to begin a flirtation with him, and he responded, he would probably lose his job. People who love each other don’t do that, even though the crush is miserable. If it would help to record your feelings in a private notebook you keep at home, not at school, it might help release some tension.

Posted on: April 25, 2010

An Alice Movie

Question:

Hi, i wanted to know if there was going to be a movie on one of the alice books because i love those books so, much i can really relate to what alice is going through. Me and my best friend get tons alice books at the library and read them all day! we really love these books because it tells us more about how our body’s will change and how boys act! next year we will be going to middle school and are very excited but a little nervous! then when we see how alice handles her school and also boys and all the drama going on we are very prepared for what we should look forward too! We REALLY REALLY LOVE these book a lot. We hope that you can talk to someone to make a movie out of one of these books, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. When i have a bad day at school all i want to do is come home and read an Alice book! Thank you for reading this, You are my favorite author…….KEEP WRITING Alice books and can you tell us how they go in order because me and my friend are kind of confused. Thank you again.

Phyllis replied:

There is already a movie on DVD based loosely on “The Agony of Alice.” It’s called “Alice Upside Down.” Look for it at your movie rental store or on Netflix. In some ways it’s very different from the book and in some ways it’s the same. You need to view it as something separate from the book, and see it as a movie in its own right.

Posted on: April 25, 2010

An Author Like you

Question:

I just want to let you know that I think you are a truly amazing author with an awesome sense of youth! I can connect to your Alice books better than any other fictional (or non-fictional) text I have ever read. Your book “Alice Alone” helped me through a tough breakup…and my situation was almost the same as hers! The way you described Alice’s emotions completely matched my own, and it helped me sort through them. It is stunning how you can write about teenagers so accurately. I have been reading your Alice books since grade 5 and they have both educated me and helped guide me through the rogh spots in life, and they probably always will. I just want to extend my most sincere thanks for helping so many teenagers such as myself deal with the curve balls life throws at them.
P.S When I am older I think I would like to be an author…like you!

Phyllis replied:

Thanks so much for writing to me. You letter means a lot.

Posted on: April 25, 2010

I Worry a Lot

Question:

I know you get a million emails everyday and this is just another thing cluttering your inbox,but I need help and I cant tell anyone I know,so please help me out.I’m 13 years old and I’m whenever I find something to worry about,I obsess about it.Literally.In 4th grade,I started obsessing about if I was going to Heaven or not and I cried everyday and I went in the bathroom and cried at school everyday and I finally told my brother and he helped me get through it,but it lasted about a year.Something else is happening and Im afraid I am beginning to obsess about it as well.I keep worrying that I am bisexual.I dont get turned on whenever I see a naked girl (my brother looks at pictures of them on the internet and I see him all the time.) I do get turned on alittle when I see girls making out but the thought of ME making out with a girl is disgusting.I would NOT enjoy that at all.I know that even if I did like girls that I wouldnt be a LESBIAN because I like boys VERY much.I know for sure that I like boys and I have never had a crush on a girl I know and Ive never had a crush on a celebrity girl.I’ve slept in the same bed as my friends several times before and I was not turned on.I had a boyfriend and I made out with him and I liked it alot XD.So,I dont know what I expect as a reply to this because I know that you cannot fix this,but it just feels good to be able to type out all my feelings and share them with someone instead of keeping them bottled up inside.I KNOW I like boys alot and even if I did like girls I know I’d like boys more.Please just tell me your thoughts about this and do you think there is any way I can stop worrying?Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.I would appreciate it so much if you could reply to this message because I really need someones help!!I dont want this worry to bother me so much.I love your books and you’re a great inspiration to me!!Have a good day!!

Phyllis replied:

Well, I don’t know of a sure-fire way to make you stop worrying because I’m a worrier too, and if I knew of a way to cure that, I’d cure myself. But a sense of humor can help. I remember when I was around 8 or 9, worrying about the Last Judgment, when the trumpet would sound and God would divide “the sheep from the goat,” those who would go to heaven and those who wouldn’t. I didn’t worry so much about going to hell, because I never thought I deserved that, but I figured that if all the people on earth were going to be judged, and all the people who had already died would be standing in line as well, it was going to be a long time before lunch. So I carried around two butter cookies in my pocket for several weeks until they became crumbs. No, I don’t think you’re a lesbian, but it wouldn’t make any difference to me if you were. We all feel a little quiver when we see something different, something sexual, even though it may not be what in reality would turn us on. Sometimes I think that because there are so many things to worry about, if someone was a worrier, it’s easier for worriers to pick one thing and then obsess about it, as though it was the only thing in the world to worry about. If we worry about dying in a plane crash, it keeps us from worrying about even more likely ways to die, for example. Learn to laugh at yourself a little bit. You have the right idea to talk about things that bother you. The things that we try to keep inside us are the things that upset us the most.

Posted on: April 24, 2010

Choosing a Career

Question:

Hello Mrs. Naylor! I have been reading books from your Alice series since i was in 6th grade, and well, now I am a junior in high school! As a junior and soon to be rising senior, I have a lot going on regarding picking a major, a college, and scholarship preparation. I am considering obtaining a major in journalism or media communications but I'm just not sure of all the job opportunities available with such majors. I enjoy writing and if I say so my self, I am pretty good at it. I plan to minor in Spanish, so if the other plans fall through I suppose I can always become a Spanish teacher. What do you think about the demand and career opportunities for journalist/media communications majors? Since you are a writer, what did you major in, in college?

Phyllis replied:

Your counselor would know more about job opportunities in various fields than I would. Your plan to major in journalism with Spanish as your fall-back plan sounds pretty good to me. The job situation is so uncertain right now that whatever advice I gave might not hold water five years from now. I would suggest majoring in what you love to do most and what you do best, and then see what happens. I majored in psychology, and didn't take any journalism or writing courses. I just loved writing in my spare time, and finally realized I could support myself at it. But any courses you take regarding people would be helpful--psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, literature--those are all helpful in becoming a writer, if that's what you eventually choose to do. Best of luck!

Posted on: April 22, 2010

Thank You

Question:

This is just a thank you for all of your hard, dedicated work. I never get tired of your books and constantly re-read them from time to time. You have a personal writing style that I really like and don’t see from other authors. It’s hard to explain, but you may know what I mean. Well, hopefully. I hope you and your family are doing well. Again, thank you.

Phyllis replied:

I appreciate your writing to me. Makes it all worth while.

Posted on: April 22, 2010

You Rock!

Question:

Hello Phyllis I just wanted to say something! You Rock!! The books that you make are amazing they help me learn about life. Does Alice get married in the book in 2013? thank you for reading this!!!

Phyllis replied:

Sorry. I can’t tell you anything more except that the last book will have whole chapters of the big moments in Alice’s life.

Posted on: April 19, 2010