Alice Blog

Will You Make Any Books About her Older Life?

Question:

My Friend and I like the Alice series. It teaches us a lot of new things. since i started reading them i haven’t yet wanted to put them down because they are so good. My favorite is Almost Alice it is really interesting! I am about done with the series and that makes me sad because I want to hear about later in Alice’s life! Do you think you will make any books about her older life in college or when she is married?

Phyllis replied:

The very last book in the series, “Always Alice,” which will be published in 2013, will take Alice from age 18 to age 60. There will be a chapter about each of the important events in her life during those years.

Posted on: April 8, 2010

Helped Me Through a Break-Up

Question:

PN, I have written you before, but I haven’t in a really long time. I am very excited for your new book this June and am already begging my mom to pre-order it online. She gets annoyed because I read your books all the time. I would say that I have read each one at least 12 times (probably a whole lot more) and I can probably tell you exactly what happens in each book. My mom eventually hid the books in the storage room because she wants me to read other things too. Well about a week ago, I found all the books. I have been reading them non-stop during spring break. My mom asked what I was doing and I told her I was just re-reading the series before the new one came out. I read the whole series in 6 days and on Saturday alone I read 3.5 books. She wasn’t happy, but didn’t protest. The reason that I hunted the books down though was because my boyfriend broke up with me via text a few days before my 16th birthday (4 days after he gave me real diamond earrings for my birthday and I let him do oral on me). We only dated for a month and a half and we went way too fast and I know I made a really big mistake. I really liked him and he used me for sex and I fell for it. I’m not really sure if he broke up with me after we did the oral or if he did it because I wouldn’t sleep with him. I told him it was too soon. We were really different though; going into the relationship, I had never kissed a guy and he was not a virgin. So we were pretty opposite. But I didn’t think I should judge him, just because he wasn’t a virgin because I didn’t think (to an extent of course), that what he did should be that big of a deal between the two of us. My mom didn’t know about my boyfriend so I couldn’t really confide in her. I did try to tell her, but my dad didn’t like him because he wasn’t the same nationality as my family. But I read your books to help get me through this break up and they have conforted me a lot. Especially in Alice Alone, it helped because Alice and I were going through the same thing. I just wanted to tell you how much your books helped me and to tell you how excited I am for the one in June.

Phyllis replied:

I’m really happy that the Alice books helped you through the break-up. Often we never know the whole truth about why someone broke up with us. But getting that intimate with a boy so soon after you started dating can turn out to be awkward and embarrassing. Try to let mistakes made now save you from making bigger ones later. Alice makes several mistakes she regrets in “Alice in Charge,” coming out this June.

Posted on: April 8, 2010

When a Friend Copies You

Question:

My best friend is always coping me and I don’t know what to do. It happens with the clothes I wear, our photos, and on facebook. I don’t want to hurt her feelings but it has been bothering me lately. Sometimes I might take it as a compliment, but overall it just gets on my nerves. Hope you can help(:

Phyllis replied:

Definitely take it as a compliment, but I can see how annoying it can be. It simply shows that your friend lacks confidence in herself, but has lots of confidence in your decisions. Tell her you’re interested in her ideas, and compliment her when she wears something cool or says something funny. Help her build up her confidence. Surprise her sometime and copy her.

Posted on: April 8, 2010

Send me a Chapter?

Question: im totally in love with your books. i feel like im part of alice and the gang. i can’t wait to the new ones comes out in june and may. i was going back and rereading them and i was thinking how you should start making a tv show of these books since there so good.and maybe i could be gwen or something. yeah well anyways never stop writing alice series please im begging. is it possible that u could send me or email me a chapter of the two new books

Phyllis replied:

I’m glad you love the books so much, but I never send out chapters. Sorry.

Posted on: April 8, 2010

We Liked the Same Guy

Question:

Me and my friend are in a arguement right now.It all strted when o found out she liked the same guys as me at first I was mad because i felt that she should have told me but then after a while I realized that she didn t have to tell me any thing if she didn t want to. The guy that we both like like her. sHe didn t like hi at first but she warmed up to him but anyway I just found out that he likes someone else and I like someone else. We don t talk to each other anymore and im trying to figure out how I can get her to talk to me?

Phyllis replied:

Can't you at least admire each other's taste? So she now likes the guy that you liked, but he likes someone else, and you like someone else. It would be easier if she had a boyfriend of her own, but since she doesn't, you need a sense of humor here. Just call her up and tell her that no guy is worth your friendship, and invite her to do something, or go some place with you. Be the first one to break the ice, and agree that there is no law that says two (or three or four or a hundred) girls can't like the same guy. Movie stars would be out of business if they didn't have thousands of fans.

Posted on: April 1, 2010

Getting Older Than Alice

Question:

Thank you so much for your Alice series. I’ve written a few times–this is the first time in a while–and wanted to share a few thoughts about this upcoming Alice book. I’ve been reading the series for a really long time and have always looked up to Alice as a role model and friend. Being younger than her throughout the series (except when I reread them!), it was fun to compare what she was doing to my current situation. Anyway, this upcoming book will be the last one where Alice is older than me. I’m just finishing up Junior year, and by the time the subsequent book comes out, I will be graduating high school while Alice will be in the winter of her senior year! Although I know I will still love reading about Alice’s life, it will be strange going through things without Alice’s leadership. Even though she is a fictional character, it is always helpful to know that someone has been through what I’m going through and has excelled. Thanks, as always, for your books. They’ve been a staple in my childhood :).

Phyllis replied:

It’s hard, I know, when suddenly you are older than the person who has always been older than you! As readers have discovered, three years of Alice’s life equal only one of yours. In Alice in Charge, the book coming out this June, she is starting her senior year of high school–from September through December. In the book I’m writing now, Incredibly Alice, it takes her from January through early June, and she graduates from high school. It was good to hear that you have learned a lot from Alice, but I’ve learned a lot from my readers, and you’ve helped me write the series.

Posted on: April 1, 2010

Lester and my Brother Could be Twins

Question:

I just went to the alicemckinley.wordpress.com website& it was rather interesting some of those weird questiong people ask.

I just turned 14 two days ago, & i have to say i absolutely LOVE your alice books. I’ve been reading them since i was 10! they are the greatest books&i just wanted to let you know that,&that of course this isnt one of those freakish uncomfortable questions. hahha but anyway alice is my role model, and i thought that was absolutely amazing, because there you are, creating a character that hundreds of girls want to be like. Alice has been my role model since i was 10,&yet, she still is! Her group of friends&mine are EXACTLY the same. I’ve re-read so many of the Alice books and they never get tiring. Lester cracks me up hes hysterical. I also have an older brother (17), and they could seriously be twins. my brother makes me laugh often, but like alice, sometimes i have to yell at him for saying something stupid or annoying. I really love your books, and i hope you can e-mail me back, and keep writing!

Bravo!

Phyllis replied:

Lester’s one of my favorite characters too. I’m always happy when I decide to put him in a scene. Thanks for writing to me.

Posted on: March 31, 2010

Thank You for Writing the Alice Series

Question:

I just wanted to thank you for writing the Alice series. The books are so true-to-life and easy to relate to. There are vey few books written well enough to make me feel the way the characters are feeling to the point that I cry, but Intensely Alice did just that. I very much appreciate the series and the help it is giving me on how to deal with certain situations at school and at home. Thanks so much!

Phyllis replied:

Sometimes I cry when I write a particular scene. I’m glad the books have some meaning and help in your life.

Posted on: March 31, 2010

Couldn’t Stop Reading the Alice Books

Question:

I just want you to know that i really love your Alice books. My friend started reading “Alice in Lace” one day, and i thought that it looked like a good book. So i asked her if i could read it after her, and I did. After I started reading that book, i couldn’t stop reading Alice books. I’ve been reading one everyday, and I have read almost all of them now. I also got 2 of my friends hooked on them too. The three of us named everyone in our class according to the Alice characters, and we try to act like our characters everyday. We always watch “Alice Upside Down” at sleepovers. I can’t wait to read the new Alice books that are coming out soon. Thank you for being such a wonderful author.

Phyllis replied:
It’s wonderful to know that one book led you to read many more. But be careful about naming people in your class after book characters; not even professional actors like to be typecast. I loved hearing that you introduced Alice to your friends.

Posted on: March 31, 2010

Very Much Appreciate the Series

Question:

Phyllis replied:

And I very much appreciate your taking the time to tell me how much you like the Alice books. That makes it all worthwhile.

Posted on: March 27, 2010