Alice Blog

Thank You

Comment:
This year I’m moving out and heading off to college. In my last year at home (or maybe 2?) my mom decided to read every single Alice book aloud to me and my older sister in chronological order. Let me just tell you that reading your series has not only brought me closer to my mom, but has also brought me to tears, laughter, and basically any emotion imaginable. I’ve LOVED this series, especially finding out where everyone went in the last book. I read about Mark’s death just weeks before a classmate of mine died from falling off a cliff, and somehow Alice going through that loss helped me to recover as well.
On a more pleasant note, I personally love Alice’s formal diction — my mom and sister and I joked about taking a shot every time she said “bawled,” or “breast,” or, in the last book which we finished 15 minutes ago, “delicious.” It made her character so personable, and i feel like I’ve grown up with Alice now. Thank you so much for giving the world these books, and thank you especially for Patricia Marie being a box for Halloween.

Phyllis replied

I’m delighted (is that a formal word?) that you’ve enjoyed them so much.  I just recommended a relative of mine to read the entire series also–she wants an escape from the news and the climate of distrust in this country, and I think she’ll like them.  I certainly loved writing the books;  they made me laugh out loud too.

Alice!!

Comment:

I just wanted to ask, why is Alice so much more immature than Pamela and Elizabeth? I mean no disrespect to you and your creativity, as I love Alice and all of these books.
P.S. I hope that you never stop writing these books!!! They help me grow in ways I could never imagine!

Phyllis replied:

Hmmm.   I didn’t think she was.  It’s probably the fact that she lets us in on all her private thoughts, no matter how mundane or childish they may be.  If she didn’t, we wouldn’t enjoy her so much.  I hope you’ve read all 28 books in the series….

30 Years Ago…

Comment:

Hi! I don’t know if you remember me. I live in Vancouver, British Columbia. I wrote to you about 30 years ago as a 9 or 10 year old (I’m now 39). I was an enthusiastic kid and wanted to send a letter to my favourite author. And you wrote back! Growing up I took refuge in your Alice books, and turned to the series for solace and comfort. I’m now a criminal lawyer and am still living in Vancouver. And I still love the Alice series and re-read it from time to time. In your responding letter to me so many years ago, you said you’d continue Alice’s story at least into college – and you delivered! I thank you so much for the defining role your books played in my childhood. xo.

Phyllis replied:

You really made my day.  Thank you so much for your email.  I’m just delighted that the series has meant that much to you  I still use parts of it in talks I give regarding censorship or sexuality or humor.  I really do miss writing the Alice books, but am happy that so many people go on reading them.

Did they happen to you?

Comment:

I really liked the last books setup and I loved how quick the years would go, it made me cry a lot. It was such a good ending!! Quick question was Alice based on you and we’re some of the things that happened to her happen to you also!

Phyllis replied:

Yes, some of the things happened to me, some happened to friends, some I read about in the papers, but most I just made up in my head–all these things mixed together.

Email from England

Comment:

Hi there, I would just like to personally say that I loved the Alice series, I am 15 years old and when reading this series I can really relate to Alice and since finishing the series I have not found a better book. I really wanted to thank you for them. Do you have any recommendations like your Alice series?
Charlotte Earle all the way from England!!
Ps:You are an amazing writer and no book has ever come close to what I felt when reading the Alice series!

Phyllis replied:

I write a lot more than I read, so I can’t really say whether there is another series out there like the Alice books.  (If there was, I might not have bothered to write mine).  But I’m just delighted that the Alice books are read in many different countries–eight different translations that I know of.  Not all of the countries reprint all of the books, however.  Once sexual feelings crop up in the books, some countries stop printing the series, I’m sad to say.

Alice asked my questions for me

Comment:

I really wanted to say thank you! I’ve been rereading all of your Alice books, it’s been about 11 years since I first discovered them, but I’ve never forgotten them. I’m sure lots of people have told you how inspiring Alice was, and how she played a big role in their lives. I’m here to add my name to that list! I had a pretty tough childhood. At the time that I had discovered the Alice series, I had just hit puberty and my mother was M.I.A., so I had a difficult time asking the questions that I needed to ask. Alice asked them for me! Thank you for breathing life into those questions and helping girls like me find those answers. Alice is timeless, and I’m definitely going to introduce her to my future daughter, just in case she has questions that she needs Alice to ask for her, too.

Phyllis replied:

I’m so glad that the books were helpful to you.  Alice asked the questions I had asked my mother when I was nine, and she answered.  As I got older, though, I wasn’t as comfortable asking certain questions, so I wanted to make sure that Alice got the answers.  Your future daughter is lucky to have a mom who is already thinking about ways to make things easier for her!

 

Mark… and Alice

Comment:

I don’t know whether this question has been asked, but I want to know how and when did you decide to write what happened to Mark? Was it planned all along? Has it always been Mark?
I also want to let you know that the Indonesian publisher stopped translating Alice after Including Alice and for a while, I stopped reading Alice, too. I think it was somewhere between ninth and tenth grade. Now I’m in my fourth year of college and just recently finished reading the series, and I can imagine why they did it: Alice’s advancing in sexual department. You see, the Indonesian society these past few years has become more and more conservative. The general ideal is you’re not supposed to have sex before marriage, and any kind of sex talk by teenagers is frowned upon. I’m pretty sure this was the deal because I noticed that they didn’t publish neither The Grooming of Alice nor Patiently Alice as sex was addressed more in both than in the previous books. But I’d say your books would have helped me a lot during my high school years. I fortunately managed to get the knowledge, but I think getting through – the curiosity, embarrassing moments, and a lot of self-doubt – with Alice would’ve made it more bearable. Alice has always been a friend and an older sister. So thank you, Ms. Naylor, for sharing Alice with us.

Phyllis replied:

Thanks so much for your email.  I knew for a long time that Alice would have to face a sad situation like Mark’s, and yes, I had decided it would be him.  Just a number of factors–length of time she’d known him, being an only child–the effect on the parents, the group’s use of their pool….  But it was so sad to write.  I cried as I wrote it.  As for the Indonesian publisher stopping the publication of the Alice books, I think you’re right.  Different societies do approach sexuality differently, but physically–everyone in every society experiences many of the same physical feelings…  curiosity, desire, experimenting, embarrassment, pleasure….possibly guilt…   I feel as you do that having the necessary information, and watching a book character go through the experience is helpful and reassuring, and I’m so glad that you consider Alice a friend and older sister!

Sam from Alice

Comment:

Hi, this is question about Sam Mayer from your great books. To me, Sam is very nice. I would like to have a boyfriend like him. But in the Alice book where Alice goes to New York [Alice on her Way], she doesn’t behave nicely towards him. I am asking why sometimes Alice doesn’t like him. He doesn’t ask to have two girlfriends like Patrick. Is there something I am missing?

Phyllis replied:

There are a lot of good things to say about Sam, and she was attracted to him for these, but there are also a few red flags:  Sam seems a little too serious too fast.  While this is flattering, Alice also senses that perhaps Sam is a little too needy, too dependent on her.  He wants to be with her all the time,  feels left out when she wants to do things just with girlfriends, tells her he loves her when she doesn’t feel they are that close or serious yet…  He also may still be too attached to his mother–I’d have to read the book again to see.  But sometimes men (or women) who have low self esteem become very controlling after a while–wanting all of someone’s attention and driving away friends.  Perhaps Alice is sensing that all of this attention from Sam may not be so good for their relationship.

Patrick Long, is he flawed?

comment:

Hi, I’m always talking to my Significant Other about the Alice books, and he says he doesn’t like Patrick (Alice’s eventual husband) because Patrick doesn’t have any flaws. So what would you say are Patrick’s character flaws? (Defined as faults that get in the way of his goals, like Alice’s inability to sing, Elizabeth’s insecurities, or Pamela’s recklessness.) I just want to know so I can settle this argument with him.

Phyllis responds:

He’s very smart and career-oriented, but he is rather naïve about girlfriends.  Can’t understand why it wouldn’t work to have two girlfriends, for example. He’s an only child,so has to learn some things that others, with brothers and sisters, learn much easier. What would you consider one of his faults?

 

 

Can’t wait to read it!

Comment:

I just wanted to thank you for the amazing work you have been doing. I just stumbled upon your book Now I’ll Tell You Everything in your school library and I cant wait to read this. I fell in love from the very first page! I am going to have maternity leave soon. So I hope I will enjoy your Alice books with my future daughter))))))

Phyllis replied:

Well, it’s a 28 book series, that took 28 years to write, and you are reading the very last book first, I guess.  But perhaps you will love it so much that you will go back to the beginning…”Starting with Alice,”– and meet her as an eight year old girl in third grade, whose brother is a teenager, and whose patient dad is a widower looking, Alice assumes, for a wife.   Best wishes for you and your coming daughter!