Alice Blog

Great Things Must Come to an End

Question:
 
I was just writing to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading the Alice series growing up over the years. I just finished Now I’ll Tell You Everything moments ago and I had to write to you to not only congratulate you on your final book but also to thank you for writing them. They helped me so much growing up and I always anxiously awaited for the newest books to come out. I’m very pleased with the final book on how you concluded the series. You couldn’t have ended it better than the way you did! And I’m not going to lie when I say that as much as I laughed out loud to the book I also cried like a baby when it came down to the final chapter. But like they say all great things must come to an end. I know you’re probably very busy with your tour right now which I wish I could come to and meet you but I’m afraid I’m just to far away. So with that I’ll say this you are and will always be my favorite author because of your style and for this series that has touched more people than I can imagine. Thank you again for writing these books and making them so alive that I sometimes forget that the characters aren’t real. Good luck with whatever you have planned next, take care, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my email! And just one more thing, I hope to one day be able to purchase all 28 books in one big bundle. If that ever becomes available please let me know!

Phyllis replied:
 
My editor says that the publisher is considering a way to offer all the Alice books in one big bundle, as you say.  I try to forward comments like these to the editor, but it might help if the publisher heard from fans, all asking for a way to purchase the 28 books without having to place separate orders for them.  I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but send them to “Caitlyn Dlouhy, Atheneum, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Dreams Do Come True

Question:

You probably don’t remember me but I wrote to you about 5 years ago when my crohns disease was flaring badly and you where ever so kind to me and wrote back to me so first of all I’d like to say thank you for that! Your letters where a real treasure to me when I was in a bad place. I remember writing how I was sad and worried that my illness would prevent me from doing all the things I wanted to do.

Well I got my miracle ‘cure’ shortly after my emails to you. I now am a normal, healthy person 95% of the time on the basis that I go into hospital and have an infusion of drugs every 6 weeks. As for worrying about not being able to do the normal things a teenager would do – I like to think that I do all that and then some! I am writing this email from my dorm room and am currently studying for a degree in law, I’ve been in a relationship for 3 years and engaged for 4 months and I’m a member of the equestrian club at the Uni. I am also saving to hopefully go travelling next year. Dreams do come true! 🙂

The new Alice book came to me on Tuesday – which happened to be my 20th birthday and I think it may be one of the best presents I’ve ever had. I finished it today and I’m so happy with how Alice turned out! Although it is quite strange as usually when I’m reading through the books Alice and I are of similar age and with this one she has sped on decades ahead. Some of the stuff I’m still trying to sink in – Lester – who fainted when Alice had her ears pierced now has triplets?! and Alice is a mum of two?! A grandmother at that! Crazy.

I think the Alice books have had more of an impact on me that I had initially thought – it was only reading the last book that I realized it was because of the Alice books that when I go to hospital I think about how maternity wards are the only happy wards on the hospital, and I think that when I got engaged and the ring got stuck I remembered how if you can get it in (or on, as the case may be) then you can get it off. When it came to looking at University’s last year I thought about Alice turning up to the wrong campus.

I know that they are fictional characters but I found myself wondering earlier – what happened to Molly? Or Amy Sheldon?

Phyllis replied:
 
I hope you don’t mind that I published your very personal letter (you didn’t ask me not to), though I omitted your name and where you live.  But I think you will be an inspiration to people suffering from a major or chronic illness, who worry that they may never live a normal life.  I’m so happy to hear that you’ve adapted to whatever it takes to keep you active, and that you have so many good things going for you.  Yes, I do remember your letter, and I’m delighted that you took the time to tell me about your life.  As for Molly?  Complete remission of her leukemia.  Amy Sheldon?  Doing well…stayed on the newspaper staff after Alice graduated, and later got a job she enjoys in the mail room of a large corporation.  Best of luck to you! 

Alice bible

Question:

I remember reading that there was going to be an Alice bible or encyclopedia or something, and at the end of Now I’ll Tell You Everything (which is the best out of all the Alice books in my opinion. I absolutely loved the whole book, even the sad parts.) you also mention it and say it can be accessed through your Alice website. My question is do you have it up yet and how do I find it? I have gone through each of the tabs at the top of the page and can’t find anything about the Alice bible.
 
Phyllis replied:

I had thought that it was going to go up immediately, but my publisher wanted to make sure it was up-to-date before we printed it.  It should be on the Alice website, hopefully, in the next few weeks.  Both my editor and the copy-editor have been out of the office for other things, but as soon as they get a chance to give it a quick review, it will be available to Alice readers.

A Beautiful Job of Wrapping Up all the Stories

Question:                                          

I just wanted to reach out to you and personally thank you for writing the Alice series. I feel immeasurably lucky to have grown up with this series, and after reading Now I’ll Tell You Everything, it feels as though part of my childhood has ended. I still remember receiving my first Alice book- The Agony of Alice, in an Easter basket, at the impressionable age of 11. I’m 21 now, a senior in college, and for once midterms and papers were not my priority. Spending time with Alice, experiencing the anticipation and flood of emotions while reading the last book was. This book series has undoubtedly had a big impact on my life, and Alice is one of the few fictional characters that I’ve come across that I completely identify with. I am now working on my first novel, and I can only hope that my characters will have the same influence on people as your characters did on me. Thank you for doing such a beautiful job wrapping up the stories of Alice, Patrick, Pamela, Liz, Lester, and all of the others; they will forever live on with me and it will be interesting to go back and reread the series, knowing how everything turned out. Now I’ll Tell You Everything made me laugh, made me sob, and most importantly made me think about what kind of life I want to have. So once again, thank you so much, for letting us readers grow up with Alice, who I consider a very dear friend.

Phyllis replied:
 
I know.  I often find myself referring to Alice as someone real, laughing at some of the things she did and said, and then feeling embarrassed.  Sort of like a mother enjoying the antics of her child.  Thank you so much for your email.  I’m amazed at the number of women in their twenties and thirties who have followed Alice since they were quite young.  I feel humbled that you would take time from your busy lives to write to me.

STILL CRYING

Question:

Thank you so much for your Alice series. I got the last book yesterday afternoon and I just finished reading it. I wanted to write to you to let you know how much I enjoyed reading about Alice. I am 28 years old and I’ve been reading the Alice books since I was around 13 years old. Every year I waited for the new book to come out and I was so excited to get this last book, I pre-ordered it in June from Amazon and it’s been torture to wait this long! I own all the books and I look forward to re-reading them again and again, as I have been doing over the years. I have also been sharing them with some of the girls who I mentor through my youth group at my church. I live in Maryland and my church is in Montgomery County so the girls really like reading about Alice and that she visits some of the places they frequent. I do, too!

The saddest part of “Now I’ll Tell You Everything” was when Ben dies, I’m still crying about it (possibly because it happens at the end of the book). My own dad has some health problems and we could lose him at any time, though we don’t consider his death imminent. I love Mr. McKinley and I think he is a fantastic dad, I was so sad when he died.

Lester is my favorite character because I love his wit and sarcasm, he always makes me laugh.

Anyway, I’m sure you get a lot of mail so I don’t want to make this longer than it needs to be. I just wanted to say thank you, so much, for taking the time to write these books because they meant a lot to me.

Do you ever do “Meet the Author” in this area? I would love to meet you someday if it were convenient. I have also read Shiloh and the Hartford & Malloys series — though based on your wikipedia page there are a bunch of new ones I haven’t read yet. Can’t wait to get started!

Thank you so much… and goodbye Alice… I’m sad there won’t be any more books to read about her!

 Phyllis replied:
 
I occasionally speak in this area–I spoke at the National Book Festival on the Mall in September and also at the Takoma Park Library in October, but don’t have any others planned at the moment.  Thank you so much for your email, however.  I cried when I wrote about  Ben’s death too–one of the many places I cried during the writing of the  Alice series.  It’s wonderful to know that you are sharing the books with other people.  No, there won’t be any more books about Alice, but there are SO many other kinds of books that I want to write!

Changed My Life

Question:
 
 I have just finished the final Alice book and I feel kind of numb. I spent so much time reading and rereading these books since I was around 8 years old–age 20 now–that I feel like I’ve almost lost a dear friend. I will never get to read a new Alice book again. I think I may actually cry!
  The final book had me in tears several times, but also had me laughing until my face hurt. I guess the greatest paradox is that Alice’s youth, ages 8 to 18, took thirty years to unfold, and the next forty years flew by in the 16 hours it took me to read the last book thoroughly. I was completely shocked that she married Patrick, and a little jealous–because who among us isn’t in love with Patrick?–and also because I feel like nothing in my life will ever work out quite so perfectly. And I feel as if I’ve aged a few decades overnight as well–it’s really been the strangest day, having to wake up and go to classes when I breezed through Alice’s college years in just a few hours.
  I have waited for this moment for so long, but now I almost wish it had never come, because now I have no more new Alice to look forward to. I just wanted to write to you to commend you for taking on an incredible task. I can imagine that it’s extremely emotionally difficult for you to face this moment, though it is exciting to be able to devote more time to life has paused for the past day since the book came out, and I am totally absorbed in Alice. I feel lonesome in the strangest way, missing a friend who never, amazingly, existed in the physical world–but so grateful to have had this literary companionship for the majority of my life in this fine character and wonderful series. Thank you so much for giving this gift to a worldful of young girls and readers of every type. It takes an amazingly gifted writer to put a reader in the half-profound, half-stupefied state I’m in right now. I just feel afraid that my life is going to spin ahead of me as fast as the book did! It’s an existential crisis, really. Alice is comfort. Alice is childhood. Alice suspends time and brings me back to a different time in my life. I am a little girl again when I read these books. I am sorry to ramble on in such a disjointed way but I felt the need to write to you immediately after finishing the book; I knew I could think about nothing else I did. What you have given me has changed my life. Thank you, Phyllis. Thank you so much.
   
Phyllis replied:
 
I had a difficult time getting your entire letter on the screen, and had to do it in sections.  My computer ability is in the lowest percentile range, but I hope your email is all there.   Writing the Alice books took me back to my childhood too, and those embarrassing junior high years, then high school, college…..Reviewers have blamed me for squeezing too much into the last book, for not telling enough, but in the end, it can only be Alice’s story as she would tell it, and that’s the way I heard it in my head.  I’m grateful to so many readers who have felt that it was “just right.”

Cried My Eyes Out

Question:
 
This is maybe my 3rd time writing to you and every time, I am just so honored to do so. I was probably one of the first people to buy the very last installment and finished it in one day. I laughed and above all I cried my eyes out while reading this book. I am such a corn ball! I think it’s finally hitting me that this is it, this is the end of Alice. I felt the same emotions when the Harry Potter chapter of my life closed. I picked up my first Alice book when my 6th grade English teacher recommended it. And I felt special because it was her own copy. I guess she must’ve enjoyed the books as well. But ever since, I never stopped thinking about Alice, because we were growing up at about the same rate. For a while, high school took over but then I guess you can say Alice and I rekindled our friendship and I reread the whole series again. Not so much for a refreshment but just for the pure joy of reading a good book. By then I think 3 more books were already released and ever since, I looked forward to May of every year, because that’s when a new book was due. Except this year but that’s okay! You saved the best for later!  This book was everything that I could imagine.  I do this to myself every time I get a book, I’ll skim to the back and that’s when I cried my eyes out. (You might want to cut out the upcoming part if you plan on sharing this on your website). I wanted to find out if Ben lives on after the end of the book. This last book made me realize that Ben was a lot like a father figure and when Alice was mourning the loss of Ben, I was also mourning his death. These characters are real to me! I’m glad he grew old but this is where I’m a lot like Alice; I wanted him to stick around forever. Alice has truly been a good friend to me and someone that I saw myself in, as I’m sure plenty of other readers have. Trust me when I tell you my life would be so boring if I never picked up an Alice book.  So, thank you. Thank you for being so creative and bringing humor into my life. There has never been a dull moment when I’m reading these books.

I live in the good ole New York City. It would be such an honor to see you at a book signing one day.
 
Phyllis replied:
 
I wish I could sign in every part of the country, but perhaps NYC will be on my list some day.  My own life would have been a bit boring if I hadn’t written the  Alice books, so I know how you feel.  Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me.  I cried a lot too when I wrote the series, especially the last book.

Have Followed Alice Since I was Eleven!

Question:

I am almost 25 and have kept up with the Alice books since I was 11. I have never read a series that I can relate to. I work in the Laurel area and smile every time I pass their local diner and think Alice, Liz and Pamela must be in there. Silly, but true! I had the day off today and read the entire final book in 6 hours. I laughed and cried so much. I never write “celebrities because I think it is silly. But I felt this was a case in which I had to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this series. I look forward to rereading over and over and passing them to my little girls one day.

Phyllis replied:

I would have to say that these are some of my favorite emails–the ones from readers who have followed the series since they were young themselves.  Plus all my younger fans who have read the whole 28 books, almost in one gulp.  You are all wonderful for taking time to write to me, and I really treasure your emails.

A NOTE FROM PHYLLIS

To all my readers: 

I’m home now from the book tour and trying to answer a few of your emails at a time, as my desk is piled high.  It was such a pleasure for me to meet so many of you in person, and there are all those favorite memories.  I won’t try to list them all for fear I’d leave one out, but some of you drove such distances to meet me, and had wonderful stories about how you came to read the Alice series.  I’m gratified that the majority of you were pleased with the final book and came in person to tell me so.  Thank you again for being such loyal fans.

A Wonderful Ending

Question:

Thank you so much for writing the Alice series. I have been reading the books since I was in fourth grade and have adored every one of them! I love your books so much because they are so realistic and I think every girl (or woman !) finds something in Alice that reminds her much of herself.  I have just finished reading your last Alice book and enjoyed every page of it. It has been such a treat looking forward to reading the next book that it is sad for me, and I’m sure for all your fans, that this is the very last book. However, it had a wonderful ending and I will never forget the Alice series and will keep on re-reading the books, maybe even to my own daughter when I grow up.

Again, thank you so much for the Alice books!! I have always been such a big fan of you and Alice!:-)

Phyllis replied:

It’s been gratifying for me to know that so many fans were satisfied with the final book.  There were many different ways that the main characters could have chosen to live their lives, and I could only go by what I felt was most real.  I’m really happy that you enjoyed the last book.