Alice Blog

So Many More Books!

Alice books in German

Question:

I’m 17 years old and I’ve been reading all of your Alice books since I
was 12 years old. I practically grew up together with Alice and was
pretty sad when I noticed that publishing and translating the books
takes such a long time over here in Germany, that’s why I started
reading the Alice books in English from “Including Alice” on. And I must
say, there is a difference, and it’s not because Alice is growing up . .
. The older Alice books had already moved me and I had absolutely loved
them, but I think they are even much better in their original language,
the “feeling” is more intense. I guess a translation can never be as
good as the original. Well, I wrote this mail because I think it’s time
to thank you for providing us girls with a great and realistic role
model to grow up with . . . and for improving my English. 😉 I can’t
wait for “Incredibly Alice” to be published in May! You’re a great
writer, in fact the greatest of all and there is only one more thing I
have to say: Please, please, keep on writing!

Phyllis replied:

Thank you so much for your email.  I’ve enjoyed writing the Alice series, and it will be nice to see them all in print.  “Alice Onboard” will be out next year, and the next–the 28th–“Always Alice”–will be out in 2o12.  It’s wonderful that you are also able to read them in English.

The First to Make Me Cry

Question:

I was wondering when you were going to put up an excerpt from Incredibly Alice? Soon I hope:)
I love you’re book’s, their what got me to read more. I used to hate reading until my sister-in-law gave me one of the Alice book’s (Alice In-between) Now I’ve red them all, which I did in a few months. 🙂 Also you’re books are the first to make me cry, and I mean really full-out cry, Which is one of the things I love about them. I like it when I can read a book and feel so in tune with the Characters that I cry when they cry. I can’t wait for the new one to come out!!! 

Phyllis replied:

I’m pleased to know they affected you so much.  I’ll ask my editor to please put an excerpt up on the Alice website.

Please Don’t Be True

Question:

Hi! I LOVE these books! I’ve read the three large ones in order, and love how real Alice seems. I was really upset when I finished the last page of “Please don’t be true”. I noticed under your list of books that there were a lot more Alice books. I want to read them, but I love how the books became put together into the one book. Are you ever going to publish the old Alice books into a few large books, like you did with the most recent ones? It would really be great if you did. Thanks!

Phyllis replied:

I don’t know exactly what the publisher will do.  I know that the sales of these big 3-book paperbacks, of each of Alice’s years in high school, are selling very well.  Soon there will be a whole new paperback series of the old Alice books, all designed by the same artist.  For now, I think, in addition to the hardcover copies of each Alice book, and then the paperback, the publisher plans to put the last remaining books of her senior year into one big paperback (don’t know the title yet) and market the new paperback series of all the younger books.  But it wouldn’t surprise me if they eventually decide to put all the books about Alice in seventh grade together into one big book, all the books of her eighth grade together, and so on.  I guess we’ll have to wait and be surprised.

My Friend Alice

Question:

This morning I was talking to my friend Paige and she was telling me about something that happened to her over the weekend and I found myself saying “Oh, that happened to my friend Alice.” and I didn’t even think anything of it until she was like “Alice who?”.

Phyllis replied:

Oh, that’s funny.  But I find myself doing the same thing!

Comfort for Homesickness

Question:

Phyllis replied:

It’s letters like yours that keep me going.  Thanks so much for writing to me.  I love knowing you enjoy the books wherever you are! 

Love How You Didn’t Make Alice Perfect

Like a Real Person

Married Now, but the Alice books still take me back….

Question:

I read my first Alice book when I was in 5th grade and never felt such a connection to a character before that.  You had my nose in a book for weeks until I had gone through all the books in the series…  only 3 at the time!  I am turning 30 this year and every couple of years I buy the latest few books and catch up on Alice and the rest of the gang.  Although I am older and married now and have different problems and concerns now than I did when I was Alice’s age, the books still bring me right back to high school and make me remember vividly what I went through.  What a treat!  I find almost nothing more enjoyable than getting my hands on an Alice book I have not read before and diving in to see what happens next.  For a while I was younger than Alice and thought that maybe I was being influenced by her decisions and situations since I felt so similar to Alice.  However as I have gone on to age (much!) faster than Alice, and still seeing our experieces being so similar, I realize that you have just managed to completely capture adolescence.  I didn’t lose my mother or have a step parent, didn’t have the same types of experiences with friends or boys that Alice did or career goals or anything like that.  However, I still felt she was me.  I don’t know how you do it but I am sure the younger generation in your life is very fortunate to have someone like you around with all the wisdom of experience, but the ability to remember and know exactly what it was like to go through everything for the very first time.  I hope they appreciate you.  I am so sad that my time with Alice will be ending soon, but thank you for making sure we all get to find out just exactly what happens throughout her life!  I read everything I can get my hands on, but my favorites are still about Alice.

Phyllis replied:

And what a treat for me to know that after all these years, you are still following the Alice books.  I wrote my last paragraph of the last book the other day, and I will miss Alice too.  Thanks so much for writing to me out of your own busy life!

Alice’s Senior Year

Question:

i was wondering if there would be a book coming
out that has the whole year of alice's senior year coming out like "please dont
be true" and "it's not like i planned it this way" and "i like him he likes
her".....

Phyllis replied:

Yes, there will be.  But I’m still working on the last book that will appear in that big paperback, so it hasn’t been published yet and I don’t know what the title will be.  For those of you who wonder what this is all about, the three books about Alice’s freshman year in high school have been published in a big fat paperbook called “I Like Him, He Likes Her.”  The three books of Alice’s sophomore life have been published in another big fat paperbook titled, “It’s Not Like I Planned it this Way;”  and the three books of her junior year are in a paperback titled, “Please Don’t Be True.”   Those of you who are collecting all the Alice books can easily get a record of her high school years, all 12 books, in these paperbacks, the 4th one still not published yet.