The Alice “Bible”

Question:

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for the Alice Series. Alice has felt
like a real friend to me, she has brought me comfort by showing me that I’m not
the only person who embarrasses herself on a daily basis, or questions and
doubts certain aspects of her life, and is having the complicated and chaotic
life of a normal teenage girl. The books are relevant and relatable, and I have
been addicted ever since I started reading them 5 years ago (I’m 16 now). I
can’t wait for the next book, and Always Alice, and the Alice Bible. So thank
you so much for giving me a friend as loyal and lovable as Alice.

 

Phyllis replied:

 

Thank you for your email.  For those who don’t know, the Alice “bible” is a bound 100-page list of all the information our wonderful copy editor could gather, from all the Alice books, that I refer to when I write a new Alice book and that she refers to when she checks each new manuscript to see if I have changed somebody’s name or hair color.  In this “bible” it lists all the presents Alice every received, all the boyfriends Liz ever had, what their rooms look like, their teachers’ names, as well as all the mistakes that have popped up in the books–things we didn’t catch before we made the “bible.”  Readers have expressed an interest in reading this, or buying it, and recently I talked to my editor about it.   She says that after the very last Alice book is published in 2013 and the Bible is “finished,” they will put it online so that any of you who would like to relive all the Alice books, all her embarrassments, her entire life, can read about them, item by item, category by category, in the “bible.”

They Were Meant for Each Other

Question:

It worries me, die-hard Alice and Patrick ‘shipper that I am, that we’ve been seeing so much of the two of them in the latest books. I know, this goes against logic. Most people have been begging for more scenes about them for years. I, myself, would be lying if I denied that the first thing I do upon opening a new Alice book is scan for all of the Patrick scenes. But let me follow this logic through:

It seems unrealistic that a couple who first began dating when they were twelve years old would end up together in the long run. After all, who picks out their final soul mate when they’re still giving out paper valentines? It could be possible if say, they broke up and stayed that way for years, rediscovering each other one summer between college. But being high school sweethearts means that they’re going to have to split up when Alice goes to college, have completely separate lives, and then finally find each other twenty years later when they’re both divorced with two kids. Now, I don’t think I’m alone when I say I don’t want that for them. Sure, it’d be a happy ending of a kind – after all, they’d end up together. But all those years apart! Heartache.

Given the airtight logic, I’m worried about their trajectory. Alice has practically declared her undying love for Patrick (though I noticed he never said it back… perhaps this is a possible conflict for future resolution?). Surely, a couple can’t be each others’ firsts for everything and then still stand the test of time.

Don’t tease me, Phyllis. I don’t care about reality. Fiction was invented to make wondrous things happen, like people falling in love when they’re just kids and making it work for all the years that follow. If that’s not great fiction, I don’t know what is.

Give the people what they want. Change that final fireproof-safe-protected manuscript if you have to. Alice and Patrick belong together. They were created for each other*. Literally. By you. Don’t deny them the future they were destined to have from conception.

Love,

The biggest Alice fan you’ll ever meet. (And we did meet, about 10 years ago at a signing in Portland, Oregon. It was lovely to see you. I still have the autographed copy of Jade Green. Which, incidentally, is still one of my favorite of your books.)

*I realize that Alice, at least, wasn’t created solely for Patrick. But still, they are the perfect relationship foil, which has to mean something in relation to their creation (sorry, bad rhyme).

Phyllis replied:

 

I’m not teasing, honestly.  It’s you guys who keep trying to pry the answers out of me.  My lips are sealed and so is the manuscript.  The final book Will Reveal All!  But I loved hearing from a fan I met ten years ago in Portland!

My Jealousy Issue

Question:

I hope this is still the right email. I haven’t written you in forever! But I still read your books, and love them. I just graduated high school and I’ve been reading your Alice books since middle school. Anyways, I was hoping if it’d be alright if I wrote you in need of some relationship advice. So….there’s this guy that I’ve been dating for a few months now, and he’s a really sweet and laid back guy. He lives close, we hang out whenever possible, and I love spending time with him. But…I don’t really know how to say this, I have a very big problem with insecurities. I’m SO paranoid and insecure! I don’t want to be, but I just get jealous very easily. He has a lot of friends that are girls, some of whom I met when I went to a dance at his school, and they were very sweet…almost too sweet. But there’s this one girl, I’ll call her “Sadie” (not her real name), but I honestly get jealous whenever she’s around. She’s extremely pretty, has gorgeous long hair, and ALWAYS flirts with my boyfriend. My boyfriend tells me not to worry, that she flirts with everyone, but I can’t help but feel self-concious whenever she’s around. I think she honestly likes him, and I go crazy whenever I see her. I’m like that with all girls, and whenever I get jealous I have to wonder if I’m legitimately jealous or if it’s just me being insecure. I haven’t talked to my boyfriend about my jealousy issue, because I don’t want him to think that I’m controlling or possessive, and for him to drop me. I guess part of the reason I’m so insecure is beacuse of bad relationships in the past, and my dad is very abusive and mean, so I don’t get a lot of love at home. I’m just so scared to lose him because I feel like he’s the only guy in my life who loves me…. but I really don’t know how to deal with the jealousy issue. I guess I’m writing you more just to let out my feelings, I’m not sure if there’s any advice out there for me. Thanks for listening, and I’m sorry this email was so long. Hope you’re having a great summer.

Phyllis replied:

 

Here’s the deal:  there are always going to be other attractive people around.  You can’t do anything about this, and if you worry about every other girl your boyfriends or an eventual husband meets, you are lost before you begin.  Guys choose their girlfriends or their wives not just by physical attractiveness, but by how comfortable they are with that person.  How much that person shares their interests, their goals.  How much that person listens to them, and props them up when they’re feeling low.  Look at the engagement pages in a newspaper, and you will see very handsome guys sometimes with somewhat plain looking girls, and vice versa.  The key sentence in your email, I believe, is, “I feel he’s the only guy in my life who loves me.”  This could well be the  result of the relationship between you and your dad, making you feel desperate, but it simply isn’t true.  When we choose someone to marry, for example, he’s not the “only one in the world” for us.  He’s one of the many–millions, even–whom you could love and who would love you in return–if you had the means and the time to meet them all.  When you commit to marry, you are committing as much to the marrige as to the person, and it’s this commitment that often helps a marriage stay on track.  The same is true for a boyfriend–he may be attracted to some degree to another girl, but he stays both because he loves you and  because he doesn’t want to hurt you or the relationship. I can’t inject you with self-confidence; that has to come naturally as you work through your problems and gain confidence in doing best what you love most.  But when you see a beautiful girl flirting with your guy, the proper response to your boyfriend is a loving, bemused, “I can understand why she likes you; you’re one of the most attractive guys here.” 

The Alice Books

 I am such a huge fan of the Alice books!!!
Ive been reading them since I was 7-ish, (I’m 13 now), and I still love them!
I re-read them all the time! Theres always one on my nightstand or desk it seems.
I cannot wait until the last three come out!!
You are such an awesome writer!

Phyllis replied:

 

Thank you very much!

Waiting for Prince Charming

Question:

 

I actually came across the alice series when my sister picked up “Alice on her Way” at the library. I started reading and though I was a little confused, I couldn’t put the book down! Even though we started a little late, my sister and I are all caught up on the series and can’t wait for the next one. When “Alice in Charge” arrived at Border’s, we promptly drove to the store, each grabbed a copy, plopped ourselves on a chair, and immersed ourselves into Alice’s world for the next two hours, much to my mother’s displeasure.

 

While reading, I can’t help but feel envious of Alice and Patrick’s relationship. Both care deeply for the other and through ups and downs manage to stay on friendly terms. I’m currently seventeen and have had only one true boyfriend (but lasted only a month due to mixed feelings and i was unhappy) and I am longing for this type of relationship. If you don’t mind me asking, how long was it until you met your “prince charming?”  Thanks and again love the series!

 

 

Phyllis replied:

 

I have never met a Prince Charming because I never looked for one.  I met and married a wonderful man whom I love very much, but there are no illusions that he is perfect, nor that he is always charming, nor does he expect that of me.  Both of us had been married before, so I was 27 when we married.  I’ve heard it said that the success of a marrige is not so much WHOM you marry as WHEN you marry.  What this is really saying is that if you marry when you are mature in your expectations and you know what you want out of life, you are far more likely to choose the right person for you.  I think there is a lot more romance coming your way, but, thank goodness, no “prince charming.”

Alice in Charge

Question:

i just love alice in charge it soooooo awesome !!!!!! lol i have a question

im 14years old and i love writing stories im actually writing two right now and my friend loves them lol she my first fan yay lol 

of course i have to be carful with grammer and spelling because im not so hot on that but what am asking is how do u get ur books publish if u want to become an author as like a job?

Phyllis replied:

 

First, you need to rewrite and revise and rewrite and revise until you can’t find one page, one paragraph, even one sentence that you think could be made better.  Then you go to the reference room at your public library and ask for “Writer’s Market Place,” which lists all the current publishers of books, the editor’s name, the address, whether or not you need an agent to submit something, and what type of material they are looking for.  Then you send your manuscript in, with a stamped, self-addressed mailer for returning it to you if it is not accepted.  Unfortunately most publishers these days only want material submitted by an agent.  But you can also ask your librarian for a list of  agents from the “Society of Authors’ representatives,” and you can choose several of these, write to them, tell them a bit about your manuscript, and ask if they would be willing to take at look at it.  DO NOT pay anyone to read your manuscript–a good agent should be willing to read something without charging–and DO NOT pay a publisher to publish your book.  A publisher should like  your book enough to publish it themselves, and pay YOU for it. As you can see, being a paid professional writer is an enormous amount of work, but so do most jobs if you do them well.

The Last Book

Question:

hi! i am a huge fan of the alice series, and i was wondering if you will keep on writing them. if you dont, then which book was your last book? i have some ideas for you.

 

1. you can write how patrick will propose to alice.

2. you can tell how they their lifestyle will be, if you keep on writing after they get married.

 

Phyllis replied:

 

Thank you for your suggestions, but many of you know that the very last book, “Always Alice,” that will come out in 2013, has already been written.  It is sitting in a fireproof box in my office, ready to be sent to my publisher when the books in between are published.

What Happens in the Last Book?

 

Question:

hi i have couple of questions for you. in one of the books dose alice keep the promise she and patrick made that when there going to meet for new years and dose she open the time calpsul.and also on the last book it goes from 18 to 60 does the book have ALL the ages intill 60 or do skip some.i’ve been reading your books since 3 grade and now my libray doesn’t have most of the books so i have to buy them. i will miss alice 

Phyllis replied:

I can’t tell you all the things that will happen in the final book.  You’ll have to read it yourself.  And no, I don’t mention every single year of her life in the final book, but each chapter jumps to the next big event or crisis in her life.  Otherwise it would be a very, very long book.  For those of you who want to buy the Alice books that your library doesn’t have, remember that the three books of her freshman year have just been published in paperback, under one cover–a HUGE paperback of 630 pages, called I LIKE HIM, HE LIKES HER, for $9.99.  Soon the next big bind-up will be out of Alice’s sophomore year, the next three books, and the title of this will be IT’S NOT LIKE I PLANNED IT THIS WAY, and the third bind-up, the 3 books of her senior year, is also in the works, this one called PLEASE DON’T BE TRUE.  As each one appears in bookstores, I’ll let you know.  Only the first one is out right now.  Great titles, great covers.

Thank You for Battling Censors

Question:

I am also an older reader of Alice (yikes, I am now 24). I started with Alice in oh, about middle school and since then one of my summer traditions has been reading most if not all of your Alice books. I savor your new books. I have enjoyed watching Alice grow up and have marvelled at how real you have kept her. Alice is not a perfect person. (I offer many of her escapades in Dangerously Alice and even Simply Alice as an example). However, she tries to be a good person. She is a good friend. (See Almost Alice).

 

Thank you for battling censors and ‘book banning’ to write a real series. On another note, I think your books (and website) are also good for those from less supportive families and girls with absentee parents as you address many of the issues that they face and give them advice in a non-preachy manner. (See Grooming of Alice.)

 

Thank you for being there for generations of girls present and future. As one of the previous e-mailers on the website said, I hope to encourage my children to read this series. If only to introduce them to reading and get them to realize in embarassing moments that other girls have gone through this and survived it.

 

Phyllis replied:

 

I truly appreciate your email.  It’s difficult sometimes to convince readers that Alice represents one imaginary girl, not Everygirl.  It’s not only censors who wonder why she isn’t other than she is, but readers who ask why are there never drunken parties and pot?  Why do the girls always seem to have boyfriends?  Why has she never had sex?  Is she a Christian or not?  All I can really answer is that when I get Alice up in the morning on any particular day, I have to ask myself what this particular girl is thinking, what she would most likely be doing, whom she would be spending her time with, and what are her long-range plans?  Sometimes I want to hug her and sometimes I want to shake her, but she just goes right along, being Alice.

Started Reading Them When I Was Nine

Question:

i love the alice books my bestfriend and i read the alice books whenever we can. i liked how you sort of left the end of dangerously alice as a cliffhanger for almost alice. i just finshed reading: alice in the know,alice the brave,and outrageously alice.i’m 11 years old and i started eading them when i was 9. i love them so much that i even faked sick one day so i could finish the grooming of alice which is also the first one i ever read.They leave me laughing so hard that my face turns red. Usily i rush home to watch my favourite show on t.v but whenever i have an alice book i rush to read that. i hope you never stop writing them.

 Phyllis replied:

You certainly are a good advertisement for the Alice books.  I’m delighted to know that you enjoy them so much!