Fan Mail Wednesday #109
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 Posted in Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones | 7 Comments »Please note that you may click on the letter to enlarge it (very nice for older eyes). Stephen writes: I replied: Dear Stephen: My apologies for not replying sooner. I loved your letter, especially that it came with a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope (SASE). That ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #104 (Thursday Edition)
Thursday, December 16th, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones, The Gender Gap in Reading | No Comments »Fabulous Fineas writes . . . Dear James Preller, I love your books!!! I am 8 years old. I have pretty much read all your jigsaw jones books! My teacher always says I am getting up there! she says i am getting ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #101
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones | 2 Comments »This lovely letter comes from Paige, and she even drew pictures of six little hamsters. How lucky am I? I replied: Dear Paige: Wow, you are a writer and an illustrator. That way you can do your own books and not have to share ...
My Interview in Bangkok (sort of)
Saturday, November 27th, 2010 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Jigsaw Jones | No Comments »It's never a good sign when a reviewer confesses that he's "not into children's books that much." Basically, I get to read them out of necessity, mostly with my students. Such is the case with The Case of the Vanishing Painting ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #99 (Friday Edition)
Friday, November 19th, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »Wow, I am so busy I can't believe it. I am still revising my new YA, going on school visits, brainstorming-slash-scribbling a first draft for a new MG novel (so excited about this one!), planning Skype visits, and, yes, reading ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #98 (The Video Edition!)
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones | 5 Comments »Here at Jamespreller.com, we're all about the latest in breakthrough technology. Actually, it was first suggested at least a year ago by my friend Paul, and I replied, "I'll get right on it!" So I overcame my fears and, with ...
Stories Behind the Story: The Case of the Great Sled Race
Friday, November 5th, 2010 Posted in Jigsaw Jones, the writing process | 2 Comments »There's actually quite a few things in this story, numero ocho in the Jigsaw Jones series, that I particularly like. I'm pleased by the way I used John Reynolds Gardiner's wonderful book, Stone Fox, to loosely parallel Jigsaw's journey. Ms. ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #94
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones | No Comments »Dear Mr. Preller, I'm sorry to trouble you with this, but how come I can't find boxed sets of Jigsaw Jones? They seem to be unavailable -- has Scholastic stopped making them? My son and I are fans of your series and ...
Stories Behind the Story: The Case of the Marshmallow Monster
Sunday, August 15th, 2010 Posted in Jigsaw Jones, the writing process | No Comments »I turn your attention to Jigsaw Jones #11: The Case of the Marshmallow Monster (still in stock!). The idea for this one can be traced to Rockville Centre, New York, home of my third-favorite brother, Al. (Just kidding, bro.) He mentioned ...
Absent Parents in Children’s Literature
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 Posted in Bystander, Jigsaw Jones, Six Innings, the writing process | 2 Comments »A friend of mine, author David Klein -- whose debut novel, Stash, is due out later this month -- alerted me to a recent interweb discussion about absentee parents in children's literature. Literary agent Nathan Bransford summarized the debate here, while ...