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FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY # 344: “I Usually Don’t Like Reading”

June 5, 2025 / jimmy / 2 comments

When it came time to respond to this note, I was a little baffled.

I had to try to figure out the writer’s name by the email address. My sense is that I probably botched it horribly.

Oh, well!

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The email read . . .

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Good evening. I am in the 7th grade and I recently read the book Bystander. I loved the book and I usually don’t like reading. You probably had others tell you this idea but I think Bystander would make an awesome show or movie. I hope you can reply and take this into consideration. Thank you

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I replied . . .

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Licenie,

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Did I get that right? Licenie? A new one for me. Or is it Pierre? The reverse???

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I’m so confused!

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(You didn’t sign the email, so I’m looking at your address and guessing.)

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Anyway, yes, thank you, I have heard that observation before. I take it as a great compliment. My goal for my writing is always to be visual, for there to be a “movie” playing in the back of the reader’s skull. For this book, in particular, I really tried to refrain from explaining the action, or getting too interior with different character’s thoughts and feelings. I wanted the action to take place on the surface — we are watching it — and for the reader, like Eric, to have to figure it out on his or her own. So maybe in that way it’s more of a cinematic book?

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There’s a sequel to Bystander, a companion book, titled Upstander, which also comes in the form of a pretty decent audiobook, extremely well read by Caitlin Davies. Worth checking out! The two books overlap a little bit: Upstander begins before Bystander and catches up to the ketchup scene, from a different perspective, about halfway through.

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FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #337: Zoom Visit Followup!

December 13, 2024 / jimmy / No comments

I haven’t shared many letters recently. Partly that’s because fan mail has dropped off (the pandemic and, I gather, my own popularity) and partly because many have felt repetitive or just, you know, not worth blogging.

However!

I enjoyed a fast, easy, inexpensive Zoom Visit with an enthusiastic class a while back. It happened, we did it, life moved on. What impact did it make? Who knows!

So it was especially lovely to receive this email the other day:

Dear James Preller,

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My students are still enjoying Bystander! Someone loved the Upstander book so much, that I haven’t seen it since I loaned it to them. What a great problem to have as it is being shared from student to student! 🙂 Students really connected to your characters.

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Here in Summerside, PE, students are wondering if you will ever write Griffin’s story. They think a Bystander part two would be amazing.

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The want to know what authors inspired you and if you are working on anything new?

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Thank you for your time and all the best to you and yours.

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Stacy T______

Summerside Intermediate School

Canada

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I replied:

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Stacy,

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It’s nice to hear from you. And yes, a “missing” book is encouraging news!

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I haven’t spent a lot of time exploring Fan Fiction, but I love the idea of these characters living on in the writing of young readers. Maybe some of your students would like to give it a shot?

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Part of why I’m attracted to Griffin’s story is because I think it would give us a more sympathetic, nuanced understanding of “the bully.” I enjoyed writing about Griffin again in Upstander, though I dreaded revisiting the ketchup scene, which had only happened “off stage” in Bystander.

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I am currently writing a wilderness survival story for grades 3-5 involving wildfire. I want to make it fast-paced and exciting. At this stage, I haven’t started writing — I’m doing research, reading a lot, and taking notes. Every writer is different. But for me, I seem to require a long period of rumination before actually setting words down on the page. Unfortunately, all this pondering, or marinating, looks a lot like doing nothing at all. I don’t have a lot to show for it. Yet!

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I’m also revising a picture book manuscript. I love picture books, but it’s very hard to get them published. A have at least 10 that I think are perfectly publishable. But no publisher seems to agree.

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Rats!

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My best,

James Preller

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Category: Bullying, Bystander, Fan Mail, Upstander / Tags: Authors who do Zoom Visits, books that address bullying in school, Bystander Sequel, Fan Mail Wednesday, James Preller Fan Mail, The power of an author Zoom Visit, Upstander James Preller, Zoom Visits Preller

GOOD NEWS: First Review from Kirkus for My Upcoming Novel, SHAKEN

July 26, 2024 / jimmy / 2 comments

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I’m not a writer who tests a manuscript with a writing group or hordes of beta readers or pretty much anyone. It’s pretty solitary. Though for Shaken, I did call on the help of various experts to inform, read, and review key sections.

I’m not recommending my process to anyone, just noting that’s how I roll.

So the first review is always a strange one, because it represents one of the first reactions I get for a book.

I should also note that I’m grateful to be reviewed at all. My last major book, Upstander, received only one very brief cursory review. I didn’t feel seen at all — an irony, given the theme of the book — but it stung even more because I felt the novel’s subject matter (substance use disorder) was important and worthy of our collective attention.

Anyway!

Here’s the review from Kirkus, widely considered one of the tougher review outlets. I’m happy with it.

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Life changes quickly for a middle schooler after an accident forces her to slow down and reevaluate who she is.

Thirteen-year-old Kristy Barrett has always attracted attention on the soccer field: As a 4-year-old, people saw her playing and just knew there was something different about her, from her focus to her speed. She was special. This phrase has been repeated her whole life. Now, as a seventh grader, Kristy is starting on the varsity girls’ soccer team, dominating players who are several years older than she. Soccer isn’t just her passion, it’s her identity, the thing that people notice her for—and she loves it. But after she’s kicked in the head while diving for the ball, she suffers a traumatic concussion. Suddenly, Kristy is a different person—and no one seems to understand her or what she needs or even how to talk to her now that she’s not that special soccer player. Preller’s careful pacing matches the fuzziness and slow healing of Kristy’s brain, introducing readers to the realities of the pain, loss, and feelings of isolation that dedicated athletes experience when they can no longer play. The somber tone of the story is lightened by the presence of two minor characters who bring levity and humor. Strong themes of healing (both physical and emotional), family, and friendship abound. Main characters cued white.

An introspective and realistic coming-of-age story about rediscovering oneself. (Fiction. 9-13)

Category: Shaken, Upstander / Tags: James Preller Shaken, Kirkus Reviews Preller, Shaken by James Preller, Shaken review, Upstander Substance Use Disorder

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #332: Carli Didn’t Dig the Ending

December 6, 2023 / jimmy / One comment

I received two quick emails from Carli . . .

Hi James prellee I read your book bystander and I don’t really like how you ended it you should have ended it with more conflict but over all I really liked it and is there a second book

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And what I really did like about the book I like that there was a lot of conflict and I like how Mary was a good friend to Eric and was introduced herself to Eric when he first arrived

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I replied . . .

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Carli!

Sorry it’s taken me a couple of weeks to get back to you. I blame the turkey!

You sent two brief emails and I’ll try to answer them both here, toggling back and forth.

Let’s see: the ending.

Ah, the ending.

I know, I know. It doesn’t wrap things up in a tidy bow and it doesn’t conclude with a dramatic flourish. In many respects, you are not wrong to wish for those things. I usually do, too. But in this story, I wanted it to be as true to life as I could make it. So I sort of sidestepped “drama” in favor of “truth.” For better and for worse! I actually did write a more dramatic and “satisfying” ending w/ Eric helping to get Griffin caught for stealing bicycles, but it felt false (and forced) to me, so I ditched it.

I think in real life we kind of endure these things. We move past them over time. That annoying kid in 7th grade moves on, time passes, and we realize it’s behind us at a certain point. There’s no tidy resolution. In terms of artifice, of a fictional story, maybe that’s not the most satisfying way to go. But, hey, to be honest, I like the open-ended nature of the book. That these characters live on in our imagination, and that it’s up to individual readers to speculate about where things will go after that. I do leave a number of hints along the way.

Yes, I love Mary, too. She’s a minor but crucial character in Bystander. And one that was, I think, underwritten. My primary focus was on Eric’s experience. But Mary has guts, stands up to her friends, suffers the consequences of that decision, and undergoes the greatest change in the novel. I liked her so much, in fact, I made her the main character in my recent book, Upstander, a prequel/sequel to Bystander. The book follows Mary closely, some time before the timeline of Bystander begins. We see her meet and become friends with Griffin. We learn about her troubled home life. We learn more about her uneasy friendship with Chantel. And halfway through the book, we pick up on meeting Eric on that basketball court (chapter one of Bystander) — this time told from Mary’s point of view. We also see that horrendous, painful moment with David and the ketchup.

Everyone has a story. And if the pandemic taught us anything, it’s to withhold our judgment on other people. We just don’t know what’s going on in their lives. For Upstander, I wanted to pull back the curtain and get to know Mary much, much better.

I hope you read it. There’s also an excellent audiobook available, if you prefer to read with your ears.

My best,

James Preller

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Category: Bystander, Fan Mail, Upstander / Tags: Bystander, Fan Mail Wednesday Preller, The ending to Bystander, Upstander

Booking Zoom Visits, Too!

September 14, 2023 / jimmy / No comments

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I just booked another Zoom visit — 30 minutes, Q & A — with a class of 6th graders who all read Bystander over the summer. Books come and go, faster than ever these days, so I am especially grateful to the teachers who still find it valuable to share this book with students. I think of this one as a “talking book,” a springboard for conversations that are very probably more meaningful than any of the printed words that came from me. Anyway: feeling thankful for that.

The prequel/sequel, stand-alone companion book, Upstander, is now available in paperback. Mary’s older brother suffers from a substance use disorder (SUD), and for some that might make this title for a slightly more mature audience. I believe it’s such an important issue — lives are being lost every day — I wanted to find a way to address it in a thoughtful, compassionate way.

Contact me directly at jamespreller@aol.com and I’ll be happy to respond to your query to create a visit that works for your specific needs. My fees are very affordable.

Please note that I’ve done book-centered visits for a range of titles: Jigsaw Jones, Exit 13, The Big Idea Gang, The Courage Test, and more.