Tag Archive for Fan Mail Wednesday

Fan Mail Wednesday #33: Friday Edition

March 6, 2009 / / No comments

Holy mackerel, Andy! I think I’ve got one! Hold my soda pop while I reel this sucker in . . .

Dear James,

I am a second grader in an elementary school in San Diego. I like your Jigsaw Jones books very much. I am doing a report on my favorite author and I chose you. I visited your blog and found out a lot of information about you. I have a question for you: have you faced any challenges in your life or career? I hope I can get your answer as soon as  possible.

Thank you,

Andrea

I went back and forth on this one, wondering if I should just skate the surface or jump into the ice cold water. My feeling about kids, in general, is that they are capable of handling all levels of information, so long as you take your time and tell it straight. I happen to live with a pretty smart second-grader myself. And clearly, Andrea had some adults around who could help with the ‘splaining, if necessary. So I wrote:

Andrea,

Wow, you are an excellent researcher for someone so young. I am impressed.

You have asked a very deep question, one that is difficult to answer without going on a great length. Yes, challenges — challenges all the time. Some are simple, some are very hard.

Writing the first Jigsaw Jones book was a challenge, because I had never written anything that long before. Six thousand words! Could I do it? And of course, when you face a challenge, there’s a part of you that is afraid. It is easier to NOT TRY than to try and fail. The great thing is that feeling you get when you succeed. It seems like the harder the challenge, the greater the satisfaction when you achieve your goal.

It’s the hard stuff that makes us happiest. Isn’t that strange?

Does that make sense to you? In gymnastics, my Maggie — also a second-grader, like you — has been working very hard to do back-handsprings. She keeps working at it, practicing, working, practicing. And I know, I KNOW, that one day she’ll get it, and she’ll feel so proud and happy. In that moment, all the hard work will be worth it.

On a much deeper level, my oldest son got very sick once. It was scary and so hard. But it was another challenge — life throws them at you all the time — and we all rallied to face that challenge TOGETHER. So you learn strength, and love, and faith, and hope. It’s important to remember that you are never alone. There’s always help near by, there’s always somebody who loves you.

I guess challenges mark the most important moments in our lives. How do we respond? What do we do when we face a challenge? It is in those moments that we discover who we really are.

Great question. I know you are young, Andrea, but you asked a deep question and I tried to answer the best I could. Good luck on the report.

JP

I was happy to get this note in return:

Dear James,

Thank You for your letter! I got to read your letter to my class! My class was surprised when I read your letter. They were surprised when you wrote different challenges that happened in your life. My teacher was happy that I emailed you.

I do gymnastics too. I’m working on my back walkover. I just started, but I almost can do it myself! By the way, I got EVERYTHING CORRECT which is EXCELLENT!

Best Regards,
Andrea

P.S. I forgot to tell you that EVERYTHING CORRECT means that I got all checks on my report score sheet, and I got EXCELLENT on my report! Thank you so much!

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Fan Mail / Tags: ,

Fan Mail Wednesday #31

February 18, 2009 / / No comments

Bang a gong — it’s another Fan Mail Wednesday! Here’s a good example of what it’s like to get a letter from a mob . . .

Dear Mr. Preller,

We are kindergarten, first, second and third grade students at The Albany Academies in Albany, New York.  We enjoyed reading your book, The Case of the Stinky Science Project, during Book Clubs. As part of our assignment we came up with questions we would like to ask you about the book and being an author. We look forward to meeting you during the Academies Children’s Book Festival in April.

A few of our questions are:

* How does it feel to make a really good book? * Is making books fun? * How did you become an author? * Are you working on a book right now? * How many books have you written? * What is your favorite book you have written? * What gave you the idea for the Jigsaw Jones series? * How many Jigsaw Jones books have you written? * How did you come up with all your story ideas? * What is your favorite Jigsaw Jones book? * What is the latest book in the Jigsaw Jones series? * Have you ever made a volcano that was stinky? * Did you like science when you were little? * Have you written any other series? * What is your favorite book that you have read?

Thanks for your time!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Epstein, Evan, Vishal, Jack, Nicholas, Hudson, Devan, and Douglas

Here’s my reply:

Dear Mrs. Epstein, boys, girls, hamsters:

Thanks for your note. My gosh, those are a LOT of questions, and I do have this inconvenient full-time job thingy, so I’ll pick a few to answer and hope that’s not too terribly disappointing.

How does it feel to make a really good book?

It’s a great feeling when it comes together and you think, “Yes, this is what I wanted to say, this is how I wanted to say it.” Not every book comes out that way. In fact, with me it’s usually parts of books, moments, chapters that are “really good.” But to do that for a whole entire book? I’m still trying.

Is making books fun?

No, I wouldn’t say it’s fun. A lot of different feelings go into the process, and not all of them are “happy-happy, let’s do the Dance of Joy.” I’m not complaining; I’m just saying.

How did you become an author?

I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. What’s strange is that a lot of folks who claim they want to be authors are unwilling to take that necessary step. It’s simple: Before you become an author, you must become . . . a writer.

Are you working on a book right now?

Yes. I’m pretty much always working on a book. I’m currently in the “I hate myself” stage of the writing process. I think this answer relates to a previous question about “fun.”

What is your favorite book you have written?

Six Innings. I love my new one, Bystander, coming out in Fall, 2009. It’s about bullying, set in a middle school. Very proud of that one. I like my new picture book, Mighty Casey, that’s due in March. It’s just a light-hearted, hopefully humorous look at Little League baseball at the youngest, purest level — with rhyming text, for extra buoyancy!

What is your favorite Jigsaw Jones book?

I tend to like certain moments in each book, rather than whole entire books from beginning to end. I really like the opening two chapters of Super Special #2: The Case of the Million-Dollar Mystery. But there are definitely a few that, to me, fall a little short of what I hoped they’d become. For example, in The Case of the Detective in Disguise, I tried to weave together two separate mysteries — but I think it was an experiment that failed. Yet as a writer, you learn with each failure, so in a way it was a successful experiment: I learned what didn’t work. Triumph!

Thanks for your time!

JP

P.S. For more on the Children’s Book Festival at Albany Academies, the date is April 17; click like there’s no tomorrow right here for full details.

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Fan Mail, the writing process / Tags: , , , ,

Fan Mail Wednesday #29 (Thursday Edition)

February 5, 2009 / / No comments

BOO-YA, HUZZA-HUZZA-HUZZA! It’s Fan Mail Wednesday, a day late for sure, but still unstoppable, perpetual, interminable . . .

Dear Mr. Preller,

My name is Meredith and I am in second grade.  I am writing to you to let you know just how much I enjoy reading your books.

I like reading your books because I enjoy mysteries, and these are great mysteries for me to read.  I have read 23 of your books since December 13, that was the day that I took The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster out of my school library.  Out of all of the books I have read so far, my favorite has been The Case of the Golden Key.  This is my favorite because the setting was very interesting to me, and it was fun to figure out everything in the house.

Thank you for writing such fun books to read.  I will keep reading them as long as you keep writing them.

An Avid Reader,
Meredith
Age 7

PS. This is my Daddy’s email.  I told him what to write,  and he typed this message for me.

Here’s my reply:

Dear Meredith.

Thanks for your lovely letter. As you may know, I have a daughter, Maggie, who is also in the second grade. However, I don’t think she’s read 23 of my books! (Note to Self: Punish Maggie.) Lately she’s been devouring Patricia Reilly Giff’s fabulous “Polk Street” books; if you don’t know them, I recommend you check them out (after, it goes without saying, you read EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WRITTEN).

Wow, twenty-three books. That’s amazing, especially since you started on December 13th. Do you do anything else besides reading? I mean, like, do you eat . . . sleep . . . take baths? I’m a little worried about you.

Like you, I am especially fond of The Case of the Golden Key. I think it’s one of the better books in the series. That’s the first time I introduced the character, Reginald Pinkerton Armitage III, the richest kid in town. I’ve put  Reginald in several more books since, because I like writing about him so much; he’s featured in The Case of the Double-Trouble Detectives. (I love the cover that R.W. Alley did for this one.)

Thanks for your letter — and thank you, Dad, for all the typing!

An Avid Reader Too,
James Preller
Age 48

P.S. Meridith, I wish your dad was my dad. I had to type this whole thing myself. So unfair! Rats and snails!

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones / Tags: , , , , ,

Fan Mail Wednesday #21

November 20, 2008 / / No comments

Time’s a-wasting, so away we go:

Dear Mr Preller,

I recently read The Case of the Best Pet Ever. The main character of the book is funny and likes finding out mysteries. I noticed that Rags looks a lot like Daisy. Rags sleeps, drools, barks at the door bell and never seems to get things where he means to put them. Is that just like Daisy?

Is Rain just like your daughter? I liked her because she was the owner of the pet store and I love pets. I really liked when the ferret helped the team discover the mystery of how they lost their stuff. I also liked the time when all the pets came together for the contest and it got really nutty. Our family has stuff like that happen. Does your family have that kind of fun also? I also really liked how the little piece of fur lead them to discover the mystery of who was taking their stuff. I think it will help me to try to notice little things each day.

My favorite chapter is Rags to Riches, because at the end it tells us who took all their stuff. At Fins and Feathers it was really neat to imagine how crazy it was. I also thought it was cool that Rain the girl character was so active. I really felt like I knew her and I liked her because she was a girl.

Continued Success,

Reece

I replied:

Hi Reece,

Thanks for your kind and well-written note. You are an observant reader. Like a good detective, you notice small details.

You are right about Rags — he does look like my current dog, Daisy. But it’s only a coincidence.

When I wrote that book, we had a basset hound named Seamus (the book is dedicated to him). Seamus ate socks, stole food off the table, drooled constantly, and smelled bad. And those were his best features! He inspired aspects of Rags. While doing research, I discovered a Doggie IQ Test. You place a towel over the dog’s head and observe its reaction. An alert dog quickly shakes off the towel. A medium dog might wait a few seconds before responding. And a dog like Seamus sits and wonders who turned out the lights. Or in Rags’ case, falls asleep!

Jigsaw gets pretty bummed about Rags — he wasn’t going to win any talent shows — until Jigsaw realizes Rags’ true talent. As Jigsaw notes late in the book:

The big fur ball loved me with all his heart. Every minute of every hour of every day.

And that’s no small trick.

My father patted me on the shoulder. “A wise man once said, ‘Try to be the person your dog thinks you are.'”

He smiled and headed back into the kitchen. “I have an important meeting with a cheesecake,” he explained.

What else? Oh, yeah, you mentioned Rain. I wanted her father to be a “crunchy granola” type, thus his daughter’s name. I liked Jigsaw’s line after his brother, Billy, tells Jigsaw that his new girlfriend’s name is Rain. Jigsaw asks, “Does she have a sister named Partly Cloudy?”

My best,

JP

P.S. This was a difficult book for me, because when I was writing it my oldest son, Nicholas, became sick with leukemia. Though I did my best to keep working, my concentration was not great. And writing is nothing if not concentration. I finally asked my publisher for help and Howie Dewin stepped in as co-author. While this book is mostly me, some parts are not. The whole experience was a blur. So I look at that book and feel like it could have been better. It sort of bothers me. After that I took a break, then came back strong with Jigsaw Jones #23: The Case of the Perfect Prank.

P.S.S. Nick is doing great, by the way!

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones / Tags: , , ,

Fan Mail Wednesday #20

November 11, 2008 / / 3 comments

And so I find that I’ve become what I had always feared:

Homework.

Dear Mr. Preller,

My name is Elliott and live in a small town in the suburbs of Chicago. I did a book report on one of your books, Six Innings, and I thought I should share it with you a little bit and tell you that I thought your book was one of the best books I’ve ever read. I did my book report in the form of a board game, the objective being to start at home plate and try to be the first one to go all around the board and reach it, with obstacles at every corner (I have attached some pictures of my game to this email). I also got an A+ on it, which is another reason I thought I should send it to you. I deeply hope you reply to this email when you get it.

Your reader,

Elliott C.

P.S. I know you’re a Mets fan, and I’m a baseball fan too, but I’m more of a Cubs type. I also know that you’re ashamed that the Mets didn’t make it to the playoffs, so I am deeply sorry.

I replied this way:

Dear Elliott:

I wanna play, I Wanna Play, I WANNA PLAY!

Thanks so much for sharing this with me. I love the photos you sent, too. They confirmed my deep-held belief that I have the best-looking readers in all of children’s literature. Rowling may be making more money, others may get the awards, but my readers brush their teeth.

And that means the world to me.

Elliott, I’m impressed with the energy and creativity you put into your project. Not only did you deserve that A+, I believe your parents should buy you a new car (hopefully one of the more eco-friendly hybrids, but let’s not push it).

A Cubs type, huh? No problem. A couple of years back I finally made the pilgrimage to Wrigley Field. You are lucky to have that historic ballpark in your backyard. My home park, Shea Stadium, is being torn down as I type this; but at least we’ll get new digs, hopefully this time with running water.

But I do have to say that, contrary to your comment, I’m not at all ashamed of my team, the New York Mets. I thought they played hard and came up short. Too many people label that as “choking.” Sometimes you don’t win. I thought their bullpen was deeply flawed. Try as they might, they couldn’t overcome the injuries and roster weaknesses. I thought the effort was there.

But, yeah, it was disappointing. As a Cubs fan, I guess you know all about that.

Thank you again for your letter, for reading my book, and for creating the coolest board game ever. I am humbled and grateful. You should also be thankful to your teacher, who was equally creative and open-minded in accepting, and probably encouraging, a book report that comes in the form of a board game. And, yes, I still wanna play!

Your friend,

James Preller

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Fan Mail, Six Innings / Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Website Hosted by Web Instinct