James Preller's Blog

I replied:

Dear Julia:

Thanks for your kind letter. It was very well-written. I’m glad that you love to read books.

It sounds like you’ve been tearing through my Jigsaw Jones series. That’s great to hear. I spent about ten years writing those books – there are 40 of them – and they remain some of my favorite work.

To answer your questions: Coming up with mysteries is the hardest part, and I find that I can’t get started until I have the mystery clear in my mind. I start with some kind of mischief –- a missing piece of jewelry, a vanished painting –- or some other mysterious event.

For the Marshmallow Monster, I knew I wanted to write about a camping trip. It’s something I like to do with my family. I found that, after thinking about that setting, story ideas naturally grew out of my personal experiences.

I wrote my first book in 1986: Maxx Trax: Avalanche Rescue! You can read about it by clicking here.

My best,

James Preller