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Here’s another letter from a reader who enjoyed EXIT 13: The Whispering Pines.
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It kind of kills me, because there’s a sad story here, one that I suspect is fairly common in contemporary children’s publishing. I was asked to write two books in a new series for Scholastic. They came to me with the title, “Exit 13,” and a plan to feature the first book in Scholastic Book Fairs. They owned the concept. Beyond that, I did most of the heavy lifting. I was grateful for the opportunity. It was also a return to my publishing roots, since that’s where I first good my start.
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I was pleased with the first book. I thought I accomplished something. This was a fun, fast-paced, genuinely mysterious story. And it was well-published, too, featuring great art by Kevin Keele.
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Of course, that first book had no advance promotion, no buzz whatsoever, when it appeared in Book Fairs next to some of the most popular books in the business. I gather that sales were disappointing. And before the second book came out, Scholastic had decided to pull the plug. There would be no third title. The series was dead on arrival, with no time to reach an audience. Honestly, all things considered, it would have taken a near-miracle to succeed.
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Hey, publishing is filled with tough decisions. It’s a business. They are in it to shift units, make cash registers sing. I understand how it works. Maybe they were right. But in my heart, I felt like that series could have been something. I had hopes!–
Oh, well. You move on. And occasionally answer a letter from a reader.
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Hello Mr. Preller,
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My name is Ella _____ and I’m a 4th grader at South Dakota ______ Elementary and I really like your book Exit 13 The Whispering Pines. I like your book because I like how mysterious it is with the creepy man that Willow has a crush on until she starts to think differently about him. I also like how Ash goes into the forest with Willow to find their dog Daisy the goldendoodle. I also like the part when they are in the pool that is not filled and the wolf comes when Willow isn’t there and she’s getting a drink while Ash and the girl are in the empty pool. A question I have is why was the snake in the janitor’s cart? Another question i have is how did the dad fall and sprain his neck during the fire alarm? Mr. Preller thank you so much for reading my paragraph about your book Exit 13.
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I replied . . .
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Dear Ella,
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Good morning! Thanks for your patience. I’ve been covering a lot of ground lately — drove from Albany, NY, all the way to New Orleans and back (almost 3,000 miles!), then to Long Island for a school visit to speak to 7th graders who all read my book Bystander, and then yesterday at a local school to talk to students, PreK-5.
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So, finally, at last, a quiet morning at home. It’s overcast and rainy and my dog Echo is looking at me, wondering when we’ll go out for a walk. I’ve patiently explained that he’ll have to wait until I finish this letter to Ella in South Dakota.
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He just doesn’t get it.
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Thank you for reading EXIT 13: The Whispering Pines. I’m glad you enjoyed its overall creepy, mysterious vibe. There’s a sequel, EXIT 13: The Spaces In Between, that I think is even more exciting. Anytime I write a story, there’s a degree of setting things up in the beginning: introducing characters, the setting, the situation. It’s always going to be a little slow at first, by necessity. With this book, I hoped to sprinkle in enough strangeness to keep the reader involved until the plot reveals itself and the action picks up. If the reader doesn’t care about the characters, then it’s not going to be a good book, period. For the second title in the series, I was able to launch right into it. In the process, I stumbled upon a device that worked really well. I found a way to put both Ash and Willow in peril — but separately. Then I was able to alternate chapters between them. Just when Ash was in trouble, I’d cut to Willow, get her in danger, then cut back to Ash, and somehow maintained that pace for about six chapters. It worked out really well, I think. I have a new series coming out next year, THE SURVIVAL CODE, that’s basically a wilderness survival series, and I use that device again to, I hope, great effect. Keep your eye out for them in the future.
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So here I am, 65 years old, a published author for 40 years, still learning new things. That’s one of the best things about this job.
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By the way, I once had a goldendoodle named Daisy in real life. Now that she’s gone, I put her in that book.
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You asked about the snake. Is it two-headed? I forget. To me, it was another odd element, part of the motel’s creepy backstory that I hoped to further develop in future books. Alas, Scholastic, my publisher, did not have an appetite for more, a decision they made before the second book was even published. It’s like a new TV show getting pulled after only a few episodes; it’s hard to build an audience when you don’t have time to grow. Oh, well. In Book #2 I do get to hint at some of the forces at work, and possibly an alien presence. The ground is poisoned, if you will. Weird things happen there. A rift in time and space.
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The father hurt himself during a late-night fire alarm. Wakened in the middle of the night, in a strange room, he simply stumbled and fell. It served to keep the family in place for a bit, though of course we later learn that leaving was never an option.
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Okay: Echo is really giving me the evil eye right now. I have to end this letter, get out of my pajamas, and start the day. Ella, I really appreciate hearing from you. Thanks for reading EXIT 13. You might also like my book Blood Mountain, where I have a brother and a sister and a dog (Carter, Grace, and Sitka) lost in the mountains. It is realistic fiction, unlike EXIT 13, but it shares many of the same qualities, including two parallel plot threads that occur at the same time, jumping back and forth in alternate chapters. In that book, I strive for similar creepiness and a general feeling of dis-ease and danger. Not exactly scary (do you know my SCARY TALES books?), but quietly unsettling. –
What can I say? I like that stuff.
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Anyway, time to go!
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James Preller
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P.S. Here’s a few from a winter walk. I love that dog!
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Really enjoyed this post, James. The way you describe a series that never got a fair chance resonates across creative fields. The direct reader connection you maintain through this blog is something no publisher can take away, and that is powerful. Keep writing, readers like Ella prove that your work matters. https://viewhtml.app
What a kind comment. Thank you.