Tag Archive for James Preller Fan Mail Wednesday

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #347: Letter from a “Huge Soccer Girl”

March 6, 2026 / / No comments

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From last night’s email: 

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SHAKEN will be available in paperback, featuring this new cover, on March 17th.

i just read your book shaken and i am a huge soccer girl and i love reading this book i love how she had a hard thing in her life and kept going on what she loved and i love how much she tried

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thank you its hard i had a concussion too it was hard so i loved how i could relate to this book 

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T____, 6th grade
pls answer back if you can

 

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I replied . . .

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T, 
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I’m very glad to read your kind note. While I hoped to write a book that was more than “just” a soccer story, I did very much want the approval of “huge soccer girls” like you. 
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My daughter Maggie played soccer until knee surgeries forced her to quit (three ACL surgeries and done). One unexpected thing she told me was about the first few minutes of practice, how warm and friendly they were, everybody touching base and connecting before the work begins. I tried to capture that small moment in the book. That feeling of being a team. 
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Another moment in the story was inspired by an actual USWNT  soccer star, Claire Hutton, who attended our local high school in Bethlehem, NY. Everyone who followed local sports knew about Claire from a young age. I only met her once, she may have been 15-16 at the time, when I was out walking my dog Echo on a summer day by the high school. Claire was out on the football field, alone, practicing with an assortment of orange cones. Running sprints, ball drills, and so on. I stopped and we chatted amiably for a few minutes. But that scene — a determined athlete, all alone, driven by some inner flame — was all I needed for Chapter 1 of my book. I wanted my character, Kristy Barrett, to have a little bit of the fire that burned inside Claire.
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How do you not root for a kid — now a young woman — like this?

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I’m sorry but not surprised to hear that you experienced a concussion. Hopefully your recovery went well and you can avoid another incident. The health of your brain is everything. And yet if you are playing the game, and competing, it’s impossible to go halfway. It’s hard to be careful when you are fighting for the ball. 
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I wish you luck. My best,
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James Preller
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Category: Fan Mail, Shaken / Tags: , , , , ,

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #343: There Is an Exit After All

May 16, 2025 / / No comments

 

Here’s a recent email that touches on a painful subject. So I set aside for a couple of weeks before answering.

 

Dear Sir,

I hope you are doing well. I am a 13 year old and a huge fan of your EXIT 13 MOTEL series. I just simply love it. I have been waiting for books 3 and 4, but I didn’t see it out there. I just wanted to ask if it was coming soon, I would be waiting for it. I know you would get some hundreds of fan mail, but if you would be able to spare a few minutes, do reply back. It would mean the world to me. It’s my first time writing a fan mail so I would like to apologise for any mistakes I make.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
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I replied . . .
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Aakriti,
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My apologies for taking nearly a month getting back to you.
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I could say that I’m busy, that I’ve had things to do. And while that’s generally accurate, the truth is that you hit a nerve. A sore spot. A place of disappointment and pain.
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As far as I know, there will not be another book in the EXIT 13 series. 
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It just didn’t sell fast enough. And publishing has increasingly become a business of “instant” success or failure. If something doesn’t hit big, right away, then the publishing world moves on to the next thing.
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There is always a next thing. 
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At different times, a series like EXIT 13 might be considered a slow grower. A series that needs to find its audience. Three books, four books. Time for word of mouth to spread. Time to occupy shelf space in bookstores. 
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That’s not the world we live in anymore.
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R.L. Stine once said that his GOOSEBUMPS series didn’t take off until the 4th book. So even something as stunningly popular as GOOSEBUMPS took time to develop.
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Oh well!
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Here’s more of an explanation for you . . . 
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Thank you so much for your letter. 
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Starting the series, part of the challenge was to have enough “story” for it to go 4 books, 6 books, 8 books long. A deep, involved mystery. 
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I wish I could have wrapped it up for readers with at least one final book. Got the McGinns out of the motel, at least. Explained some of the business with the animals and woods and the aliens. 
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Thank you for reading the books and, most especially, for reaching out.
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I appreciate you . . .
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James Preller
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Category: EXIT 13, Fan Mail, the writing process / Tags: , , ,

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #342: A Drawing from Amber

May 9, 2025 / / No comments

 

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What a nice surprise to receive a letter and a drawing from Amber in Illinois, who named Wake Me In Spring her favorite book. Illustrator Jeffrey Scherer and I published that one back in 1994 and it’s still one of my favorites, too. 

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Amber also included this fabulous drawing . . . 

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I replied . . . 

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Dear Amber, 

Did you write that letter all by yourself? My goodness, you must be doing great in school. Keep up the good work!

I’m very glad to hear that you loved Wake Me In Spring. I’ve written many books in my career —- after all, I am as old as dust! —- but Wake Me In Spring, illustrated by Jeffrey Scherer, written 31 years ago, remains one of my favorites. It’s just so nice, that friendship between Bear and Mouse, don’t you think?

When I visit schools, I still love to share that story with young readers. I also love to read my new book, Two Birds and a Moose!  You might like it, too. I have another one coming out this summer: Two Ballerinas and a Moose! Ha, ha, ha. 

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Thank you, especially, for the fantastic, amazing, stupendous drawing you sent along with the letter. Wow, Amber! You have a ton of talent. Maybe one day I’ll be reading one of your books! That is, I hope you are making up your own stories at home. And if you are not, well, you should!

Happy reading, happy summer, happy birds, happy clouds, happy knees, happy toes, happy bananas, happy everything!

James Preller

P.S. Your real letter is on the way!

 

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Category: And a Moose!, Fan Mail / Tags: , , ,

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #328: Good News About “Exit 13”

April 14, 2023 / / No comments

 

I wonder: Is fan mail down in general? Are teachers encouraging students to write to authors — to send letters via snail mail — stamps & envelopes and all that jazz? I mean, clearly, it could be me. Still in a pandemic & post-pandemic lull. I imagine that it’s a combination of those two things. In so many ways, it’s just been a weird time in children’s books. The pandemic is over, but it’s still not over-over, and teachers certainly have their hands full.

The good news is that I’ve got at least four books on the way — some exciting things, too — and there will be a lot more than that before we’re through.

Not dead yet!

The stories we tell ourselves, our inner narratives, are so important (and coincidently play a key role in my current work-in-progress). The story I’ve embraced is that I’m a survivor. Published my first book in 1986 at age 25 and still publishing, still writing. More than half my life in children’s books, close to 2/3 of my entire life, actually, where I’ve been actively involved in books for young people. There are ebbs and flows, ups and downs. Times when I’ve felt embraced and times I’ve felt ignored by an indifferent world. I try to ride them like waves. Float on the surface. Keep swimming. 

Throughout everything, I still fall in love with the thing I’m doing right now, this minute. The latest idea, the current story. Not always literally glad to sit down at the writing desk, but also, in a more figurative way, always glad to sit down with the work before me. To wrestle and wrangle and dread and dream and avoid and write. It’s the best part, the part that endures. Making things. Being creative. Putting it out into the world.

Anyway, I’m grateful for the letters I do get and I thought I’d share this one, since it involves a bit of (good!) news.

This came via email from Gina & Sophia . . . 

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Hi

My daughter just finished Exit 13 tonight and was begging to know if there was another book after this one. Do you ever give fans advanced copies? I see you have one coming in August.

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I replied . . .

 

Gina & Sophia,

I love the enthusiasm and, I’ll admit it, the begging, too.

What writer doesn’t want readers begging for more books? I’m not above it, that’s for sure. 

At this date, there are no advance copies available — I don’t believe it’s even gone to the printer yet. 

However, here’s a glimpse from a page in the upcoming book, illustrated by the great Kevin Keele:

How is that for creepy? That art work — where the wolf seems to lead Ash to a shocking discovery — happens about midway through the book.
Here’s the cover . . . 
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I appreciate your interest and hope you like the next book. I think it’s even more exciting as Ash and Willow delve deeper into the mysteries of Exit 13. 
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I think I’ll probably post a sample chapter on my blog at some point soon. The book will be available on August 1st. Pre-orders are helpful and welcome!
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My best,
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James Preller
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Category: EXIT 13, Fan Mail / Tags: , , , ,

Fan Mail Wednesday #320: Concentrate!

June 8, 2022 / / 2 comments

I’m actually behind on some Fan Mail, feeling guilty about it, hoping to address the mini-backlog soon. Thought this one from Raiden might be worth sharing. His letter struck me as original and I tried to reply in kind.

 

 

 

 

I replied . . . 

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Dear Raiden, 

Thank you for your kind letter. 

Yes, you are right. Books do help us feel things. We meet new characters and, for a little while, sort of go through life’s adventures with them. 

As readers, that helps us learn, and discover, and grow. 

I thought it was wise when you mentioned that reading helps you learn how to concentrate —- and that concentration helps you work. I struggle with that myself. Sometimes my brain bounces around from one thing to other. Is it going to rain later? And what’s for dinner? And boy it sure would be fun to go to the movies! And Raisinets are delicious —- but maybe I should give Milk Duds a second chance. And on and on and on. 

In the end, my brain is just scrambled eggs and I haven’t accomplished anything. At those times, I tell myself: “Concentrate, Jimmy!” 

Focus. 

Do the one thing in front of you. Read for 15 minutes and have that be the only thing you do. The same is true for playing sports, or talking to a friend, or eating a meal, or following along in class. 

When we concentrate, we teach our brains how to think.

Yes, it’s true, reading can make us smarter. It can help us do better in school, maybe even get an important job someday. But push all that aside for a minute. For me, reading gives me pleasure. Books make me happy. 

I hope books make you happy, too.

You said it yourself in your letter, “I feel like I’m in the story and it lets me feel free.”

Wow. Just wow.

Keep reading, Raiden. No matter who you are, no matter what you love, there are books out there that are just right for you. 

I am so glad you wrote to me!

Your friend,

James Preller

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Category: Fan Mail / Tags: ,
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