Tag Archive for Scholastic Book Fairs

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY: #329: Kindness from Natalee

 

 

 

 

 

So nice to get a handwritten letter from a satisfied customer! Here’s Natalee — who read and enjoyed the first book in my new series, Exit 13: The Whispering Pines. 

 

I replied . . .

Natalee,

What a nice surprise to find your note in my mailbox. Yes, I remember visiting your school when the book was included in the Scholastic Book Fairs. That was a fun day for me. It is always humbling to see a line of readers waiting for a signed copy of a book. Times like those, I wish I had fancier handwriting instead of my crummy lefty scrawl.

You mentioned that you enjoyed how Ash and Willow try to figure out the mysteries of the Whispering Pines. As a writer, I felt the same way — as if I was exploring the creepy, exciting world of Exit 13 right along with them. What happens if they go deeper into the woods? What’s going on with that wolf? What’s the deal with Kristoff, could he really be hundreds of years old? What’s going on in the room behind the Unnumbered Door? And will they ever get home again?

Honestly, I’m still trying to figure some of that stuff out myself. But you will find answers to many of those questions in the next book, The Space In Between, coming out this August 1st.

Thank you for your letter. It means a lot to me. Good luck in middle school next year. It’s exciting: new teachers, new classes, new friends. You’ll kill it!

Your friend,

James Preller

EXIT 13 — Here We Go!

I published my first book in 1986 at age 25 and this new one arrived yesterday. 36 years. Still a thrill. And actually this one especially so, written during one of the most challenging periods in a long career. A new series with Scholastic, “Schitt’s Creek” meets “Stranger Things” with a touch of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary.” Fast-paced, creepy, mysterious, and hopefully addictive. The first book will be offered exclusively by Scholastic Book Fairs this Fall, available far and wide in February. EXIT 13!

Here’s the cover of the second book, which is — amazingly — even better.