Tag Archive for The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur

Fan Mail Wednesday #302: Hard Beginnings, Saggy Middles, and Fizzled Endings

 

Here’s a short one from Helin — who thinks I am James Preller! — along with my saggy reply.

 

Hello! My name is Helin. I think you are James Preller. I read “The Case Of The Disappearing Dinosaur” book for my English project. I understood it very well and I liked it. I got the beginning, middle and end very well. I think it was fun and enjoyable. I am glad to read this book. 

 

My response . . .  

Helin!

Thank you for your kind note. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur
Beginnings are hard: that blank page staring back at me, waiting, as if to say, “Yeah, so what?”
Middles tend to sag. I work hard at middles, because nobody wants a saggy middle. I try to keep the plot/mystery zipping along, cutting away the lazy bits. 
And endings, well, a book has to have a satisfying ending. That’s the part everyone remembers, the last pages they read. If the ending fizzles, the whole thing is a fizzled book. 
Nobody wants to read a fizzled book.
I’ve written all types of books over my long career. I published my first book in 1986, at age 25: that makes me something like 136 years old! Go ahead, do the math. The trick with mysteries is that you pretty much have to know the ending before you can begin! Other books you can sort of meander there like a stream and gradually work your way to the ending, a discovery. For mysteries, I start with “the crime” and figure out what happened, who did what. Until I know that, I can’t begin.
That’s a pro tip right there, free of charge.
Thanks so much for writing to me.
I hope this letter wasn’t too very weird.
Did it sag in the middle?
James Preller




FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #260: Multiple Missives!

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Here’s a teacher who combined several short notes from Jaycie, Gracie, Jaxson, and Daynan in one email, so I took the all-in-one approach, too.

 

Hello Mr. Preller,

My students recently read Jigsaw Jones and The Case of the Christmas Snowman. As part of their assignment, they decided to email you a letter. I have attached their letters below. Thanks so much for writing such fun and engaging books for 2nd graders!
 
Andrea
 
Dear Mr. Preller,
 
I read the book the case of the christmas snowman. my favorite chapter is chapter three the christmas snowman. it is very funny. do you have some more books i can read like this one?  my favorite character is bigs melony. I like Bigs because he is funny.  How many Jigsaw books have you written?
 
Jaycie
 
Dear Mr. Preller,
 
I really like your book. i really like how you made a lot of interest in the book.my favorite character is jigsaw jones. i really like how its inspiring.my favorite part is when they dig in the in the snowman.i like the book because its really interesting . my favorite chapter is ten cause they tried to solve the problem. my question is can you make more jigsaw jones books,how did you become a writer. i like how they solve the book . but i really like how they solve the problem,and how they found the penny. how many books have you wrote.
 
Gracie
 
Hello Mr:James,
 

make more books please.I want some investigation. My favorite chapter was death of a snowman.Make a Halloween book and a christmas book.My favorite character was JigSaw and Bigs.My favorite part was when Jigsaw came to Bigs house. Why i liked the book because it has mystery’s.

 
Sincerely,
 
Jaxson
 
Dear Mr. Preller,
 
I really enjoyed your jigsaw jones books they’r really cool.your books are the best books can you please make more.can you do a holoween themed jigsaw jones book?did you know we use your jigsaw books for our class?my favorite jigsaw book is the case of the christmas snowman.is bigs maloney lieing or telling the truth? what are bigs maloney’s brother or brothers name?when are you gonna make a new jigsaw book ?
scinserely, Daynan.
 –
I replied . . .

Andrea,

Thank you for your patience. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks with trips to Rochester, Buffalo, and Clearwater. Thanks, too, for sharing The Case of the Christmas Snowman with your students. As you may know, the Jigsaw Jones books went out of print some time ago. The happy news is that 8 “classroom classics” are now back in print through Macmillan, revised and updated. In addition, I wrote an all-new book, The Case from Outer Space, which was published in August. I’m really proud of it. Good things are happening!
OUTER SPACE_70 (1)
 –
Your students wrote terrific letters.
 
Jaycie: I have written 41 Jigsaw Jones books. Some are hard to find. I love Bigs Maloney. On the outside, he’s rough and tough. But deep down, I think he’s a nice guy. I’m especially proud of how Jigsaw stands up for himself even though Bigs is a lot bigger. I try to be a little funny in all my books. Thanks for noticing.
 
Gracie: I’ve lost track of all the books I’ve written, but it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 books. I enjoyed writing this book in particular because I learned about coin collecting. I even visited a dusty, cramped store for collectors that helped inspire the scene in the book where Jigsaw goes into the store. I started writing my own stories when I was little. Then I stopped for a long time, only to get back into it in high school and college. The key to becoming a writer? Write, write, write and read, read, read. The more you do it, the better you get. You learn by doing.
 
Jaxson: Yes! I like that scene too. As a kid I used to love wrestling with my bigger, older brothers. On Mondays, my mother would go out bowling and my father was in charge. Which meant that I could pretty much run around like a wild man. I tied a towel around my shoulders like a cape and jumped on the sofa cushions, imagining epic battles with various bad guys. I think that memory played a part in this book.
 
Daynan: I am very grateful to your teacher for using Jigsaw Jones in the classroom, and I’m glad you think the stories are cool. I wrote about Bigs in a number of other Jigsaw Jones books. His family appears in The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur, which will be available in stores on November 21.  His father is a florist!
 –
Thanks, everybody, for the kind letters.
 
Keep reading, keep solving those mysteries!
 
And thanks again, Ms. L. Clearly you are the best teacher ever!
 –
James Preller
 –

Fan Mail Wednesday #205: The Girl Who Named Her Cat After Toilet Paper

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I have been away on school visits, so it’s time to catch up on actual work — you know, writing stuff! — and responding to mail from readers, some of which I feature here on my good old, trusty old blog-o-rama.

This one is from a girl who named her cat after toilet paper. (I think.)

So I’m a-gonna proceed with caution:

 

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I replied:

Dear Catherine,

Thanks for your letter. I often wonder about cats. I wonder, specifically, at what number does a person cross from being a “cat lover” to becoming “a little teensy bit crazy.”

For example:

  • 1 cat: “Oh, that’s nice.”
  • 2 cats: “Great, they can keep each other company.”
  • 3 cats: “I guess you really love cats!”
  • 4 cats: “Four? That’s a lot of cats!”
  • 5 cats: [I am starting to worry at this point.]
  • 6 cats: [Yikes.]
  • 19 cats: [Time to alert the authorities.]

Anyway, I see that you’ve named your cats Lily, Jack, and Charmin.

Wait, Charmin?

Like the “ultra soft” toilet tissue?

charmin-ultra-original-bathroom-design-tissue-unscented

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okaaaaaay.

While I joke about cats, what I’ve found is that people who have a lot of cats tend to be extremely compassionate people, true animal-lovers. They can’t bear the thought of a single creature being without a home or, worse, sent to the shelter. I can’t knock them for having kind hearts. At the same time, you don’t necessarily want to be known in your neighborhood as “the nutty cat lady down the block.”

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I’m happy you liked The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur. I like it, too! This one features Danika Starling and her fabulous magic show. In this book, number 17 in the series, I tried something different. There’s actually two mysteries in one book. I’ve never been sure if it was completely successful — I usually stick to one per story — so I’m glad to hear that it worked for you.

OneEyedDoll_cvr_lorezI would love to write more Jigsaw Jones books, but I haven’t been able to find a publisher who wants one. After all, I wrote 40; maybe that’s enough. Lately I’ve been writing a new series called “Scary Tales.” You might like them. They are not very hard to read, but they are on the creepy side. I’m sorry to inform you, however, that nobody gets murdered in my stories. Everybody is safe in the end. But hopefully you’ll experience a few thrills and chills along the way. The most recent book in the series is titled Scary Tales #5: One-Eyed Doll. Every book is different and you don’t have to read them in order (or at all!). Check ’em out . . . if you dare!

About your questions: I’ve met many authors over the years. We are all different, coming from different parts of the world, with different backgrounds and beliefs. But we are the same in one way: we are all readers. I think that’s how I became an author — I loved books so much, I just wanted to have a part of the action. I enjoy many different genres and don’t really have a favorite. I like fiction, biography, mystery, horror, science fiction, etc. As a writer, I want to try them all!

My best,

James Preller

 

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #172: Leal Writes from Istanbul!

Dear James Preller,

My name is Leal. I’m 10 years old and I go to ______ School in Istanbul in Turkey.

This year for our semester project, I read one of your books. It was “The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur.” I enjoyed the book a lot and the ending was full of surprises. My favourite characters are Mila, Jigsaw and their close friends. I didn’t like Bobby because he is dishonest and sly. I’m planning to read “The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster” and “The Case of the Christmas Snowman” too.

Thank you for writing these lovely and heartwarming books.

Have a nice week,

Leal

I replied:

Leal,

Thanks for writing. I’m so glad that you found my book, JIGSAW JONES #17: THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING . . .

Hey, wait a minute.

Did you say . . . Istanbul?

In Turkey?

Are you sure you didn’t mean, Istanbul, Pennsylvania?

That’s so cool.

I get a lot of letters from New Jersey — and Jersey is fine, truly — but Istanbul!

Wow.

I love my Jigsaw Jones books. I try to fill each mystery with little twists and turns, so I’m glad that you found the story was full of surprises.

When I wrote it, way back in 2002, my son Nick was getting into magic tricks. That’s where I got the idea for the story, I guess — a magic trick that goes wrong.

Leafing through the book, I noticed a moment when Jigsaw actually uses a pay phone. Yikes! I guess the world has changed.

I am currently writing a new series for readers your age. Readers, that is, who like scary stories. It’s called “Scary Tales.” Each book is a new story, with completely new characters and settings. Three books are out so far: HOME SWEET HORROR; I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM; and (my favorite), GOOD NIGHT ZOMBIE. The next one will be called NIGHTMARELAND — a boy gets sucked into a video game and his sister, who doesn’t even like video games, is the only one who can help him escape. Together, they have to beat the game.

Thanks for your kind letter.

I hope you have a good week, too!

JP