Dear MaxRide28,

Thank you! I'm really happy that you love "The Star Shard"! Thanks for telling me that. I think what you're asking is, is it published as a book? Not yet. For the rest of this year, you can find it only in Cricket--but that's a good deal, right?--because in every issue, you get all the other great stories, poems, artwork, and adventures with Cricket and friends!

However, we've got our fingers crossed that it will be published as a book before too long! My agent is working on finding an interested book publisher. The book (in its current form) is called The Witching Wild--and the entire story of "The Star Shard" is only the beginning of the book, so there's a lot more to the story of Cymbril and Loric!

So...please enjoy the story now in Cricket. But make yourself a note to keep your eyes open in another year or two for a book called The Witching Wild!

Dear Nicole,

Thank you! I'm very happy that you love "The Star Shard"! I've always loved stories. The main reason I've always wanted to write is so that I can have a part in giving the enjoyment of stories to other readers. It's a wonderful feeling to hear from someone who has loved a story you've written--so I encourage you to keep writing your stories! It's truly a good way to spend your time and energy.

I've partly answered your question about characters in some other letters on this page, but I'll add that, when you're creating the main character in your story, try to imagine that you are she or he. The character should think and feel many of the same things you think and feel, because 1.) you know those thoughts and feelings and can write about them convincingly; and 2.) all people share a great many of the same ideas and feelings, so if you put yourself carefully into your main character's place, you'll be able to write a character that many readers will understand and identify with.

Let's say you're writing a story about a girl who has just been sent to a castle to help with the cleaning and other chores. Pretend that you are in her place. How do you feel when you see the royal family? Are they nice to you? Do you wish you were one of the princesses, or are you relieved you're not? Are you happy in the castle? What do you like best about it, and what do you hate about it? Are you lonely, or do you find an interesting friend you did not expect to meet? Suddenly, you're given the job of taking care of the princess's pet winged horse. How does that make you feel? What is that horse's personality like? What if you leave the stall door open for a minute, and the horse flies away? What will you do? . . . And on and on. The more you put yourself in that situation, the more choices you have as a writer--the story possibilities are endless!

I guess what I'm saying is this: you can develop characters easily by just putting them into a situation and letting them act naturally there. The things they do, the choices they make, will help us readers get to know them. In no time, your story will be full of interesting characters!

I thought of the characters for "The Star Shard" by asking and answering practical questions. First, I knew I wanted to write about the Thunder Rake. I had to ask myself: who is in charge of it? What kind of person would he or she be?--and the answer was Rombol. I asked, how would such a huge city wagon move from place to place?--and the answer was the Urrmsh. I asked myself: if Cymbril were a slave on the Rake, what would her job be? What would she like and dislike about her life there?

See? The process of writing a story involves a whole lot of asking yourself questions and answering them!

I TOTALLY agree with you: fantasy is the best kind of story!

P.S.--I think Cricket is a really cool magazine, too!

Sincerely,

Fred

Hi, Anonymous!

Thank you for your kind words about the story--I'm glad you like it. You sound just like me when I was a kid--I didn't know what I was going to be, but I knew that whatever I ended up doing, I'd also be writing. Isn't that great about writing? You can do it wherever you are, and you don't need a lot of equipment to do it.

How did I ever come up with "The Star Shard"? I really don't know--all I know is that I love stories, so I'm always reading them, and I like to be physically active--I think going for a brisk walk sort of shakes up the ideas in my head, and they line up into stories.

I have memories of writing "The Star Shard" while sitting at a white kitchen table (no tablecloth) in Japan during a cold winter while helping to take care of a sick cat.

Yes, it is fun looking back on old issues of Cricket! Actually, I can't give you a better answer right now about how it's changed, because I live in Japan, and most of my Crickets are back in my house in the U.S.A. My impression is that it hasn't changed that much. Old Cricket has always been old, and Cricket has always been full of stories that sweep me away into other worlds.

Dear Fred, I think that Cymbril  has a soft C.

Fondly, Mayr

I'd say KIM-bril.

I never, even for a moment wondered how to pronounce Cymbril. Being a musician, for me it's automatically a soft C, like the beginning of cymbals—crash, bang!

I had no trouble in deciding that it was a soft c. Most words that begin with c and then a vowel have a soft c at the beginning as opposed to a hard one, like Cyclops, cymbals, cytoplasm, city, cigar, etc.

Hi, Michael!

Thank you very much! I'm thrilled that you like the story!

A number of readers have said that Loric is their favorite character. I think Ms. Fiegenschuh's wonderful illustrations of him have a lot to do with that! (Of course, I also love the way she depicts Cymbril....)

I have a great fondness for the Strongarms, too.

If "The Star Shard" became a movie, I'd definitely push for live action. As for director--well, I think I'd interview Guillermo del Toro, Tim Burton, and Peter Jackson, and see whose vision for the film impressed me the most! Heh, heh!

Be well, you, too!

Fred