Hi, Brooke!

Thank you for your kind words about "The Star Shard"! I really hope it will be a book someday soon, too! We're working on it! To be a book, it has to be expanded just a little. A very good editor has made notes for me on his ideas for expanding it. I'll be following his advice in the next few months, and then let's keep our fingers crossed!

Fred

Hi, Abygael!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your great encouragement about "The Star Shard"! I'm delighted that you love it! I think I agree about favorite characters: the Thunder Rake itself is perhaps my favorite "character," too! And right up there are the Urrmsh. But yes, I'd love to explore the Thunder Rake. In my novel Dragonfly, the best "character" is the spooky town in which it takes place. And in a not-yet-published novel I have, the best "characters" are the ships on which most of the book is set. So you can tell I really love large vehicles and places with a special atmosphere!

I don't know when it will become a book, but I'm sure hoping that it will! (Please see my response a little higher on this page. Another reader was just asking the same thing!) :-)

I think I'd like to write it as a three-book series, but I'm not sure yet. It may grow and become a longer series!

I'm really happy that this story convinced you to renew your Cricket subscription for another year! Why would anyone want to stop getting Cricket? [Smiling.] I still subscribe to it, and I'm 42! My mom read every issue all her life, and she lived to be 74! (She was a teacher and a school librarian, and she got me my subscription when I was in first grade.)

I think Part 4 will be up on the site soon! Again, thank you so much for your wonderful words!

Warmest regards,

Fred

Dear Tricia,

How wonderful your letter is! I loved your account of reading "The Star Shard" aloud to the audience on and around the couch. It is an incredible honor that you would choose my story for that! I think the audience's enjoyment had a lot to do with your own skill for oral interpretation and the attention you were giving them--but still, hearing about it made me very happy! Thank you for doing that, and for taking the time to tell me about it! Hearing accounts such as that certainly make the hours of work worthwhile. That--the love of story, of a story shared with others--is precisely why most of us write. Those kids don't know me from Adam, but they sat there holding their breath as they followed Cymbril on her adventures. That's a fantastic feeling! Of all the books and stories you might have chosen to read to them...wow!

How are those Paolini books? (Obviously good, if you made a special trip for the late-night release of one!) And you met him in person! I'm sure the young readers you took along will never forget that, either. I truly applaud you for being such a loving, enthusiastic celebrant of art--and for doing all you can to pass that enjoyment on to children!

Thank you, too, for your willingness to lend support to "The Star Shard"'s journey toward becoming a book. You've already done a great and helpful thing by writing to me here with such enthusiasm for the story. I've kept my agent informed of what people have been writing here in these letters, and he's passed along the link to potential publishers. I've also talked about these letters and included the link on my blog. So you are being extremely helpful! I'll see if I can get my agent to read your letter specifically. But he's not the guy who needs convincing. He wouldn't have taken on representation of the book if he didn't believe in it. When I finish the revisions suggested by the editor, I'll be sure to remind him of these letters, also.

I really liked reading your notes on characters! I'm glad the duality in Cymbril worked for you, and I'm happy that you like all the potential titles! :-) I hope your expectations aren't too high for how the story ends!

Thanks for the comment that it's not a simplistic story. That is a point I remember discussing with the Cricket editors. Even in my children's stories, I'm not consciously writing for children--I'm writing for myself, a story I'd love to read. I think kids pick up on that. I'm delighted that both boys and girls like it!

I can't get my e-mail address onto this screen (there's part of the software that blocks it, for security reasons). But there is a way for you to find it. If you'll Google me, you'll find two websites. If you go to the older, bluish one (not the newer, green one), you can click on my name at the bottom of the main page, and I think it gives you my address. Some people have reached me that way. :-) You might enjoy my blog, too (you can get to it from the green website)--I haven't posted much while I've been on summer vacation, but now I should be able to get back to it. It's mostly about the writing life. I don't know if you're even interested in all that, but anyway.... :-)

Once more, thank you very, very much for writing, and for that story of your reading event that made my day!

Warmest regards,

Fred

Hi, Isabel!

Konbanwa! or Konnichiwa, or Ohayou, or Oyasuminasai! -- I'm not sure when you'll be reading this! I'm glad you liked Japan! I also ride my bicycle a lot here. Where I live, they're harvesting the rice now. This area is especially famous for its rice.

I'm thrilled and delighted that you love "The Star Shard"! Thank you for letting me know! I know it's hard to wait for the next part. That's the only bad thing about serials.

Yes, the whole story is written down already. It had to be all finished before the editors could make the decision of whether or not it would be right for Cricket's readers. Fortunately, they thought it would be! :-)

Best wishes to you!

Fred

Thanks, Julianna! Yes, that does give me a much clearer picture of what the Paolini books are like. They sound amazing! There's no higher praise than for a reader to say s/he couldn't put the book down--and didn't skip ahead.

I also love it when an author will give us views of the characters through one another's eyes. It's thought-provoking and teaches us about life, too, because few things are completely one-sided in the real world. For example, even the villain in a book has reasons for doing what he or she does--that person probably doesn't think, "I am evil and I'm going to cause trouble for the world." The person is acting according to a set of priorities that seem right to him/her. It's great when the writer can show us how complex and many-sided the characters are. To write like that must take some real powers of observation and insight into what people are like.

Your letter is really lucid and explains very clearly why you like Mr. Paolini's books. You know what else makes me happy about hearing this? During the height of the Harry Potter craze, it almost seemed as if the world had forgotten there were other really wonderful books out there. So I'm delighted to hear you speak in such glowing terms of the Inheritance books (that's the name of the series, isn't it?).

Go, books! Yay, books!

Fred

Hi, Ethan!

I'm really happy that you liked Part 5! I just got my copy in the mail today, too! (So you saw it before I did. That's one disadvantage I have in living so far away. I'm the last person to see each new Cricket! But they're always worth the wait.)

Since you brought it up, the part about Loric overcoming iron is a prime example of how much a story can benefit from a great editor. When I wrote "The Star Shard," I had completely forgotten the common folkloric belief that metal worked by human hands is poisonous to the Fey people. I'd heard/read that before, but I'd forgotten it. So I wrote the story, and when the editor at Cricket read it, she asked me what was going on--why wasn't the metal collar poisonous to Loric? I wanted to keep the collar in the story, so I had to invent a reason why he was able to stand having it around his neck. When I came up with the solution, I found that it helped to develop Loric's character: his process for overcoming iron shows that he is a problem-solver, that he's smart, and that he has patience. We'd be missing those details if it weren't for the editor asking me about that collar!

Again, that's fantastic how well you did at the Star Wars trivia competition! I have to admit, I don't remember the name of the animal Obi-Wan was imitating to scare off the Sandpeople. I know it was a [Something] dragon call, but I don't remember what kind of dragon. I remember how he delivered it, though, and what it sounded like, and how he was flapping his arms back and forth.

The Princess Bride is an awesome movie! ("The Dread Pirate Roberts"!) ("My name is Inago Montoya....") I saw Jaws when I was 9 or 10. It was really touch-and-go whether or not my mom was going to let me see it, because back in its time, it was considered a shockingly violent and scary movie. But I'd always loved monsters. My cousin and I used to make audio tapes of our own version of Jaws, being quite faithful to the movie itself. We used the real musical soundtrack, and we made the ocean noises by splashing water in a tub. We're lucky we didn't electrocute ourselves, splashing water around tape machines and record players! (That was back in the days of 33 1/3 RPM record albums. I would sit in front of the stereo and listen to the Jaws and Star Wars soundtracks for hours, reliving the movies in my head.)

You're right: definitely read the books of The Lord of the Rings before you see the movies.

Oh, yes, I'd guess the World Fantasy Convention will come back to New York (or someplace nearby) before too long. NY is such an important place for book publishing. Since so many publishers, editors, agents, and writers are concentrated in that general area, it makes sense to hold it there.

It's excellent that you write space adventure stories! Yes--when I was your age, I was doing the very same thing--imitating the stories (books or movies) that I loved, and also writing new parts to the stories--continuations of them after "The End" appears. And writing the same story from a different character's viewpoint is a terrific way--I'm applauding you!

Comic strips are an exciting medium! I've tried some, but I have no art training; I think I have plenty do with just the words. :-) But I truly admire a person who can do both pictutres and the text. I've always said I love writing because it lets me play all the parts, plus be the cameraman and the director!

I think my first idea for the Thunder Rake came about 20 or 25 years ago! I knew the name back then, too. But I didn't work it into a story until "The Star Shard"! Yes, the Jawas' Sandcrawler was a big influence.

I'm thrilled that you'll be submitting artwork to the "Star Shard" drawing contest! I can't wait to see it!

About the time difference: well, let's see. If it's 12:00 midnight Thursday in Cricket Country (Thursday just ending, that is, and becoming Friday), and we're on winter time (not Daylight Savings Time), then it's 3:00 p.m. on Friday here. Japan is 15 hours ahead of U.S. Central time--14 hours ahead during Daylight Savings.

Thank you once more!

Fred