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I’m always eager to read your comments about my books and stories, so please feel free to pitch in. Here are a few things for you to know:
1) I answer the messages here personally.
2) No message shows up here until I actually answer it to prevent spam and other inappropriate postings. So there will sometimes be a delay before your message posts, especially if I am traveling.
3) Teachers, a gentle request: Please do not have multiple children send me variants of the same message. A group email is much easier to respond to and not such a drain on my time. My thanks in advance for being alert to this.
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917 entries.
Hi! So in the 4th grade back in 2007 we had to write a favorite author a letter in class. I picked you and you wrote back and to this day it is one of my favorite memories of elementary school. This week I started my Children's Literature class for my Elementary Education major. We had to pick a book that stood out to us a child and I immediately thought of you and that letter years ago. I remembered writing to you here in your guestbook back then too. I had to come back and see if I still could. Thank you so much for having such an impact on my life so many years later. I cannot wait to share your stories in my classroom one day!
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Hannah -
Thanks for this lovely message. And how exciting that you are embarking on a degree in Elementary Education. That is the field where I earned my degree as well, and my Children's Literature classes ( I took a few more as a graduate student ) were my absolute favorites. I'm delighted that you remember my books so fondly, and wish you great joy and fulfillment in your teaching career!
Bruce Coville
Thanks for this lovely message. And how exciting that you are embarking on a degree in Elementary Education. That is the field where I earned my degree as well, and my Children's Literature classes ( I took a few more as a graduate student ) were my absolute favorites. I'm delighted that you remember my books so fondly, and wish you great joy and fulfillment in your teaching career!
Bruce Coville
Last year it was the 20th anniversary of the TV series of "My Best Friend is an Alien" and didn't get any news about it anywhere. Is there a chance to get it or are they going to wait for the 25th? I did find only the first season episodes.Thank you for your time!
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Sigfredo -
OH, I dearly wish the producers would do something to celebrate the show. I suspect they've pretty much forgotten about it. I am startled and delighted to know that you could find even the first season available.
They filmed it in Toronto. I live in upstate NY, and I made several trips to the set to hang out and watch the filming and talk to the actors. That was so much fun!
All best,
Bruce Coville
OH, I dearly wish the producers would do something to celebrate the show. I suspect they've pretty much forgotten about it. I am startled and delighted to know that you could find even the first season available.
They filmed it in Toronto. I live in upstate NY, and I made several trips to the set to hang out and watch the filming and talk to the actors. That was so much fun!
All best,
Bruce Coville
Hi! i just wanted to let you know that i have read and own so many of your books. The depth of character and strength in all the books are absolutely riveting. My favorite series is the unicorn chronicles. I have read them over and over again and have never gotten bored:) thank you so much for your books!!!!!!!!
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Rebecca -
MAny thanks for this lovely message - and many apologies for the delay in responding! The website is supposed to send me a notification when a new message arrives, but for some reason it has stopped doing that. I need to talk to my webmaster to get that taken care of!
It might interest you to know that I am working on republishing the Unicorn Chronicles. In doing so I am splitting up the extra long 3rd and 4th volumes. I'm working on what will now be book 4 (essentially the second half of what was DARK WHISPERS) and writing some new chapters about Lightfoot and M'Gama.
All good wishes,
Bruce Coville
MAny thanks for this lovely message - and many apologies for the delay in responding! The website is supposed to send me a notification when a new message arrives, but for some reason it has stopped doing that. I need to talk to my webmaster to get that taken care of!
It might interest you to know that I am working on republishing the Unicorn Chronicles. In doing so I am splitting up the extra long 3rd and 4th volumes. I'm working on what will now be book 4 (essentially the second half of what was DARK WHISPERS) and writing some new chapters about Lightfoot and M'Gama.
All good wishes,
Bruce Coville
I have written in here a couple times over the years. I appreciate you responding each time. My daughter is four and my son is seven, and I have started reading them, The Unicorn Chronicles. This is still one of my favorite book series. I am happy to hear that you’re planning on making this a seven part series. I plan on buying this for my children as well as my nieces and nephews. I would say on my own I probably still read the series at least once a year. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series!!
Is the Unicorn Chronicles going to be made into movies? Will you expand more on this book series?
Is the Unicorn Chronicles going to be made into movies? Will you expand more on this book series?
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Sarah -
I'm really glad to know that you like the new plan for the series. It's interesting, sometimes frustrating, always challenging, and also enjoyable to be working on these minor revisions.
As far as a film goes, there is a company (quite a good one) trying to get a film going, but, as you probably know, this is a very tough time in Hollywood right now. Keep your fingers crossed!
Bruce
I'm really glad to know that you like the new plan for the series. It's interesting, sometimes frustrating, always challenging, and also enjoyable to be working on these minor revisions.
As far as a film goes, there is a company (quite a good one) trying to get a film going, but, as you probably know, this is a very tough time in Hollywood right now. Keep your fingers crossed!
Bruce
My kids and I really like all the audiobooks you do. We thought "The Search for Delicious" was great, and we thought you did a great voice for Hemlock. Great story!
Reply by Bruce Coville
First off, my apologies for the delayed response! The website is supposed to alert me whenever someone sends a message to the guestbook, but for some reason it has stopped doing that. I need to talk to my webmaster pronto!
Secondly, I am delighted to know that you enjoy the audiobooks. They have been a true labor of love for me. SEARCH FOR DELICIOUS was one of our very first, and one of the fun things about doing it was having music composed for the minstrel's songs. Natalie Babbitt, the author, had been of great help to me early in my career, so this felt like a very special way to thank her!
BC
Secondly, I am delighted to know that you enjoy the audiobooks. They have been a true labor of love for me. SEARCH FOR DELICIOUS was one of our very first, and one of the fun things about doing it was having music composed for the minstrel's songs. Natalie Babbitt, the author, had been of great help to me early in my career, so this felt like a very special way to thank her!
BC
I began a fan letter back in 2010 at the age of 9. It's in the bins of loose leaf notebooks and scraps of writing somewhere. Unfortunately I cannot find it at present and so I will finish what 9-year-old me started. The Unicorn Chronicles was my first real fantasy book that pulled me in. The books turned me into the stereotypical girl reading with a flashlight late into the night, took hold of my daydreams and introduced the genre that made them tangible. It's been a decade since then and now, in my senior year of college, the walls of my small university room are covered floor to ceiling with crates of fantasy, sci-fi, history, and everything in between. It has been a while since I dusted off my copy of the Unicorn Chronicles, but I have not managed to put down a book since the stories that started the obsession. So thank you for a lifetime of reading to come and for providing a girl living in small-town Wisconsin to endless worlds and possibilities. -TH
Reply by Bruce Coville
Dear Tierney -
Oh, how much I loved reading this message! I have a lifelong love of fantasy books myself, and a list of writer-heroes that pulled me into that world from which I have received so much joy. So to think that the Unicorn Chronicles were the entry point for you truly does delight me.
I am a small town boy myself (upstate NY). Fantasy took me to other places.
A hard year to be a college senior. Sending you all my good wishes as you launch yourself into the world in these strangest of times.
May your life be more wonderful and amazing than you could have dreamed!
BC
Oh, how much I loved reading this message! I have a lifelong love of fantasy books myself, and a list of writer-heroes that pulled me into that world from which I have received so much joy. So to think that the Unicorn Chronicles were the entry point for you truly does delight me.
I am a small town boy myself (upstate NY). Fantasy took me to other places.
A hard year to be a college senior. Sending you all my good wishes as you launch yourself into the world in these strangest of times.
May your life be more wonderful and amazing than you could have dreamed!
BC
Hi Bruce, I loved reading your Rod Albright series as a young girl. You were my favorite author as a kid and I read and re-read your books. A little bit awkward myself, I think I connected a lot with Rod. I loved escaping into a world where I could be brave and stand up to the bullies. I think that feeling resonates with my reason for becoming a child therapist. The humor in your books made being courageous something that was fun too. I just wanted to thank you for being an inspiration and I hope to recommend your books to the children I work with - to inspire a spirit of adventure and bravery. I would love some of your personal suggestions of books that would really work well for this. Lastly, I was thrilled to see that Aliens Ate My Homework was made into a movie! How great for you and it was really nastalgic for me. I watched it today with my husband and six year old daughter and told her that I read the book when I was about 10 years old. She responded that she wants to read it when she’s 10. That made me smile. I love your work and thanks for the gift of storytelling that I can continue to share with my children.
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Erica -
Before anything else, my apologies for the long delay in responding! Unlike most of the things I'm behind on (which some days feels like everything!) I have a genuine e/x/c/u/s/e/ reason this time, namely that while the website is supposed to alert me when anyone posts to the guestbook, for some reason it ceased doing that. (Next stop after catching up on the backlog is a call to my webmaster!)
That out of the way, many thanks for this lovely, lovely message! I have a special fondness for the Rod Allbright books because Rod is the only character I ever based completely on . . . myself! (The story about the cookies and why Rod cannot tell a lie is ripped from the headlines of my own life!)
As to books that instill a sense of adventure and bravery, take a look at Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" - great, high-spirited adventures that also drive the main character to make difficult moral choices. They are some of my favorite books ever.
I just took a look at your website. You have some really wonderful stuff on your blog!
All good wishes,
BC
Before anything else, my apologies for the long delay in responding! Unlike most of the things I'm behind on (which some days feels like everything!) I have a genuine e/x/c/u/s/e/ reason this time, namely that while the website is supposed to alert me when anyone posts to the guestbook, for some reason it ceased doing that. (Next stop after catching up on the backlog is a call to my webmaster!)
That out of the way, many thanks for this lovely, lovely message! I have a special fondness for the Rod Allbright books because Rod is the only character I ever based completely on . . . myself! (The story about the cookies and why Rod cannot tell a lie is ripped from the headlines of my own life!)
As to books that instill a sense of adventure and bravery, take a look at Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" - great, high-spirited adventures that also drive the main character to make difficult moral choices. They are some of my favorite books ever.
I just took a look at your website. You have some really wonderful stuff on your blog!
All good wishes,
BC
Im 49 today and I just ordered 2 of your books but I accidentally put the wrong day for my birthdate, since it’s a present myself. My birthday is 09-20-1971, I accidentally typed 09-30. Just wanted to correct that in case you wanted to mention it when you sign either book.
Reply by Bruce Coville
Aha! Glad you caught me before I had signed the books!
Bruce
Bruce
Hi Bruce I just finished Goblins on the Prowl!! Goblins in the castle was one of my favorite books besides your skull of truth growing up, and I didn't know there was a sequel until this last year! I just wanted to know if you were thinking about doing another goblins book? I would love to see more of their adventures I loved the sequel! You made this 30 year old feel like she was ten again! Thank you for your stories they help keep me forever young! I re read the skull of truth probably once a year at least thank you so much for all you and your wife do!
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Alex -
I can't tell you how much this message delighted me. GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE is a personal favorite of mine, and I had high hopes for the sequel when it came out. Alas, despite good reviews, it got almost no traction. (I suspect the new cover treatments were part of the problem.) So it's great to hear from a solid fan of the original that PROWL lived up to your expectations. I had soooo much fun writing it - especially writing about Bwoonhiwda!
I'm also glad to know that SKULL has stayed with you for all these years. Though not the most popular of my books, I think that in literary terms (character development, layers of plot, etc.) it might be the best writing I ever did.
Many thanks for taking the time to write to me. As you can see, your message was most appreciated!
BC
I can't tell you how much this message delighted me. GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE is a personal favorite of mine, and I had high hopes for the sequel when it came out. Alas, despite good reviews, it got almost no traction. (I suspect the new cover treatments were part of the problem.) So it's great to hear from a solid fan of the original that PROWL lived up to your expectations. I had soooo much fun writing it - especially writing about Bwoonhiwda!
I'm also glad to know that SKULL has stayed with you for all these years. Though not the most popular of my books, I think that in literary terms (character development, layers of plot, etc.) it might be the best writing I ever did.
Many thanks for taking the time to write to me. As you can see, your message was most appreciated!
BC
Hi Bruce!
I'm getting the Unicorn Chronicles for my niece to read and I'm trying to find copies of The Dark Whispers and The Last Hunt in paperback but it looks like they were never published in anything but hardcover and all the used hardcover editions are very expensive. Is there a reason why the books were distributed as paperback after being published, especially as they were highly anticipated being the ending of a long awaited quartet! Thank you and I can't wait for her to enjoy the land of Luster!
I'm getting the Unicorn Chronicles for my niece to read and I'm trying to find copies of The Dark Whispers and The Last Hunt in paperback but it looks like they were never published in anything but hardcover and all the used hardcover editions are very expensive. Is there a reason why the books were distributed as paperback after being published, especially as they were highly anticipated being the ending of a long awaited quartet! Thank you and I can't wait for her to enjoy the land of Luster!
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Aurora -
I am very sorry about the situation with the last books of the Unicorn Chronicles. For reasons I have never understood, Scholastic never released a paperback edition of LAST HUNT. I'm still upset about that, and felt it was a great betrayal of my readers. As you have discovered, there is no easy way to get a copy of it now . . . though there is an audiobook version that you can get (I recorded it myself, with a full cast, and I think its pretty terrific, even if I do say so myself!)
On the good news side, I have regained the rights to the series and I am working on bringing the books back in print myself. The plan is to split up the third and fourth books (split book 3 in half, and book 4 into 3 parts) to make a seven part series that is more evenly divided. I just sent the first half of Book 3 to the designer and hope to have it available soon.
As is the case with most things, this is all taking longer than I anticipated, but I am trying to making them as good as possible.
All best,
BC
I am very sorry about the situation with the last books of the Unicorn Chronicles. For reasons I have never understood, Scholastic never released a paperback edition of LAST HUNT. I'm still upset about that, and felt it was a great betrayal of my readers. As you have discovered, there is no easy way to get a copy of it now . . . though there is an audiobook version that you can get (I recorded it myself, with a full cast, and I think its pretty terrific, even if I do say so myself!)
On the good news side, I have regained the rights to the series and I am working on bringing the books back in print myself. The plan is to split up the third and fourth books (split book 3 in half, and book 4 into 3 parts) to make a seven part series that is more evenly divided. I just sent the first half of Book 3 to the designer and hope to have it available soon.
As is the case with most things, this is all taking longer than I anticipated, but I am trying to making them as good as possible.
All best,
BC