Guestbook « Peter Lerangis

Kate wrote on March 7, 2013 at 10:34 PM

Dear Peter Lerangis,
I was just wondering, what will be the next 7 Wonders book be called? What are you planning for it to be about?
One of your biggest fans,
Kate ^_^

Admin Reply:

Hi, Kate! It will be called LOST IN BABYLON, and it will involve the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, among some other extremely wild things.

Brooke wrote on March 7, 2013 at 10:30 PM

Dear Peter Lerangis,
When you were on your author visits which school did you like best? Also what was the most common question? Finally, have you read Day of Doom?
Brooke

Admin Reply:

Hi, Brooke! Wow, there were so many of them, the thought of a favorite hasn’t been an inkling of a mote of an iota of a thought. I just enjoy them, far from the realm of favorite-pickingness. I think the most common question was “Are they going to make a movie of your books?” And I have not yet read DAY OF DOOM.

Sapphire wrote on March 7, 2013 at 6:52 AM

Oh, you really haven't read DoD yet?

Brace yourself.

I dearly want to strangle someone. Or chuck my copy at a wall (not that I'd EVER do that to a book). Or make something explode.

But hey. You must have read the manuscript, right? At least the rough draft?

You could have said something on all the pretentious romance (kill me, now) and cheesy action taglines! Assuming they were there.

DAVID BALDACCI IS ON A SECRET MISSION TO DESTROY 39 CLUES ONCE AND FOREVER.

THERE IS NOWHERE TO RUN.

And incidentally, that is the name of the first Unstoppable book.

Dare I read it?

SHOULD I ABANDON 39 CLUES FOREVER?

IS IT REALLY THAT HOPELESS?

OK, dramatics aside. DoD was pretty good. I think. There was just a lot of out-of-character-ness. That Quote, for example. And EXTREMELY bad romance. And Ian blubbering. Really, I had to double-check. I was like "Is that Ian crying like wimp? That's not Ian wussing out. Please tell me it's another character of the same name."

If Mr Baldacci is reading this, well, you may name a character after me in one of your books and make her die a gruesome death. If you hate me for saying all of this.

I just--just--

WHAT DID I JUST READ?

WAS IT A COMBINATION OF AWESOMENESS...

AND BAD ROMANCE (haha, get it?)...

AND CHEESY ACTION...

OR WAS IT JUST TWO-HUNDRED-SOMETHING PAGES OF PLOTHOLES...

AND ABANDONED PLOTS...

AND DEATH...

AND LACK OF REACTION TO THOSE DEATHS...

AND (once again) BAD ROMANCE?

OR WAS IT JUST DAVID BALDACCI...

BADA$$ ADULT WRITER...

TRYING TO WRITE LITTLE KIDDIE ACTION?!

The world. May. Never. Know.

:O

//end rant

Admin Reply:

Well. Now I guess I HAVE to read it.

Brooke wrote on March 7, 2013 at 4:43 AM

Dear Peter Lerangis,
I forgot to ask you when you came to our school today (Covington) how you thought of the codes in your books of the 39 clues series? For example in book 7 the code is MADRILAELEG=AREC. How did you think of that and what does it mean?
Brooke

Admin Reply:

Hi, Brooke! I thought of all the codes in the text of the story, for example, the code in the mine and the letter from Churchill. The codes on the covers and in the page numbers of the book were inserted by our team of Cahills at Scholastic! I’m not remembering this one, though …

Moemi wrote on March 7, 2013 at 2:14 AM

Dear Mr. Lerangis,

ISAT's are not that bad. The teachers give us mints to lick on during a test. Also Have you read Any Louse Lowery books? They are very good! Oh, and have you read a book called Chasing Vermeer? It's very good! I love reading/Writing books. I could read and write all day and be recommending books!

Admin Reply:

Hi, Moemi. I love Lois Lowry’s writing, and I think CHASING VERMEER is a great mystery. You have great taste in books!

Demi wrote on March 6, 2013 at 11:26 PM

Hi I am a big fan of the 39 clues books and I really think you should have written the last one it was to rushed and characters were off and jake and Amy noo it should be Amy and Ian. Why would the authors do that. Please write a book for the unstoppable series

Admin Reply:

Hi, Demi! Hmm, now you’ve got me really curious to read DAY OF DOOM! I wish I could have written one of the UNSTOPPABLE books, but THE SEVEN WONDERS is such an awesomely major project, there just was not enough time to do both.

Truman wrote on March 6, 2013 at 10:39 PM

Well, I read Day of Doom and an excerpt of Unstoppable: Nowhere to Run. I liked Day of Doom, except for four things.
1. That weird thing at the start of Chapter 40.
2. I didn't see what Lewis and Clark, Ulugh Beg, Caravaggio, Da Vinci, Jane Sperling, Koldewey, Guardians, and the other historical stuff had to do with anything.
3. That four people died, although I didn't mind the death of (in the Atbash cipher) EVHKVI LMV.
4. Where did V1 get his burn?
By the way, about a month ago I read the HarperCollins excerpt of The Colossus Rises. It was great!

Admin Reply:

Hi, Truman! Believe it or not, I have not read DAY OF DOOM yet, so I will make a note of these things. Really glad you like the excerpt of THE COLOSSUS RISES! I hope you enjoy reading the book!

Nicolas wrote on March 6, 2013 at 10:24 PM

I found out the name of the 39 clues unstoppable book 1.
An excerpt was revealed after you finish the Day Of Doom mission.
It is called Nowhere To Run. Can ask Jude Watson to reveal the cover on the Cahill Command Center?
Thanks, Nicolas

Admin Reply:

Hi, Nicolas! I don’t know, so I’ll ask her.

Jeff Oliver wrote on March 6, 2013 at 3:35 PM

Greetings Peter,

Thanks for coming out and touring the schools in Boulder. You got rave reviews. A pleasure meeting you and I look forward to reading Colossus Rising. I've added it to my bedside stack. Come back anytime.

Jeff

Admin Reply:

Thanks, Jeff! What a great visit to a beautiful part of the country — and to top it off, great teachers and kids supported by a thriving bookstore. I know I‘ll see you again soon.

Connor wrote on March 6, 2013 at 12:04 PM

I'll help you. For my game put it in a folder named whatever you want it to be called. For the RTP it will ask you for RPG Maker VX or RTP VX you need to click the RTP VX and then when it is done try to launch my game.

Admin Reply:

Ah, OK, that makes sense. I will do that as soon as I get a chance, probably this weekend in Seattle!

sophie l. wrote on March 6, 2013 at 1:35 AM

today school got cancled! ISATS!

Admin Reply:

Hmm, I kinda thought that might happen …

Sapphire wrote on March 6, 2013 at 1:17 AM

Peter, I think you need to chat with David Baldacci.

"He was so hot! And smart! And so hot!" -Amy Cahill.

I mean, seriously? SERIOUSLY?

Sapphire

Admin Reply:

Ha! You crack me up, Sapphire. (Actually, that quote is pretty funny … )

Moemi wrote on March 5, 2013 at 10:39 PM

Dear Mr Lerangis,

ISAT, ISAT, AND ISAT's..... are stressful. Today was the first day and it was stressful. It's supposed to snow 10 inches today.

Admin Reply:

Tests, and snow on top of that! That’s stress. Actually, maybe the snow will be a relief!

michelle calvert wrote on March 5, 2013 at 8:01 PM

HI PETER!!! (big fan) remember when you visited aspen creek k8 and met a girl in 4th grade and was russian? (thats me) i want one of your books SOOOOOOO BADLY! (seven wonders) (signed) can you give me a price? cool website. your a really funny guy!!! 🙂 😀 🙂 (nice facebook) WHY WERNT YOU FRIENDS WITH THE RICHEST GUY IN THE WORLD!?!? anyways..........PEACE<3

Admin Reply:

Hi, Michelle! Yes, I do remember indeed! You’re in luck, because you can get autographed copies of my book at your local Barnes and Noble in Boulder, the one across from the Target. I made sure to sign books there and leave them for anyone who wants to buy them!

Connor wrote on March 5, 2013 at 12:19 AM

Oh yeah also you have to get the RPG maker VX RTP to play it. Here's the link: http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/download/run-time-package

Admin Reply:

Thanks, Connor, but I fear all these files are beyond my technical capability. Yikes! I’m sure it’s amazing, but I think I may need to have someone give me a tutorial when I get back from tour!

Connor wrote on March 5, 2013 at 12:15 AM

Well, I've been working on a sample of work for you and it's what I would've done for your story. The link for download: http://www.sendspace.com/filegroup/fx9NnOIZ3z05IKT80GKIsuWaUZPw%2BEBS

Georgina lopez wrote on March 4, 2013 at 10:47 PM

Hi peter, today you came to our school and i was wondering if you can tell me all the titles of the book you have published so i can read them. Thanks Georgina one more thing you are so funny 🙂

Admin Reply:

Hi, Georgina! Thanks for the nice words. Sure, I can tell you the titles. In fact, I can do better than that. If you click on “About the Books” above, you can see everything you’d possibly want to know!

Connor wrote on March 4, 2013 at 10:39 PM

It's taking forever for me to find the right characters for Jack! Plus, all the other characters and tilesets. But, I'll try my best! I'll post the link for the demo when I'm done.

Admin Reply:

Great! Don’t worry, Connor, you haven’t been working on it that long. You’ll get it! I look forward to seeing what you dream up!

University Hill 3rd Graders wrote on March 4, 2013 at 9:30 PM

Dear Peter,

Thank you for coming to our school! We loved your presentation today, and we are glad you came to talk to us about writing. We're writing our own stories to publish, so it was good to hear about your Seven Wonders story.

We still have a few questions for you:
~ How long will it take you to finish the series?
~ How do you write a series? Do you already know everything that will happen? How do you remember all of the details?
~ How many pages can you write in a day?
~ How did you get the idea for the illustration on the cover? Who drew it, and how did you meet that person?
~ How did you come up with your characters, especially Jack McKinley and the "Four Friends"?

We hope you answer the questions soon, but we know you are a busy man. Have a great rest of your trip. We know other kids will like your visit as much as we did. You are such a funny guy!

Sincerely (and have a great day),
University Hill 3rd Graders
Boulder, Colorado

Admin Reply:

Wow, thanks for the great questions! By the way, I really enjoyed meeting you all and will always remember the great welcome. To answer your questions:

Each book will take about nine months, so I think the end will be in 2015 or 2016!
I outline each of my books. In other words, before I start, I will come up with a basic summary of what will happen in the beginning, middle, and end. When I start writing the book, I often will think of better ways to tell the story, so I allow myself to stray from the outline. But at least it helps to have a plan. I also outlined the whole series — a rough book-by-book plan of what will happen in all seven. So I know how it will end already!
When I'm starting a book, I go slowly. Sometimes it will take a week to write one page! But by the end of a book, I’m flying — at least ten, maybe as many as thirty or forty pages in a day.
Strangely, I have not met the cover artist. I have no input at all into the cover, and I think that’s a very good thing. I have a terrible visual sense. If I had anything to do with the design of the cover, no one would want to read it!
I wanted characters with very different skills and personalities. Jack is a little like me. But when I began dreaming up the others — Marco the athlete, Aly the geek, Cass the human GPS — I had to put a little of myself into them, too. That is what brings them to life.

sophie l. wrote on March 3, 2013 at 11:28 PM

hello peter... happy almost palaski day! Just wondering... do yuo get scared when you have to be broadcasted live on the news... do you even have too get brodcasted?

Admin Reply:

Yup, I’ve had to do quite a few TV interviews recently, and I really enjoy it. I don’t feel scared, because generally it’s just me, the interviewer, a chair, a potted plant, and a camera. Pretty cozy.

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