Guestbook
Thank you, Valerie! And thanks to your whole school for welcoming me so warmly.
That’s amazing, Henry, I’m really happy to read that. Good luck with your book, and maybe I’ll be standing in line someday when you’re signing your books!
Thank you, Jack! I hope you enjoy Max Tilt too!
Wait, WHAT baby pictures? 😮 Seriously, thanks so much, Abby. I really enjoyed visiting!
What? Funniest? I was trying to be serious! Nah, just kidding. Thanks, Zachary. You all were an amazing and welcoming group.
Aww, thanks, Brayden. It was a privilege visiting your school!
Thank you, Alex! It was such a fun day. Regards to you an all my new friends in Sparta.
Thanks, Connor, that was fun! Hope to do it again sometime.
It was my pleasure, Alex!
You’re welcome, Ella! I really enjoyed visiting your school and seeing Sparta for the first time. Hope I have the chance to do it again someday. Thank you for being so welcoming to me!
Hi, Madelyn! I think my first novel took about nine months to write. Some of them have taken longer, like a year and a half, but I have also written books in as quickly as two weeks. It just depends on the length and the amount of research involved!
Hi, Mia!
I always wanted to be a writer. Honestly, I don’t even remember not wanting to write. I think part of the reason had to do with birth order (but only part of it!). As I mentioned in your school, I was the oldest kid in my family, and I liked to entertain my younger siblings and cousins with stories, imitations, etc., so I was always a storyteller. But I began thinking more seriously about being a professional writer when I was a bit older, maybe 12 or so. On one hot summer night I was reading a story called “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London — a survival tale set in the Arctic — and it was so vivid that I started shivering with cold in 90 degree heat! I was amazed that this author could practically change my body chemistry, just with words! I began thinking I wanted to do THAT to other people someday — make them feel things deeply with the power of writing.
Hi, Jacob! I think my biggest struggle in school was with behavior, believe it or not. I liked making my friends laugh, and that disrupted the class and made the teachers mad. Sometimes I would be sent to the hallway or the principal’s office. It took me a while to grow out of that, but it’s still painful to remember.
Ah, that’s great, Sachi, and very thoughtful of you to send me a heads-up. How wonderful you got an early edition of Max! I look forward to hearing what you thought of it, and also to answering your questions!
your Spy X books and I loved them.Can you write a fifth book?
Sincerely,
Amitai (age 7 almost 8)
Hello, Amitai! Thank you so much for writing, and for enjoying the Spy X series. Sorry to say, the publisher decided not to continue the Spy X series after Book 4. I wish I had better news for you, but I do recommend my new book, Max Tilt: Fire the Depths, which is coming out October 3. And also the Seven Wonders series. If you liked Spy X, I think you’ll really enjoy them!
Thank you so much for already being a great part of his life through your novels!
Hi, Adicia,
Yes, I would love to sign a book for Patrick. What a great kid! Would you mind sending me a private e-mail message at info@peterlerangis.com and we can make mailing arrangements? Many thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi, Jedd! I think about it all the time! In fact, I really do have to stop thinking about it, I’m driving myself crazy. Seriously, I would love to have any of my books made into a movie, and I hope some filmmakers will soon agree to do it!
I have been wanting to become a writer for a very long time, but don't really know where to start. Do you have any advice for me?
Also, I wanted to say thank you for writing the Seven Wonders books. I have had a lot of fun reading them.
Hi, Anna. Many thanks for your kind words about the Seven Wonders series. I’ve moved on to other projects, but boy do I miss it. Here’s some advice I usually give people who are serious about writing books:
1. You have to want it more than anything else in the world. You have to be the kind of person who doesn’t settle for no.
2. Reading voraciously — all the time — is the single best training to become a writer.
3. It helps to be intensely curious about how your favorite authors make their work so good. What kind of words do they use? What kind of words do they leave out?
4. You need to practice. Like a musical instrument or a sport, writing gets better with constant work. Write some things for yourself, pieces that no one else sees. Also write stories that you show to people you respect — teachers, librarians, parents, siblings, other authors, etc. Listen to their feedback. Learn to recognize useful and useless feedback. Useful feedback is your best friend, even though it may feel painful.
5. You must collect ideas. Write them down. A pad or a writer’s notebook is great, but anything will do, even a receipt or a scrap of paper. Collect your ideas from conversations, things you observe in everyday life, dreams, other books and movies, etc. When you have a bunch of them, read them over and decide which is the best. Which one makes you the most excited? Start working on that one. If you like it, chances are your readers will too.
6. You need to recognize that the stakes in your story must be super-high. Even in stories about everyday life, there must be some dilemma that seems impossible to solve, something the readers will hang on to until the very end.
7. Regarding step 6, think hard about what you want to leave out of your story. That’s the thing that will pull your readers in.
8. Live life to the fullest. It’s easier to write compelling stories if you’ve experienced compelling events in your life.
9. Don’t worry about getting published right away. Almost no one is published at a super-young age, and that’s OK.
10. Did I say practice?
11. Practice.
Since I started reading your books, I noticed a lot of references to Bible stories, and have been wondering if you are a Christian. Thank you for reading this.
Hello, Anna! I grew up going to the Greek Orthodox Church but I’m afraid I have lapsed from that branch, as the liturgy was always in a language I did not understand! As for nowadays, I guess I’m a work in progress!
Hello! I am from Greece so forgive me if I make some mistakes. I am writing to tell you how much I admire your work. You are my favourite writer and I have loved Seven Wonders Of The World and 39 Clues! The way you write is amazing. Also, I have recommended Seven Wonders Of The World to my friends and they have loved these books too.
When I grow up, I want to be an author too and you are one of my inspirers to follow this profession. Have a very good day,
Your faithful reader
Thank you so much (or should I say ευχαριστώ?). I’m delighted you enjoyed the Seven Wonders series and also very happy you’ve spread the word to your friends. My grandparents came to the States from Greece and I have a deep love for the country and the culture. I hope to read your own books someday, and warmest wishes to you!
