First of all, thanks so much for writing! I think it's a brave and wonderful thing for a reader to have the courage to speak up as you did, with critical reservations (refreshing, actually!). One of the beautiful things about fiction is that every person brings a different sensibility to the book he or she has read. Two different people will often have wildly opposite opinions about the same book. And there will be opinions galore when it comes to a multi-author series! I see that your observations are mostly about style, and I'd offer that my style actually doesn't change the characters at all, merely sees them through my own writer's eye, my sense of humor, pacing, etc. Many readers have found Books 3 and 7 to be their favorite, precisely because of the style. But not everybody, of course! Each of us 7 authors has our fans and detractors. To answer your questions: Our working process has been very rigorous indeed -- we all read each other's books several times, took extensive notes, and had long discussions with the editorial staff. And then we each went to work when our time came, giving the books our unique stamps, making sure to stay within the guidelines of the characters, and each book went through several drafts via the editors. One of the things we prize is the difference in flavors between the writers, and a lot of readers have responded well to that aspect, too. If the books were all uniform in style, despite the different authors, as a reader I'd be pretty disappointed. While I understand the longing for a more uniform style, that would be a different kind of series. In Book 3, I loved connecting with Nellie's punk side, and Dan's mischievous nature (in fact, Nellie has indeed had tattoos, a nose ring, and a love of punk music from the beginning of the series). I was eager to ratchet up the tension and add conflict via Alastair and the Kabras. As for Book 7, I encourage you to stick with it, I think you may be pleasantly surprised. Keep in mind, the beginning of that book follows an extremely tragic event at the end of Book 6. Thus the beginning of Book 7 is quite intense, dealing with the aftermath and the feelings. There are quite a few plot twists to come, and a lot will be discovered about Amy and Dan's past! Hope this helps. Again, thank you for contacting me, and I hope you continue to enjoy the series.

Oops. Sorry -- yes, I see you did mention that you'd sent in the questions. I think the Holts were just too headstrong and not subtle enough, burning too many bridges, etc. And as for the Book 9 question, honestly, I'm scratching my head over that one myself. I'll have to look into it.

Hi, Jenna! Yes, I know exactly what you mean, but actually both things tread into some territory I can't go into until August 31, when Book 10 is published — so sorry!

Hmm. Well, without knowing what kind of story you're trying to write, how old you are, etc., the best I can tell you is to ask yourself what do the characters want out of the situation? A good story comes out of conflict, and the conflict boils down to the fact that one character wants something badly and the other character wants something different, and just as badly. Choose characters of the right personality, age, etc. that bring these conflicts to life. Make the stakes (whatever it is they want) very high -- extreme inportance. And then give them personalities with characteristics that ring true to you -- maybe little bits of your own personality and the personalities of people you know. Some writers like to think of the characters first, then let the story grow from there. Others like to nail down the plot first and worry about the characters later. Still others like to think of a cool title first! Pick one of these methods, or some of them. You may want to nail down some memorable characters, and then set them loose on the page and see what happens. Or you may want to map out the story with a brief outline, think of a setting, know what the conflict is, and just start writing. Sometimes your characters will come to life AFTER you start. You can always go back and change a character based on things that occur to you later on. As far as memorable names go, those are very personal things. If you can't think of something good right away, give your characters "dummy" names (Girl 1, xyz, Boy 2, etc.) and then when a good name pops into your head later on, do a global replace. That happens to me quite a bit, a perfect name will come to me in, say, chapter 3, and I'll go back and make the substitution! Hope this helps.

Ha! Hilarious! Thanks, Dave, this message truly makes my day. What a relief; it was hard to carry that guilt around my whole life. I will be sure to return, head held high.
(For those of you reading this who are scratching your heads, he is referring to this blog post, also reprinted on my blog page here!)

Use a chapter format, introduce a new chapter when you change POV, and label each chapter with the character's name.

All of these have my blessing; they're all essential tools in a writer's kit. First person is good for some stories, but it limits you to one point of view and prevents you from describing things that the character doesn't know. Also you wouldn't use it if you want to preserve the mystery of whether a character will live or die (if you're writing in first-person present tense, for example, the character is by definition alive). Present tense gives a sense of immediacy but isn't right for everything. Try them out and see what feels right for the story.