Bill Doyle

Just found out that Swindled!, Nabbed!, Silenced!, Betrayed!, Iced! and Trapped! are all available online at fictionwise.com, amazon.com and on other sites as e-books. Very excited to enter the digital age!

Thanks to Sue Stone's class at Chicago Academy Elementary for all their great questions! Here are some answers:

To Justyna:

I'm glad you like the idea of the books!

I really don't have a favorite book, but to answer your question about which book to read first, try Swindled! All the books can be read out of order, but Swindled! is the one that comes first chronologically.

To Gowin:

I'll keep you posted about books that I have published in the future.

There are 6 books in the Crime Through Time series. I like writing about mysteries because there is a very strong question that the reader wants to see answered in these books. For example, "Who kidnapped the puppy?" could describe one mystery. lf the question is compelling enough, it will keep readers glued to the pages.

To Christina:

Thanks for your note! Yes, I am writing another mystery right now and I'm having a ball with it!

To Giselle:

Yes, I've always wanted to be a writer for as long as I've known what a writer is. I wrote my first mystery when I was 8. It was a creepy "whodunit" that took place in a mansion. I turned it into a play and my English teacher let our class act it out for other classes. Mrs. Feinster was my teacher's name and I'll always be thankful to her for encouraging me to write.

To Janessa:

I'm glad to hear you like mysteries, too. To answer your question about what inspired me, check out the answer above. I really appreciate your note!

To Tristen:

In your note you mention that you like stories where characters "have to use nature to survive." In that case, I think you'd like Silenced! in the Crime Through Time series. It has a lot of fun natural mysteries and a few survival tips.

To Lizette:

Thanks for your great note! Sounds like you love mysteries as much as I do.

To Jessica:

I come up with ideas by keeping my eyes open...you never know what you might read or see that will be the seed of a great new idea. The newspaper, a walk in the park, waiting for the bus...take a look around for things that you think you could turn into a fun story.

To Jennifer:

Yes, I think making the books read like journals makes them a little more exciting, too. I was also looking for a way to include little bits of information, and a journal made this easier. I could include things that the main character tore out of magazines or newspaper or wrote in the margins. It made telling the story easier and more fun!

To Lorena:

You're one of the few people who notice the letter I wrote to readers in the back of the book. Way to go!

To Sara:

Yes, I have fun writing the one about 2031. I investigated the time periods of all the other books so that they would be as real as possible, but with this last sci fi book I let my imagination go wild.

To Czaerra:

From your note, it sounds like you'd be a great writer. I like writing because it allows me to create new people and worlds, and also to affect the way readers feel and think. Thanks for the note and keep writing!


To Miles:

Thanks for your terrific letter. I'm glad that you're excited about reading the books!

To Aliyah:

Good question. You asked if I've written any books other than mysteries. Yes, I have. I've written books for LeapFrog about movies and books for Scholastic about space, to name a few.

To Asha:

I was 8 when I wrote my first book. It wasn't published or anything, but my English teacher really encourage me to keep writing. Now it's such a big part of my life, I can't imagine not being a writer.

To Kelsey:

Sounds like you might like sci fi if you want to read the book that takes place in 2031 first. I hope you have fun reading it...it's about a bunch of kids who get "Trapped!" on a space elevator with a criminal mastermind.

To Bernardo:

What a wonderful letter you sent me! Thanks for positive feedback!

To ? (this letter wasn't signed...it's a mystery who wrote it!):

I wish I could address this to the right person, because it's a really great letter you sent me. You asked if I could come to your class and teach you the rules of writing or if I could at least write back to you. If ever I'm visiting schools in Chicago, I hope to visit your school, too! Thanks for the note!

To Jonathan:

Thanks to your godfather, sounds like you know more about mysteries than I do! Have fun reading the books and thanks for your letter!

I'll be making several visits this spring to hang out with the 5th graders at P.S. 157 in the Bronx. After my first visit, Ms. Gesseck's class had a few questions. Here are quick answers!

To Kristy:

1) What inspired me to write mysteries? I love mysteries. I love that there is something missing or something unknown and the reader is along on the adventure to find answers. I really enjoy giving readers clues and letting them know I think they’re smart enough to figure out the solution to the mystery.

2) What tip would I give to a writer? Many people say this, but it’s true: write about what you know. If you like dogs, write about an adventure in a kennel. If you like water, write a story about a swimmer.

To Mariyann:

1) “Where did you come up with such an idea?” I wrote a series of space books for Scholastic and wrote about the space elevator, something that hasn’t been invented yet but it could someday be used. I thought this would be a great spot for a mystery.

2) “Did you use someone else’s character traits to develop Otis?” I read about a person who uses his nose to smell ink and that can help him tell if the painting or document is a fake. I thought that was great. Other than that, though, I made up everything about Otis.

To Christina:

Thanks for the comment about the characters’ names. Yes, I try really hard to make sure that the names match the personalities of my characters.

To Trenae:

Wow, glad that you made the connection between the biography of Abraham Lincoln you read and the plot of my last book. Thanks for your other compliments!

To Amanda:

To answer your good question about how I come with ideas; you asked if I take unsolved cases and make changes to them…and, yes, I do that sometimes. In my first book in the Crime Through Time series, I take the mystery of what happened to the USS Maine (it was a ship that sank in the late 1800s) and work it into the story.

To Kimberly:

Thanks for your compliments and your constructive criticism. I agree…I might have put too many characters in Trapped! I wanted to have enough characters/​suspects to it’d be tough for the reader to figure out who the villain was. Plus, I was having a tough time telling the story and making it seem realistic with just a few characters, so I added a few…maybe too many!

To Justin:

Looks like you and Kimberly shared the same feeling about too many characters in Trapped! Sounds like you were able to put it all together; so thanks for taking the time to read the book. And I’m glad you liked the action in the book!

To Sally:

I’m so glad you’re thinking about writing your own series! From reading your note, it seems obvious you’re a good writer. Go for it!

To John:

Sounds like you’re an expert on mysteries, so I’m glad that you like Trapped! And it also sounds like you have met some pretty great authors in your life. I’ve never met R.L. Stine but I bet he’s an interesting man!

To Roselan:

Like a few of your classmates, you mentioned that you like the fact that Trapped! was written like a journal. Glad that you feel that way! I really went back and forth in my head trying to find a way to make the story more personal and exciting. Writing it as a journal seemed to be the perfect solution.

To Melton:

I know! Many people, like you, didn’t like when the adults fell to the ground in Trapped! I tried not to make it to strange, but it was just too much for some people. But I’m glad that you like the scene with John Wilkes Booth!

To Jamel:

How great that you enjoy reading mysteries! I love reading them, too. I’m happy that you picked up on the “context clues” that I scattered in the book. They’re there to help the reader solve the mystery with the main character.

To Yasmira:

From your great note, it sounds as if you feel like many of your classmates: the vocabulary in the Trapped! was often a little too tricky. I had a tough time telling the story in the space and with such complicated ideas without advanced vocab. But I’ll definitely keep your note in mind while writing my next book! I’m happy you liked the suspense in the book!