From my mail

It's time for another edition of "From my mail!" This is where I share with you lines from mail that I receive from readers. Thanks to all of you who e-mail me and send me letters - I love hearing from you!

by 3rd grader Eliana

"I love your books because they're fun and once you start reading you can't stop. The truth is I promised only to read the first page but actually read 'till chapter 6. I have two dogs, one a puppy and one an adult. The puppy is obnoxious." ~ Eliana, 3rd grade

"I love your Charmed Life books. You give really good details." ~ Reagan

"Thank you for writing such a fun set of books for girls [the Charmed Life series]. We bought the books when my daughter was 10. She's 12 now and I think we've read the books at least four times. She is dyslexic and does not enjoy reading by herself but loves for me to read to her. I've loved the books as much as she has." ~ Joan

"I just finished Sealed with a Secret and fell in love with it. It helped me with my sister difficulties just like Phoebe." ~ Rushika

"My name is Sarah and I am currently reading My Secret Guide to Paris with my best friend. We are both in sixth grade. My friend that is reading this with me is also named Nora just like the main character. We are obsessed with Paris and love everything about it. That is only one out of a million reasons why we love this book." ~ Sarah

"I believe I read your book It's Raining Cupcakes somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade. I am now a senior filling out college applications. For one of my applications I was asked why I chose my major (entrepreneurship). When thinking back I realized it was your book that made me fall in love with entrepreneurship." ~ Ramsey

"Hello. My friend and I read your book The Day Before. We absolutely loved it. We loved the way it was written and how you used lots of foreshadowing. We would like to know if there is going to be a sequel?" ~ Brenna and Elizabeth

From my mail

Readers send me notes via regular mail as well as email, and I appreciate every single one of them. I try to respond to emails within a few days and regular mail within a couple of weeks. If I'm busy drafting a book or traveling, it may take longer.

Here's what some readers have said recently:

"I am such a fan of your young adult books. They are perfection!" ~Izzy

"I am one of the many teens that read your books. I have two left then I'm done with reading your novels and I do not not know what I am going to do!" ~ Abbi

"I'm an 8th grader and I hate reading. However, I just read Chasing Brooklyn and I Heart You, You Haunt Me in two days. I couldn't put them down because of how amazing and engaging they are." ~Juliet

"I showed all of your books to my friends and now they are all over them too." ~Meghan

"I researched you and I wanted to tell you that I like sunshine and movies too." ~ Taylor, 5th grade

"I love your books because they are so mysterious. I think you were born smart!" ~Hooriya

*****

This business can be so hard, but notes from kids and teens remind me of why I do this. Why I hope I can keep doing this for many years to come. 

Thanks for the love, readers. Right back atcha, always!

From my mail

Haven't done one of these for a while, so I decided, it's time!

A hundred points for you if you know where this image is from! Watched a lot of that show in my kids' younger days.

Readers send me notes via regular mail as well as email, and I appreciate every single one of them. I try to respond to emails within a few days and regular mail within a couple of weeks. If I'm busy drafting a book or traveling, it may take longer.

Here's what some readers have said recently:

"I read three of your books, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, FAR FROM YOU and CHASING BROOKLYN. They are really good books for me because I hate reading and when I started reading I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, it changed how I feel about reading." ~ Morgen, 8th grade

"I'm sure tons of readers have said this before, but I'll add my voice to the list: I love your books so much. I love that you write in both verse and prose and how realistic and down-to-earth your characters are. IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES is one of the first books my sister and I really bonded over. There's a five-year age gap between us and so we didn't really share the same taste in books but we both fell in love with the series, and now we read lots of books together." ~ Yun-A from South Korea

"I recently acquired a copy of MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS. My sixth graders saw it at the book fair and decided we should add it to our class library. As I have been reading it for our daily 20 minutes of reading, they have been intrigued by my giggles and tears. As a middle school teacher, I was impressed that it's a book about love and family. There were still the harsh realities of what my students deal with on a daily basis, but there was also the message of hope." ~ Ms. McCall, 6th grade teacher

"Your book called MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS was amazing! It was the best book I have read in my life and I want you to write more books like it." ~ Taylor, 4th grade

(Psst... Taylor here's a secret. I am, so stay tuned!!)

Thanks to everyone who has bought and read the new YA, ALL WE HAVE IS NOW - available at a book store near you! Every sale counts and is important, so THANK YOU!!

From My Mail

It's time, once again, to stop for a moment and say THANKS to all of you who have read my books and dropped me a note via email or regular mail. I try to respond to each and every one, though sometimes it does take me a while.

Here's what some readers have been saying recently:

"I just recently finished your book My Secret Guide to Paris. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I found your book at the Scholastic book fair just recently. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who likes to read and write about Paris (my whole room is themed about Paris!) Your book was so great I'm planning to read more of your books." ~ Mackenzie

"I am reading your book My Secret Guide to Paris. I love it so much. I'm not done with it, but so far it is my favorite book ever. My mom said to make a movie from a book, I would have to buy the rights. So I'm writing to ask you if the rights for this book are for sale?" ~ Mary, age 10

"I just wanted to tell you that I love your It's Raining Cupcakes books. I own them all and continue to read them over and over. They're pretty much the only books I read. I just wanted to tell you to keep up the awesome work and to let you know you are my favorite author." ~ Brighton

"I liked to read about the cupcake shop. I am 7 years old. My favorite book is It's Raining Cupcakes. My favorite part of the book is making cupcakes." ~ Kyler, age 7

"I adore your books, but I'm especially fond of the Charmed Life series. I am reading the 2nd book currently and the first few pages got my face stuck to the book and I'm curious about the next part. Keep up with the work and don't get stressed." ~Vanessa

"For a while now, I've been reading your books. My favorite is I Heart You, You Haunt Me. I have no idea how many times I've read that book since 7th grade. Every time I was upset I'd read your books and they would give me happiness." ~ Kathy, HS sophomore

"I wrote you a few years back in 2011 about your books. Back then I was 14 and now I'm 17 and I still love your books. Every time I finish one I can't wait until you release a new one." ~ Leah, 17

You guys make me smile. Like this:

Keep being awesome - and don't just tell me how much you love them, please tell your friends too!!

From my mail

It's time, once again, for another edition of "From My Mail!"

Readers send me notes via regular mail as well as e-mail, and I appreciate every single one of them. I try to respond to e-mails within a few days and regular mail within a couple of weeks. If I'm busy drafting a book or traveling, it may take me longer.

Here's what some readers have been saying recently:

"I think you're an awesome writer that has amazing ideas in your brain all the time. I love how you made the characters with love and care, especially Isabel." ~ Anamika

"I enjoy your books so much I could give you a hundred reasons why I love your book It's Raining Cupcakes, but I'm only going to give you three, and here they are... 1) It's different than other books 2) the details 3) the character's names." ~ Natalie, age 9

"Your novel Chasing Brooklyn has truly touched my heart. It was absolutely beautiful. I have never written a fan letter to an author before but I want to thank you for the message I received through your writing." ~ Jori

"I love I Heart You, You Haunt Me so much, I didn't want to put it down. Most books I read it takes me 1-2 weeks, but your book, it was hard for me to go eat dinner with my family." ~ Cali, age 13

"I am a middle school reading teacher. On a recommendation from our media specialist, I planned a unit on I Heart You, You Haunt Me. Holy Wowsers!! My students absolutely love(d) it!! I had several students take the book home and finish it the same day we started. In just two weeks they've already completed Chasing Brooklyn and The Day Before. In fact, I constantly see students reading your books who aren't even in my class. You have become a sensation at our school. So many teens that had "given up" on reading, have a new found love for literature." ~ Mr. B.

Yeah, that last one pretty much made my week. This business is not always easy. It's competitive and there is no guarantee, ever, when it comes to the future. It's like Project Runway in that regard, one week you're in, but the next week, you very well could be out. So hearing my books matter somewhere makes the angst and uncertainty of it all a little easier to take.

Have a great week!

From my mail

Every week I'm fortunate to get mail from readers, both handwritten letters that arrive in my post office box as well as e-mails that arrive in my inbox. Sometimes the handwritten letters include artwork too, which I LOVE!! But all of the letters are awesome, really. Thank you for taking the time to write to me, dear readers!!

drawn by Aricel

Here's a taste of what readers have told me lately:

"I am a big fan of your book It's Raining Cupcakes. I love reading it because I can connect to Isabel so much -- the way she wants to travel, see different places." ~ Aricel, age 10

"I know you probably won't ever see this, but it's worth a shot. I just wanted to let you know that I am your biggest fan EVER. My favorite book that you wrote is It's Raining Cupcakes." ~ Laine

"I like your books Caitlin's Lucky Charm and Mia's Golden Bird. I cannot wait until the 3rd book comes out!!!" ~ Kimberly

"I quote your books all the time! Some of my favorites have to be "It's been a year, we should be okay. Somewhat okay, anyway," "It's like 4th of July all the time. You don't even have to kiss for sparks to fly," and "she's a one in a million friend, and I'm glad she's mine." I have recommended your books to plenty of people but I know that no one will understand my obsession!" ~ Whitney

"Hi, I just wanted to tell you how much you inspired me to read. I had never read a book until my teacher introduced me to Chasing Brooklyn." ~ J.

"I have hated to read since as long as I can remember. My little brother goes to the library quite a bit and a couple months ago I decided to go with him. I saw one of your books and I decided to get it. I now love to read your books. All of them are so good!" ~ S

~*~

It's summer! Are you excited? I AM SO EXCITED!!! Read lots of books, okay? Because here's another quote from I Heart You, You Haunt Me: "Books and summertime go together.

From my mail

It's been a while since I've given a shout-out to the awesome readers who have taken the time to drop me an e-mail or write me a letter. I feel very blessed to receive notes every week from readers who are
excited about reading one of my books and want to write to me and let me know.

I'm about halfway done with the fourth and final book in the new CHARMED LIFE series and honestly, some days, hearing from my readers is all that keeps me going! So thank you!!

"Thank you so much! I read Frosting and Friendship and I loved it. You naming a character after me made my day. No, wait, my WHOLE LIFE!!" ~ Dharsanaa

"I am Katy and I have read two of your cupcake books. Some things about me, I have a pet gerbil, my favorite fruit is watermelon, and my favorite TV shows are Remington Steele, Charlie's Angels, and Laverne and Shirley." ~ Katy

"I have have just finished reading Sprinkles and Secrets. I bought it at the Scholastic Book Fair that came to my school.  As soon as I started reading it, I realized that it was the sequel to It's Raining Cupcakes.  I so enjoyed reading both!  I loved the ending to Sprinkles and Secrets.  Could you write a third?  That would be amazing!" ~ Caroline

"I'm so upset! I finished all of your books. They were absolutely amazing. I don't think I could ever find an author like you. I'm looking forward to a new book! " ~ Hannah

"Hi! I'm writing to you because I completely fell in love with your book The Day Before. Your book connected with me on so many levels it was unreal. Amber is me. Everything from the red hair, to the music she likes, to being a little rough around the edges is completely me." ~ Macey

"I have so far read ALL of your books, even you recent one Falling for you, which honestly, made me tear up! I felt so connected with it. I keep trying to get my friends to read your books. But my friends don't enjoy reading as much as me, but I am not giving up!" ~ Maia

"My name is Mary. I'm 15 and a sophomore. I just finished your book Falling For You. I just wanted to let you know that this book has completely changed my life and my outlook upon living. I suffer from extreme depression. I've had a lot of problems in my life. Your book was exactly what I needed. I was giving up on myself and my true happiness. This book has given me an extreme amount of hope that my life is going to turn around. I just wanted to thank you. Thank you so much for showing me that there is hope." ~ Mary 

Thanks to my awesome readers, I can draw a cupcake!

One of the things I love about writing for younger readers is that they often send me something they've drawn when they write me letters. As you can imagine, I get many wonderful cupcakes. Let me show you just a few of them.

by Chloe:

by Maddie:

by Aisling:

by Natasha:

When I was 8 or 9 years old, I used to love drawing flowers. I'd draw flower after flower after flower. Recently, I've wished that I had practiced drawing cupcakes, because I've never been happy with the way I draw a cupcake. But, thanks to my readers, I've been following their patterns a little bit and practicing. And guess what!? I'm not ashamed anymore of my cupcake! 

by me:

Thanks readers - you've turned me into a cupcake artist, and I *love* you for it!

From my mail

Every few months, I like to stop and take a minute to say thank you to my readers for your e-mails and letters. I try hard to reply to each and every one individually, but I think it can be fun to give a shout out to some of the awesome notes here as well.

This is a picture a reader named Zainab sent to me a couple of years ago, and I wanted to point out that her creativity around an all-girl band was the inspiration for one of the story lines in my upcoming novel, Frosting and Friendship. So thank you, Zainab!

Here are some snippets from letters and e-mails I've received from readers recently:

"Sometimes I have problems with my friends in school, but your books inspired me to talk it out and say sorry." ~ Chelsea, soon-to-be 5th grader

"When I was looking for a book at Barnes & Noble, your book caught my eye, and once I started to read it, I felt as if I was there. My most favorite book is It's Raining Cupcakes." ~ Jessica

"My best friends and I liked Sprinkles and Secrets so much, we did a video book report on it. We had a lot of fun doing it. I wish I could send the disc to you but I can't, it's way too fragile for the mail." ~ Elly

"I enjoyed It's Raining Cupcakes because it taught me that you can do anything you set your heart to. My mom and I made the Grandma's Applesauce Cupcakes and they were delicious." ~ Brooke, 5th grader

"I have read all of your books at least three times and I own all of them. They are really fun to read. Your books are just amazing. My favorite one is your newest one Falling For You. My second favorite is The Day Before; that one made me cry." ~ Emily, 13

"Your book [Falling for You] had me in tears because I realized that I wasn't the only one who had been in a situation like that. Even though it's fiction, it made me really connect with Rae." ~ Rebecca

"I just wanted to let you know that I love your books.

The way you write,

the way you describe,

the way you understand how teens feel,

I just love it.

I have just finished Falling For You and it had me crying at the end. I'm already looking forward to your next book." ~ Xiu

~*~

Please note: In August, I will be sending out fun postcards I ordered specifically for the release of Frosting and Friendship. If you would like to receive one of these postcards with a little note from me and signed by me, I just need your address. Please send it to: lisaschroederbooks(at)gmail(dot)com. Make sure your parents are okay with giving me your address. Thanks!

From my mail

Thank you, readers, for your letters and e-mails to me. I read each and every one and try to respond to all of them as well. I appreciate you taking the time to write to me!!!

Here are some wonderful snippets from letters and e-mails I've received over the past month or so.

"Our teacher asked us to do a book report on our favorite book. So of course I chose your book It's Raining Cupcakes! You are an amazing author. I love how you ended the book with a cliff hanger making me very excited to read Sprinkles and Secrets. For my report I made a new book cover. I'm making cupcakes for my class when I present my book report." ~Janine, age 9

"In 4th grade our book club read It's Raining Cupcakes. I could not wait to read it because my favorite thing to do is bake. After everyone read the book in book club we got together, and our teacher made the s'mores recipe on the back. The cupcakes were delicious!" ~Emily

"I first wanted to own a florist shop but then I read It's Raining Cupcakes and now I want to own a cupcake shop! I really hope you will make a third book in your series." ~ Veronica, age 10

"Hi! I'm reading your book, It's Raining Cupcakes. I love it. I'm reading chapter 8. My friend told me that it's a really good book, and I should read it. I think your imagination is really out of this world." ~
Annie

"Hi there. I'm a fan of your books from Malaysia. I've bought Chasing Brooklyn from Scholastic. It was so amazing and interesting to read. I really love the way you made the story line. I'm going to buy your other books to keep me entertained. Keep writing amazing books, okay?" ~Rhidga

"Just wanted to tell you that I LOVED The Day Before and the first thing that I after I was finished with it was to go to your website to see if there was going to be a sequel. Although I was disappointed to figure out that you weren't going to, I respect your decision not to, because I get that you wouldn't want to find a different conflict to put into words." ~Hannah, your obsessed Cade fan

From my mail

I have probably said it before, but I don't think it's something that can be said too much.

I LOVE MY READERS!! They make me over-the-moon happy!

Thank you, wonderful readers, for reading my books, telling your friends and writing me sweet notes to share what my books mean to you. As long as you keep reading, I will keep writing!

"Right now I am in the middle of reading Sprinkles and Secrets. I love it as much as the first. I think you should keep writing kids fiction books about baking or any other kids fiction books. Also, I loved the idea of S'mores cupcakes and it made me hungry reading the recipe. Since it sounded delicious, I decided to make them myself for the family. They turned out really good! I made them the day before my grandparents came over for diner, and all 15 were gone in two days!" ~Victoria, age 11 (photo courtesy of Victoria - don't they look good?)

"I absolutely love It's Raining Cupcakes. It is my favorite book ever. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your books. Every time I read them, I get filled with such a happy feeling." ~Julia, age 10

"I can't wait until your next book is published. You write the BEST books ever. I have a dog named Belle who would probably chew on a leather jacket like Sophie said!! I love reading good books." ~Mackenzie, age 11

"I am in the sixth grade. I love books and sheep. I was once looking through the Nook store and saw It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets. At once I decided I would read them. I enjoyed both books and I was wondering if you were going to write another book about Isabel and Sophie." ~Hala


"I have a BIG pile of unread books and my dad said no more til they're done. Well flu shots are coming and he wants me to get the shot so I asked if I got the shot if I could have a book, and guess what? HE SAID YES! So this weekend I ordered The Day Before. It came yesterday and I loved it." ~Ashlee

"The Day Before was the best book I've ever read. Words can't describe how much I love it. I really admired admired how both Amber and Cade were so different from others, but so much like each other." ~Kaitlan

"I really love your books. I have read three of them and hope to read all of them. I just wanted to tell you that you are a great author and my favorite. And because I started to read your books even though I didn't read a lot before now I just can't stop." ~Mariah

"I hated reading until I got a book at my school book fair! That book was called I Heart You, You Haunt Me. Ever since then your books are the only books I like to read. I wonder if you know of other authors who write in the same format?" ~Olivia, age 12

Yes, I gave Olivia suggestions on other books to read. I often do that even when I'm not asked, because I love sharing books I've read and loved!
Happy reading everybody!

From my mail

Here are a few tidbits from the letters I've received over the past couple of months. Thank you SO much for your enthusiasm, dear readers, and for sharing my books with others. I've said it before and I'll say it again a million times - the BEST thing you can do for an author whose books you love is to tell others about them!! So THANK YOU for all you do to help spread the word!

Here's a cupcake for all of you, courtesy of Anna, who is a GREAT artist, wouldn't you say?

"I've been telling everyone about your books and telling them to read them." ~Anna, age 10

"A few months ago, 4 friends and I started a book club. Guess what? It's Raining Cupcakes was our first book." ~Charlotte

"One of my friends made the Smores cupcakes, and they tasted soooo delicious." ~Dhavin, 5th grade

"I love your book It's Raining Cupcakes. I love the way I feel like I'm in the story." ~Olivia, age 8

"I've recommended your books to lots of my friends and they loved them, so please consider writing another book about Sophie, Isabel and Dennis." ~ Sarah, age 8 1/2

"I have a dog, his name is Leno! Like Jay Leno because he has a black hair stripe." ~Sydney, age 10

"For my book report, I drew the cupcake shop and Isabel, Sophie, Isabel's dad, mom and grandmother."
 ~Nicole, age 11

"This book (I Heart You, You Haunt Me) makes me want to appreciate all the things in life I have, big and small, while I still have them." ~Jaycie

"I did your book Chasing Brooklyn for a book talk at school and now all the girls in my class (16 of them) are reading your books." ~Sabrina

"Just recently I lost my three year old cousin to a house fire. Your books about joy not sorrow are truly helping me." ~Morgan, 9th grade

Sequels and Lack Thereof

I love getting notes from readers. It is one of the best parts of being an author!

Just this weekend, I got a very sweet e-mail from a girl named Sarah, 15

"I just finished reading The Day Before and I absolutely loved it!! It was beautifully written and moved me to tears. Now I'm begging you to write a sequel. I desperately need to know how Amber and Cade's story turns out. Please continue writing your amazing stories."

Some readers, like Sarah, are like curious kittens. They want to know more!

But this kind of e-mail, the one that asks for a sequel, is one of the hardest for me to respond to.

You see, I know what it's like to love a book so much, you don't want it to end. To fall in love with the characters and to want to continue living through their eyes. And as an author, one of the highest compliments you can pay me is to tell me you'd love another book featuring the same character(s). But then, I feel like I have to break your heart in my reply, and tell you that no, there is no sequel planned at this time.

Today, I thought I'd share with you why I haven't written any sequels to my YA novels that are out now, and talk about sequels a little bit in general.

Each one of my four YA novels that are out now were written with a clear beginning, middle and end in mind. Each one was meant to stand on its own. And if you were to compare the endings of the four books, I think you would see they all have one big thing in common.

They end in a place of hope.

The character has made it through the hard stuff. She doesn't really know what lies ahead, but she feels much more hopeful about it than she did at the beginning.

When readers ask for a sequel, I *think*, like Sarah, they want to know what happens to the boy/girl relationships. In I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, does Lyric go out with Cali, or does he keep pursuing Ava, and if so, does she finally give in? In CHASING BROOKLYN, what happens with Nico and Brooklyn? Do they grow closer? Does she come to love him the way she loved Lucca? And in THE DAY BEFORE, do Amber and Cade meet up in six months, when she comes home from Texas? Do they fall in love?

Writing a sequel means coming up with a new plot, unless the author has written the story line so the arc is set up over two or, in the case of a trilogy, three books. But I wrote each of my YA novels as stand-alones. If I were to write a new book, with the same characters, I would need a new problem for those characters to overcome. Some kind of conflict.

Because remember, plot = conflict.

Although you may think you might want to read 300 pages of Amber and Cade walking around the zoo, having fun, after being away from each other for 6 months, it would just not be very interesting if there weren't problems. How do the characters grow over the course of a story is an important one to ask when writing YA. In order to grow, you need to have obstacles to overcome.

In real life relationships, there usually is conflict. Couples get in fights. They break up. One wants to get back together but the other moves on. And I'm not quite sure that readers really want to see the characters having conflict like that. And to be honest, I'm not sure I want to write it.

I like to imagine Cade and Amber happily ever after. And the thing is, so can you!!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the business side of publishing in this discussion as well. None of my books have been big sellers. I am very much a mid-list author. So, why should my publisher invest in a sequel for a book that hasn't sold all that well? For illustration purposes, let's say only 3,000 people bought the first book. Well, a year goes by, lots of those people forget about the book, so when the sequel comes out, there may only be 1,500 people getting the second one. It doesn't make much business sense to invest a lot of money in a book that won't appeal to many readers. Now, if we were talking 100,000 people who bought the first book, then yeah, the publisher could probably get behind a sequel. And I would probably be very motivated to write one, if a third of those people were writing to me, asking for one!!

But as it is now, I get that question maybe once every couple of weeks. And while I love my readers, and am so thankful for them, there just isn't a good enough reason to write any sequels at this point.

So... I encourage you to answer your own questions. What happens to Cade and Amber? Whatever it is you WANT for them can happen!!!

From my mail

Here are a few lovely snippets from my mail the past few weeks. Thank you for your awesome notes, readers!

"My two favorite things are reading and playing my instrument. You are the only author that has written back to me." ~Sabrina

"My friend told me It's Raining Cupcakes was a great book. She was totally right." ~Abby

"Your books are the ones I can read like ten times and not get tired of them." ~Katie

"I love It's Raining Cupcakes. All the characters are totally lovable and the idea is awesome. I'm from Oregon and not many books take place in Oregon, so I like that too!" ~Anne

"Do you think you could make a third book about Sophie and Isabel?" ~Mia

"I really loved your book I Heart You, You Haunt Me. I normally won't read a book, I would rather read comics." ~Renne

"I have read all of your books. The Day Before is by far your best, in my opinion. Something about that book is just so powerful. And I am very picky about books!" ~Sarabeth

"It was at the book fair a year ago I got I Heart You, You Haunt Me. Today we went to the book fair and I saw your last name, Schroeder, and I ran to my teacher and said, I found another book from my favorite author!" ~Maya

Read on!!!

From my mail

It's time for another edition of "From my mail!" This is where I share with you lines from mail that I receive from readers. Thanks to all of you who e-mail me and send me letters - I love hearing from you!

"I really love Ava and how she is in love with a ghost." ~Amethyst, 12

"Hi, I would just like to tell you I love all of your books in verse. I just finished The Day Before in one day! I cried... It is amazing! Keep writing verse books YOU ARE AMAZING!" ~Hayley (My fragile ego really thanks you, Hayley) :)

"I'm one of your biggest fans. I absolutely love your books, and you are my favorite author! The way you write verse is just beautiful, and you make me laugh and cry at the same time." ~Tatum

"I wasn't a big reader until a girl about the age of 16 came up to me in the bookstore and told me to read one of your books called I Heart You, You Haunt Me. I was searching for a book for an English project. I couldn't put that book down, so we went back to the bookstore and got all of your books." ~Chelsea, 13 (Yay for bookstore elves!!)

"I just finished reading your book It's Raining Cupcakes! It was the best book I've ever read. When I was reading the book it felt so real. Is Lisa Schroeder your real name or your pen name?" ~Madision

"Are you going to write a 3rd book to add to the 2 book series of It's Raining Cupcakes? If you do you should write it from Jack's point of view. You can write about Penney's Pie Place and maybe Isabel and Sophie can visit him again." ~Micaela

"I love your book It's Raining Cupcakes because I love baking/cooking, especially cupcakes. My favorite color is green and my favorite animal is a hedgehog. Do you like animals, if you do what is your favorite?" ~Charlotte, 9

"Sprinkles and Secrets was honestly one of my favorite books I have read in my entire life. Oh, and I have read a lot! I kept on reading and reading. You are one of my favorite authors!" ~Charlotte, 9 (different letter, different Charlotte)

From my mail

Author Cynthia Lord does a blog post every few months with lines from her mail that made her smile or touched her. I've never done one of these, but today, I'm going to!

These are from both e-mails and actual letters I've received over the past few weeks.

Thank you readers - I love hearing from you!


"I actually hated reading until I discovered I Heart You, You Haunt Me at the book fair at my school. I am reading Chasing Brooklyn at the moment. I love how you wrote them in verse form." ~Candie, 14

"I read Chasing Brooklyn last night. I couldn't put it down! My mom said 30 more minutes and you have to go to bed. I stayed up until 1:45 reading it!" ~Caitlynn, 12

"I would like a reading/discussion guide for It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets. Thanks so much. I am a school librarian and my kids LOVE them." ~Christy

"I stayed home sick today and my dad said NO TV!!!! At first I was terrified ~ and my mom finally came home, she got me a brand new copy of Sprinkles and Secrets. On the first page I fell in love with your book. I looked on your web site to see if there are any other books in this series. I was devastated when I found out there are no more." ~Kaitlyn

"I was trying so hard to be patient for the ending (of Sprinkles and Secrets) but it was hard and so intriguing. I am so sad it's over. Please write a third because I would be thrilled." ~Samara

"I'm going to give you come special things too. A handmade bookmark signed by me!" ~Isabelle

"I just read your books It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets. They are my favorite books in the world." ~Brianna

"Will there be an It's Raining Cupcakes 3? This is just an idea, don't you think you could do a donut one?" ~Ashlee

I'm off to Vegas bright and early tomorrow morning. If you're in the area, come and see me at the Vegas Book Festival. I'm on a YA teen panel Saturday afternoon at 11:25.

Have a great weekend!