Looking over a Writer's Shoulder
- PUTTING TOGETHER THE JIGSAW PUZZLE: Sometimes in assembling a history, be it fiction or memoir, you stumble upon delightful details that...
- RESEARCH ON THE WEB: Sometimes I bemoan how much time the Web and the Internet seem to steal from my real work which is p...
- WHAT KEEPS US WRITING?: How does a writer keep writing especially considering all the dire news these days about the publish...
- MONDAY MORNING BLUES: Getting the writer brain moving on a Monday morning.
- DO WRITERS GO ON VACATION?: When is a writer really on vacation or simply avoiding the tough moment of the empty screen?
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Dear Mrs. Winthrop,
I’m an American Heritage Girl in troop 0158 and I’m working on my Book Adventurer Badge. As part of the requirements for the badge I have to write to an author. I just wanted to tell you how much I like the book The Castle in the Attic. I really liked the plot. I think that its cool that William does gymnastics because it’s a really cool sport that I enjoy watching.
Lydia
Thanks for writing to me. Have you read my book COUNTING ON GRACE? I think you might enjoy that one too. I love the name, Lydia. Elizabeth Winthrop
I LOVE THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC AND THE BATTLE FOR THE CASTLE!!!!!!! <3
i think that you should make a third sequal to the castle in the attic it should be about alesdoor being eating by a bass and Williams dad catches it and when he gets home he cuts the bass open he finds alesdoor and he washes him off and gives him to william and william forgot about alesdoor and william acadently touches alesdoors cheak and alesdoor is slowly developing and in the middle of the night alesdoor is all developed and he go’s to the castle where sir simon and the girl are still awake and alesdoor puts a spell on the rats and they all atake the castle and alesdoor frezzez sir simon and the girl has a comuticatin divis and comuticates to william and the next day they go to the castel and the dragon and rat were back and the rats could go in the sun
Jillian, you have a terrific imagination. Are you writing your own stories? I hope so. Elizabeth
Hi,
My son, Logan Scholz-Bynum just finished your book and soon his report will be due. The book he finished reading was The Castle in the Attic.
I just wanted to drop-a-line and let you know he truely enjoyed every page.
Special Regards,
Cinnamon Scholz
Tomball, TX
Cinnamon Scholz
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know.
Elizabeth
Every year, when my U.S. History class starts studying about Lewis Hine, child labor laws, reform movements, I take out my May/June, 2006 Social Education magazine, which I saved, make copies of your article on Addie and have my students write letters to her. I amazes me that after all this time, I still feel such a sense of sadness and loss for this little girl. Thank you for publishing this article, it goes a long way to keeping both me and my students grounded in gratitude for both the Addie’s of the world and the Hine’s who made it a mission to expose the conditions which these children spent their young lives.
Judi Graff
Soc. Studies Teacher
St. Anne School
Barrington, IL
And thank you, Judi, for continuing to spread the word to your students. Without teachers like yourself, where would we authors be?
Here’s another article that you might find helpful.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/indelible-sep06.html
Elizabeth
I’m very sorry about the names in The Battle For the Castle I ment Deegan and Gudrin. Sometimes i read character’s name’s wrong. Sorry about that.
Dear Mrs.Winthrop,
I would first like to say how thrilling and amazing your books are. I have only read two of them, but I do not need to read the others to know that they are very detailed.
The Castle In the Attic and The Battle for the Castle are the ones that I have read and they have an amazing journey to follow along with your characters. I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind answering them.
*Where do you get your names like Deegan and Gurdin?
*Do you particularly like castles?
*How do you keep writing? (I have trouble with things like details.)
Sincerely,
Kristen Clary
Hi Elizabeth,
I didn’t read a ton of books as a child, but when I was around 5 or 6, I had a favorite book entitled “Lizza and Harold: Best Friends” I loved the cat’s cradle spread, and although I knew it wasn’t meant to be an instructional piece, I pretended that it was and followed along.
I am 30 years old now and married. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that your book greatly influenced what I thought/think a relationship should be.
Just thought you’d want to know that.
Nikki
PS: I don’t remember where my copy went, but I bought a used library copy from Amazon a couple years ago. Seems like it is now out of print.
Hi, Nikki.
I’m so happy to hear that LIZZIE AND HAROLD meant a lot to you as a child. You can imagine what a thrill it is for a writer to know that something a child read twenty-five years ago still resonates for the adult she’s become.
Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Elizabeth
Sorry, I meant Lizzie and Harold. Thanks for taking the time to respond back!
Dear Mrs. Winthrop,
I love you book….”The Castle In The Attic”. Can You please write more?
As a girl I love castle books.
In Christ,
Hope King (16)
Dear Mrs. Elizabth Winthrop,
If you don’t mind I have a few questions for you. I have been reading your book THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC. It is an excellent book and hre are some questions about it:
- Where did you get the inspiration of writing this book?
- Is there a certain fact about castles that interests you very much?
- Where did you get the character’s names from?
- Has reading fascinated you very much since you were young?
Well, those are the questions that I would like to here the answers to. Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Ankita Katukota
Ankita, I wrote THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC because my son’s beloved babysitter was leaving us. I always loved reading about castles and knights in armor. When other people were playing with dollhouses, I was playing with a castle which is frankly, just another kind of dollhouse. I picked names for my characters that I knew would have been used in the Middle Ages.
I love to read. In my opinion, if you don’t read, you really can’t be a writer.
Elizabeth
Thank you so much ! Our favorite hobby is reading too! She is in our imagtion too! We are inspired by you! Thank you for inspiring us. We hope pretty soon we can read Castle in the Attic! It sounds good and people say its good!We both wrote our own stories when we were 10. Thank you!
Thank you for inspiring us! Taylor and Mike
Shelby, I’m so glad you like THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC.
Here’s the best link to find out about me and my writing.
http://elizabethwinthrop.com/about/an-interview-with-elizabeth-winthrop/
To tell you a little about myself, I get my ideas from the people around me, the places I’ve lived in, and the things I hear children talk about. I keep a journal where I put down all my secret thoughts and feelings plus descriptions of people and reports about books I’ve read and lists of ideas for new books. If you want to be a writer, it’s a good idea to keep a notebook and put in it all your thoughts and ideas for stories and feelings. I do enjoy writing although sometimes it is a lonely profession. That’s why I love receiving letters from readers like you.
I have been writing books since I was twelve years old. I was born in Washington, D.C. in 1948. My first story was about a mouse that lived in the White House. Unfortunately, I left it on the school bus and I never found it again. I started writing again when I was in high school but I didn’t publish my first book until 1972 when I was 24 years old! I have published more than 50 books.
Elizabeth