“First you tell a story about characters the reader will care about. As your characters learn, perhaps your readers will learn too. But ONLY if you tell them a good story.” With these words of advice, Phyllis Whitney re-wrote her first ‘problem novel’ and found a publisher for her book. With the success of both the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games, writing juvenile fiction has become one of the most exciting genres in American writing. Phyllis A. Whitney was a pre-eminent author; well known for both adult romantic suspense and juvenile suspense. Her Edgar Award-winning novel, The Mystery of the Haunted Pool, is still on many juvenile reading lists. This book gives information and insight into what is needed to entice young people to read, and how to publish the book after it is written.
Author
Phyllis Ayame Whitney (1903 – 2008) was an American mystery writer. Rare for her genre, she wrote mysteries for both the juvenile and the adult markets, many of which feature exotic locations. A review in The New York Times once dubbed her "The Queen of the American Gothics". She was born in Japan to American parents and spent her early years in Asia. Whitney wrote more than seventy novels. In 1961, her book The Mystery of the Haunted Pool won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Juvenile novel, and she duplicated the honor in 1964, for The Mystery of the Hidden Hand. In 1988, the MWA gave her a Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. Whitney died of pneumonia on February 8, 2008, aged 104.
