Emelia Johnston
WHMS Press
West Hills MS
1st Place
MS Division, News Writing
Personality Profile
You may think that books and authors are boring, but this one’s got a story.
James Preller grew up in a house in Wantagh, N.Y., the youngest of seven kids. He went to college in Oneonta, N.Y., and graduated in 1983. Preller was a waiter for a year, then worked at Scholastic in New York, and is now an author, still looking back to his childhood for inspiration.
“When I write books for children, I often call upon these childhood memories, that person who I was, and what I discover is that he’s always there, whispering in my ear, that 10-year-old kid. Still me,” said Preller on a visit to West Hills.
Preller really enjoys being an author. With over 80 books written by him, he has a lot to be proud of. “I’m probably most proud of “Bystander” right now, but I’m also proud of the “Jigsaw Jones” series too. I’m also really proud of “Scary Tales” because, I think they’re fun to read and some kids don’t like books, so I think that the “Scary Tales” books are gonna be that high interest, exiting story thats kind of short and easy to read.”
Preller believes that everyone is unique, and that no one has the same imagination as someone else. “ As an author, you really do make something that nobody else in the world could have done. “When I look at my books, I say, ‘I did that,’ and if I didn’t do it, it would have never had happened,” said Preller.
Preller writes many different kinds of books including, the “Jigsaw Jones” series which are mysteries, some serious books like “Bystander,” scary books like the “Scary Tales” series, and he is hoping to write a nonfiction book on a distant planet soon! For a long time, Preller wrote sports books about NBA and NFL all stars, but after a time, they become dated, because some of the players retire. That’s why he stopped writing that type of books.
He also wrote books when he didn’t even use his own name. “I once wrote a book for Shaquille O’Neal called ‘Shack and the Beanstalk.’ It doesn’t have my name in it. It says ‘By Shaquille O’Neal,’ but I actually wrote it,” said Preller.
“Sometimes I’ll get some fan mail that’ll say, ‘I never thought I liked books, and I’ve never read a book before, but I just read yours, and I loved it,’ and that’s the proudest, happiest moment, when I help someone become a book lover!” says Preller.
Preller has visited many different schools and libraries, enjoying the smiles on kids faces because of his own writing.