How do you pronounce your last name?
It’s easy—just think of Marco Polo, only say Santo instead of Marco. Then you’ve got it.

Do you do school visits?
Yes! I love doing school visits! To request information about scheduling, or for answers to other school-visit-related questions, you can e-mail me at jill@jillsantopolo.com.

Will there be more Alec books?
Well, so far we've got The Nina, The Pinta and The Vanishing Treasure and The Ransom Note Blues. I'm not sure what's going to happen next to Alec, Gina, Allegra and the crew, but I'll post here when I know more.

How come Officer Flint doesn't wear a police uniform in the illustrations?
That's because he's an undercover cop. (He gets to drive an unmarked vehicle, too.)

What's the butter poem Allegra asks Alec about?
It's a poem by Karla Kuskin that goes:
Butter
butter
butter
butter
that's a word
I love to utter.
You can find that poem (and a whole bunch of other ones by Karla Kuskin) in a collection called Moon, Have You Met My Mother?.

Are you working on any other projects right now?
I am! I'm actually working on a few different new novels right now, trying to figure out which one's in good enough shape to show my editor...