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! Here's some school visit information from the folks at Scholastic, in case you're interested in inviting me to your school:
Elementary School Mystery Presentation: Jill's presentation gives children the chance to brainstorm as a group and write a mystery story together. Jill starts her presentation off with a short reading from one of her books, and then talks about her love of mysteries and her journey to becoming a writer. She shares the stories she wrote as an elementary school student as well as the books and writers who influenced her. Then she pulls out her huge mystery chart and, taking suggestions from the audience, has students vote on different aspects of a mystery story--from the detective's name to the problem to the clues and the red herrings. Jill then fills in the holes of the story and--on the spot--"reads" the students the mystery they just wrote. After that there is a chance for students to ask Jill questions, and following that, she personalizes and autographs books for any child who has ordered one. (She's also been known to sign writing journals, pencils, rulers, and book marks upon request.)
Middle School Mystery Writing Workshop: In this workshop, Jill introduces students to the concept of outlining a mystery novel, teaching them the mystery writing lingo and sharing with them the process she uses to "pre-write". Each student is encouraged to come up with his or her own detective, setting, problem, clues, etc. so that once Jill leaves, the students will be ready to continue writing and developing their mystery story on their own.
Honorarium: $750-$1,000 plus expenses for a full day; $500 plus expenses for a half day (only if local, or if she is visiting two or more schools in a row in any given location)
Maximum Number of Presentations: 3-4 for a full day; 2 for a half day
Target Grade Level: 2nd-5th grade for the Elementary School Presentation; 6th-7th grade for the Middle School Workshop
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...