Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "book-trailer"

Hey Goodreads buddies, go and sign up to win one of 5 copies of my forthcoming title, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

No dawdling, the contest ends January 15, 2014.

Here's the book trailer too (one more time because it's really beautiful):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW5lI...

Enjoy and I hope you win a copy.

So, ask three YA authors their main rule for writing a series?

Character is king, apparently!

That, and a few other interesting things. Susan Hughes, a wonderful YA author, interviewed Moira Young, Caroline Adderson and me, about writing a YA series and posted our answers in two parts on OpenBook Toronto. Here's the link to both posts: http://www.openbooktoronto.com/writin...

And, in a banner week for me on OpenBook Toronto, they've also chosen my book trailer video for The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, as their Video of the Week (that's me playing guitar!): http://www.openbooktoronto.com/video/...

Thanks OpenBook Toronto!

I love the blue summer sky outside my office window these days. The blue of August, the blue sky of summer without smog, which we've have very little of these days since the coal-powered generating stations were closed a few years ago.

Blue, blue, blue, I'm inspired by you!

Which is likely why I picked blue for the background for the Myles and the Monster Outside book trailer. It's book 2 in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, and the 6 creepy illustrations are by the very talented Shawna Daigle. The strange guitar music is my composition, me playing it.

Here's the book trailer, enjoy the blue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oyVz...

My new middle-grade horror story, Myles and the Monster Outside, is starting to pop up on blog posts and reviewing sites, many thanks to everyone who takes the time to read and review this strange, paranormal thriller for kids.

My #1 lesson learned from writing this book was how to be spooky without being too spooky, since this is for kids from ages 8-12.

The answer was pretty clear: LOVE your monster. Give it a personality, a quirk that the main character can count on (my monster has an eerie whisper which eventually becomes grating).

So yes, love your monster. This is a lesson I learned early in my career, when I was lucky enough to take a script-writing seminar with the great Robert McKee. http://mckeestory.com/

He talked about the moment in the movie Young Frankenstein, when Peter Boyle (Frankenstein's monster), looks in the mirror before taking the stage at Carnegie Hall, and tips his hat to himself.

There you have it: monster love. What's not compelling about a monster who loves his own reflection?

I'll be writing more about this in the weeks ahead, and the run up to Halloween and the publication date for my new book, but in the meantime, have a look at some of the fantastic monster-love from Shawna Daigle, who illustrated Myles and the Monster Outside:

http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/08/...

And the book trailer features even more monster love!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oyVz...

BOO! In honour of the release of my newest middle-grade book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, Myles and the Monster Outside, here are two spooky Halloween Happenings:

Draw your Monster Contest: Enter to win 1 of 5 copies of the book, just draw a Halloween monster. All entries get a Weird Stories Gone Wrong bookmark! More details here: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/10/...

Goodreads Giveaway: Five copies are up for grabs! Giveaway is open to US and Canadian readers and ends October 22. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

And here's the book trailer, just for fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oyVz...

Thank you OpenBook Toronto for selecting the Book Trailer for my new book, Myles and the Monster Outside, as their new Video of the Week!

I love the intro too, apparently I have a "signature charm" -- how nice!

Here's the Video of the Week:

http://www.openbooktoronto.com/video/...

Thanks OpenBook Toronto!

The Draw your Monster Contest is in full swing and kids at 4 participating libraries across the GTA are drawing their monsters, weird and wonderful as they are, in time for Halloween.

Winners will receive 1 of 20 copies of my latest book, Myles and the Monster Outside: Weird Stories Gone Wrong, plus all entries receive a bookmark.

Check out my other blog for how to enter, plus take a look at some of the monstrous entries, they're awesome.

http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/10/...

It's almost time for my next book to come out: Alex and The Other is coming this March/2018 from Dundurn Press. The ARCs are available now, please contact the publisher if you'd like an advance copy for review.

This is book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, and it IS a pretty dark, weird little doppelganger story.

Alex is a lonely boy, not exactly bullied, but not exactly popular either, then one day the girl with the braid turns up, and tall strangers who whisper from the woods ... BEWARE THE OTHER!

Alex has an evil twin, and he has to decide what's most important to him, to find a way to stand up and tell the world who he really is, before it's too late.

There's a new BOOK TRAILER too! Check out the book trailer featuring illustrations by series-illustrator Shawna Daigle here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBT0d...

Read a longer blog post about Alex and The Other here: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/09/...