Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "middle-grade"

Wow. The January/February issue of the Quill & Quire magazine has a beautiful starred review of The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden. THANK YOU!

"This lively, fast-paced novel ... moves fluidly from the whimsical to the fantastical and takes an intriguing detour to some dark places in between."

It's not online yet, but here's a link to their website: http://www.quillandquire.com/

And here's another, to my other blog with a longer excerpt: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/01/...

Really, really honoured.

I finally got around to finishing a proper book trailer for Jake and the Giant Hand, book one in the award-nominated Weird Stories Gone Wrong series (followed by Myles and the Monster Outside and Carter and the Curious Maze).

I love it! It's been a lot of fun putting these book trailers together, thanks to the wonders of Powerpoint (where I build them) and the talents of Shawna Daigle, the amazing illustrator for all three books.

For me, book trailers are just another tool in the marketing toolbox, and I try to make them short (60-90 seconds), highlight the book cover at the beginning and the end along with contact information on the last frame. I also add a musical score that fits the theme, and as a musician that makes it doubly fun (I've composed and created the guitar music for all my book trailers). Finally, I try to make them about six months before the release date, about the same time as the book goes out for review in ARC or E/ARC form. It gives reviewers one more place to check the message, feel and tone of the title.

I've done book trailers for books with illustrations and without, and the first is much easier, because you have an instant storyline with illustrations.

Do book trailers sell books? Perhaps, but more importantly, they're an enticing, warm bellying-up to the reader, a fun way to introduce yourself and your title.

Take a look at all three book trailers, and let me know what you think!

Jake and the Giant Hand Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYj_i...

Myles and the Monster Outside Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oyVz...

Carter and the Curious Maze Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...

For a different feel, here's the book trailer for my YA book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW5lI...

Carter and the Curious Maze: Weird Stories Gone Wrong

It's a strange day for me, a day of lasts and firsts. My daughter just finished her last day of her undergraduate degree, my son just finished his last day of high school ... and I just got my first ever 4-star review (their highest rating) from CM Magazine for my forthcoming book, Carter and the Curious Maze.

It's quite an accomplishment, considering I've had 6 other reviews from them, and while they've all been pretty good, the highest rating I've ever had before is 3.5 stars (for my first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard).

Thank you CM, for making today not only a day of lasts, but a day of firsts, too.

To read the review, and more about firsts and lasts, click to my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/06/...

Here's the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...

Happy reading!

"By turns scared, angry, and in denial, likable Carter grounds the well-plotted story. The maze is no tired narrative time-machine device; like Mr. Green, it has a spooky agenda of its own. Otherworldly illustrations, drawn with hallucinatory clarity, complement the text, enhancing the mysteries...

This original take on time-travel historical fantasy is a sure bet for young scary-story enthusiasts. (historical note) (Fantasy. 9-12)" --KirkusReviews, June 2016

Wow, what a fantastic review for Carter and the Curious Maze, my new title in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series for middle grade readers. Thanks KirkusReviews!

Here's the full review on Kirkus, if you'd like to read it: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

And here's the Goodreads page for the book (also doing pretty well there!): Carter and the Curious Maze

Finally, please enjoy the book trailer for a peek at those "otherworldly illustrations" by Shawna Daigle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...

"I was standing at the midway, with ice cream running down my arm, and noticed a small plaque next to the bandshell. It told of a 250-year-old trading fort that stood on that very spot! I'd never heard of a French trading post in my city ... the discovery added a curious historical overlay to the fair, and fired my imagination. I knew I wanted my next story to be set in a fairground."

So there you have it, the main reason I wrote my forthcoming title, Carter and the Curious Maze, was because of ice cream running down my arm, and a historical plaque! I still love fairs, and I hope you'll check out my new title which is set entirely in the creepy historical confines of a fair near you.

Here's the longer post on my other blog:
http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/07/...

Honoured to be visiting kids in Barrie and Innisfil Ontario next week, to talk about A Writer's Life, and to inspire them to enter the Seepe Walters Writing Contest!

Thanks for inviting me Innisfil Library and IdeaLab, can't wait.

Here's a longer post, with all the details: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/09/...

"OCULUM'S tone has a folksy and whimsical quality ... rich world-building and determined characters give it an originality that sets it apart"-- Quill & Quire, June/2018

What a wonderful review for OCULUM, my new middle grade dystopia. Thank you Quill & Quire!

I particularly love that they enjoyed the fragments of reality left over from our current world, like computer keyboard parts and William Shakespeare. But then, some literary "monuments" will last forever, won't they.

For a longer excerpt and a link to the full review and more: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2018/0...

Well, it's official! Welcome to Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, book SIX in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, horror stories for middle-grade readers!

The book comes out next fall, 2019, from Dundurn Press. It's a resistance dystopia for younger readers, ages 8-12, with robots, rampant consumerism, and Snow Creatures with blue-fire tongues!

Stay tuned for more about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, but for now, check out my other blog for a look at all the covers in the series, done so beautifully by illustrator Shawna Daigle: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/0...

My first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard was published 10 years ago, on April 1, 2009!

To celebrate, I'm posting all things gargoyle on my blog this month. First up is music!

Enjoy The Gargoyle Shuffle, on Bandcamp, free: https://philippadowding.bandcamp.com/...

I wrote this song in 2014, and have played it to thousands of children across Canada since. This new version is recorded with the book's editor, Allister Thompson (we've edited 12 books together now!).

Here's a YouTube video of me playing the song, and kids dancing it, in 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVCI...

Thanks to author Rebecca Upjohn for the video!

Here's a longer blog post about gargoyles, publishing 10 years, music and more: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/04...

Hug a gargoyle today!

I COULD NOT be more honoured to announce that my new middle-grade dystopia, OCULUM, has been nominated for the SYRCA Diamond Willow Award 2019-2020!

Thank you so much to the SYRCA, keeping kids reading and engaged with books throughout Saskatchewan. I'm really honoured. Thanks also to my wonderful publisher, DCB Young Readers, for believing in this strange dystopian story for middle-graders.

Here's a longer blog post with the complete list of nominees and more: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/04...