Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "shawna-daigle"

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...

"Strange events transpire that will keep the reader turning pages with bated breath. Mixing colorful, descriptive imagery with plentiful dialogue, Dowding creates an excitingly spooky tale. Add Daigle's ghostly drawings, and readers will be enthralled with this second novel in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series."
--American Library Association Booklist Review, Dec. 3, 2015

Wow! Thank you ALA for this amazing review for my new book Myles and the Monster Outside (2015). Here's a longer blog post if you'd like to read more: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/12/...

I'm totally honoured to be asked to join fellow CANSCAIP/OLA Forest of Reading nominees on stage at the OLA SuperConference this year.

I'll be talking about my Silver Birch Express nominated title, Myles and the Monster Outside, writing horror for middlegrade kids, story inspiration, and more. Please join me on Feb 3 at @ 11:15 to listen in.

I'll also be at the OLA Forest of Reading breakfast that morning, (8:00-9:00) chatting with other authors. My amazing illustrator Shawna Daigle will also be there with me.

After that, I'll be signing copies of my new book, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me, at the Dundurn booth at 10:30, along with fellow Dundurn authors Melody Fitzpatrick and Sylvia McNicoll.

Hope you'll come say hi sometime during the day! Happy OLA!

Have you ever wondered exactly HOW a book cover comes together?

My next book, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, is the most beautiful cover yet, IMHO, in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series. It's a series of horror stories for kids ages 9-12, and book 2, Myles and the Monster Outside, won the OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book in 2017.

The series gets compared to Goosebumps a lot, which is amazing, and the covers and inside illustrations are all the creations of Shawna Daigle, a wonderful artist.

Anyway, if you're interested in how the covers come together, and want to see the 5 main stages (including the first hilarious "draft" from me, an author who truly CANNOT draw), then check out my other blog: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/0...

Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet is forthcoming from Dundurn Press, September, 2019.