Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-night-flyer-s-handbook"

Do you plan your series from the start? (Yes in one case, no in another). When do you know it's time to end the series? (Tricky) How do you pick a series name? (A copywriter's trick I've always loved).

Last week I was the guest blogger on my publisher's website, for a new installment called "Middle Grade Monday." What did I write about? A few of my trade secrets!

If you want to check it out, here's the link to the Dundurn blog: https://www.dundurn.com/news/5-Secret...

AND, there are a few more secrets about upcoming NEW BOOKS and a new series on my own blog here: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/11/...

Little hint: my newest series is called "The Night Flyer's Handbook" ...

Introducing Everton Miles is Stranger than Me, the sequel to The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, shortlisted for the OLA Red Maple Award! Book 2 is forthcoming from Dundurn Press this October, and the series is called The Night Flyer's Handbook . I'm really proud of book 2; I re-read Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Inferno to help shape my fallen Spirit Flyer. It's been interesting and great fun to write. Who doesn't love the fallen angel storyline?


Here's the book blurb:

'I wander around like any normal, paranoid sef-absorbed teenager. Do we all think we're being chased by deadly entities, I wonder? Probably, but how many of us actually are?'

Gwendolyn Golden, Night Flyer, floats over the cornfields all summer. What draws her to the same spot, night after night? All she knows for sure, is that change is coming: she's starting high school, plus there's a strange new boy in town.

He's Everton Miles, and he's a Night Flyer, too.

Soon the mismatched teenagers face dangers they never imagined, including a fallen Spirit Flyer, kidnap, and the eternal darkness of the Shade. How will Gwendolyn handle her new life and grade nine? With help from The Night Flyer's Handbook, and her strange new friend, it might not be that hard.

Intrigued? Here's a blog post with more info, and how to get your hands on an ARC if you'd like to review the book (and many thanks if so): http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/04/...

"Do we all think we're being chased by deadly entities, I wonder? Probaby, but how many of us actually are?"

It's Giveaway time for my forthcoming sequel, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me. This is the sequel to my Red Maple 2015 shortlisted title, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden.

If you like fantasy, magic realism, YA novels about angst-ridden teenagers trying to figure out life ... or if you like fallen angels, doomed father figures, redemption, enormous 800-page medieval, illustrated handbooks ... this might just be the book for you!

Here's the Goodreads Giveaway link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Contest is open to U.S. and Canadian readers, and closes July 1/2016. Good luck!

"Author Dowding describes her heroine’s heart breaking several times until she has to face the powerful darkness of the Shade. It is at that point that she discovers the inner strength borne of her deep affection and sincere joy for those around her and those who are no longer.

Dowding’s effective use of magic realism gives this novel the flexibility to reconcile the minutiae of everyday life with the huge events that can derail it, allowing a resolution that neither diminishes nor exaggerates either of these polar opposites."

What a great review for my latest YA magic realism story, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me, thank you, Resource Links Magazine. It's been a few years since they've given me an "E", it's not that easy to get one!

Everton's story is the sequel to The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, an OLA Red Maple nominee in 2015. The series is called The Night Flyer's Handbook.

Here's a longer blog post about the review, and more about Everton: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/10/...

Teachers & librarians! There's a wonderful new classroom activity guide for my newest book, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me. It also happens to be free, courtesy of publisher, Dundurn Press. This book is the sequel to The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, which was shortlisted for the OLA Red Maple award in 2015.

A few of the guide questions ...

Pick a Friend for the End of the World: what qualities would you want in a friend to the end?

My Therapist is Killing Me: make a list of 3 things you'd talk to a therapist or counsellor about, then 3 things you'd NEVER discuss. What would it take to talk about the second list with someone?

Draw like a 15th Century Visionary (or just draw something): The Night Flyer's Handbook is in part illustrated by an (imaginary) 15th century artist named "T. Bosch." Pick an illustration as described in the book, and draw!

Take a look at the free activity guide now: https://www.dundurn.com/sites/default...

Themes: family, isolation, grief, loss, friendship, community, high school, fitting in, bullying, therapy, brothers and sisters

Here's a longer blog post about the guide: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/12/...

"Philippa Dowding's wildly creative, wonderfully strange stories are the kind of books that turn young readers into book lovers. With pages full of lovable misfits and regular kids caught up in otherworldly happenings, a new Philippa Dowding book is a cause for celebration."

What kind words for my new book, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me from OpenBook, thank you!

On their blog this week, I talk about the main characters in the book, and give some writing tips about dialogue, naming characters and more.

Here's a taste:

OB:
Some writers feel characters take on a "life of their own" during the writing process. Do you agree with this, or is a writer always in control?

PD:
I think most writers will tell you that their favourite characters came to them in a flash of inspiration, or madness, then took on a life of their own during the writing of their story. That’s definitely how it is with me. I usually hear a character’s voice loud and clear right from the start, then let them take me wherever they want to go.

It’s the best part of being a writer, I think, following a character deeper and deeper into their story.

For more of the In Character Interview on their blog, click: http://open-book.ca/News/The-In-Chara...

"A must-read for Gwendolyn Golden fans, this latest addition to the Night Flyer's Handbook series will not disappoint."

Thank you to the Canadian Children's Book Centre and the inestimable Amy Mathers, for the very lovely review of my latest book, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me. It's book 2 in the Night Flyer's Handbook series, following The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, a Red Maple nominee in 2015.

If you enjoy magic realism, YA, flying teenagers, fallen Rogue Spirits and stories where the answers to life's mysteries can still be found in enormous 800-page handbooks, read on: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/01/...

Whatever happened to Gwendolyn Golden?
Find out in Everton Miles is Stranger than Me.

Enter the Goodreads Giveaway for this Red Maple sequel now (expires Feb 18): https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Here's a longer blog post about Everton Miles is Stranger than Me: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/02/...

Good luck!

Whatever happened to Gwendolyn Golden? Find out in the sequel, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me!

If you enjoyed Red Maple nominee, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, then you might like the book trailer for the sequel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCLOY...

The music for the trailer is composed and performed by yours truly BTW, one of the two things that I do moderately well (writing being the second thing).


Together, the two books are The Night Flyer's Handbook series.

If you love magic realism, YA and teen angst, mixed up with flying and medieval manuscripts, check it out!