Blackwells and the Briny Deep, ARC LETTER!

William and the Mermaid Queen

COMING SOON: Blackwells and the Briny Deep will be in stores on Sept. 29/2018!

It's book five in my award-winning horror series for middle grade readers, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, and it's in some ways the sweetest of the series. It's about a day sail gone wrong, an enchanted island, and quarreling siblings who discover that it's not the petty rivalries we remember as we get older, but the exciting shared adventures that stay with us, all our lives.

Here's the letter I wrote, to accompany the ARC (Advance Reader Copy), please enjoy!

"Dear Middle-Grade Reviewer,

I’ve sailed lakes and oceans since I was ten years old. I’ve sailed through heavy fog, terrible storms, and even run aground. I’ve also trimmed the sails on a beautiful summer day and headed out to sea. So it’s a real pleasure to present Blackwells and the Briny Deep, book five in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series for middle-grade readers. 

Each story explores a different horror subgenre, for kids ages 8-12, including a tall tale (Jake and the Giant Hand, 2014), a psychological road-trip thriller (Myles and the Monster Outside, 2015, Winner of the OLA Silver Birch Express Honor Book award), a time-travel/historical fantasy (Carter and the Curious Maze, 2016), and a classic evil twin story (Alex and The Other, 2018).

The latest addition, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, is a spooky sea story. The three Blackwell siblings, William, Jonah and Emma, head out in their sailboat, Peregrine, for a day sail across the bay. But after they see a phantom ship and survive a terrible storm … they run aground on an enchanted island. They face zombie pirates, horrifying mermaids and cursed shipwrecked figureheads together and apart. It’ll be a great sea story one day, if the Blackwells can just survive it!

I hope you enjoy this scary sea yarn about sibling compassion, and the unique stories brothers and sisters share and remember all their lives. It’s combined with seven creepy illustrations from series illustrator Shawna Daigle, who asked for “a story with mermaids.'”

Jonah and the zombie pirates

Blackwells and the Briny Deep is Available in Canada on September 29/2018; October 23 in US and overseas.

Book Trailer, with illustrations by
Shawna Daigle

More about Blackwells and the Briny Deep on this BLOG

Goodreads Reviews