Alex and The Other is coming in March!

Beware the haunted bathroom mirror at school! Beware tall strangers whispering in the trees!
But most of all ... BEWARE THE OTHER!

It's coming soon, Alex and The Other, my next book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, horror stories for middle-grade readers. Alex has an evil twin trying to take over his life, a missing cat, and weird strangers whispering his name in the trees. He needs help!

But help does arrive from the last people (if they are people), you'd suspect.

Pre-Order your copy of Alex and The Other now.
Read Goodreads reviews.
Review Alex and The Other on NetGalley (until Feb/2018)
Watch the Book Trailer (with illustrations by Shawna Daigle)
More about the series on this blog

Reviewers! Alex and The Other is now on NetGalley

Beware the haunted bathroom mirror at school. Beware strangers in overcoats and dark glasses whispering in the trees. But most of all ... BEWARE THE OTHER.

Hello Early Reviewers!

My next book, Alex and The Other, is up on NetGalley for review.
The book comes out in March/2018 but you can get a sneak peek for review here now: Alex and The Other

This is book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series, and is a middle-grade horror story about a boy with an evil twin. I love doppelganger stories, and writing a compelling middle-grade tale in the genre was uniquely challenging (can you think of another one? If so, please let me know!).

Later this year, Alex and The Other will be followed by book five, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, about three kids shipwrecked on a spooky enchanted island. Both new books in the series will be illustrated again by the wonderful Shawna Daigle.

Pre-Orders available now.

Watch the BOOK TRAILER here.

Read More about Alex and The Other and the other award-winning books in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series on this blog.

A Forest of Reading Nomination 2017!!

I couldn't be MORE honoured and excited to share the news that Myles and the Monster Outside (Dundurn Press, 2015) has just been nominated for a Silver Birch Express Award, with the Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading!

Here is my publisher's press release: Dundurn Press

It's the biggest Reader's Choice Award in the country, and is a huge honour to be nominated. So thank you, so much, to the OLA, and thank you also to my wonderful illustrator, Shawna Daigle, for making the book look so great, and to my publisher, Dundurn Press, for believing in a weird little story about a boy who sees a monster outside the car window.

Thank you also to the thousands of young readers who will read the book this winter. I can't wait to meet them next spring!

More soon, but for now, here's the booktrailer for a look at some of the brilliant illustrations: Myles and the Monster Outside Book Trailer

Here are more links to reviews and blog posts about the book: More about Myles
And the Goodreads book reviews page: Myles on Goodreads

Thank you all!!

American Library Association loves Myles and the Monster Outside

"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! What a great review for Myles and the Monster Outside, from the ALA Booklist folks, thank you! They've never reviewed my work before, so I am doubly thankful. What a nice way to start out with them. If you have an ALA Booklist subscription, you can read the rest of the review here.

Here's a link to more great reviews: Goodreads
Also, Kirkus Reviews compared the book to Goosebumps!

Introducing Carter and the Curious Maze

Book 3, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, Aug/2016

Really happy to reveal the cover for my next book, Carter and the Curious Maze.

The gorgeous cover art is by Shawna Daigle who has done all three beautiful covers and inside illustrations for the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series.

Carter and the Curious Maze is forthcoming August, 2016 from Dundurn Press.

Critics have had some very nice things to say about the series. Kirkus Reviews notably called the second book, Myles and the Monster Outside, a "carefully written Goosebumps from north of the the border."

So, this week my publisher has also been doing these fun Goosebumps read-alike twitter cards. To be compared to Goosebumps is a dream come true, I loved reading them to my kids, then they read them to themselves until the books fell apart.

Enjoy!

MORE monsters for Halloween and stay out of the woodpile!

Looks like 3 monsters to me

Stay away from the woodpile!!

Here are a few more AWESOME monsters inspired by my new book, Myles and the Monster Outside. 

Thanks to great librarians who introduce our books (however monstrous) to young readers, and share the results with the authors, we really love it. A dedicated Viking-librarian reading Jake and the Giant Hand at right...

Gruesome AND fashionable!

I never liked bears.

Myles and the Monster Outside Gets Bundled!

Forthcoming October 2015

"A carefully written Goosebumps ... a gentle but still shivery spook tale. Readers who have made a big move will identify with Myles and his fears made manifest."
--Kirkus Reviews

What's better than one Weird Story Gone Wrong?
Two Weird Stories Gone Wrong! Now you can pre-order both Jake and the Giant Hand  and book 2 in the series, Myles and the Monster Outside, bundled together as ebooks (it's a pretty good deal too).

Early reviews for Myles and the Monster Outside, are really good so far. Here's what one NetGalley reader wrote on Goodreads:

" ... it's the perfect type of ghost story. It's weird, filled with foreboding and laced with the uncertainty of being seen through the eyes of extremely tired travelers in the middle of the night. This is a fun read for middle grade readers at any time, but it's an especially good choice for those eagerly anticipating Halloween!"

Tumble chicken, by Shawna Daigle

Thanks!

There are 6 fabulous illustrations by Shawna Daigle, too.
Just starting to think about spooky Halloween launch parties... stay tuned!

For an advance media copy, please contact Dundurn Press.
Myles and the Monster Outside BOOK TRAILER