The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden and Everton Miles is Stranger than Me

 

I'm moving information from my website to my blog. Here is all the information about The Night Flyer's Handbook series, which includes The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden and Everton Miles is Stranger than me, enjoy:

Reviews & Interviews:

Everton Miles is Stranger than Me
Best Books for Kids and Teens, Spring/2017 
OpenBook In Character Interview (Dec/2016)
Blog Tour: 4 interviews (Oct/2016)
Goodreads
MomReadIt (Oct 2016)
Fabbity Fab (Oct, 2016)
Best of 2016 LIST (Dec, 2016, Fabbity Fab)
Canlit for Little Canadians (Oct, 2016)

The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden
Looking for a Good Book (Jan/2017)
Loves Books & Tea, Review (Sept. 2016)
What would you do if your troubles could float away?
Starred Review in Quill & Quire
Goodreads reviews, 2014-present
Michelle's Bookshelf, Aug/2014
Julie's Reading Corner, Feb/14
Bookish Notions, Jan/2014

BOOK LAUNCH for Everton Miles is Stranger than Me

"Do we all think we're being chased by deadly entities, I wonder? Probably, but how many of us actually are?"
--Everton Miles is Stranger than Me

It's BOOK LAUNCH time! I hope you'll join me on October 22 at Yonge/Eglinton Indigo to launch my newest book, Everton Miles is Stranger than Me, sequel to my Red Maple title, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden (2014).

Date: Saturday, Oct. 22/2016
Time: 12-3 pm (author reads at 1 pm)
Place: Yonge/Eglinton Indigo
Enjoy the coffee, cookies and magic realism.

In a year with two published books (Carter and the Curious Maze, book 3 in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, came out August 2016), this is the only event I'm calling a launch.

That's because this is my last book for a while, nothing is planned for publication in 2017. But it's also because I love this book. Yes, I love all my books, but this one is particularly special. It was so fun to write, for one thing. There's a fallen angel/dark Rogue character, and an 800-page medieval Night Flying handbook with illustrations, which is why we named the series The Night Flyer's Handbook. Revisiting the horrors of grade nine was also pretty interesting. But mostly, it was also so easy to fall back into Gwendolyn's life, once again. I missed her.

On the last page of The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, I left Gwen sitting on a swing, thinking about her future. Plenty of people have asked me what happens next, and to please write the next book. So ... I hope you'll enjoy the sequel! Please join me on October 22 to snag your copy. Also, watch for a blog tour, coming in the next few weeks.

Reviews
Kirkus Reviews "Dowding offers a charming sequel, funny, magical and entertaining"
Goodreads
Quill & Quire (Starred Review, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden)

Red Maple Forest of Reading 2015 was amazing!

108 great Canadian books selected in 9 categories.

Well, the 8-month Forest of Reading party is over for another year. 

And what a party!

I have to say that once again, I'm totally honoured to have been an Ontario Library Association Red Maple 2015 nominee. My book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, didn't win the Red Maple award but it hardly matters. It was a fantastic experience to be nominated, to travel around Ontario talking to kids in grade 7 and 8,  meeting librarians and the other wonderful authors.
Take a look at this Forest of Reading youtube video to get some idea of the fun (yes, that's yours truly around the 1 minute 17 second mark, my sign gets bashed into a tree).

Here are my top 6 take-away memories in a fascinating and wonderful year, thank you to the OLA!

Harbourfront, May 12, 2015

1. October/2014: finding out I was nominated for a Red Maple award alongside some iconic Canadian authors including Eric Walters, Richard Scrimger, Sigmund Brouwer, Sarah Ellis, Ken Oppel, Deb Ellis ... and all the others. Wow. Memorably sitting on stage with Richard twice, and realizing how funny he is, trying not to laugh. (Me: Richard, if we were in the same grade two class, the teacher would never let us sit together.) And telling Ken Oppel the story about how he and his wife used to live in my neighbourhood in Toronto, and for the longest time whenever I met someone new, they'd ask if I was married to Ken Oppel. (His wife's name is Philippa). That went on for years until they moved away. Until May 12, the day I got to tell him that story, I'd never met him.

Thorn between roses: Pignat, Dowding, Van Sickle on stage

2. March/2015: getting letters from grade 7 fans, and answering this question a lot: Why did Martin just think that Gwendolyn liked him? (A: he has no idea how to go about telling a girl he likes her, because it's his first crush. He has to learn to be better at that.)

3. April 2015: Travelling to Thunder Bay to meet all the kids, teachers and authors up there. Hanging with the great TVO hosts Melissa and Daniel in the green room, and asking them if they are ever worried about blurting out something inappropriate on air? (A: not really, the only problem is mild swearing, Holy Moly is always a safe one).

4. May 12,  2015: Sitting on stage with 19 other fiction and non-fiction Red Maple authors, and getting up to read my T-shirt from my publisher, Dundurn: Canadian Authors Telling Canadian Stories. About 60% of kids put their hands up to my question: do you have a Canadian author in your top 5 all-time faves?

5. Signing line-up conversation, May 12, Forest of Trees: a boy comes up and tells me that my book was his favourite. Me: Really? That's nice. How come? Him: Because it got me through a really terrible winter.

My wonderful presenter, OLA 2015

Signing table, OLA 2015

6. Best question ever at my OLA presentation, from a young author. Q: Do you prefer your first draft or your finished book? Me: Wow, what a great question, I'll have to think about that. Um. I guess the first draft is probably closest to the book you imagined. The finished product is hopefully the book you never imagined you could write so well.

Thank you to all my readers, the volunteers, the librarians and teachers who work so hard to bring the Forest of Reading to schools and libraries, the other Canadian authors, and the OLA. A truly great year.

Birdman, The Karman Line and The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden

Michael Keaton in Birdman

It seems that stories and movies about floating are hot these days. Really hot. 

Back in February, I was delighted to see Birdman win the Oscar for Best Picture, since it's a wonderfully magical, playful and frankly pretty un-Hollywood take on creativity and the power of imagination. Don't want to spoil the movie if you haven't seen it (and you probably should see it, it's great), but floating takes a major front seat.

Actress Olivia Colman floats in The Karman Line

Then, I just stumbled across this lovely, sweet and very strange BAFTA-winning short, posted on the New Yorker Screening Room site yesterday, about a woman afflicted with a terminal case of floating. It's called The Karman Line, and is directed by Oscar Sharp. Watch it now, it's 24 minutes, then read the fascinating New Yorker interview with the director.
Of course, floating is a beautiful metaphor for change, life, death, and pretty perfectly captures human mutability and transition. Our fascination with flight and all things floating goes back to the story of Icarus, and likely well before that.

This week, on Tuesday May 12, I'll sit on stage at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto for the Ontario Library Association Festival of Trees, in front of an audience of 1000+ grade 7 and 8s, who have read my book and voted on it as one of 10 books shortlisted for the Forest of Reading Red Maple award. It's Canada's largest literary festival for children and teens, and it's sold out in Toronto this year.
I couldn't be more honoured to be part of it, and to bring my story about an adolescent girl who discovers she can float to the young readers of Ontario.

The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden is a gentle magic realism story about teenage change ... just as The Karman Line or Birdman are for adults, so my story explores all the potential in a young girl about to morph into an adult. The book has been well-received, although magic realism isn't for everyone, it really does require an extended case of what Samuel Taylor Coleridge called our "willing suspension of disbelief" and takes a deft touch to bring it off well. Whether Gwendolyn's story wins the Red Maple award on Tuesday or not, I couldn't be more pleased that she and I have been included with some fantastic Canadian writers, and her story is a young adult version among some great movies, too. It's been a wonderful winter visiting schools and talking to kids, a brilliant flight for sure. Wish us luck!

Why fight when you can just float away?

"It's not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences." --Audre Lorde

We are deep into the last few weeks of reading for the OLA Red Maple nominated books, and soon grade 7 and 8's across Ontario will vote for their favourite book. On May 12, I'll be at Harbourfront celebrating readers and reading with the OLA, and finding out who wins the Red Maple award this year (I know my favourite!).

Today, I found this wonderful video, made perhaps by a teacher or students, comparing two Red Maple books, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden (mine) and Why Do We Fight? by Niki Walker (nominated in the non-fiction section).

What a thoughtful comparison. Here's the Video: What would you do if your troubles could float away?

My favourite slide is #14: 'When Gwendolyn discovers her floating is a part of her...she makes peace with herself and places her struggles aside." Lovely. Love the picture, too.

This is the first time I've seen anyone note specifically that Gwendolyn's Night Flying community is what saves her. The metaphor of flight could be replaced by any number of struggles that teenagers face as they navigate the changes in their lives, from friendships, to relationships with family and the opposite sex, to self-awareness and self-esteem. But gaining a wider sense of community, to me that's the key to Gwen's salvation. Where would she be without her mentor Mrs. Forest? And Mr. McGillies watching faithfully?

As the slide says, "In many respects countries, just as people, must keep their peace promise." So true, thank you.

Here are two more recent and very sweet Red Maple fan-made videos for The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden:
Watch My Amazing Book Presentation
The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden Video

Are writers born or made?

Aspiring writer at 9 years old ...

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was 9 years old...

Is it true that we can know what we want to be from a really young age? Maybe. I certainly did. But if you told me then that my dream of being a writer was actually going to come true, I doubt I would have believed you.
That first flash of knowing what I wanted to do with my life happened the day I finished reading Charlotte's Web to myself. I put the book in my lap and decided then and there I wanted to do what the writer of that story did.

... and 40 years later.

I wonder how many other authors would say something similar? I'd love to know.

Fast forward 40 years ... and today I'm playing with my scanner and preparing an author presentation for grade 7 and 8s. I'll be touring Thunder Bay and Toronto with the Ontario Library Association for the Red Maple award this spring, with my 4th YA book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden. I sometimes  can't believe how lucky I've been with my writing career. It's been hard work, yes, but I also have a lot of people to thank, along the way. (And for the record, there are lots of ways to become a writer, and I think writers are both born and made).

So today, I've been wondering what I should talk to grade 7 and 8 students about? But looking at this picture of me from so long ago, maybe I already know: Who here wants to be a writer? You can do it. You might not believe it, but I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was 9 years old ...

A great review and a secret admission

"I absolutely adore this book. The author, Philippa Dowding is a really good author and I love how she totally hooked me on this book. I have recommended this book to so many people and I recommend it to you too. This book will surprise you at any minute. When you think all the excitement is over it hits again and you will be super surprised."
Student Red Maple 2015 reviewer

What a lovely review. It really made my day, thank you! You'll find this review on the Red Maple 2015 Bibliocommons site, along with several other wonderful reviews for the book. Check it out.

 The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden is magic realism, the sub-set of fantasy which requires the greatest willing-suspense-of-disbelief of all the fantasy genres, at least in my mind. It's a realistic world with one magical element which the reader just has to accept, no questions asked. I think Richard Scrimger's Zomboy is the other magic realism book in the Red Maple selections this year, a wonderful read. In fact, all the selections are great, I've enjoyed them all.

And here is my secret admission: I've read all 10 books on the Red Maple list, and my favourite (after my own of course!) is Sarah Ellis's Outside In, a great little story about the rights of a family, living off-grid, and the uber-eco vigilant. An interesting read, quite provocative. Here's my review of the book on Goodreads. 

I have another secret admission too: I often get asked by readers what's my favourite of the books I've written? Usually I fudge it and say, well, you know, authors try not to pick favourites, just like your parents can't really say if they like you better than your brother or sister ... but the truth is that while I really do love them all (and Jake and the Giant Hand might be my favourite next week), at the moment The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden is my favourite. She's a wonderful character, and who wouldn't want to fly? Given the chance, I definitely would!