Release day for The Crow's Nest, a new instrumental guitar album by Philippa Dowding and Allister Thompson!

 

Today is RELEASE DAY for The Crow's Nest, my latest instrumental guitar album, with musician and editor Allister Thompson.

Listen on Bandcamp now: The Crow's Nest 

This is my third album with Allister, and our first since 2017. These 10 songs are inspired by my guitar heroes like John Fahey, Django Reinhardt and more recently, Adrianne Lenker. 

I love all these tunes, I hope you do, too. If I had to choose a favourite (and tomorrow it may be different), listen to Fahey. 

Or All the Stars.

Or any of them! I have been incredibly lucky in my musical and writerly collaborations with Allister. He has edited 12 of my children's books and counting, and made my music sound so good. Many thank yous, once again, to him.

Also, the lovely cover art for The Crow's Nest is by the wonderful Shawna Daigle, who illustrated all six of my Weird Stories Gone Wrong series of horror stories for kids. Thank you to Shawna, too.

I hope you'll visit Bandcamp, and give our latest album a listen! Enjoy!

Also today, our complete work of 26 songs is released on SPOTIFY: Songs from Birch Island
Beautiful cover art by Baye Hunter.

Includes 3 albums:

Fifth Season (2015)

Birches (2017)

The Crow's Nest (2021)

The Gargoyle Shuffle (single, 2019)

5 Take Aways from Writing a Middle Grade series ...

The Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, 2014-2019

YES, it's almost Halloween, so here is my re-post about Weird Stories Gone Wrong, and how to write a spooky series for kids:

"4. My advice for anyone writing a  children's middle-grade series?

Write it your way from the start, however weird, different or strange it may seem at first (hey, I wrote the first book about a giant’s hand buried in a farmer’s field, if that isn’t weird, what is?). Your series template is your personal calling card, your style, your vision. Make it memorable and unforgettably yours from the first word to the last."

The above is an excerpt from my post about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet on the Dundurn Blog, October 31, 2019. Quinn is the sixth and final book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series.

What's my favourite memory from this 5-year journey? What's my favourite book? How do you end a series? Did I know I was going to write 6 books when I started out? (No, on that one!)

Full blog post here: Philippa Dowding on the Dundurn Blog

It's true, the sixth and final book in my award-winning, middle-grade horror series has just been published. It's Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, an environmental dystopia which will introduce kids to the idea of resistance, imbalance of power, and self-determination. I'm pleased with this book, something I've wanted to write for a long time.

It's hard to say goodbye to a series, but it's been an incredible joy and pleasure to create the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series over the past 5 years. The books have been called "Goosebumps from north of the Border" by Kirkus Reviews, and they've garnered three national nominations, and won honour book at the 2017 Forest of Reading celebrations in Ontario. I couldn't be more proud of all the books, or more surprised at how fast the time has flown by while creating them!

I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

Here's my favourite illustration from Quinn:

Clem looks into the Quiet, Quiet, Illustration by Shawna Daigle

I had a wonderful publisher, thank you Dundurn Press. And a terrific illustrator, many thanks to Shawna Daigle, we've had such fun together and have vowed to find something to work on again.

More to come on Quinn, but for now: 

CM Magazine Recommends Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet
All posts about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet on this blog
Book Trailer

CM Reviews RECOMMENDS Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet

"Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet is a timely tale about what can happen when we destroy the only home we have ever known. Sadly, most children are aware of the issues surrounding our very own planet, and so they will see many similarities between our home and that of Quinn and his friends. 

Writing in clear and concise language, Philippa Dowding has done a great job at taking a very serious topic and making it age-appropriate. Overall, a very enjoyable read. RECOMMENDED." 
-- CM Reviews, May 8, 2020

Thank you to CM Reviews for this good review of my latest book, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, the 6th and final book in my award-winning, middle-grade horror series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong.

Read the full review: CM Review, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet

BOOK TRAILER, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet

Read more reviews of Quinn on Goodreads

More about QUINN on this blog

Purchase a copy of Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet AMAZON INDIGO

A final thank you to Shawna Daigle, the amazing series illustrator for all 6 books in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series. By my count, that's 51 illustrations in total, including covers. And thank you to my long-time editor, Allister Thompson. Between us, we have edited 12 books together!

And of course, thank you to publisher Dundurn Press for allowing me to write this weird series, and to all the many friends, family and fellow authors who read the books, gave me feedback, and showed up for events and signings! Also, if you've read and enjoyed any of these books, many thanks to you, too.

Top 5 Memories from Forest of Reading 2017

Here's a post from a few years ago, to celebrate the Forest of Reading week May 12-14, 2020, which is postponed this year. My book OCULUM was a Silver Birch nominee. I hope this post reminds us all of better days ahead.

Original Post, May 24, 2017:

Well, the OLA Forest of Reading adventure is over for another year. My 6th book, Myles and the Monster Outside, was nominated for the Silver Birch Express award, and WON HONOUR BOOK!

A thousand, thousand thanks to the OLA for  running such a spectacular reading program for tens of thousands of young Ontario readers. Thanks also to the super-hero librarians, teachers and educators who bring Canadian books into Canadian schools and libraries, and to publisher Dundurn Press for letting me tell such a weird little story. SUPER thanks to Shawna Daigle, the wonderful series illustrator.

Thank you to the school who posted this!

Finally, thanks to Ontario school kids, who read so many books, and picked the story of anxious Myles and his monster, as one of their winners!

The Forest of Reading is always a major event in the life of any writer, and here are my top 5 memories from this year:

1. FOREST FRIDAYS. This year, the OLA ran a pilot project, called Forest Fridays, which was entirely online. Each week, one nominated author presented in the Friday lunch time slot, using Adobe Connect, talking to kids across the province, and across the country, in lunchrooms, gyms, libraries and classrooms, for 45 minutes. My Forest Friday was March 24: here's the link to find out more.  We had @ 100 schools and close to 1000 kids listen in.

Best FOREST FRIDAY Question: What would you say to an aspiring writer?
A: Keep writing, write what you're passionate about because your readers will feel that passion and enjoy your story, don't let anyone tell you you can't be a writer.
2020 update, Watch a free Forest Friday (OCULUM) with Philippa Dowding

Myles WINS the London Regional Award!

2. LONDON FESTIVAL OF TREES: Driving to London for the first of the 3 major festivals in early May, I got a ride with the Executive Director of the Forest of Reading and author, Richard Scrimger (Lucky Jonah). We laughed all the way (Richard will do that to you!). That night I had dinner with authors Teresa Toten (Shattered Glass), Helaine Becker (Worms for Breakfast), Kira Vermond (Half-Truths and Brazen Lies), Niki Tate (Deep Roots), Richard Scrimger, Karen Bass (The Hill), and we talked late. The Festival the next day was fantastic, with 1700 kids, and Myles WON the Silver Birch Express London Regional award! Thanks to all for a great day!


Best London Festival of Trees Moment: a young boy came up to me after my presentation, to tell me that Myles and the Monster Outside, "blew him away." When I asked why, he considered very carefully, then said, "It's the care you put into it." Awww. Thanks young man, that's a keeper.

Rock Star Moment on stage with Shawna (L) in Toronto
Photo courtesy Riley Murray

3. TORONTO FESTIVAL OF TREES: If you've ever wanted to feel like a rock-star ... the Festival of Trees in Toronto is just the ticket! This year, I got to share the experience with my awesome illustrator, Shawna Daigle, who rocked the stage wherever we went. We did a signing, a presentation, and the award ceremony together. It was Shawna's first Festival, and it was so fun to share it with her.

Best Toronto Festival of Trees Moment: Standing on stage with Shawna at Harbourfront, and holding up our favourite books: Charlotte's Web and Animalia. I said, "Books unite us, inspire us, and stay with us, our whole lives." Thanks Toronto!!

Second Best Moment: telling Kevin Sands (The Blackthorne Key) about my Star Trek: TNG script from 1987, and apologizing for it being so weird. His response? "We're writers, nothing is weird."

Thanks Maggie Ewert for the pic; Chi-Cheemaun, Toronto

4. SAULT STE. MARIE Festival of Trees:
Part of the excitement of being a nominee for the Forest of Reading, is travelling and talking to kids and librarians in other cities  you've never been to before. This year, I joined the Festival in Sault Ste. Marie. Yep, I'd never visited. It was so fun to fly in over the lake, to talk to the hosts, other authors, and the local librarians at a party the night before.

Me with my sign holder and presenter, in Sault Ste. Marie!

 It was fun to be part of the literary and school community in a fairly remote part of my home province.
And ... Myles won the Algoma Regional Silver Birch Express Award, THANK YOU!

Best Sault Ste. Marie Festival Moment: talking to my sign holder, Matteo, who was SO EXCITED about talking to me, because he loved my book. It's just so inspiring to meet a young reader like him.

At left: What authors do after the Festival of Trees!
L to R: Vikki VanSickle (If I had a Gryphon), Joel Sutherland (Haunted Canada 6), Me, Helaine Becker rocking her pink bag, (Worms for Breakfast), Rob Laidlaw (Elephant Journey), Shane Peacock (The Artist and me)

5. Winning Silver Birch Express Honour Book.
Yes, I can honestly say, that winning Silver Birch Express Honour Book 2017, was one of the thrills of the year. Congrats to all the nominees this year, and to Jess Keating for her Honour book win (Pink is for Blobfish) and to Andree Poulin who won the Silver Birch Express top spot for The Biggest Poutine in the World. We chatted afterward, I congratulated her, and she said (because she is totally cool) ... but we all win right?

View from the stage, Toronto Festival of Trees Ceremony

And that's pretty much the whole idea.

We do all win, the nominees, the libraries, the schools, the publishers and mostly, the kids. Thanks to all for another fantastic Forest of Reading year! Keep reading, everyone.





Forest of Reading Posts from Previous Years:
Red Maple, 2015: The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden
Silver Birch Express, 2014: The Gargoyle at the Gates
Silver Birch Express, 2012: The Gargoyle Overhead
All Forest of Reading Posts

Introducing the Weird Stories Gone Wrong 6 Book Bundle and my fave illustrations from each book.

Here it is, the Weird Stories Gone Wrong Bundle! Or is that an Omnibus...

Whatever you choose to call it, it does mean that for the first time ever, all six books in the series are now available in one place as of today! Thank you to publisher Dundurn Press for pulling this 5-year project together.

You can download the e-pub or pdf format now: 
Weird Stories Omnibus

It's been an amazing experience writing this series. It took five years to write and publish all six books, a significant output of words, effort and skill from everyone involved, including my amazing series illustrator, Shawna Daigle, who added just the right touch of weird to everything.

Here's a recent blog post with more top memories: 5 top take-aways writing a series

Since book six, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet (Sept. '19) is the final book in the series, I thought I'd take this space to post my favourite illustration from each book, and tell you why:

Dix and the Smallish Officer
Copyright Shawna Daigle, 2019

Book 6

Book 6. My favourite illustration from book 6 is definitely Dix the robot and the smallish Officer, because I love the character Dix, and Shawna captured him so completely (a little clueless, a little sweet, and very brave).


Book 5. My favourite illustration from book 5 is William and the Mermaid Queen, because she's so terrifying! But also because I decided to write this book, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, because Shawna asked if we could do a book with mermaids, one of her favourite things to draw.

William and the Mermaid Queen, copyright Shawna Daigle
From Blackwells and the Briny Deep (2018)

From Alex and The Other
c Shawna Daigle, 2018

Book 4. My favourite illustration from book 4, Alex and The Other, HAS to be the transformed pig aliens trapping poor Alex in their green gazer beam eyes. He-he!

When I was writing this scene, I could see it SO perfectly, but I really wasn't sure how to explain it to Shawna, or if she (or anyone else for that matter) would get it.

She did get it. Perfectly.

Cover art, Carter and the Curious Maze
Copyright Shawna Daigle, 2016

Book 3. I wrote Carter and the Curious Maze (2016) as a love letter to Toronto. It is a time-travel story set on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition, not far from my house. My favourite illustration is definitely the cover (although all the inside illustrations are amazing too.) I love this cover the best of all six in the series, which is a tough call because they are all beautiful works of art. But this one took my breath away when I first saw it, and it still does.

Book 2. Myles and the Monster Outside (2015) is still my favourite book of the series, mostly because it came from a real-life spooky night I spent on the highway after a 4-day drive. It was such a relief to write that scene out of my head and onto paper!

From Myles and the Monster Outside
Copyright Shawna Daigle, 2015

Also, this book had 3 national award nominations, and won the OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book award in 2017.

My favourite illustration from the book, and my favourite in the entire series, is the triptych of Myles, Courage the dog, and Myles's monster.

And finally, Book 1. When I started this journey with Jake and the Giant Hand in 2014, I had never worked with Shawna, and had never had an illustrator draw my weird scenes. It was a revelation. I gasped when I saw her first drafts for the book cover, and then the inside drawings. It is the very LUCKIEST thing that can happen to a writer: to see their ideas, drawn from the deep, dark, lonely well of their writing, become an image that exactly matches what they were thinking.

I cannot thank Shawna enough for capturing everything, every single cover and image (46 images in the series in total), so perfectly.

So, here is the final book cover and one final favourite image, which is one that we never used: the campfire story of The Giant Hand being told by Christopher in the cabin in the woods. I love this, because when I saw this cover concept, even though we went with Shawna's amazing giant fly in the end, I knew that the series was in excellent hands, and we were going to work together really well! THANK YOU SHAWNA, and everyone involved with the series, it's been a dream.

Alternate Cover, Jake and the Giant Hand
Copyright Shawna Daigle, 2014

For more about the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series on THIS BLOG
For all 6 book trailers, here is my YOUTUBE CHANNEL

5 questions about writing Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet ...

Here it is, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, the 6th and final book in my award-winning, middle-grade horror series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong (now available)!

Usually when I publish a new book, I write a "5 things people are probably going to ask me" blog post about it, so here they are:

1. What is this book about?

Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet is an environmental resistance dystopia, where children resist a greedy corporation, the Citizen Child Blue BrickTM company, which is destroying the local mountain.

2. How did you come up with the idea for this book?

Blue Brick TM
Illustration by Shawna Daigle

Each book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series is a different kind of horror story: Jake and the Giant Hand (2014) is an urban legend come to life, Myles and the Monster Outside (2015) is a psychological road trip thriller about anxiety. Carter and the Curious Maze (2016) is a time-travel story set at the Canadian National Exhibition, Alex and The Other (2018) is an evil twin story, while Blackwells and the Briny Deep (2018) is a spooky siblings-lost-at-sea story.

I knew that book 6 was going to be a resistance dystopia, and I wanted to set it on a glacier and icefield (see #3 below). I also wanted to talk about different kinds of resistance: how do we resist, can we change anything by resisting? In this story, children resist. They run away, snap blue sparks for courage, dream of a better world, commit acts of sabotage, or simply endure. But by enduring, they undergo an unexpected change, since enduring is a kind of resistance too.

A writer starts a book years in advance of publication. I started gathering notes and writing ideas for this book in 2016, three years ago, but my initial idea of writing a story on a glacier is actually decades older than that....

3. Why is Quinn's story set on an icy planet, on a glacier and icefield?

In 1982, I worked for the summer at the Athabasca Glacier in Banff (Alberta), which was an incredible experience: I hiked the glaciers, I camped on the icefield, I went deep into the back country and climbed the highest peaks. An icefield like the Columbia Icefields is astonishing, beautiful, and an amazing birthright: it stores a seemingly limitless supply of fresh water for the planet.

Author, Athabasca Glacier, 1982

In 2010 I went back to the glacier and the icefields, and I couldn't believe how much the glacier had shrunk, how green the mountains were in mid-summer instead of snow-capped. Some of the glaciers, like the Bow and Angel glaciers, were completely gone. I stood and cried at a few places along the highway on that trip in 2010.

Where was the ice? The streams? The snow? It had only been 28 years since I was last there, and those seemingly permanent glaciers were shrinking ... or gone. Today in 2019, nine years after my last visit, the glaciers are shrinking faster than they were in 2010.

Anyone paying attention over the past 30 years knows that the environment is changing, that climate crisis is real. And of course, recent events with amazing young climate activists and worldwide climate strikes are finally grabbing our attention.

The ideas and the research for this book began a long time ago, but I started writing this book 3 years ago (the final version of the edited manuscript was at the publisher almost 1 year before publication). It seemed time to draw attention to the environment, to shrinking glaciers, greedy corporations, rampant consumerism, resistance and how young people can change the world. Writers are nothing if not futurists...

Snowlight, Clem and the Commander
Illlustration by Shawna Daigle

4. What is Snowlight the Snow Creature?

Snowlight is the furry, blue Snow Creature that Clem Usher finds as she runs away from the Work Centre.

The Snow Creatures are creatures of the blue rock and ice; they are nearly extinct and cannot get the attention of the miners at the greedy corporation, because they cannot speak. They need someone to speak for them ... but they are far from helpless.

When the time comes, they have a power all their own.

Snowlight can be a stand-in for the environment, if you like, a symbol of power and vision far beyond that of a mere corporation like the Citizen Child Blue BrickTM factory.

5. Finally, what is the Quiet, Quiet?

We can all dream of a better world, a quiet, safe, beautiful place. In this story, the Quiet, Quiet is just that: a better world, according to our wishes and dreams.

I hope you enjoy this story! If you have more questions for me about it, drop me a comment below and I'll answer asap.

MORE: Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet BOOK TRAILER
More about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet on THIS BLOG

Happy Book Birthday to Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet!

Happy Book Birthday to Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, book six in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series, which publishes today, Sept. 21/2019!

This environmental resistance dystopia really hit the mark: kids stand up to a greedy corporation to save the local environment.

Order your copy of Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet now!

Yesterday was Climate Strike day all across the world, with millions of kids taking part across the planet. I couldn't be prouder of them, and my newest book reinforces their message: we have to act NOW to save the planet, and kids are going to lead the way.

A timely message (writers are nothing if not futurists), and with seven gorgeous illustrations by series illustrator Shawna Daigle, we're really pleased with this final book in the series.

If you'd like a review or media copy, please contact the publisher: DUNDURN PRESS.

Review copies are going out with an author's letter, which I've posted below.

"Dear Reader,

It's a real pleasure to introduce Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, my 6th and final book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with Dundurn Press, who have allowed me free reign with these six creepy, weird, fun stories. I’ve also had a fantastic illustrator for the series, Shawna Daigle, whose weirdness pretty much exactly matches my own! Thank you to them.

Each story has allowed me to scratch a creative itch it would have been tough to reach in any other written form. I wrote about a giant’s hand buried in a farmer’s field (Jake and the Giant Hand, 2014), and about a monster following the family car on a long drive (Myles and the Monster Outside, 2015). I wrote a love letter to the fall fair in Carter and the Curious Maze (2016), a time-travel story set on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition. I scratched a 20-year itch when I wrote Alex and The Other (2018), a doppelgänger story I first wrote as a script idea in the ‘90s. I’ve sailed all my life, so it was a delight to finally share my love of a good, spooky sea story in Blackwells and the Briny Deep (2018).

With Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet (2019), I’ve wrapped up the series with a story that couldn’t be more timely. Quinn’s story is an environmental resistance dystopia; the children in this story learn to resist, and must stand up to a greedy corporation determined to ruin the environment. There are many ways to resist, many outcomes of resistance, and in Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet I’ve tried to touch on some, like running away, secret signals, naming ourselves, sabotage, civil disobedience, dreaming of a better world, or simply enduring.

This book is dedicated to “The keepers of the blue spark,” the next generation of readers who look to us to inspire, entertain, and to hold up a lantern in the darkness. It’s been a privilege (and a lot of fun) to strive to do that with this series, and my enduring thanks to my publishing partners, readers, supporters and friends for helping me hold the lantern high.

Philippa Dowding, September 2019"

Thank you all, it's been incredible fun writing this series, and sharing it with everyone. Watch out for weirdness lurking below the surface of everything!

More posts about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet on this blog
All posts about the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series on this blog

Join me for the launch of Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet...

Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, 2014-2019

It's HERE! The sixth and FINAL BOOK in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series.

Please join me for the launch of Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet!

When: Saturday, Sept. 14/2019
Time: 1-4 pm
Where: Indigo Yonge & Eglinton, Yonge Eglinton Centre
(Toronto) Children's Department

Shawna and Philippa at Festival of Trees, 2017

I'll be accompanied by the wonderful series illustrator, Shawna Daigle. We'll sign your book, chat, laugh, reminisce. 

We've worked for 5 years together on this amazing series, and we've loved every book like the children they are. 

Please drop by and say hi if you can, we'd love to see you.

More about the book, a middle-grade, environmental resistance dystopia: Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet

Event listing on Dundurn Press site: Philippa Dowding launches Quinn & the Quiet, Quiet

Our first book, our first launch, 2014

And please enjoy a few pictures of Shawna and I on this fun, five-year journey together, including a picture of our launch of book 1, Jake and the Giant Hand, back in 2014. 

Illustrator and author on stage at Harbourfront, 2017.
What were our favourite books as kids?
Thanks to Riley Murray for the glam shot!

Thanks all, it's been grand, hope to see you on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019! 

All posts about Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG

The 5 Stages of a Book Cover for Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet

Coming September/2019, Dundurn Press

A book cover is an amazing thing: salesperson, storyteller, harbinger of the delights to come inside ... plus, in the case of the Weird Stories Gone Wrong covers, a work of art.

But how does a book cover come to be? 

Here's the cover for Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, book six in the award-winning, middle-grade horror series. The amazing illustrator is Shawna Daigle, who has done all six beautiful covers, and by my count, a whopping 46 inside illustrations for the series in total. They are all works of art.

Together, Shawna and I usually have a pretty strong idea which moment in the story we want on the cover, most often it's the inciting incident (but not always). 

Below is my ludicrously rough first drawing for this cover (never said I was an artist, brace yourself), a starting point for Shawna, and Shawna's take-away from it: 

First roughs for the cover of Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet. Author's version and Artist's.

That's the very beginning of the cover, first step. I don't usually do a rough for the cover, but in this case I did. Note, Shawna does not require the use of callouts to make it plain what she's drawing. 😊 Her snow LOOKS like snow, for instance. Mine just says the word "snow."

Next step, the editor, illustrator and author discuss finer points of the illustration. This is the stage to make any BIG changes (not after it's inked). In this case, we settled on colder weather clothes since the story takes place on a frozen distant planet, and added a girl with braids (to highlight a main character). The next stage of illustration from Shawna, incorporates these changes and is painted:

Shawna Daigle, the cover for Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, step two: painted.

After this step was approved, then Shawna built the beautiful final cover in Adobe Photoshop. Here it is, digitized:

Shawna Daigle, final art for the cover of Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet.

I often think this stage in the cover design is so beautiful, that we should make posters and raffle them off to readers. In fact, I think we'll do that for the launch of this book next fall! Note to self ...

AND, finally, the art above is turned into a cover by the publisher, Dundurn Press. There are a lot more than just 5 steps involved in the creation of a piece of art like this, and countless hours spent by Shawna in the process, but these are the broad, main steps. We've had such fun with this series which began in 2014, and in the coming months stay tuned for posts about the books, process, writing and more. But for now, take a look at all of Shawna's incredible covers:

All six covers of the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, 2014-2019,
by Philippa Dowding (Author) and Shawna Daigle (Illustrator)

More About Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this Blog.

Introducing Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet ...

PRE-ORDER NOW 
Coming Sept. 2019 from Dundurn Press

Here it is, the amazing cover for Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, book six in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series.

The gorgeous cover captures this middle-grade resistance dystopia perfectly. Series illustrator Shawna Daigle has done it again! I'll be talking more about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet in the coming months, but for now, here is the back cover copy:

"Quinn might get used to the food, Work Bots, and creating the Blue Brick™… but why are children all around him turning blue?

Quinn Fleet, 12, Packager, (QF12P) has only been at the Work Centre for three days, but he’s already seen a Caver run away, faced interrogation, and been made to stand in front of a crowd of children in the Grand Hall to apologize for breaking a Blue Brick™. 

That's when he notices that apart from being thin and ragged, all the children at the Work Centre look so ... blue.

Why are the children turning blue? Why can they make the strange blue spark when they snap their fingers? What’s the blue shimmer? And why do a renegade Work Bot and an Officer want Quinn to lead the oldest children, the NewBlues, to the sanctuary of the Quiet, Quiet?

But more than all that, what is the Quiet, Quiet, anyway?

A resistance dystopia for younger readers, Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet is the 6th book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series."

More about Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG

Introducing the Weird Stories Gone Wrong 6 BOOK SERIES!

HERE THEY ARE! All six covers in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, and what a beautiful job series illustrator Shawna Daigle has done. I'm so lucky!

There are currently five titles available in the series:

Blackwells and the Briny Deep (2018)
Alex and The Other (2018)
Carter and the Curious Maze (2016)
Myles and the Monster Outside (2015)
Jake and the Giant Hand (2014)

And now I'm SO HAPPY to introduce Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, which comes out from Dundurn Press next fall, September, 2019. It's a resistance dystopia, a little unusual for middle grade readers, but the whole series has been pretty unusual.

The series has covered plenty of weird stories for kids since its start: screaming mermaids on an enchanted island, an evil twin, time-travel at the CNE, a paranormal road-trip and a monster outside the car, and a giant's hand buried in a farmer's field.

More to come about Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet (September, 2019) in the months ahead, but for now, just look at that glorious set of covers!

More about Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this Blog

CM Magazine Review, Blackwells and the Briny Deep

BOOK 5, Weird Stories Gone Wrong,
Now available! Click for order info

"Fans of the short fiction series Weird Stories Gone Wrong will enjoy this fifth installment.

Dowding spins another yarn exploring the weirdness lying just beneath the surface of a seemingly normal everyday existence. The realities of sibling rivalry combined with a spine tingling, mystery-adventure story make Blackwells and the Briny Deep a fun tale that fans of spooky stories will enjoy. 

RECOMMENDED, CM Magazine, NOV/2018"
Thank you for the lovely review for my latest book, CM! 

Full CM review here: Blackwells and the Briny Deep

NEW: Weird Stories Gone Wrong 5-book OMNIBUS

Blackwells and the Briny Deep, BOOKTRAILER
(featuring illustrations by series illustrator Shawna Daigle)

All posts about Blackwells on this BLOG

Kids draw Blackwells and the Briny Deep!

Terrifying Cover art!

Just a quick blog post to highlight some of the terrific mermaid and briny-type drawings I received from kids this week. 

Inspired by Blackwells and the Briny Deep, some of the drawings are from a contest held at Bloor-Gladstone library last week and some were sent to me from a kind librarian whose students are reading the book.

I LOVE seeing children interpret my books, and draw inspiration from the wonderful, creepy art by series illustrator, Shawna Daigle.

Thanks for all the hard work everyone!

Terrifying mermaid with TOO MANY eyes...

Scariest Mermaid EVER

Emma, Jonah and William Blackwell on board Peregrine ...

Ceolacanth and mermaid?

More about Blackwells and the Briny Deep on this BLOG.