The BEST thing about writing for kids? ...

The best--THE BEST--thing about writing for kids? Getting their letters and pictures!

A few weeks ago I received some beautiful art from grade 3,4,5 students from a school in Northern Ontario, and what a great job. Thank you everyone!
To see how a child has connected with the story is the best part of being a writer. I'm always honoured to receive them, and really impressed.

Here's a wonderful sample.

Left: a collage of everything that Alex has to face from Alex and The Other. Doc Philips and his needle of green goo, the two Tall Strangers, and the Girl with the Braid. My favourite part? His cat, Needles, is wrapped around his leg.

Below: Jake looks genuinely SCARED in Jake and the Giant Hand. That fly is truly GIANT and for a really nice attention to detail, this artist included the horse-head pump beside the farmhouse door (an important clue in the story)!

AND, here's a terrific cover for Myles and the Monster Outside: those red glowing eyes, Go Home Highway, and the restaurant where Myles and his family stop at 2 a.m. .... plus the lone street lamp that shines out in the darkness ... all deliciously SPOOKY!

Click For more about the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series on this blog.

Alex and The Other is one of The Year's Best Books 2018!

Book 4 in the award-winning
Weird Stories Gone Wrong series

"With each chapter Dowding develops tension and a strong sense of Alex’s isolation and despair. Readers will no doubt relate to Alex and root for him as he tries to reclaim his life.  E (Excellent)"--Resource Links, 2018

Love a good evil twin horror story? Resource Links magazine does! They named Alex and The Other a Summer Tween Highlight last summer.

Now they've picked  Alex and The Other as one of
The Year's Best Books 2018. A real honour, thank you!

Here's the whole list: The Year's Best Books 2018

It's a short list of great Canadian authors: Eric Walters, Cary Fagan, Arthur Slade, Rachelle Delaney, Heather Smith, Ken Oppel and yours truly among others. Go take a look and choose your next great middle-grade read!

Here's an author's plea: the next time you're looking for a good book, consider reading Canadian. And if you enjoyed it (or your child did), please review it somewhere online. Your favourite authors will thank you!

Watch the Alex and The Other BOOK TRAILER

More about Alex and The Other on this blog.

More about the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series on this blog.

PRE-ORDER BOOK SIX COMING SEPT. 2019: Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet

CM Magazine Recommends Alex and The Other

"The realities of middle school life combined with a creepy mystery adventure story make Alex and the Other a fun and fast-paced tale that fans of spooky stories will enjoy. RECOMMENDED" 

-- CM Magazine, Feb/2018

This review for my creepy, middle-grade, doppelganger horror story, came out this time last year. Alex and The Other is book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, and is being showcased at an upcoming Battle of the Books event for schoolkids in Ontario (April, 2019).

Still a great review!

Here's the complete review: 
Alex and The Other

Resource Links Review (E for Excellent, and Kid Summer Read List Selection)
More Reviews on Goodreads
Here's the Booktrailer with illustrations by series illustrator Shawna Daigle
ORDER Alex and The Other on Amazon

All Posts about Alex and The Other and Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this blog.

Two New WEIRD stories for Halloween!

Love WEIRD STORIES?

There are TWO brand new additions to the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series!

Alex and The Other is about a lonely boy who is suddenly stuck with an EVIL TWIN (mwa-ha-ha).

Blackwells and the Briny Deep is about 3 siblings who run aground on an enchanted (a.k.a. cursed) island.

Both books are available NOW, just in time for Halloween.

AND now there's a 5 book OMNIBUS, so you can check out the entire SPOOKY series at one pretty great low rate: Weird Stories Gone Wrong 5-BOOK BUNDLE

The first four books also have free Teacher's Guides, listed here: Teacher's Guides

There are also creepy new Book trailers, featuring the art of series illustrator, Shawna Daigle:
Alex and the Other, BOOK TRAILER
Blackwells and the Briny Deep, BOOK TRAILER

Enjoy!

More about Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG

E For Excellent for ALEX AND THE OTHER!

"This fourth book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series by Philippa Dowding will not disappoint. 

From the book’s first sentence readers will feel like they’ve entered into a ‘conversation’ with the author. The conversation that unfolds about a mysterious green fog, missing piglets and a frightened farmer reads like a cross between delicious gossip and a campfire tale so absurd and intriguing you can’t help but want more. 

With each chapter Dowding develops tension and a strong sense of Alex’s isolation and despair. Readers will no doubt relate to Alex and root for him as he tries to reclaim his life...

... Shawna Daigle’s creepy illustrations punctuate the text and add to the mystery.

RATING: E"

What a fantastic review from Resource Links Magazine (Canadian) for ALEX AND THE OTHER, book 4 in my award-winning middle grade horror series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong! 

The editors at Resource Links have selected the book for their Summer Tween Reads list as well, so the review is free and open to all: REVIEW, Alex and The Other

Thank you, Resource Links! Happy summer reading, everyone!

FREE Teacher's Resource Guide for ALEX AND THE OTHER (Dundurn Press)
Alex and The Other, BOOK TRAILER featuring illustrations by Shawna Daigle
CM Magazine Review
More about Alex and The Other on this BLOG

Alex and The Other and some serious crayons ...

My new book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, Alex and The Other, had a day out on Saturday at Indigo Yonge and Eglinton (Toronto). Thanks for having me!

I handed out bookmarks, talked to people, sold a lot of books. Kids enjoyed the colouring sheets that I made using illustrations from the book, thanks to the talents of series illustrator Shawna Daigle.

There was some serious colouring going on!

It's always interesting for an author to sell books at a busy bookstore. I had an old friend pop in, totally unexpectedly. A teacher who has been a huge supporter was there too, just passing through, someone who I always bump into in bookstores. We laughed. I met a filmmaker who then friended me on Facebook. Our one mutual FB friend is also the only other person I've ever friended after meeting them in a bookstore, which is weird. Maybe it's a film industry thing?

I met lots of sweet kids. 

And I had a signing first: a young woman had been sitting reading near the book table. When I was alone, she came up to me and said "I heard you talking about a gargoyle book for kids set in Toronto and I just wanted to tell you that you were my favourite author when I was kid." (FYI, my first series was called The Lost Gargoyle series.)

I was really touched ... and also a little shocked to realize that the first readers of my books are now old enough to say things like "when I was a kid." But I guess I HAVE been doing this for 9 years now. She might have been 11 or 12 maybe when she first read my books. I told her that she was the first person to say that to me, and she said, "I never would have expected to meet you. Your books meant a lot to me." I told her that I think I should write some more gargoyle books!

It was a very sweet moment for both of us.

I enjoy bookstore events like this, but I had a good teacher. I grew up next to a lovely lady who was also a gifted potter. When I was about 12, she hired me on weekends to help her sell her pottery at art shows all over southern Ontario. I loved it. And I also learned the fine art of direct sales to the public. How to be pleasant, chatty but not too chatty, excited about your product but not annoying, how to display your wares, how to make people feel comfortable purchasing without pressure, the delivery of the straightforward spiel ... most importantly how to take "no thanks" for an answer.

She taught me well! I think she'd be proud that all those mugs and vases and beautiful plates that I sold at her side as a child, helped me as an author later in life. Thanks Dorothy!

Alex and The Other Booktrailer
Reviews on Goodreads
More about Alex and The Other on This Blog

Writing Tips and Middle Grade Series Secrets from an Author and Illustrator ...

The award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, 2014-2018

"If you could give ten-year-old Philippa advice about writing, what would it be?..."

My new book, Alex and The Other, is now out! It's book four in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, horror stories for ages 8-12.

To celebrate, publisher Dundurn Press has a two part blog-post on their website this week, featuring two Q&A posts between the series illustrator, Shawna Daigle, and me.




In PART ONE I ask Shawna questions about her work as an illustrator, like this one:

"Philippa Dowding: Which book of the four books so far in the series has been the most fun for you to illustrate, and why?

Fog Monster, by Shawna Daigle

Shawna Daigle: I’d have to say Myles and the Monster Outside was still one of my favourite books to work on. I really enjoyed getting to create the fog monster who could look like anything I wanted. I tried to make him look a bit different every time I drew him, because fog is always changing and moving. It was a really fun challenge!"

And in PART TWO, Shawna asks me some great questions,
like this one:

"Shawna Daigle: If you could give ten-year-old Philippa advice about writing, what would it be?

Philippa Dowding: I guess I’d say this to myself as a ten-year-old, writer-in-waiting: don’t stop writing, even when people tell you can’t do it, or you shouldn’t do it, or you’re wasting your time (sadly, you’re going to hear all of those things). And don’t stop reading and losing yourself in stories, either. One day it’ll make sense why you’ve read The Hobbit ten times: you’re a writer!"

Shawna (left) and Philippa on stage at Forest of Reading
award-ceremony, May 2017, Toronto (we won honour book!)
Photo Courtesy Riley Murray

We pick our favourite scenes, illustrations and book in the series (they aren't the same). Plus, I talk about my favourite character (who is based on Mr. Atoz from original Star Trek), the theme of the evil twin as inspiration for Alex and The Other, and much more.

Read On! Both full Q&A posts are here: 

Secrets from an Author & Illustrator, 
PART ONE (Shawna's answers to Philippa's questions)

Secrets from an Author and Illustrator, 
PART TWO
(Philippa's answers to Shawna's Questions) 

Order ALEX AND THE OTHER online
CM Magazine REVIEW
Goodreads Reviews
Alex and The Other Book trailer featuring Shawna's illustrations
More about the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series on this blog

Kids predict what happens in Alex and The Other!

Last week I got this great letter in the mail:

"Dear Philippa!

A grade 4/5 class in my school has been completely taken over by “Alex and The Other” in your latest installment of the series Weird Stories Gone Wrong!

I showed them the cover and read them “This part is mostly true” and “Chapter 1” and stopped … many groans erupted so I threw them a challenge: to predict with from the cover or from what they heard, what this “Weird Story” could be about.

Enclosed are their eager responses. The Teacher was amazed at their enthusiasm ... I am tickled they are this anxious to write their thoughts to you!

Thank you for taking time to read them!"

Thank you to the wonderful teacher-librarian for sharing this, and thanks to the kids for sending their thoughts! I absolutely loved reading their responses. Some of them got pretty close to what happens next, like this one ...

"I’m wondering if the two figures in the background have to do something with the fog. The cat has green eyes, maybe because it might have looked at the two figure’s eyes."

This student has the right idea too: "I think the guy in the mirror is Alex because it winked at him."

And this student: "I think when he looks in the mirror that’s gonna be his double-ganger (sic)!"

Here are some more wildly inventive possibilities:

The Optimist: "I think that Alex is going to go to school but everyone is going to like him because the Alex in the mirror is going to go at night and make everyone be his friend."

The Pessimist: "My guess is that he will get sucked into the mirror because the mirror is doing weird things."

The Realist: "I think that Alex lives in the house because why else will she add that in the story? I also think that the two figures have something to do with the mirror."

Predicting is fun! They're going to be pretty surprised when they read a little further ...

Alex and The Other is NOW AVAILABLE
CM Magazine Review  
Goodreads Reviews
Recently Read Teacher-Librarian REVIEW
Well Worth A Read REVIEW
Geekreads Kids REVIEW
See the BOOK TRAILER 
More About ALEX AND THE OTHER on this BLOG

Loneliness and the Evil Twin ... Happy Book Birthday to Alex and The Other!

Alex and The Other releases this week on March 31!
This is book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, horror stories for middle grade readers, ages 8-12, and is a classic doppelganger story.

Synopsis:

Alex is a lonely boy whose only real friend is his cat, Needles. One night Alex and Needles take a detour through the woods and come across what looks like a crash site, then tall strangers with green eyes start whispering at him from the trees ... BEWARE THE OTHER!

After that, Needles goes missing and a weird cat girl starts to take over Alex's life until soon no one can tell the difference between them. Can Alex outsmart his evil twin before she replaces him for good? And who is the REAL Alex, anyway?

So, why an evil twin story about a lonely boy? 

Alex and The Other is a classic doppelganger story. One of the reasons that I started writing the Weird Stories Gone Wrong was to introduce younger readers to different kinds of horror stories and tropes which they probably hadn't encountered yet.

So far I've written an urban legend (Jake and the Giant Hand), a psychological road-trip thriller (Myles and the Monster Outside, winner of the OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book Award 2017), and a time-travel horror story (Carter and the Curious Maze). Future releases in the series include a scary sea story with horrifying mermaids and cursed pirates on an enchanted island (Blackwells and the Briny Deep, Sept 2018), plus a dystopia coming in 2019.

The girl with the braid: Alex's Other

Why so lonely? When I started thinking about what to write for book 4, I knew that I wanted to tell a story about a lonely boy, because I think loneliness is a really under-represented theme in children's stories.

Adults and kids alike can be lonely, but we really don't talk about it that much in our social media world where all things must appear fun.

Life isn't always that much fun, for whatever reason. Sometimes we're sad, sometimes we're lonely. So I explored that in Alex's character. Also in any doppelganger story, the hero has to be isolated. It's just the way it is, seems cruel I know, but if you're facing down some weird, alternate version of yourself you can't do it with a healthy crowd of supporters around you. Not if you're writing a horror story, anyway.

So, Alex had to face his evil twin all alone. But I think kids will get that or develop some empathy for loneliness through Alex.

But, in reality he's not completely alone. I did give Alex an ally: he talks to his cheeky, funny reflection in the haunted bathroom mirror at school. Now THAT was fun, writing two voices for Alex set in an empty, abandoned bathroom in the basement of his school. I riffed a little off Gollum arguing with himself in LOTR and Willem DaFoe talking to himself in the mirror as the Green Goblin in Spiderman.

Alex's reflection winks at him...

Another theme in the story is HOW TO ASK FOR HELP.

Even if we've never been lonely in our lives, we all need to ask for help once in a while. Alex does ask for help getting rid of his evil twin in different ways, but no one really hears him, or his evil twin outsmarts him. He comes closest to outright telling an adult what's happening to him with Jim the janitor, but like many of his encounters with adults, even sympathetic ones, Alex couldn't quite get the words out.

In the end, he DOES accept help from the one place readers probably won't expect. And that's realistic too, I think. Asking for help is scary, and difficult and sometimes you have to keep asking until someone actually HEARS you, whoever or in this case, whatever, that may be.

Alex and The Other publishes on March 31/2018. ORDER NOW!

CM Magazine Review of Alex and The Other
Goodreads Reviews of Alex and The Other
Alex and The Other Book Trailer with illustrations from series illustrator Shawna Daigle
Put a COPY ON HOLD at the Toronto Public Library
Here's more about Alex and The Other 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.

Win an ARC copy of Alex and The Other!

COMING March/2018. WIN AN ARC now!

Beware the tall, whispering strangers.
Beware the haunted school bathroom mirror.
But most of all ... 

... BEWARE THE OTHER.

Calling all middle-grade horror fans! There's a Goodreads Giveaway for my next book, a story about a missing cat, an evil twin and weird strangers who may not be what they seem.

Go to Goodreads NOW and you could win an Advance Reading Copy  (ARC) of Alex and The Other, book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series (ages 8-12).

Hurry though, contest ends November 17/2017. There are 9 copies to win! Enter the Goodreads Giveaway now.

Here's the book trailer, with fantastic illustrations by Shawna Daigle. 

Enjoy!

Introducing Alex and The Other

Coming March 31/2018

CREEPY aliens, a lost cat, an evil twin ....

... HERE IT IS! The gorgeous cover for my next book, Alex and The Other!

It's so creepy, and so deliciously weird. This is book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, horror stories for kids 8-12. This one is a classic doppelganger/evil twin story, a bit darker than the other books in the series.

Beware The Other!

Thanks once again to illustrator Shawna Daigle for her amazing talents, and thanks to publisher Dundurn Press for letting us tell this next weird story. This is now my favourite cover of all time.

Here's more about the book on Amazon: Alex and The Other.

Here's the blurb:

"Beware The Other...

Alex is the loneliest boy at school. Not only are his parents away (again), but his beloved cat is missing. Plus, one morning his reflection in the haunted bathroom mirror at school starts talking to him. Then two mysterious strangers in overcoats and sunglasses appear, whispering the same message, over and over: Beware The Other …

But, worse than all that, is the girl with the braid. She looks just like Alex. She’s better than him at everything, and they even share the same name. Soon, she’s the only Alex anyone can see, at school, at work, even at home. In no time, it’s almost as though the real Alex never existed at all.

Can the real Alex outsmart his evil twin and get his life back before she replaces him for good? And more importantly, who is the REAL Alex, anyway?"

TO Request an ARC from Publisher: Dundurn Publicity
Click to find out more about Weird Stories Gone Wrong.
More blog posts about Weird Stories.
Book Trailer for Myles and the Monster Outside, Winner of the OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book Award.