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

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.

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

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

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

NEW! 4 Free Teacher's Guides for Weird Stories Gone Wrong

By September 2018, look for
5 books in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong 
horror series for middle grade readers!

NEW this month, the first four books in the series now have
FREE Teacher's Guides.

Students use the books for predictive thinking projects, drama ideas, crosswords, character studies and more fun, engaging activities to develop reading and writing skills.


Guides are developed by Dundurn Press and educator Eleanor Creasy (thanks Eleanor!)

Try these free guides now: 

Alex and The Other, Teacher's Guide
Carter and the Curious Maze, Teacher's Guide
Myles and the Monster Outside, Teacher's Guide Winner, OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book
Jake and the Giant Hand, Teacher's Guide

Book Trailers for the series, featuring illustrations by Shawna Daigle:

Blackwells and the Briny Deep, Book Trailer
Alex and The Other, Book Trailer
Carter and the Curious Maze, Book Trailer
Myles and the Monster Outside, Book Trailer
Jake and the Giant Hand, Book Trailer

More about the Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG.

A few tips on writing horror for middle grade readers ...

The ghastly truth about a giant hand...

A rainy night, a haunted highway, a mysterious monster...

Are you brave enough to enter the curious maze? (Not everyone comes out)...

An evil twin, a haunted mirror, and strangers who whisper BEWARE THE OTHER...

Screaming mermaids, zombie pirates ... and do you hear the distant drums?

By September 2018, there will be FIVE books in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series! 

In creating this award-winning middle-grade horror series over the past few years, I've learned a thing or two about writing horror for younger kids, ages 8-12. It's fun, but there are also some considerations that I learned along the way. So here, for your amusement (and elucidation!) are some thoughts on writing horror for kids. These aren't "rules", just the template we built for this series as we went...

1. No weapons (or sharp objects) on the cover. Apparently, you can scare them silly inside (there is an illustration of a cannon and a War of 1812 soldier holding a bayonet in Carter and the Curious Maze), but no weapons or sharp objects on the front cover! Parents and grandparents buy the books, generally, and weapons might turn them off.

2. No bloodied children. Sure, you can have a soldier running through the maze dripping blood (yep, Carter and the Curious Maze again), but not kids. You can, however, have slightly singed kids smolder from the massive Grand Magazine Explosion, for some reason. But we decided that bloodied children are just too gory for this age group.

3. Adults can be creepy, but not parents. These readers are young, 8, 9, 10. They may be reading scary stuff for the first time. Giant, dismembered hands, monsters whispering outside the car, time-travel mazes, evil twins are all pretty scary, so I just couldn't make the parents in their world scary, too. I think that might be a story for a slightly older reader. There are ghost adults though (Myles and the Monster Outside), a green-goo wielding doctor (Alex and The Other), and even freak show adults. But the parents and grandparents in my series are rock solid.

4. To swear or not to swear. 
You know, I have NO problem swearing in real life (probably, I swear a little too much when it's needed), and I allowed my now-grown kids the occasional swear when the situation demanded it. But I just can't bring myself to swear in a middle-grade book. I get about as harsh as "stupid" or "shut up." Parents, librarians and teachers have told me they appreciate the restraint.

5. WHEN IN DOUBT, WEIRD OUT. 
The name of the series is Weird Stories Gone Wrong. Weird has gotten me through a lot of sticky plot holes in this series. Weird is totally okay in a horror story, in fact, I think weird makes a horror story better. If there are no weapons on the cover, no children dripping blood or cursing like sailors (or zombie pirates), and despite whatever else is going on, they can rely on their parents or caregivers ... I think you can make all the other aspects of the story as weird and scary as you like.

Whispering strangers, creepy aliens, a town gone crazy with green, shimmering eyes, screaming mermaids, a ghost walking a lonely highway looking for his lost dog, a giant, dismembered hand ... the sky's the limit. Just no bloodied children, or sharp implements on the cover! (The Mermaid Queen is rocking that bone sword in Blackwells and the Briny Deep, chapter twelve, though.)

For more Blog Posts on Weird Stories Gone Wrong
PRE-ORDER Book 4, Alex and The Other, Coming MARCH 31/2018
PRE-ORDER Book 5, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, Coming SEPT 23/2018