Blackwells and the Briny Deep is a Canadian Children's Book Centre Expert Pick!

"An adventure full of creatures both terrifying and wonderful...perfect for reading aloud in a family setting." Canadian Children's Book Centre, September 2020

My title from 2018, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, is one of the Expert's Picks in the September issue of the CCBC Newsletter, thank you! Really honoured to be here with just a few other books.

Here's the whole newsletter link: CCBC September 2020

There are so many great ideas to keep your children reading and engaged during COVID, I hope you'll take a moment to look over their reading suggestions. 

The story of the Blackwells and their scary day at sea is one that I have always wanted to write since I've been lucky enough to sail on the Great Lakes since I was ten years old. I'm super happy to see this book get some critical attention. If your child enjoys scary stories that aren't too scary (and zombie pirates, mermaids and sea yarns in general), they'll probably love this! This series has been called "Goosebumps from north of the border" by Kirkus Reviews.

It's Book 5 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series (6 books in total), for kids ages 8-12, enjoy.

More information:

Blackwells and the Briny Deep, BOOK TRAILER

More about Blackwells on this BLOG

All posts about Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG

5 reasons for writing a spooky sea story for kids ...

AVAILABLE NOW!

"REASON #2: RESPONSIBILITY. Sailing your own boat is great for building self-esteem, maturity and responsibility. There's a lot to learn and remember when you sail. 

In this story, Emma, Jonah, and William Blackwell are all alone and in charge of their sailboat, Peregrine. Despite quarreling at the beginning of the story, they're forced to be mature and work together in order to survive."

Blackwells and the Briny Deep is now available! It's book 5 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, horror stories for kids 9-12 (they get compared to Goosebumps quite a bit).

Why did I set a horror story at sea this time around?  

Here are the top 5 reasons: Novelty (who sails anymore?), Responsibility (lots of rules and tech on a sailboat), Vocabulary (when was the last time you said "scuppers" in casual conversation?), SEA TERRORS (obv) and Because .... Mermaids (the wonderful series illustrator Shawna Daigle, asked for a story with mermaids this time around).

Read the full 5-reasons post on the Dundurn Blog here: Blackwells at Sea

Another reason I set my story at sea? I love sailing and have sailed all my life. Here's a rare picture of me sailing Short Circuit (a C&C 27, a Canadian-made racing boat from the '70s), off Toronto Island on Lake Ontario.

The Author on Short Circuit, September 2018

Blackwells and the Briny Deep Book Trailer

MORE ABOUT Weird Stories Gone Wrong and Blackwells and the Briny Deep 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.

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

Blackwells and the Briny Deep, ARC LETTER!

William and the Mermaid Queen

COMING SOON: Blackwells and the Briny Deep will be in stores on Sept. 29/2018!

It's book five in my award-winning horror series for middle grade readers, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, and it's in some ways the sweetest of the series. It's about a day sail gone wrong, an enchanted island, and quarreling siblings who discover that it's not the petty rivalries we remember as we get older, but the exciting shared adventures that stay with us, all our lives.

Here's the letter I wrote, to accompany the ARC (Advance Reader Copy), please enjoy!

"Dear Middle-Grade Reviewer,

I’ve sailed lakes and oceans since I was ten years old. I’ve sailed through heavy fog, terrible storms, and even run aground. I’ve also trimmed the sails on a beautiful summer day and headed out to sea. So it’s a real pleasure to present Blackwells and the Briny Deep, book five in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series for middle-grade readers. 

Each story explores a different horror subgenre, for kids ages 8-12, including a tall tale (Jake and the Giant Hand, 2014), a psychological road-trip thriller (Myles and the Monster Outside, 2015, Winner of the OLA Silver Birch Express Honor Book award), a time-travel/historical fantasy (Carter and the Curious Maze, 2016), and a classic evil twin story (Alex and The Other, 2018).

The latest addition, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, is a spooky sea story. The three Blackwell siblings, William, Jonah and Emma, head out in their sailboat, Peregrine, for a day sail across the bay. But after they see a phantom ship and survive a terrible storm … they run aground on an enchanted island. They face zombie pirates, horrifying mermaids and cursed shipwrecked figureheads together and apart. It’ll be a great sea story one day, if the Blackwells can just survive it!

I hope you enjoy this scary sea yarn about sibling compassion, and the unique stories brothers and sisters share and remember all their lives. It’s combined with seven creepy illustrations from series illustrator Shawna Daigle, who asked for “a story with mermaids.'”

Jonah and the zombie pirates

Blackwells and the Briny Deep is Available in Canada on September 29/2018; October 23 in US and overseas.

Book Trailer, with illustrations by
Shawna Daigle

More about Blackwells and the Briny Deep on this BLOG

Goodreads Reviews

Blackwells and the Briny Deep on the 49th Shelf FALL LIST!

COMING Sept/2018, Dundurn Press

THIS JUST IN! Blackwells and the Briny Deep is on the 49th Shelf MOST ANTICIPATED FALL/2018 list!

Thanks guys!

Here's the whole list, some great picture books, middle grade and YA reads here: 49th Shelf Most Anticipated

Also, many congrats to series illustrator Shawna Daigle, whose awesomely creepy cover is featured in the Middle Grade section, a first for us.

Blackwells and the Briny Deep is book 5 in our award-winning series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, for kids aged 8-12.

Hope you enjoy!

MORE:
Blackwells and the Briny Deep BOOK TRAILER
More About Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG

Blackwells and the Briny Deep BOOK TRAILER!

Emma Blackwell used to love mermaids. 
Jonah Blackwell used to think he liked pirates. And William Blackwell just wanted 
to be a good captain ... 

... at least they DID, until they see the 
phantom ship, run aground and get 
stuck on an enchanted island with screaming mermaids, zombie pirates and cursed, shipwrecked figureheads.

It'll make a great sea story one day,
if they can just survive it!

My new book, Blackwells and the Briny Deep, is coming out in September/2018 ... and it has a great new BOOK TRAILER!

This is book 5 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, hope you enjoy it.

More About Weird Stories Gone Wrong on this BLOG

Blackwells and the Briny Deep is up for review on NetGalley!

COMING September 2018 from Dundurn Press

It's been a busy year with three books out! 

I'm so excited to share book #5 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series with you! Introducing Blackwells and the Briny Deep.

And another fantastic cover by series illustrator, Shawna Daigle.

The book comes out next September, 2018, but you can request an e-ARC for review now at NetGalley.

More about Blackwells and the Briny Deep soon but for now ... hope you like screaming mermaids, zombie pirates and enchanted islands with strange creatures wandering around...

Request to Review on NetGalley