Without music, life would be a mistake ...

Saturday night guitar party, 28/03/2020 (I'm top, 2nd left)
10 guitars, 15 friends, including a friend from Tokyo

"Without music, life would be a mistake." Friedrich Nietzsche, 1889

I've played guitar most of my life. I started with a ukulele at age 9 (which I still play), and graduated to a 6-string acoustic guitar at age 12. I've written quite a bit about my guitar life on this blog.

Read my guitar and music posts here.

Music has lifted me up my whole life. I've made lifelong friends, even met my husband one night almost 40 years ago, because of my love of the guitar.

Author at 17, playing at a
high school coffee house

This spring as humanity finds itself in the grip of a pandemic, each of us must find solace where we can. So last night I ventured boldly with my musical friends onto the internet!

I was skeptical when a friend suggested we try it but in the end, I found joy in the deep connection I have to my friends, and to the music we have played together for decades.

That's me with my husband, top row, third from left

It was so beautiful to see everyone, all together in one place. One of us joined the party while sitting in his basement in Tokyo. One of us held his newborn son, so in one family three generations were present on the screen. Some of us were in isolation alone, some of us had our partners or children with us.

But in the end, we were all together.

It wasn't perfect. The internet was slow. Sound was intermittent. Sometimes people dropped out and had to reconnect.

Click to hear BIRCHES
With Allister Thompson

But we sang. We played. We listened. We chatted. We kicked at the darkness, as our guitar hero Bruce Cockburn once sang. We found solace in each other, and in the music we've always shared. It reminded us of warm summer nights around a campfire, of beautiful harmonies, of the passage of time and the impermanence of everything except music and friendship.

I played 3 original tunes, including The Gargoyle Shuffle. 

So find solace where you can, everyone. For me right now, it's in friends, music and a wonky internet connection.

With love to you all.

PD

You'll find me on Bandcamp ...

BIRCHES (2017) with Allister Thompson

I finally opened a Bandcamp account! 

Here it is:  Philippa Dowding, Bandcamp

You'll find a few tunes from my two guitar albums with my editor, Allister Thompson.

You'll also find recordings from my first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard. The book just turned 10 years in April 2019, and to celebrate I recorded me reading two chapters. 

You'll also find The Gargoyle Shuffle on there.

More to come, stay tuned!

SUMMER, from the album Fifth Season (2015)
with Allister Thompson

The first time I touched a guitar, I was 10 years old and I had just snuck into my older brother's room to crouch before his brand new birthday gift: an acoustic guitar. I drew my finger tips across the strings, and was shocked into wonder by the beautiful voice, the gentle whisper. That was it. Hooked for life.

I've played guitar ever since, and made friends for life through music. I've written dozens of instrumentals for the guitar since then, and have a handful of songs which I sing for friends (usually reluctantly) when pressed. You'll hear me singing in only one place that I know of: on Birches, Moonlight, a song I wrote for my sister-in-law, a song which Allister pressed me to record.

Does any amateur musician like the sound of their own voice?

I still play guitar for about 20 minutes every day, and I record new compositions all the time. Recording acoustic is hard though. You have to be perfect, you can't suddenly get itchy, or have to sneeze. The neighbours can't be cutting their grass, the dog can't bark, the front door can't slam, the cellphone has to be off ... it takes patience!

But there may be a new collaboration soon, so perhaps more tunes to come. Happy listening, everyone.

MORE ABOUT GUITAR on this blog.

10 Writing Tips for the 10th Anniversary Celebration!

It's been a decade since my first book was published in April 2009. What have I learned?

Here they are, the first 5 of 10 writing tips learned from my decade as a writer, on my publisher's blog:

1. 1. Write the story that torments you. Writing is a lonely, often difficult journey, so tell stories you love, that inspire or even torment you, and keep you up at night. That passion will carry you through to the finish line.
2. 2. Finish it. There’s a lot of craft in writing endings. Also, sometimes it’s only when a manuscript is finished that I realize what the story is actually about.
3. 3. You’ll despair. Creative doubt is a real thing. There may be a writer out there who never doubts their skill … but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve felt like I have no idea what I’m doing, especially at the start of something new.
4. 4. Hang out with other writers. Talk books, story, and craft, because writers will get you. They’ll inspire you, too.
5. 5. Brace yourself: you’ll get a bad review now and then. We all do, it’s part of the job of being a writer. BUT … you’ll get good reviews, too. Here’s a 10% rule: even the most beloved author of all time (insert favourite writer here) has about a 90% approval rating (give or take) on book sites. So on average, roughly 10% of readers won’t like a book, no matter what it is. There will be people who DO love your book though. Embrace them. Thank them. Remember them.

For the rest of my "10 Writing Tips", read on at my publisher's website: 

10th Anniversary Writing Tips from Philippa Dowding

Thanks everyone for the fantastic ride, it's been a great 10 years! Also, many thanks to the Dundurn Press marketing team, and publicist Elham A., for all the hard work this month helping me celebrate!

More April 2019/10th Anniversary Celebrations on this Blog:

Listen to The Gargoyle Shuffle, music by the author and editor (Allister Thompson)

Listen to the author read two chapters of the book:

Chapter 5, Ballerinas and Daisies

Chapter 4, Moonlight Dance

More About The Lost Gargoyle Series on this blog.

The Gargoyle in My Yard, Ballerinas and Daisies

Gargoth of Tallus illustration by Emma Dolan
www.emmadarkandweird.com

Imagine this gargoyle in a tutu, doing a pirouette. Kathryn has to imagine it, since she finds him one inexplicable night, doing ballet moves in her backyard!

My first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard is
10 years old in April 2019, and the 10th Anniversary Gargoyle celebrations continue!

This week, I read Chapter 5 from the book:
Ballerinas and Daisies

Here's Chapter four from last week:
Moonlight Dance 

Also, enjoy The Gargoyle Shuffle, a piece of gargoyle-y music, recorded with the book's editor, Allister Thompson.

Finally, on April 8th, the 49th Shelf chose The Gargoyle in My Yard, as the Canadian Kid Lit Book of the Day, thank you! Here's the link AND below the book, you'll find a free teacher's guide: FREE TEACHER'S GUIDE

Next week, the last week of April, I'll be posting a blog on the publisher's website, about "10 Writing tips from 10 years as a writer", with a link mention here in this space. Stay tuned!

The Gargoyle in My Yard was published in April, 2009 by Napoleon Publishing. It is still in print (now with Dundurn Press), and the series of books based on the character Gargoth of Tallus, The Lost Gargoyle Books, have been optioned for a children's television series. Many thanks to publisher Sylvia McConnell for starting this party ten years ago!

The Gargoyle in My Yard was an SYRCA Diamond Willow nominee, 2012.

For more about the books on this blog: The Lost Gargoyle Series

Philippa Dowding reads Moonlight Dance!

10 Years! Published April 2009

Have you ever seen a gargoyle dancing in the moonlight? 
Katherine has. In fact, she has quite a problem: there's a gargoyle dancing in the moonlight in her backyard!

Hear a new recording of me reading from The Gargoyle in My Yard: Moonlight Dance 

The month of April 2019 marks the 10th Anniversary of the publication of my first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard (April 2009)! Celebrations all month include a new recording of my guitar piece, The Gargoyle Shuffle.

AND I'll be reading chapters from the book over the next few weeks. This week, listen to Chapter 4: Moonlight Dance 

FREE Teacher's Guide: The Gargoyle in My Yard is a 49thShelfTeachers Canadian Kids Book of the Day for
April 8/2019, thanks! The post includes a FREE Teacher's Guide.

BONUS: Here's a link to my Dawg FM RADIO AD for The Gargoyle Overhead and the Forest of Reading, back in 2012. HAHA, that was a fun day. As I remember, the first take was the best one, even though we spent another hour trying to do another take that was as good. Beginner's luck!

Enjoy! More About The Gargoyle Series on this blog.

Introducing The Gargoyle Shuffle

Gargoyle Image Courtesy Emma Dolan
www.emmadarkandweird.com

My first book was published TEN YEARS AGO today, on April 1, 2009!

That book was The Gargoyle in My Yard, about a grumpy, 400-year-old gargoyle lost in downtown Toronto. To celebrate, I'm posting all things gargoyle here throughout April. 

FIRST UP, MUSIC: The Gargoyle Shuffle 

I wrote this music in 2014, and I've performed it to thousands of kids across Canada ever since. My editor, Allister Thompson, a terrific musician, recorded this new version with me.

Listen to The Gargoyle Shuffle free. 
ENJOY!

Author going door to door
with champagne, 2009.
PHOTO: Andrea Gutsche

Here's a video of children dancing as I play the song in 2014: 
Kids Dance the Gargoyle Shuffle 

Thank you to author Rebecca Upjohn for the video.

Fast forward a decade, and later this year I'll publish my 12th book. Thank you to publisher Sylvia McConnell at Napoleon for getting this party started a decade ago!

I'll be posting more throughout April, including chapters from the book, "10 Writing Truths" on my publisher's website, and more. For now, take a look at the rapturous author, holding her FIRST BOOK, 10 years ago!

More about The Gargoyle in My Yard on this Blog
More about The Lost Gargoyle Series

Next Week, April 8: I'll post a reading of Chapter 4, MOONLIGHT DANCE

Kids dance the gargoyle shuffle in North Bay

Kids often ask me what it is that I like best about being an author. Watch this video, it's the best answer I can give. That's me playing the Gargoyle Shuffle in North Bay on April 29th, 2014, at the Near North Forest of Trees Festival. My third book, The Gargoyle at the Gates, was the Silver Birch Express Regional Winner up there, and as you can see, we all had lots of fun. Many thank you's to my friend Rebecca Upjohn for the video expertise.
Here are links to more articles about the great time:
North Bay Nugget article
Nipissing News article
Moose Call Challenge

Highest praise ever from a grade 5 reader: "I would pick the book over candy"

I had a fantastic school visit today in Clarkson, Ontario. A wonderful teacher and her grade 5 students made me feel SO welcome. They had just finished reading my Silver Birch Express nominated book, the Gargoyle at the Gates. First, they made these fantastic gargoyle statues.Then, they gave me pictures of gargoyles they had drawn, along with their thank you notes, which were AWESOME. And as if that weren't enough, they also choreographed the gargoyle shuffle, and 2 different groups danced while I played guitar. Could NOT stop smiling. A great day. Thank you Ms. Walker!

The international debut of the Gargoyle Shuffle

The author talking about gargoyles at York Woods Library

Last week I did an author visit at York Woods library in Toronto, to about 200 children from local schools.
I love doing library and school visits, since the eagerness of 9-12 year olds is infectious. We had a bit of a wait for everyone to gather, so I took the time to launch the gargoyle shuffle! I got twelve students up on stage with me, and we danced to my music. It was fun, I wish I could show you images, but due to privacy issues we can't. Still, imagine if you can, what that would look like. And here's what it sounded like: the Gargoyle Shuffle. Enjoy!

Biggest gargoyle ever!