Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "carter-and-the-curious-maze"

I'm honoured to announce that I'll be publishing 2 books in 2016! (Not a first, I published twice in 2014, but still very, very nice to be able to say so.)

First up is Carter and the Curious Maze, book 3 in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series (Dundurn, Aug 2016). This series has been compared to Goosebumps by Kirkus Reviews (thank you!) and to Scary Stories to Read in the Dark by other reviewers (also thank you). The other two books in that series are Jake and the Giant Hand (2014) and Myles and the Monster Outside (2015).

And the second book in 2016? A sequel to my Red Maple nominated title, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden! There's no cover yet, but the book is called Everton Miles is Stranger than Me and the new series is The Night Flyer's Handbook (Dundurn, Oct 2016). Stay tuned!

To read more, here's a link to my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/01/...

Carter and the Curious Maze: Weird Stories Gone Wrong

It's a strange day for me, a day of lasts and firsts. My daughter just finished her last day of her undergraduate degree, my son just finished his last day of high school ... and I just got my first ever 4-star review (their highest rating) from CM Magazine for my forthcoming book, Carter and the Curious Maze.

It's quite an accomplishment, considering I've had 6 other reviews from them, and while they've all been pretty good, the highest rating I've ever had before is 3.5 stars (for my first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard).

Thank you CM, for making today not only a day of lasts, but a day of firsts, too.

To read the review, and more about firsts and lasts, click to my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/06/...

Here's the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...

Happy reading!

"By turns scared, angry, and in denial, likable Carter grounds the well-plotted story. The maze is no tired narrative time-machine device; like Mr. Green, it has a spooky agenda of its own. Otherworldly illustrations, drawn with hallucinatory clarity, complement the text, enhancing the mysteries...

This original take on time-travel historical fantasy is a sure bet for young scary-story enthusiasts. (historical note) (Fantasy. 9-12)" --KirkusReviews, June 2016

Wow, what a fantastic review for Carter and the Curious Maze, my new title in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series for middle grade readers. Thanks KirkusReviews!

Here's the full review on Kirkus, if you'd like to read it: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

And here's the Goodreads page for the book (also doing pretty well there!): Carter and the Curious Maze

Finally, please enjoy the book trailer for a peek at those "otherworldly illustrations" by Shawna Daigle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...

"I was standing at the midway, with ice cream running down my arm, and noticed a small plaque next to the bandshell. It told of a 250-year-old trading fort that stood on that very spot! I'd never heard of a French trading post in my city ... the discovery added a curious historical overlay to the fair, and fired my imagination. I knew I wanted my next story to be set in a fairground."

So there you have it, the main reason I wrote my forthcoming title, Carter and the Curious Maze, was because of ice cream running down my arm, and a historical plaque! I still love fairs, and I hope you'll check out my new title which is set entirely in the creepy historical confines of a fair near you.

Here's the longer post on my other blog:
http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/07/...

"This original take on time-travel historical fantasy is a sure bet for young scary-story enthusiasts" KirkusReviews, July 2016

In the infinite Hall of Mirrors game here on Goodreads ... there are 10 copies of my forthcoming title, Carter and the Curious Maze to be won in a Giveaway!

Here's the link to the Goodreads Giveaway:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Good luck.

Here's the booktrailer for a peek at the "engagingly eerie illustrations" by Shawna Daigle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...

September always hits me hard. It's a wall of change, a breaking sea of transition... call it what you will, I know I'm not alone in the gentle melancholy that descends on me after Labour Day.

I've published my 7th book this summer, which was amazing. My kids graduated from high school and university, we removed an ancient carpet, we went sailing, plus a lot more ...

...but for me this year, and for the first time ever, both my children are out of the house at least until Thanksgiving. Today, my husband, a college teacher, is back at work for another year.

He and I have had the house completely to ourselves for a week now, and it's really hitting home. This place is QUIET, way too TIDY, and the dog is NOT a child replacement (except he kind of a little bit is).

The hardest part, or one of them, is figuring out what to cook. The leftovers are ridiculous! Cutting back from 4 people to 3 wasn't as hard as from 3 to 2 ...

Anyway, this has definitely been a summer of transition. But not all bad. I spent this morning writing a longer post on my other blog and realized, HEY, I have NO REASON to feel blue. The summer was fantastic, change is good, wear sunglasses as long as you need to!

Here's the blog post, a very personal one (rare for me), in which I take stock of the summer that was. Hope it inspires you to do the same:

http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/09/...

BOOK-LOVERS! SAVE 40% off middle-grade, YA, mystery, fiction and non-fiction, at the Dundurn Press Hotlist sale!

You can pick up a copy of Carter and the Curious Maze for just $5.99 - instead of $9.99!

Or Elle Wilde's Strange Things Done, or Kim Thomspon's Darkling Green and much, much more to love.

Don't wait, the sale is only for a few weeks.

Go to the link, use coupon code HOTLIST40, and get reading! https://www.dundurn.com/news/Take-40-...

Here's a longer blog post about the sale: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/02/...

Happy reading! (and who isn't happy getting books at 40% off?)