Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "jake-and-the-giant-hand"

It being Friday the 13th, and a full moon and all today (which won't happen again for decades until 2049 or something), you may want to read something spooky this weekend.

So here's a spooky middle grade short story of mine just published in the summer issue of Taddle Creek! It's an adapted excerpt from my upcoming book, Jake and the Giant Hand, coming from Dundurn Press September 2014.

Huge flies, a lonely cabin in the woods, and a giant creepy hand ... I give you, The Giant's Knock: http://www.taddlecreekmag.com/the-gia...

Enjoy!

It's a bit of a hall of mirrors in goodreads sometimes, but if you like magic realism and middle grade novels, here's a newsflash for you: right now you can request, read and review a digital copy of my forthcoming novel, Jake and the Giant Hand.

It's available on Net Galley for a limited time (probably a week?) here: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/sho...

If you like, you can read more about the book on my other blog, here:
http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/07/...

If you request a copy, thank you and I hope you enjoy it!

I've been away a bit, "remembering my summertimes," as Stuart Little famously said. I came back to a few nice surprises, namely more good reviews for my new book, Jake and the Giant Hand, plus a guest post on my publisher's blog, about what it felt like to receive my first award nomination.

A quick excerpt from the guest post: "I simply couldn’t believe it. I had to re-read the letter from the nominating committee about thirty times until it very, very slowly, sunk in. I don’t generally need that long to get the gist of something, but for several minutes I simply couldn’t grasp what I was reading. Eventually though, I did catch on. I got out of my chair and danced around my office, then through the house. Keeping the news quiet until the shortlist was officially announced was like trying not to let anyone see me breathe, or blink."

For more about Jake and the Giant Hand, and what makes authors dance around like nine-year-olds, here is my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/08/...

"The tale has a great ending with a clever wrap-up that will keep readers wondering."

My newest middle grade book, Jake and the Giant Hand , has just received a terrific review from the School Library Journal in the US. Shawna Daigle's wonderful illustrations are also lauded.

I'm really delighted about this, and quite honoured. Thank you, SLJ! Also chuffed to see that Neil Gaiman's newest book, Hansel & Gretel, is also reviewed in the same issue. Mr. Gaiman is a writer I've loved for years, long before I became a writer myself.

Here's a link to my other blog, with more on the review (and Neil Gaiman): http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/09/...

Here's the Goodreads hall of mirrors again, but if you'd like to enter to win a copy of my upcoming middle grade creepy story, Jake and the Giant Hand, just click here: http://bit.ly/1qMK6au

The good folks at Dundurn Press are offering up 5 copies to be won on a Goodreads Giveaway, so if you're interested please request a copy. The offer expires Oct 10, so do it now while you're thinking about it.

The wonderful illustrations by Shawna Daigle (how can an artist make a huge fly both adorable AND creepy?) are worth the effort!

Good luck, hope you win, just in time for Halloween.

"I really enjoyed your book. It really was my taste. It was mysterious, adventurous, and creepy. I loved the giant flies. Sometimes I just sit on a hot summer day on my porch and let the flies land on me." 11-year-old fan

Last night I went to the TD Children's Literature Awards at the Carlu in Toronto. A wonderful night, and congrats to all the winners! Sometime during the joyful mayhem, a dedicated and sweet librarian from Northern Ontario found me and gave me two fan letters from 11-year olds who had just read Jake and the Giant Hand.

This is the best part of being a children's author, my friends. Having librarians hand-deliver fan letters from kids far away. Wow. Thank you to organizations like TD for promoting and celebrating Canadian children's books. And thanks to librarians everywhere for working so hard to get the word out and into the hands of young readers. I felt like I'd just received a letter from the pony-express. The librarian-express. Librarians rock the world.

Here's a longer blog post: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/11/...

Here it is, the last day of 2014. Facebook recently sent me a compilation of photos of my year (which always creeps me out), but did remind me that 2014 has been a fantastic year for me. Thank you to readers, fans, voting committees, librarians, and Dundurn, my publisher, I'm very, very lucky and grateful for all the support from everyone this year.

A quick rundown: 2 book launches, 6 award nominations, 2 author tours, 1 magazine excerpt, and contracts signed for 2 more books. It's going to be a tough year to beat!

Here's a link to a longer blog post about 2014, the fantastic year that was: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/12/...

Happy New Year, one and all!

Have you ever been on a never-ending car drive, and as the minutes turn to hours turn to days ... you start to see things outside the window. Things that no one else can see, of course.

Scarecrows waving goodbye?

Birds spelling the word "beware" as they fly past in formation?

Monsters striding along the highway?

If you love YA horror stories, I think you'll enjoy my new book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series, following Jake and the Giant Hand . Introducing Myles and the Monster Outside, a paranormal road trip horror story for kids 9-12. Accompanied by 6 creepy and adorable illustrations by Shawna Daigle, I hope you check it out!

Please request an ARC for review from my publisher, Dundurn Press.

Here's more information, and a first peek at the fantastic cover! http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/01/...

Review copies now available!

If you'd like to review Myles and the Monster Outside, my newest creepy middle grade horror story and book 2 in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, you can now request an E/ARC on NetGalley: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

You can also request a traditional print ARC from my publisher, Dundurn Press. Here's a longer blog post with more info and a very cute review for book 1 in the series, Jake and the Giant Hand, from a grade 4 reviewer: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/05/...

Enjoy!

"A carefully written Goosebumps ... a shivery spook tale."

Well, thank you Kirkus Reviews for the nice things you wrote about Myles and the Monster Outside, my forthcoming book from Dundurn Press (Sept. 2015). This is book 2 in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, following big brother Jake and the Giant Hand (Sept. 2014).

My children read R.L. Stine until our books fell apart, so to be compared to the classic middle-grade horror franchise of Goosebumps is a real honour, thank you!

Here's a longer blog post about the review:
http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/07/...

Here is Myles and the Monster Outside on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

The book E/ARC is up on NetGalley here if you're a member and care to peruse: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Enjoy!