Philippa Dowding's Blog, page 6

OCULUM is Highly Recommended by CM Magazine

Well-written and an imaginative description of a future world struggling to survive, Oculum ends on a positive note, and the book should appeal to both boys and girls in search of adventure. -- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

What a great review for my new middle grade dystopia, thank you CM Magazine!

For more on OCULUM and a link to the entire CM review, visit my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/search/...

E for EXCELLENT for Alex and The Other!

ALEX AND THE OTHER gets an "E" for "Excellent" from Resource Links Magazine!

There's no tougher time for an author than that (seemingly endless) time between the publication date of your book, and the first reviews. SO, MANY MANY thank yous to those readers who have already read and reviewed Alex and The Other here on Goodreads.

And now I'm also honoured to say that the book has just received an "E" rating from Resource Links magazine (stands for "Excellent"), their highest rating.

AND, as if that isn't enough, they've also listed the book as part of the Summer Highlight Tween Reading list, so the review is online all summer!

Go read the full review here now: http://journal.canadianschoollibrarie...

For a longer blog post, with links to the book trailer (with illustrations by series illustrator Shawna Daigle), the FREE teacher's resource guide for using the book in the classroom, and more reviews, click here: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2018/06...

Happy summer reading, everyone!

An Earth Day Book Birthday for OCULUM!

Happy Book Birthday to my new middle-grade, environmental dystopia: OCULUM is now available everywhere and its birthday is today, which also happens to be Earth Day.

Which is interesting, because the story is about a near future Earth, where humanity has survived plague, collapse and environmental disaster. Specifically, pollinators have all died off and there are no fruit trees anymore -- and who wants to live in a world without peaches?

Why is the book called OCULUM? What's it mean anyway? Were there specific challenges writing a middle-grade dystopia vs. a dystopia for young adults? What's the difference? What other middle-grade dystopias are there to recommend?

All that and more on my tell-all blog post today. Happy Book Birthday! http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/04/...

Happy Book Birthday to ALEX AND THE OTHER!

Blow out the candles! My newest book, Alex and The Other, is coming out on March 31/2018!

It's been a while coming, 18 months have passed since the last book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series was published. That was Carter and the Curious Maze in August, 2016.

Since then, the series has won an award--Myles and the Monster Outside won 2017 OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book-- and been nominated for a few more.

All to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX AND THE OTHER, welcome to the world!

Here's a longer blog post about the book, why I wrote about an evil twin, loneliness (which I think is an under-represented theme in middle grade fiction) and a boy whose best friend is his cat: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/03/...

Introducing OCULUM, a middle grade dystopia!

Hey Goodreads, SO HONOURED to introduce OCULUM, my new middle grade dystopia, coming from Dancing Cat Books this spring, 2018!

Here's the back cover copy:

“William, you cannot go out that door. You have no idea what’s out there. If there IS anything out there!”

So says Miranda1 to William1 in their perfect, domed world of Oculum. They are the oldest children of the one thousand chosen, raised by robot Mothers, taught to read, write and tend the fruit trees, but in a closed world without love or freedom.

Then one day, William1 finds a hidden door. What awaits Outside?

A destroyed ancient city of rubble, where orphaned children like Mann and Cranker live rough with only Grannie to feed and protect them. It’s a world without beauty or fruit trees, plagued with death and hunger.

But change is coming, if only Miranda1 and William1 can find the way out of Oculum …"

OCULUM is available April/18. For media contact and preview copies, contact:
http://cormorantbooks.com/dcb/oculum/

TO PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.ca/Oculum-Philippa...

The Realities of Middle School Life

"The realities of middle school life combined with a creepy mystery adventure story make Alex and The Other a fun and fast-paced tale that fans of spooky stories will enjoy. RECOMMENDED"

Thanks CM Magazine! What a great review for my next book, Alex and The Other, book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series. Book 2 in the series,
Myles and the Monster Outside, won the OLA Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honour Book award last year.

If you love middle-grade horror stories, in particular stories about EVIL TWINS, you'll love this one! Alex is a lonely boy, not exactly bullied but not exactly popular either, and one day he meets his doppelganger, who slowly replaces him at school then at home.

Shy, quiet Alex needs help. Who can he turn to? And more importantly, who is the real Alex,
anyway?

Watch for this great new weird story, Alex and The Other, coming from Dundurn Press, March 2018.

Here's a longer post about the review: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/02/...

Alex and The Other DEBUTS at the OLA SuperConference

If you're going to the Ontario Library Association SuperConference in Toronto this week (Feb 1-3), then come and grab your free copy of my next book, Alex and The Other! It's the next book in the award-winning middle-grade horror series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong.

When: Thursday Feb. 1/2018
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Where: Dundurn Booth, Exhibitor's Hall, Metro Convention Center

I'll be signing a box o' books, and handing out bookmarks along with my wonderful series illustrator, Shawna Daigle.

Hope to see you there!

Here's the #booktrailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBT0d...

Here's a longer blog post about the event: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/01/...

Top 5 blog posts in 5 years of blogging? Monsters, music and memoir

As December 2017 draws to a close, I realize that somehow I've been blogging (on my other blog) for 5 years. I've written about my books and about writing. I've posted poetry, music, photos of my kids, my dog, or sunny images from a summer of sailing. In total I've posted 275 times, an average of 55 posts a year, or pretty much once a week. For a relatively reserved and quiet person, who knew I had so much to say?

Here's the blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/12/...

So, what does it all add up to? Did it sell more books? Possibly, but who knows. Did it draw new fans? Maybe. Was it fun? Yes. Will I keep doing it? For a while, anyway.

Monsters, music and memoir. And what were the top 5 blog posts (by views) in those 5 years?

Number five was a memoir about the Christmas Eve that my brother pulled a prank that turned into one of the defining moments of my early life. Number four was a memoir about the time when I was eleven and almost died from measles. The third most popular post was about my first guitar album.

But the number one post in 5 years of blogging? A KIRKUS REVIEW of my book Myles and the Monster Outside : http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/07/...

For a longer blog post about the top 5 (plus 5 more) posts from 5 years of blogging, and a few thoughts about blogging in general: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/12/...

Thanks for all the reading!

Win a copy of Alex and The Other!

Beware tall strangers whispering in the trees.
Beware the haunted bathroom mirror at school.
But most of all ... BEWARE THE OTHER!

Win an ARC copy of my next book, Alex and The Other (forthcoming from Dundurn Press, March 2018)! It's book four in the award-winning series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, middle-grade horror for kids in grades 3-6.

An evil twin story with a twist, enter the Goodreads Giveaway now: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Hurry, contest ends Friday November 17/2017, at midnight!

For a longer blog post about the contest: https://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/11...

When authors and editors write music together

Once in a while I do something other than write books. Okay, actually maybe I do something as well as write books.

This week, my long-time editor and musical collaborator, Allister Thompson, and I have produced our second guitar album.

Please give a listen to Birches on the Free Music Archive: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Phi...

You'll find eight guitar pieces, lots of finger picking, sometimes lighthearted, like Sequined Mountain Ladies, and sometimes pretty creepy, like the Lovecraft-inspired, Mountains of Madness. Also, if you've ever wanted to hear an Ethereal Folkie sing about loss, you'll want to check out Moonlight, in which I sing my heart out.

For a longer blog post about my latest musical endeavour, read: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/10/...

Enjoy!