Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "lost-gargoyle-series"

I may be the last person in the Western hemisphere to go, but I FINALLY made it to Manhattan last week. It was quite powerful, almost overwhelming. I didn't realize how much all those American icons meant to me, a Canadian, until I was on the top of the Rockefeller Centre staring down into the lego land of the city, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State and Lady Liberty all right there as I scanned the skyline.
Today, I kick off TD Children's Book Week - I have three readings, the first one today at Barbara Frum Library. I will be reading from my Lost Gargoyle books, and I know there will be an aside (or two) about the four huge gargoyles on the Chrysler building and the giant lions on the front of the NYC Central Library ... the world's a pretty magical place!

I can't tell you (dear reader) how totally honoured I am that The Gargoyle at the Gates is a starred review book in the spring edition of the Canadian Children Book Centre's (CCBC) Best Books for Kids & Teens 2013. I simply cannot believe the awesome company that my book is in!
A few of the other starred reviews this year: Arthur Slade (Hunchback Assignments, bk 4), Deborah Ellis (Parvana's Journey), Cary Fagan (The Boy in the Box), Shane Peacock (Becoming Holmes) and Gordon Korman (Ungifted).
Thanks CCBC, very very honoured indeed.

How do you become a children's author? I can't answer for anyone else, since every journey is different, but mine involved a strange antique store on Christmas Eve, and gargoyles:

http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/01/...

Enjoy!

I had a student ask me this amazing question at a classroom visit last week: what's the last book you're ever going to write?

What a stopper. I stared at the ceiling, thoughts of mortality and the blip of existence flipping through my head, thinking "how do we know when we're done anything? Life is short and most often ends abruptly." Hardly an appropriate response for a 10-year old.

What did I finally say? In a moment of clarity and companionship, I said: "I hope it's something happy, that makes other people happy, too."

I really meant it. A lovely thought, to end on a happy note, I should start that book now.

Here's my blog entry, for a fuller description:

http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/03/...

So, ask three YA authors their main rule for writing a series?

Character is king, apparently!

That, and a few other interesting things. Susan Hughes, a wonderful YA author, interviewed Moira Young, Caroline Adderson and me, about writing a YA series and posted our answers in two parts on OpenBook Toronto. Here's the link to both posts: http://www.openbooktoronto.com/writin...

And, in a banner week for me on OpenBook Toronto, they've also chosen my book trailer video for The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, as their Video of the Week (that's me playing guitar!): http://www.openbooktoronto.com/video/...

Thanks OpenBook Toronto!