Happy Monday, everyone! I can think of no better or more exciting way to welcome the beginning of a new week brimming with possibilities than with a cover reveal! Today, I have the immense pleasure of hosting the exclusive cover reveal for author, Dana Middleton, and her forthcoming middle grade sophomore release, Open If You Dare! Coming to a bookstore and library near you October 17th, 2017 from Feiwel & Friends, Open If You Dare is a thrilling mystery in which the past and present collide as three friends try to uncover the truth about a box buried years before inscribed simply with the foreboding phase, “Open if you dare.” The cover of Open If You Dare was designed by Liz Dresner. Please read on to learn more about this exciting middle grade release, including the exclusive cover reveal and a personal note from the author about the novel’s origins and inspiration, as well as an opportunity for one lucky reader to win an advance reader copy of Open If You Dare!
I got to write my first book, The Infinity Year Of Avalon James, on my own time and terms because I didn’t yet have an agent or a publisher waiting for it. Open If You Dare was different. I was writing it on a deadline. My editor was expecting it on a certain date. And even though she wasn’t literally looking over my shoulder, it was scary.
I started with a different idea altogether which wasn’t quite working so I ditched that and went back to my old dependable: childhood. I set the book in the Atlanta neighborhood where I grew up, back when kids were still free to run wild and free during the summer. There’s definitely some of that in Open If You Dare, when three best friends find a box buried by a dead girl in the 1970s and set out to solve her mystery. I enjoyed mixing their modern childhoods with my not-so-modern one. Writing this novel was in parts overcoming fear, falling in love and traveling in time. I ended up loving it.
After writing the book, I went back and visited my childhood neighborhood where Open If You Dare is set. It was different than I remembered. The streets weren’t as steep, the creek wasn’t as raging, and my house wasn’t even there anymore – torn down to make way for the flood plain. Very strange. It was a physical reminder that childhood memories make things grander and more permanent than they really are.
I’m discovering that writing for kids is a very therapeutic thing to do as an adult. It reveals what you thought was important as a child. It makes you face those fears and heartbreaks again. It shines light on things long forgotten. It lets you play pretend again. And these are just some of the things that make it so magical.
About Dana Middleton
Dana Middleton grew up in Georgia before moving to Los Angeles to work in film, television and theatre. She was a producer of an Academy Award-nominated short film, and is also a recipient of a Los Angeles Theatre Ovation Award. Her debut children’s book, The Infinity Year Of Avalon James, was published last year, and her new novel, Open If You Dare, is out this October. She lives in Hollywood with her British husband, author and screenwriter, Peter Atkins.
Title Open If You Dare
Author Dana Middleton
Pages 288 Pages
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
To Be Published October 17th, 2017 by Feiwel & Friends
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon.com ● Chapters ● The Book Depository
Like Birdie Adams didn’t have enough problems this summer. But Birdie’s Birdie. And if a long-buried box has “Open If You Dare” written on its lid, then Birdie and her best friends, Ally and Rose, are going to open it.
And now, along with everything else that’s going on – Ally’s pitching slump, Rose’s banishment to Britain, and Birdie’s annoying younger sister being, you know, annoying – the best friends are caught up in solving a mystery planted by a dead girl forty years ago.
As an extra, exciting bonus, Amanda has been kind enough to offer one lucky reader the opportunity to win an advance reader copy of Open If You Dare! This contest is open to residents of the US and the prize will be distributed once ARCs become available. Please fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter!
5 Responses
Can’t wait! “The Infinity Year of Avalon James” was a great read. Dana Middleton is one of my favorite new authors. Great family book.
So excited for this new book! My daughter and I so loved her first book. Soooo good!
I can’t wait to read this one! My fifth grade students read “The Infinity Year of Avalon James” last year, and loved it (so did I). Dana even came to visit our classroom, plus a colleague’s, which was very inspirational for the kids. With the arrival of a new novel for the new school year, I sense an author study coming up!
I am looking forward to reading a new author!
Can’t wait to read “Open If You Dare”! My daughter and I loved Dana’s first book!