Enter if you DARE!

There's only one more day left to enter Tundra Books' Alison Dare photo contest! You could win signed copies of Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures and Alison and the Heart of the Maiden, plus bookmarks, pins, stickers, and become a card-carrying member of the exclusive Double Dog Darer's Society!

Details on how to enter can be found here.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the "Alison Around the World" gallery.

Come on, we dare you! We double dog dare you!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Ten

It's the end of the road for the Double Blog Dare Tour! Today's bloggers help us finish strong. First stop on our last day: Connecticut. Chick with Books calls Alison Dare "kid friendly, and adult enjoyable." She then takes Alison on a search for a Giant Matted Hare!

Next stop: New York City. Pop Culture Junkie brings Alison along with her to Book Expo America. She writes, "I love, love LOVE the illustration style" [of the books] and Alison loved, loved, LOVED hanging out with her in the Big Apple.

Meanwhile, Little Willow interviews yours truly and J. Bone for her Bildungsroman blog.

Finally, the tour concludes where it all pretty much started: Portland. Alison's favorite uncle who's not a spy, Jamie S. Rich, takes us back to a fateful convention, recounts not-so-secret origins, and then takes Alison ghostbusting, appropriately enough, in a bookstore.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did on the Double Blog Dare Tour. If you missed any of the stops along the way, you can always visit them here.You can also follow the continuing adventures of #AlisonDare on Twitter by following @jtorrespants, @TundraBooks, and our daring bloggers.

There's more Alison Dare to come, but in the meantime I'd like to thank all the plucky participants of the tour (and their kids, pets, and significant others who lent a hand, paw, or helped take a picture or two). Super special thanks to our publicist the sensational Sylvia Chan for organizing and managing this online tour. Lastly, thank YOU, daring readers for joining us on these adventures!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Nine

The penultimate day of the tour saw Alison Dare chasing after the dastardly Baron Von Baron! Naturally, she first searched for him in the motherland Germany... but he easily evaded Alison because she didn't know her way around Frankfurt! Luckily, Alison's uncle Johnny Dare, the international super spy, sent the mysterious Secret Agent Lenore to help her. Lenore was able to track the Baron who fled to the United States. Alison caught up with the big, bad Baron in Pennsylvania where he used an evil clone of Alison against her! Fortunately, another spy friend of Johnny's, Science Agent Yan, was able to aid Alison's escape from the clone. She was then directed to Special Agent Staggs in the Magnolia State. Although, that turned out to be a dead end (no pun intended), Alison helped Staggs solve the case of the Mississippi Mummy! But of all the places in the world, Alison did not foresee finding and finally capturing the Baron in a secret hideout... in the basement of a librarian! Wait till her dad hears about this.

You can continue following the adventures of #AlisonDare on Twitter. Join @TundraBooks, @jtorrespants, and our daring bloggers there. Don't forget to enter the Alison Dare photo contest (follow the links above for some great examples) details of which can be found here. And return to this page tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of the Double Blog Dare Tour!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Eight

Here's what happened on day eight: Hayley, daughter of Ms. Bookish, gave us our second "fan film" of the blog tour, "Alison Dare vs. the Halogen Light Monster." Alison kicks bulb in it! Nice work, Hayley. Look out, Tim Burton.

The fun continued on the blog of artist Gerald Garcia, where he posted coloring pages you can download! He also posted other Alison sketches he drew, plus a mock cover (see left).

Next, My Ever  Expanding Library expands on the legend that is Alison Dare by taking her on a trip to the land of giants! Check out those great photographs of Alison on her adventure.

Lastly, my buddy Sean "Cheeks" Galloway posts his take on Alison Dare on his popular art blog. Sean and I worked on Teen Titans Go a few years back, and we're now jamming on his Bastion's 7 creation.

Only two days left on the tour! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Seven

In case you missed it, yesterday was day seven of the Double Blog Dare Tour with Alison Dare. Our bloggers got super creative with their contributions to the tour. Lavender Lines shared her own daring adventure presented in photographs called The Case of the Pharaoh’s Cat! Over at Just One More Paragraph, Miss B. shares photographs of her own which recount an attempt to interview Alison while on a leisurely hike in the woods - but she quickly discovers "leisurely" is not in the Daring Dictionary! Meanwhile, Books and Literature for Teens (BLT) proves a bit more successful with the interview thing as they posts their Q&A with the more leisurely yours truly.

Remember, you too can take Alison on an adventure and take pictures of said adventure, and you could win one of three Alison Dare prize packs, including copies of the books! For details on the "Alison Around the World" contest, please visit this page. I double dog dare you to enter!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Six

Yesterday was day six of the Double Blog Dare Tour! I'm posting this a day late because I've been out of town. But in my absence, the terrific reviews continue to roll in...

 
Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading writes:

"Torres’ writing is playful, with occasional pop culture references. (The older reader will recognize quotes from such sources as Superman and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.) It’s his humor that gives Alison Dare its unique twist. Many kids dream of magical adventures, and Alison’s experiences fill that desire nicely."

The Shelf Elf has this to say:

"Alison Dare was nominated for an Eisner Award in the Best Title for a Younger Audience category, and I can see why. The books make a neat package, with fast-moving story-lines that will have you turning the pages and laughing too. They are a tad tongue-in-cheek, almost poking fun at the adventure-genre, which adds an interesting layer."

Over at A Journey of Books, we come across the best description of Alison on the tour thus far:

"Alison Dare is the kind of character you want to read about after a particularly depressing day at work or any time you're feeling a bit low. She is spunky and full of pep; practically like caffeine in a book. I loved her and can't wait until I get to introduce my daughter to her..."

More from the blog tour tomorrow! In the meantime, you can follow #AlisonDare, @TundraBooks, @jtorrespants, and our daring bloggers on Twitter. And on't forget about Tundra Books' Alison Dare photo contest which you can enter here.

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Five

We close out the first week of the Double Blog Dare Tour with some nice reviews...

Bryan of Sequential writes:

"The stories are fun mash-ups of adventure, humour and classic Blue Beetle comics..."

Anna at BookNerds.net calls the Alison Dare books:

"I would definitely recommend these to parents with pre-teen/early teen-aged girls who want to fuel their kids imagination and their thirst for adventure."

Kris the Cajun Book Lady and mom reports:

"These are a good introduction to comics for kids. They brought back memories for me also..."

Marci, another mom, at Serendipitous Readings agrees:

"These graphic novels are appropriate for kids between the ages of 8 and 11 years of age!"

Thanks to all of the participants of the tour this past week for a job well done! See you all on Monday for the Double Blog Dare Tour: Week Two!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Four

We're on day four of the blog tour! It's Alison's Adventures Across America today. Our intrepid little adventurer's travels take her from the Hawaiian islands to Ashland, Oregon and across the Heartland by train to the deserts of Arizona. Along the way, she gets three thumbs up from sisters Michelle, Leslie, and Aubrey and a hearty recommendation from a monster lover who says "fans of The Mummy (1999, Brendan Fraser) and The Incredibles (2004), covert operations officers, people who like genies" will also like our books. Finally, venturing through the looking glass, Alison also finds a wonderful review of "Little Miss Adventures."

Tomorrow wraps up our first week of the Double Blog Dare Tour. Be there.

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Three

It's day three, Wendy Lee! Today on the blog tour, Alison Dare travels to fantastic places and teams up with heroes both mighty and mopey: First, she joins forces with fellow kid heroes Jack Hammer and Power Mariah to battle renegade robots! Then, Alison is off to merry ol' England to team-up with a very old teenager! Next, the never-ending battle between good and evil takes Alison to a galaxy, far, far away! Finally, Alison crosses the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard to meet the God of Thunder himself!

Whew. What an adventurous day! More to come tomorrow, so please stay tuned. In the meantime, you can follow #AlisonDare, @TundraBooks, @jtorrespants (that's me!), and our daring bloggers on Twitter!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day Two

It's day two, Daring-dos! The first stop on the blog tour today has an 8YO aspiring adventurer interviewing Little Miss Adventures herself. Our intrepid interviewer and her mom also contribute a "Why Girls Would Love Alison Dare" top ten list. Meanwhile, Kristen the Librarian from Illinois blogs, "I believe that both boys and girls will love these graphic novels..." and ten-year old John-John proves her right on his mom's blog where he writes, "I liked the story; it didn’t matter that the book was full of girls!" Thanks, John-John! Lastly, the Frenetic Reader (a high school sophomore responsible for the picture you see here) attests to our all-ages appeal, "The Alison Dare series is definitely geared for a younger audience, but I very much enjoyed them."

After visiting today's bloggers, don't forget about Tundra Books' Alison Dare photo contest which you can enter here.

See you tomorrow!

Double Blog Dare Tour: Day One

It's on like Ali-son! The Double Blog Dare Tour, that is. Open Book Toronto kicks things off for us with a series of photographs called "Alison's Adventures with Open Book"! Then we hop on over to Halifax, Nova Scotia where Rachelle Goguen posts more photos and writes that the Alison Dare graphic novels are, "...fantastic for young readers, especially for young girls whose imaginations don’t start and end in a Disney Princess castle." Next, it's a quick stop in Quebec for a mother and son review at Cindy's Love of Books. Finally, we swoop on over to Santa Barbara, California where I am interviewed on Helen's Book Blog.

Keep an eye on this page as well as the Tundra Books blog for updates! The Double Blog Dare Tour continues tomorrow! Be there!