Shiver-by-the-Sea 1: Bella and the Vampire

For fans of Eerie, Elementary, Bailey School Kids, and The Notebook of Doom, the first book in a magical, spooky new chapter book series about friendship, community restoration and involvement, and helping your neighbors . . . even if some of them may be monsters.

Bella Gossi just moved from New York City to the Massachusetts beach town of Shiver-by-the-Sea to live with her Uncle Van. Bella’s excited about helping her mom fix up the old movie theater, but she’s already missing her old home and her old friends, and just driving through downtown, it’s pretty clear that this place has seen better days.

After meeting Cooper and his adorable basset hound, Casper, things start looking up. But when mom tasks them with clearing out an old trunk from the theater and picking the first movie they’ll show, that’s when the trouble begins. Out of the trunk pops a bat! But not just any bat . . . a kid vampire. A very hungry, very scared kid vampire, who’s lost and doesn’t know how to get home to his family. 

Bella and Cooper are a little frightened at first, too, but soon they’re on a mission to help Bram find his way home, because that’s what real friends do.

Erin Dionne is well-established in the middle grade humor space, beginning with her debut, Edgar Award finalist, Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking. Her books for middle grade and tweens include Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, and Notes from an Accidental Band Geek, among others. She’s also written two picture books. Captain’s Log: Snowbound, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler, which received a starred review from Kirkus, and Balletball.

Erin is a school visit queen, teaches writer’s workshops, is a strong promoter, and active in the New England Writer’s community (an area rich in indies). Shiver-by-the-Sea would be her first venture into chapter books.

She teaches at Montserrat College of Art and lives outside of Boston, not too far from Salem (which Shiver-by-the-Sea is loosely modeled on) with her husband and two children.