Simon Rose's Blog, page 219

Writing Children's Books - Classes for Adults in Calgary with Chinook Learning Services

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The Calgary Board of Education provides adult and continuing education through Chinook Learning Services. This winter, I am pleased to be offering the following classes in Calgary.
Writing Children's Books - Mondays, February 7 to March 21Examine the writing process from initial concept through to the finished manuscript, including how to turn ideas into stories, the creation of outlines, story structure, character development, the role of research and the importance of editing and revision, as well as examine ways to research and submit to publishing houses.
Register now at Chinook Learning Services.

One in a Million Collisions at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out my article entitled One-In-a-Million Collisions, at Dark Roasted Blend.
Collisions of an unusual nature were in the news in recent years, such as the story about two satellites colliding in space and two heavily armed and highly dangerous nuclear submarines colliding in the vast empty spaces beneath the Atlantic Ocean. One-in-a-million collisions, it would seem, but this article examines other such incidents, plus potential collisions with asteroids, meteors and other objects from space.
Dark Roasted Blend is among the finest locations online to find the weird, the wonderful and the fantastic, crammed with great articles, stunning photography, plus fabulous new content appears daily.

Where's My Jetpack @ Dark Roasted Blend

Check out my article Where's My Jetpack? at Dark Roasted Blend.
The jetpack, the rocket belt or rocket pack are names given to a number of different devices worn on the back that use jets of escaping gas to allow a single person to fly. Such technology has featured in movies, TV, novels, short stories and comic books for a very long time. However, despite advances in the technology, jetpacks have not turned out, so far at least, to be very practical as a mode of personal transportation. This article looks at the history of the jetpack right up to the present day. 
Dark Roasted Blend is among the finest locations online to find the weird, the wonderful and the fantastic, crammed with great articles, stunning photography, plus fabulous new content which appears daily.

Amazing Automatons: Ancient Robots and Victorian Androids - The Latest Article at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend entitled Amazing Automatons: Ancient Robots and Victorian  Androids


We say that today's rapidly changing technology is set to transform the way we live in unimaginable ways, we should remember that people thought much the same thing in earlier centuries - whether in the time of the clockwork revolution in the eighteenth century or as a result of the scientific advances of the Industrial Revolution in the Victorian era. This article takes a look at some examples of fascinating early robots and automatons, full of great engineering and wonder. 


Amazing Automatons: Ancient Robots and Victorian Androids is now published at Dark Roasted Blend, among the finest locations online to find the weird, the wonderful and the fantastic, crammed with great articles, stunning photography, plus fabulous new content which appears daily.

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Fifteen - In Conclusion

Hopefully over the last several posts, anyone involved in the teaching profession will have learned a little more about the benefits of hosting an author at your school. We've examined how you can find an author who conducts presentations and workshops and how you can choose a writer who is the most suitable guest, both for your school and for your students. The articles in this series have looked at how you might connect with an author and investigate their website, determining if they have any resources online that you might be able to utilize, such as study guides and so on. We've also discussed the financial aspects of an author visit, plus how you might help arrange an author's tour of several schools in your local area. And let's not forget the actual day of the visit, with all the things you need to do to ensure that everything goes smoothly, such as checking the audio-visual equipment, setting the schedule for the presentations, organizing any arrangements for book sales, even establishing the procedure for the payment of the author's fee. Planning and successfully conducting an author visit can't really be compared to rocket science, but it certainly requires a lot of work. And of course, these articles also explored virtual author visits by video, using Skype, when the author can visit your school from anywhere in the world. Perhaps you can't make arrangements for an author to actually visit your school, so why not make technology work for you instead? Details of my own school programs can be found on my website, and information about my virtual author visits can be accessed here. 

Autographed Books - Ideal for Christmas Gifts - Discounts Always Available

Ideal for Christmas. In addition to bookstores across Canada and around the world, you can also obtain signed copies of my books directly from me. I am always happy to sign books for my readers and to inscribe a special message. 

Full details of all my novels - The Doomsday Mask, The Heretic's Tomb, The Emerald Curse, The Clone Conspiracy, The Sorcerer's Letterbox and The Alchemist's Portrait - can be found here on my website.

Individual books are just $10 and discounts are available for those purchasing a full set of all six books. Complete the order form at www.simon-rose.com or contact me directly by e mail at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com.

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Fourteen - Virtual Author Visits

[image error] Children are almost always inspired when they meet a real life author or illustrator, but it may not always be possible to have an author visit your school. However, why not put technology to work for you? Now you can arrange a virtual author visit via video using Skype. These can be conducted with large groups in a library or gym or with individual classes. You can get an idea of what a virtual visit looks like by viewing my videos in which I talk about my books, my workshops for adults and schools, plus my various services for writers. To host a virtual author visit, it is necessary to download Skype, which is available for both Windows and Macintosh, and have a webcam. Mac users may also be able to set up a virtual author visit using iChat. Schools also need a projection screen and speakers in the library, gym or wherever the virtual visit takes place. For individual classes, it is possible to connect via laptop computers. A technical run through a few days prior is also advisable, to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the day of the visit.Ideally, in preparation for a virtual author visit, students should have read at least one of the author's books prior to the visit. Personally, I suggest the children familiarize themselves with my work by undertaking the Super Scavenger Search on my website. Teachers may also wish to download the word search puzzles related to each novel. Study guides are also available for all my novels and each book can provide teachers with a wide variety of ways to explore projects with their students and class sets of books are available.

Creative Writing for Homeschool Students at South Fish Creek Recreation Association - January and February 2011

Join me this winter for classes in creative writing especially for home school children at South Fish Creek Recreation Centre in SW Calgary. Classes take place every Tuesday, from January 4 to February 22, 2011. Registration details are available here.

Junior Adventures in Creative Writing Ages - 7 to 9
January 4 to February 22, 2011 - Get the Write Stuff In these classes, children will create their own unique stories, with great beginnings, page turning action and cliffhanger endings. Participants will create crazy characters and learn how to write effective and engaging dialogue, plus lifelike scenarios for their creations. Learn all about inspiration, story creation and more as children give full reign to their imagination as we explore the wonderful worlds of words in an exciting series of fun-filled creative writing exercises. 
Adventures in Creative Writing Ages - Ages 10 to 15
January 4 to February 22, 2011 - Spectacular Story Starters  What if you discovered a door into another universe at the back of your bedroom closet? Or a flying boy dressed all in green appeared at your bedroom window, inviting you to take a journey to a magical land? Perhaps you followed a rabbit down a hole and ended up in a bizarre underground universe? Learn where ideas come from and how writers turn them into stories. Find out how writers get ideas from pictures and paintings, craft your own sequels to your favorite movies, create alternate endings to familiar stories, and more in these classes guaranteed to provide inspiration, spark imagination, and stimulate invention
All classes commence Tuesday, January 4 and run until February 22, 2011. Registration details are available here.
Contact me directly at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com or through my website at www.simon-rose.com for details on all my programs for home school children, including online writing workshops for children and young adults.

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Thirteen - Book Sales

School visits can often involve book sales for the author and most teachers are also delighted that the author will be bringing books to sell and sign for the children while they are at the school. If the author has order forms or other paperwork and sends them to you prior to their arrival, you can take the book orders, collect the money and everything can be extremely well organized. However, some schools do have very strict policies about selling anything to the students and prohibit promotion for commercial purposes. Make sure you always confirm this kind of thing in advance to avoid any uncomfortable situations for the author when they are at the school.For my own school programs, once a visit is confirmed, I send out order forms for the books, which most schools send home with the students just prior to my arrival. A list of all books for purchase can be found here. Consequently, parents can see what sort of books are available, even visit my website, so that those children interested in getting signed copies remember to bring the correct payment while I am at the school and so avoid disappointment. However, I make it very clear that this is entirely at the discretion of the school. I do not expect to have a firm number of orders for books before I travel and always take a good supply of each title with me. I also ensure that I always ask if the school would like to purchase copies of my books for their library or if teachers are interested in class sets, usually at a discount. As with all other aspects of a successful author visit, it's always best to be prepared.

Autographed Books - Ideal for Christmas Gifts - Discounts Always Available

[image error] Ideal for Christmas. In addition to bookstores across Canada and around the world, you can also obtain signed copies of my books directly from me. I am always happy to sign books for my readers and to inscribe a special message. 

Full details of all my novels - The Doomsday Mask, The Heretic's Tomb, The Emerald Curse, The Clone Conspiracy, The Sorcerer's Letterbox and The Alchemist's Portrait - can be found here on my website.

Individual books are just $10 and discounts are available for those purchasing a full set of all six books. Complete the order form at www.simon-rose.com or contact me directly by e mail at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com.