Simon Rose's Blog, page 22
October 28, 2024
How to Get Started With Your Writing
I’m honoured to now be a Contributing Editor at Write By The Sea, where you’ll find all sorts of helpful resources for writers with new materials added to the library regularly.
My first post entitled How to Get Started With Your Writing is an excerpt from my book, The Children’s Writer’s Guide, which you can learn more about here.
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October 27, 2024
Write By The Sea
I’m honoured to now be a Contributing Editor at Write By The Sea.
Suzanne Lieurance, CEO and founder of Write by the Sea and the chief Law of Attraction writing coach, is an award-winning author with over 40 published books, plus countless articles, stories, and essays for magazines, newspapers, and other print publications.
At Write By The Sea you’ll find all sorts of helpful resources for writers and new materials are added to the library regularly.
Check out Write By The Sea and learn more about all the talented writers who provide the valuable content here.
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October 25, 2024
Song of the Woods – Linda Kaye’s latest book release
My guest today is Linda Kaye, author of The Dragon Archives and Shadowlands. Linda’s latest book, Song of the Woods, will be released in December.
Linda, tell us more about the upcoming book.
Thank you, Simon.
Song of the Woods launches the four-book urban fantasy series, Symmetry of Light. Ivy Collingwood has just returned to her hometown of Wood’s End after an absence of five years. Her plan is to sell her childhood home as quickly as possible and leave Wood’s End, the place of many painful memories. The true danger, however, comes from the woods which lie beyond the house. It was someone from here who murdered her mother so many years before, and it was here that her father disappeared a few years later. When Ivy’s life is threatened, the only person she can turn to for answers is the school janitor, Jack Ross. But Jack is not all that he seems, and there are secrets that Ivy must uncover about her parents as well as herself. The question is, does she have the courage to confront the truth and does she even have a
choice?
Sounds intriguing! Many of your books have a romantic element. Is this also true of Song of the Woods?
Definitely! A lifetime of trauma has left its mark on Ivy, and she knows full well that relationships can lead to pain and hurt. When Adam, her colleague at the school where she is subbing, asks her out on a date, she begins the journey of learning to trust and recognize her own self worth.
You categorize this book as urban fantasy. Can you explain what you mean by that?
Certainly. Urban fantasy overlaps elements of our modern world with fantasy elements. The story starts out in Wood’s End, a typical North American town, but crosses into the realm of the Woods Beyond, a place of mystery and magic.
What else are you working on?
While Song of the Woods goes through the review process, I am using the time to work on Book 2 of the series, which continues Ivy’s journey. Book 2 will be released in March 2025.
Where can readers preorder Song of the Woods?
Song of the Woods is set to be released on December 10 and can be preordered through Amazon.
And where can people learn more about you and your books?
My website is www.authorlindakaye.com, where people can learn all about me.
Thanks for being my guest here today, Linda, and good luck with Song of the Woods.
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October 24, 2024
What’s it all about? An excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide
Chapter One: What is time travel?
Time travel is defined as taking place when there is movement between specific points in time. This is achieved in the same way that objects and living things move through space. In fiction, this kind of travel is made possible by the use of a time machine, device, or method. While nothing is carved in stone, I tend to think that time travel involving machinery or some kind of technology should be defined as science fiction while time travel that makes use of magic or similar methods is probably best classified as fantasy. However, these genres frequently overlap, particularly with time travel stories.
Over the years, novels, movies, and TV shows featuring time travel have included methods involving highly sophisticated machinery, scientific laboratories, various items of jewelry, wearable technology, vehicles, ancient artifacts, books, portals and doorways, dreaming, food and drink, and so many more. Time travel stories have featured journeys to the past, the future, and to alternative timelines created when previous events were changed so that they occurred differently, thus affecting what happened next in various different ways. Time travel has long been a theme in books, short stories, TV shows, and movies and shows no signs of declining in popularity anytime soon, although of course only time will tell.
A common theme in time travel tales involves someone being sent into the past by accident. When they arrive at an earlier point in history, the device or machine is somehow broken, fails to operate properly, runs out of power, is misplaced, or is stolen by the story’s villain. The reader is thus left in suspense, wondering if the heroes will be able to return safely to their own time. Of course, the reader most likely believes that the heroes will eventually escape from danger. However, the plot still has to imply that the lead characters might be marooned in the past permanently or that their lives are in jeopardy. In my time travel novels, the main characters always face serious challenges from the moment that they appear to be trapped in a dangerous historical era.
Some time travel stories simply feature an adventure in a different period in order for the characters to experience what life was like. Perhaps the character discovers an old piece of jewelry that sends them back in time when they wear it or adjust it some way. The characters then witness historical events or meet famous people. Many time travel stories concern the consequences of traveling either backward or forward through time. The idea of changing the past, either intentionally or by accident, is a common theme in science fiction and fantasy. When events that have already taken place are altered in some way, what the time traveler knew as the present day has changed when they return home. This might lead to a further adventure to restore things to what’s perceived as normal, depending on the nature of the alterations to the timeline. As you’re probably thinking already, time travel can sometimes be very complicated but the creators of these kinds of stories are aware of the potential issues at the outset and work hard to make their story entertaining, plausible, and realistic. Some stories in the genre concentrate on the paradoxes involved in time travel, such as the well-known grandfather paradox. This is when the time traveler is responsible for the death of his or her own grandfather, meaning that the traveler was never born. If this is the case then how could they have gone back in time to cause their grandfather’s death in the first place? Time travel has lots of issues like this, some of which I examine in Chapter Nine.
Time travel stories involving journeys into the past overlap with the genre of historical fiction. This kind of fiction involves stories that are set in the past. There are no firm rules, but the setting is usually at least fifty years earlier than when the story is written. The setting is a particular period in history and often includes real historical personalities. The story’s main characters are usually fictional, although the social and other conditions of the time are presented accurately. Historical fiction stories usually take place during a significant period in history. In some stories the characters are part of the events taking place but in others the events merely serve as the background to the story. In The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, the story takes place in 1483 and features the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses and the mystery of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, known as the Princes in the Tower. The princes appear in the story, as does their uncle, King Richard III, along with some other historical characters. In The Heretic’s Tomb, the story takes place during the period of the Black Death in England in the mid fourteenth century. The novel features imaginary characters but also refers to the effects of the Black Death on society, medieval medicine, and living conditions, and to some of the personalities and events of the era. In The Alchemist’s Portrait, Matthew’s time travel adventures take him to Amsterdam in 1666, the French Revolution in 1792, the American Civil War in 1865, and the Russian Revolution in 1917, all of which needed to be portrayed accurately. The Doomsday Mask has scenes that take place in Berlin in May 1945 and the characters needed to fit into that world. In Flashback, Max finds himself in the mid 1990s, not too long ago perhaps, but he still needed to inhabit an environment that’s correctly portrayed. Next, we’ll look at some of the many time travel stories that have appeared in printed form and on screen over the years.
The Time Traveler’s Guide is available as an ebook and as a paperback on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Smashwords and many other locations.
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October 19, 2024
Learn how to write effective and compelling historical fiction
Historical fiction combines the events of the past with characters and stories from the writer’s imagination.
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October 17, 2024
Freelance Writer – Mandy Eve-Barnett at Tailored and Themed to Suit
My guest today is author Mandy Eve-Barnett, who is not only a ten times published author of children’s, YA and adult novels, but also a freelance writer. Since October 2015, Mandy has utilized her versatility as a prolific blogger, an author and social media enthusiast coupled with a wide-ranging life experience from twenty-six years as a business owner, as a nursing professional, to beginning a new life on another continent to enhance her client’s requirements. Projects range from articles to industry blog posts to ghost writing and more.
Tell us about a special freelance project?
I was approached in 2023 by a large Canadian home builder to write a children’s book. This seemed to be a somewhat unusual request, until the discussions progressed and two things became evident. Firstly, the children’s book was to celebrate and honour a local person, whose contribution to the community was substantial. And secondly, that I personally knew the person in question, which made the project extra special for me.
The idea behind the book was to celebrate a local volunteer titan, Helen Lavender and for the books to be available to all new residents of the development when they moved in. In addition to the book, a park would also bear her name.
What did the project involve?
Apart from my own knowledge of Helen, I attended a couple of online meetings with the home builder project manager and Helen’s adult children. I was given a literal fountain of
accomplishments, including Helen’s volunteerism, family life and hobbies. Furnished with this information, I created a story idea to incorporate everything within a children’s narrative.
As I worked on the story, its characters and how they gain knowledge of Helen’s life, the project manager asked me to find a local illustrator and publisher; I was successful in those recommendations. It was one of the directives of the project that all sources were local.
Once the illustrator was on board, we worked together on what images would best fit the narrative and their placement within the book.
The culmination of the project was an official park opening and book launch in 2024. It was a wonderful way to acknowledge such a remarkable person, and I am honoured to have been part of it.
What are you currently working on?
On the freelance side, I have several regular clients wanting monthly articles, but I am always open to more! Projects can be as small as a new bio, or as large as a ghost written book. As for my creative writing side, I have several manuscripts in progress at various stages of completion.
If you require a writing related project please contact me through my website: https://tailoredthemedtosuit.wordpress.com/
Thanks Mandy, for being my guest here today. You will find Mandy across social media and her author website www.mandyevebarnett.com
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October 15, 2024
“An imaginary friend, a mystery, and time travel? How could I resist?”
“An imaginary friend, a mystery, and time travel? How could I resist?”
“Flashback is a fascinating Young Adult book that pushes the boundaries of imagination: the Grail for every science fiction and fantasy reader.”
“Right from the very first sentence I was engaged, and I could not wait to find out what happened next. The book was thrilling and it kept me on the edge of my seat.”
“Flashback is an action-packed adventure perfect for middle grade readers. Young readers will enjoy the plot-driven story rife with the supernatural, bad guys, evil experimentation, and time slip.”
“Seems I’ll be picking up a few of your other books quite soon! Thanks for the ride!”
“Flashback was a great book. Max and Deanna were very well developed, they made me feel like I knew them. I read this book five times, I liked it so much.”
Check out more reviews of Flashback here on my website
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October 13, 2024
New Book Release – An Untimely Death
An Untimely Death is an exciting science fiction and fantasy adventure for young adults.When Peter’s great-grandfather, Ted, passes away, Peter is looking through his belongings in the attic. Peter knows about Ted’s experiences with the Canadian Army in World War II and absentmindedly flips a coin. To his astonishment, Peter finds himself in the heat of battle in 1944, where he embarks on a highly dangerous mission to ensure that history is placed back on track.
Learn more at https://simon-rose.com/books/an-untimely-death/The post New Book Release – An Untimely Death appeared first on Simon Rose.
October 12, 2024
How to Write Great Stories for Children and Young Adults
The Writing for Children and Young Adults course focuses on writing for children aged 8 to 14 years. However some of the material also covers older and younger age groups.
Learn how to write effective, authentic, and appealing fiction for children and young adults and how to turn your ideas into compelling stories.
The course explores the writing process from initial concept to finished work including story structure, developing plausible characters and dialogue, the creation of outlines and the importance of research, editing and revision.
Further details, course content, and registration information can be found here.
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October 9, 2024
The Stone of the Seer – Where Magic and Historical Fiction Collide
The Stone of the Seer is an exciting historical fantasy series of adventure novels for young adults, primarily set in the turbulent era of the English Civil War.
“Magic and Historical Fiction Collide – This book combines historical fiction with a world of magic. It is set in the period of the English Civil War and incorporates magic, mystery and witch hunting. This book engages the reader with action and interesting characters. It is the first in a series and will leave the reader looking for book 2.”
“Royal Blood: Book two in the Stone of the Seer is even more exciting than the first story. This historical fantasy book has adventure, action and suspense. Lady Elizabeth Usborne, Kate and Tom are now in London during King Charles trial in 1649. They are still being hunted down by Daniel Tombes, the witch hunter. Their adventures continue with glimpses of the future to guide them. The reader will be left wanting more as each part of the action unfolds. I look forward to the third book, and more magical action.”
“The best finish – The final instalment in the trilogy is the best. New characters, or are they old characters? Time will tell. This story has all the elements of the previous historical fiction novels, but a new timeline. It is still loaded with mystery and intrigue. Action, adventure and mystery all rolled into one. Make sure you read these books in order and finish here with the ultimate revenge.”
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