Simon Rose's Blog, page 7

“Congratulations on a great read for kids.”

The Alchemist’s Portrait

A school trip to the art gallery at the city museum leads Matthew into an eerie meeting with Peter Glimmer, imprisoned inside his own portrait by his villainous uncle in 1666. Entrusted by Peter with recovering the one object that can save the world, Matthew is sent hurtling over 300 years into the past. Encountering magic, mayhem and murder, Matthew also has to contend with Peter’s uncle, the ruthless and seemingly immortal Nicolaas van der Leyden, at every turn, in a desperate race through time to save the future.

“Your book was great! It was one of those books where I felt as if I were in it. I loved this book and it is now one of my all-time favourites!”

“I loved it!!! It’s one of my favourite books of all time!”

“I absolutely loved your book, it was amazing.”

“Your book was awesome.”

“The book is so good I can’t STOP READING!”

Learn more about The Alchemist’s Portrait and read more reviews here on my website.

The post “Congratulations on a great read for kids.” appeared first on Simon Rose.

Editing Issues

I’m honoured to 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.

The latest post is all about editing your story. This is also an excerpt from my book The Children’s Writer’s Guide 2, and you can learn more about the post here.

The post Editing Issues appeared first on Simon Rose.

Granary Road

[image error]This weekend, I’ll be at Granary Road, just south of Calgary.

You can find Granary Road at 226066, 112 Street West, Foothills County, T1S 5S5

Please stop by and visit my table , where I’ll be signing copies of all my books.An Untimely Death – The Stone of the Seer – Royal Blood – Revenge of the Witchfinder – Shadowzone – Into The Web – Black Dawn – Parallel Destiny – Twisted Fate – Future Imperfect – Flashback – The Sphere of Septimus – The Time Camera – The Doomsday Mask – The Heretic’s Tomb – The Emerald Curse – The Clone Conspiracy – The Sorcerer’s Letterbox – The Alchemist’s Portrait

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The Time Camera

The Time Camera

The massive explosion in which Eleanor Chamberlain died at her research laboratory was widely seen as a tragic accident. Or was it the perfect crime?

Two years later, Jake and Lydia discover a mysterious camera, capable of taking pictures of the distant past and more ominously, of the future. As they uncover the shocking truth and learn of secrets that someone will kill to protect, Jake and Lydia are soon propelled into a deadly struggle to save the future.

“I just finished your book The Time Camera! I think this might be my favourite book ever!”

“With a turn of a camera knob, Albertan author Simon Rose (The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Doomsday Mask) takes readers back to the past and into the future. When Jake and Lydia have the camera in their possession, they see the impossible; Paris in the eighteenth century; a crime before it’s about to happen, and someone who’s already dead. There are no illustrations in this book, but the chapters containing excerpts from Eleanor Chamberlain’s research highlight the suspenseful moments. This story will have children thinking about the good, and bad things, that could happen in a world where time travel is possible.”

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The Sphere of Septimus

“Fast paced with vivid descriptions, creative creatures and a suspense filled plot, it’s impossible to put this book down. It is a great read for children who enjoy fantasy and science fiction books. I highly recommend it for both boys and girls. It’s a must read!”

Eric isn’t too happy when he has to spend the summer with his eccentric father, Septimus Trinket, in the backwater village of Middle Wogglehole, deep in the heart of rural Derbyshire.

In the isolated village, however, things are not quite what they seem. Eric meets Jessica, who tells him of the legends and mysterious stories that have surrounded Middle Wogglehole for centuries. When they discover Septimus’ shocking secret, Eric and Jessica are soon fighting for their lives against the forces of evil, in a world very different to their own.

The Sphere of Septimus is available as a paperback and ebook. Learn more here on my website.

The post The Sphere of Septimus appeared first on Simon Rose.

“This book has everything children and this adult love to read about. I could not put the book down.”

Future Imperfect

Andrew Mitchell was one of the leading experts in highly advanced technology in Silicon Valley, until he vanished following a car accident, which also injured his son, Alex.

When a mysterious app later appears on Alex’s phone, he and his friend Stephanie embark on a terrifying journey involving secret technology, corporate espionage, kidnapping, and murder in a desperate bid to save the future from the sinister Veronica Castlewood.

“Often stories that involve cross overs from the future are confusing and lacking in believability. Future Imperfect has none of that. It is well written and will keep the reader engaged.”

“This book has everything children and this adult love to read about. I could not put the book down until I had finished it, as the story kept me engaged until the end.  Another great story written by Simon Rose, I look forward to reading his next book.”

Learn more about Future Imperfect here on my website.

The post “This book has everything children and this adult love to read about. I could not put the book down.” appeared first on Simon Rose.

Granary Road

[image error]This weekend, I’ll be at Granary Road, just south of Calgary.

You can find Granary Road at 226066, 112 Street West, Foothills County, T1S 5S5

Please stop by and visit my table , where I’ll be signing copies of all my books.An Untimely Death – The Stone of the Seer – Royal Blood – Revenge of the Witchfinder – Shadowzone – Into The Web – Black Dawn – Parallel Destiny – Twisted Fate – Future Imperfect – Flashback – The Sphere of Septimus – The Time Camera – The Doomsday Mask – The Heretic’s Tomb – The Emerald Curse – The Clone Conspiracy – The Sorcerer’s Letterbox – The Alchemist’s Portrait

The post Granary Road appeared first on Simon Rose.

Creating a Beginning For Your Story

I’m honoured to 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.

The latest post is all about creating a beginning for your story. This is also an excerpt from my book The Children’s Writer’s Guide, and you can learn more about the post here.

The post Creating a Beginning For Your Story appeared first on Simon Rose.

What’s it all about? An excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide

“The Time Traveler’s Guide is a great resource for any writer wanting to improve their craft.”

 

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.

The post What’s it all about? An excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide appeared first on Simon Rose.

“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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