Author Interview with Simon Rose

My guest today is Simon Rose, author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children and young adults. Simon’s books include The Alchemist's Portrait, The Sorcerer's Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic's Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and the recently published Future Imperfect.  

Tell us about your latest novel.

Future Imperfect is an exciting technology-driven adventure featuring teenage geniuses, corporate espionage, and mysterious messages. In the novel, we’re introduced to Andrew Mitchell, who 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.

This sounds very exciting. Why do you think kids will enjoy Future Imperfect?

The story will appeal to all young readers for whom technology plays such a large role in their lives, whether it’s cell phones, laptops, tablets, gaming, or the online world, but it’s also a very compelling adventure story, with lots of cliffhangers, twists, and turns. There might even be a couple of sequels, but we’ll wait and see what the future holds, I guess.

Where can people buy the book?

Future Imperfect is available at local bookstores, online at Amazon Canada, Amazon USA, Indigo/Chapters, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, and other locations, and autographed copies can also be purchased directly from me via my website.

Future Imperfect is very much in keeping with the themes you’ve explored before in science fiction and fantasy, but very different to your last novel.

Yes, my previous novel, Flashback, is a paranormal adventure involving psychic phenomena, ghosts, imaginary friends, mind control experiments, secrets, conspiracies, and time travel with a difference. The story was inspired by numerous ghost stories, books, and movies about psychics and the paranormal, past lives and hypnosis, and the concept of going back into your own life armed with your current knowledge to somehow attempt to change the previous course of events, for better or worse. Flashback has two sequels coming out in 2017, one in the spring and the third installment in the summer.

Is all of your work for young adults?

In addition to the novels, I’ve written more than 80 nonfiction books for children and young adults, but have also written books for adults. These include The Children's Writer's Guide, The Working Writer's Guide, The Social Media Writer's Guide, School and Library Visits for Authors and Illustrators, and Exploring the Fantasy Realm. These titles are all available as ebooks or as paperbacks. I’m also a contributing author to The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction and have written some picture books for younger readers.

What do you do to promote yourself and your books?

I’m in all the usual places online and on social media but I’m also active in the local writing community. I conduct book signings at bookstores on a regular basis in Calgary, most often at Indigo Signal Hill, Chapters Crowfoot, and Chapters at Shawnessy. This spring I’m also at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo and will be connecting with readers at schools and libraries in Montreal and Quebec City during Children's Book Week.

What other work do you do?

I work as an instructor for adults at Mount Royal University and the University of Calgary. These classes and courses focus on writing for children and young adults or preparing your work for publication. I also offer coaching and editing services for writers in all genres and conducts online writing courses, such as Writing for Children and Young Adults and Writing Historical Fiction. I write screenplays, articles for magazines, and offer copywriting services for websites, blogs, social media, and businesses.

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

You can visit my website at www.simon-rose.com or subscribe to my newsletter, which goes out once a month and has details of my current projects and upcoming events. 

Thank you Simon for a great interview and telling us about your books! Can't wait to read your latest novel Future Imperfect!

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Reading by the Fire with The Adventurers Troll Creek

The Adventurers Troll Creek Reading by the Fire

The Adventurers Troll Creek -- Book Trailer

The Jason Galka Show: Mackenzie Reide

SCBWI Metro NY Chapter and New School Agent Panel 2014

I often moonlight as an editor for the SCBWI Metro NY Chapter Blog. For those interested in the world of literary agents. Here is an article from our annual agents panel by Adria Quiñones.

This article is reposted from SCBWI Metro NY Chapter Blog

The November Professional Series agents panel, always a sold-out event, was for the first time presented jointly with the New School’s Writing for Children MFA program and held at the New School. Each agent on the panel gave a specific piece of writing advice; afterwards, they fielded questions on submitting manuscripts (a book should be as good as you can make it), query letters (do your research, proofread your letter and don’t forget the hooks) and the life of an agent.

Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary Media: ”Two pieces of advice”

Show, don’t tell.

While this rule is often quoted as a narrative technique, Townsend applied it to the story’s emotional underpinning. “When I became an agent, I expected to see terrible manuscripts, but for the most part, I see a lot of manuscripts that are good–but they are only good. You want yours to be better.”
What makes the difference is the author’s ability to connect the reader to the character. “I often see great voice, great concept, great pacing, but I have trouble connecting to the character emotionally–the character is almost held at a distance, and then it’s hard to feel like you want to follow this person.” Emotion has to be appropriate to the age group, authentic to the character and integrated into the story. “Make sure you have a balance between what the character tells in their voice and what you show through the character’s actions.”

Keep those pages turning.

Townsend recounted how Stephen King gives his drafts to his wife to read and then marks every spot where she puts the book down. “You want to make the reader stay up until 4:00, to forget to eat.” Her suggestions:

• Get in late, get out early.
  “If you wrote this up, you wouldn’t start with when we walked through the door; you’d start with the start of the panel.” (Point taken.)
• Don’t repeat conversation or details that we already know.
• End every chapter with a cliffhanger.
  Leave the reader wanting to know what happens next.

Heather Alexander, Pippen Properties: “Avoid rhetorical questions”

“I see these all the time, even in query letters. I always want to say, ‘We already know that!’”
Alexander illustrated the worst pitfalls of rhetorical questions and gave a suggestion for what to do instead: “Trust your reader to follow your breadcrumbs. Let them find their way. Without the questions, your reader may not know what’s going on, but that’s perfect.” Remember, cliffhangers are good.  “Did I get my point across?”

Alexander Slater, Trident Media Group: “Be economical, be urgent, be unforgettable”

“A strong opening is the first, best way to capture your reader, whether it’s a kid, agent or editor,“ Slater said. “That doesn’t have to mean a ticking time bomb, whizzing bullets or a runaway train. Start with the most interesting moment of the action, to tease the reader and keep them wanting more.”
 “The opening is like a short story—it has to stand on its own. And it should hint at the ending.” It also has to contain the other elements that editors and agents are looking for: originality, sympathy and a hook.

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Adria Quiñones finished her middle-grade coming-of-age literary mystery, The Disappeared, last Friday night. She was a winner of the SCBWI 2013 Midwinter Conference’s prestigious joke contest. By day, Ms. Quiñones is a technical writer and author of the blog, Insidious Intent.

Meet My Character Blog Tour

After many folks have asked, 'Why don't you start a blog?" I finally acquiesced.

Thank you to Patricia Keeler for your gentle poke in the right direction, and the invitation for joining a character blog tour! Patricia is a wonderful author and illustrator who loves to draw scrappy little girls who hang backwards over swings, excel at watermelon seed spitting contests and whip around at high speeds on their scouters. These are girls after my own heart! My own characters, Dana, Amy and Jack love to ride their mountain bikes through the woods of Troll Creek and aren't afraid to plunge their bikes into deep muddy waterholes. I know our characters would get along great! As do Patricia and I!

Patricia and I meet through the New York Metro Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and became friends as well as colleagues.

You can learn more about Patricia and her wonderful characters at Patricia's website and her blog.

Now onto the Character Blog Tour - Let's meet Dana, Amy and Jack in The Adventurers Troll Creek

Who is your main character?

Troll Creek focuses on Dana Redding. She is 12 years old with jet black hair and green eyes. She lives in the city with her mom. Her dad died when she was three so it has just been the two of them. Dana likes being on her own and doesn’t mind when her mom works long hours as a research librarian. Recently, her mother began dating again and before Dana knew it, her mom announced she was getting remarried. This set off a chain of events leading Dana to Troll Creek to meet her soon to be stepsiblings, Amy and Jack.

Who is Amy?

Amy Munro lives in Troll Creek with her younger brother, Jack. Amy has straight blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She loves to ride her mountain bike everywhere and knows all the trails around Troll Creek like the back of her hand.

Amy just turned 13. All the candles on her birthday cake were shaped like different rocks. Amy loves rocks and wants to be a geologist like her mom. She carried dynamite in her day pack until her mom confiscated it. That was a drag, so now she collects rocks using her mom’s old rock hammer and keeps them on the dining room table.

Amy is grappling with the reasons behind her parent’s divorce and the fact her dad wants to marry someone new. She devises a plan to bring Dana out to Troll Creek hoping to make her life as miserable as possible.

Who is Jack?

Jack Munro is Amy’s younger brother. He’s 11 but small for his age. He’s famous in Troll Creek for his unique sandwiches. He has the same blue eyes as his sister, but his eyes are softer. He likes to avoid conflict while Amy does everything with brute force.

Jack knows the reason behind his parent’s divorce in spite of Amy trying to hide it from him. He’s upset about what happened but keeps everything bottled up. All of this is connected to his mysterious heart condition that is a guarded secret between him and Amy.

Where is the story set?

The story takes place in and around an old Irish mining town called Troll Creek. The mine was shut down 50 years ago due to a very bad accident and economic times. Troll Creek is now a little tourist town with a rich history of the mining days, a museum, a library, a hospital and a geology field station. Troll Creek thrives on tourism and the field station. It is well known for its Sweet Shop and their homemade fruit Ice Pops.

Every summer Troll Creek comes alive with the Troll Creek festival and the geology camps. But it is most famous for the mysterious train hijacking 100 years ago and the secrets hidden in the old abandoned coal mine.

What should we know about Dana?

Dana is grappling with the aftermath of a fight at her school. It is connected to how her dad died when she was three but she is having trouble talking about it.  She knows her mom is hoping that meeting Amy and Jack will help, but Dana is feeling very reluctant to go. She is struggling with feelings of guilt about the fight and the fact she doesn’t want her mom to get remarried. She wants her mom to be happy so she is reluctant to tell her how she really feels.

Are there more books in the series?

Yes, Troll Creek is book one of a new adventure-mystery trilogy for 8 to 12 year olds. The trilogy is called The Adventurers. Book two is now available and is called The Mask of the Troll. I am currently writing book three.

For more information you can visit Dana, Amy and Jack at www.theadventurers.com