Unusual, Intriguing Water Towers at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend entitled Unusual, Intriguing Water Towers. 

Water towers can be found in many parts of the world, in all kinds of colours, shapes, sizes, decorations and designs. This time at Dark Roasted Blend takes a look at just some of these fascinating structures, from the vintage and historic to the unusual, intriguing and simply bizarre, including some water towers that have even been turned into houses.

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.

Writing for Children and Young Adults - Classes at Mount Royal University January/February

Writing for Children and Young Adults. New evening classes at Mount Royal University in Calgary from January 16 to February 20, 7 pm to 9 pm. 

Explore the process of writing books for children and young adults aged 8 to 12. Focus on structure, character development and research, and their importance in your stories. Examine how to turn a creative story idea into a marketable, finished manuscript.

Register is available here at the Mount Royal University website.

Author in Residence

For my Author in Residence program, I can be at your school for a week or longer. This allows me to cover topics in much more depth than would be possible during a regular author visit. All bookings of a full day or longer will also receive a complimentary set of my seven novels for the school library. This special offer is valid until May 31, 2013.

Each of my novels provide ideas for classroom projects and you may find some suggestions on the Study Guides page on my website. 

I have some suggestions for presentations and workshops, but am always pleased to work with teachers and librarians to build sessions best suited to your students. 

Contact me for details of fees and availability for my Author in Residence program.

School Programs - Free Books for School Libraries

I offer a variety of presentations, author in residence programs and conduct workshops for children at schools. All bookings of a full day or longer will receive a complimentary set of my seven novels for the school library. This special offer is valid until May 31, 2013.

I offer a variety of presentations for grades three to eight, but can work with grades one and two as well. I cover such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research, plus many other aspects of writing and publishing.

I will present to around one hundred students at a time, although we can also look at workshops with smaller groups or individual classes.

Each of my novels provide ideas for classroom projects and you may find some suggestions on the Study Guides page on my website. 

Contact me for details of fees and availability for school presentations.

Online Workshops for Children and Young Adults

With my Online Workshops for Children and Young Adults, through a series of e mail assignments, details of which are available here, we explore where ideas come from and how to turn them into stories, basic story structure, plot development, creating characters, developing dialogue and more to help develop writing ability. A set of workshops can be started at any time. Following registration, all assignments are sent by e mail and are completed at your own pace, to be sent to me by return e mail. There is no time limit and participants may take as long as they wish to complete their full set of workshops.

Check out Online Workshops for Children and Young Adults today.

Monster Machinery at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend entitled Monster Machinery. 

This article takes a look at some of the largest vehicles and machines ever constructed, including huge excavators, enormous tunnel boring machines, colossal trucks and massive cranes. 

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.

Writing and Publishing Your Children's Novel, University of Calgary, Saturday February 9

Writing and Publishing Your Children's Novel - Saturday, February 9

This workshop deals with getting started as a writer for young readers and the subsequent path to publication. You will examine the writing process from initial concept through to the finished manuscript, including how to turn ideas into stories, story structure, developing characters, the creation of outlines and the importance of editing and revision. You will also examine ways to research publishing houses where you can submit your work, cover letters, synopses and sample chapters.

Learn more about the Writing and Publishing Your Children's Novel workshop and how to register here

New Non-fiction Titles - U.S. Armed Forces: Marine Corps

The U.S. Marine Corps has served in every armed conflict in which the United States has been involved. Marines engage in military operations, peacekeeping missions, and provide humanitarian aid. This is an AV2 media enhanced book. A unique book code printed on page 2 unlocks multimedia content. This book comes alive with video, audio, weblinks, slide shows, activities, hands-on experiments, and much more. Published by Weigl Publishers in July, 2012.

You can learn more about U.S. Armed Forces: Marine Corps, as well as my many other non-fiction titles, on my website

New Non-fiction Titles - Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian restaurant company best known for coffee and donuts, although it does sell other beverages and food items as well. Tim Hortons is the largest fast food service business in Canada and has more than locations than McDonalds. Part of Weigl’s Canadian Business series, in which books focus on Canada’s iconic companies, exploring their history, marketing, and contributions to the Canadian and international financial scene. Maps, graphs, and timelines are interspersed with informative text to provide a clear understanding of how each company operates. 

Published by Weigl Publishers in Fall, 2012. You can learn more about Tim Hortons as well as my many other non-fiction titles, on my website.

New Non-fiction Titles - U.S. Armed Forces: Coast Guard

The Coast Guard is the only branch of the military responsible for enforcing the law, in both the United States and in international waters. During times of war, the Coast Guard can be placed under the control of the U.S. Navy. This is an AV2 media enhanced book. A unique book code printed on page 2 unlocks multimedia content. This book comes alive with video, audio, weblinks, slide shows, activities, hands-on experiments, and much more. Published by Weigl Publishers in July, 2012.

You can learn more about U.S. Armed Forces: Coast Guard, as well as my many other non-fiction titles, on my website

Writing Classes in North Calgary - January and February

The Future is Now - Classes with Northern Hills Community Association at Cardel Place - January 5, 12, 19, 26, February 2, 10.00 am to 11.30 am 

These classes examine how the pace of technological change has rapidly accelerated in recent years, how research could benefit mankind and explore what kind of scientific breakthroughs may occur in the coming decades. Participants will imagine future developments that could transform our way of life, before designing a magazine or newspaper advertisement, plus the scripts for a TV and radio commercial, for their products. They will also imagine themselves living in this incredible environment and create a journal describing a typical day in the future. 

Classes run on January 5, 12, 19, 26, February 2, from 10.00 am to 11.30 am and are held at Cardel Place, 11950 Country Village Link NE, Calgary AB.

Call 403 226 6422 for further details. Costs are $50 for Northern Hills Community Association members and $75 for non members. Payment is due at the time of registration.

New Non-fiction Titles - Does Canada Own the Arctic?

In recent years, the ownership of land in the Arctic has become more of an issue among the countries bordering the region, including Canada. This has involved disputes, as countries stake claims to what has traditionally been seen as Canadian national territory.

The Canadian Issues series examines the current social, political, and economic issues facing Canada. Developed in a debate format, each side of the book presents a different perspective on an issue relevant to Canada today. The historical context of each subject is covered along with likely future developments, adding up to a fascinating look at key modern-day issues. Published by Weigl Publishers in Fall, 2012. 

You can learn more about Does Canada Own the Arctic? as well as my many other non-fiction titles, on my website.

School Programs - Virtual Author Visits

Children are almost always inspired when they meet a real life author or illustrator, but it may not always possible to have an author visit your school. However, why not put technology to work for you, with a virtual author visit via video using Skype? These can be conducted with large groups or individual classes.

You can get an idea of what a virtual visit looks like from my videos Virtual Author Visits, Simon Rose – Author, The Time Camera and The Sorcerer’s Letterbox or on YouTube, in which I talk about my books, my workshops for adults and schools, plus my various services for writers.

Contact me directly for details about virtual author visits.

Writing for Children and Young Adults - Classes at Mount Royal University January/February

Writing for Children and Young Adults. New evening classes at Mount Royal University in Calgary from January 16 to February 20, 7 pm to 9 pm. 

Explore the process of writing books for children and young adults aged 8 to 12. Focus on structure, character development and research, and their importance in your stories. Examine how to turn a creative story idea into a marketable, finished manuscript.

Register is available here at the Mount Royal University website.