Summer Camps in Calgary

This July and August, I am once again available for presentations and workshops at summer camps, delivering interactive, lively and fun filled sessions for children in Calgary and the surrounding area. 

In recent years I have appeared at many community camps as a visiting author and presenter, in addition to my work with the Calgary Arts Summer School Association, SAIT, EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, the City of Calgary and many other organizations. 

Contact me directly at www.simon-rose.com for rates and availability for summer camps this July and August.

Weird Money Facts

Have you ever wondered why coins and paper money smell the way they do? Or what's the biggest denomination of money ever printed or the largest coin ever made? Did you know that they actually wash and iron old banknotes in Japan? And what exactly would you do to be filthy rich? 

To learn more about the strange, unusual, intriguing and at times downright bizarre world of money and financial matters, check out the latest online article, entitled Weird Money Facts.  

Online Course with the University of Calgary - Writing for Children and Youth - May and June

Writing for Children and Youth - May 1 to June 21

The children and youth writing market is a rich and vibrant one. In this online course, you will examine the writing process from initial concept to finished work 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 Writing for Children and Youth and how to register here

Spectacular Business Failures

Check out the latest online article, entitled Spectacular Business Failures.

We’ve heard so much about banks collapsing in recent years, but what about regular business failures? These don’t necessarily need their major financial backers to go under and are quite capable of going bust by themselves, thank you very much. 

For every Bill Gates or Richard Branson, there seems to be a multitude of people and companies who haven’t exactly done spectacularly well in the business world.  This article takes a look at just a few crazy corporate catastrophes.

Writing for Children and Young Adults - Classes at Mount Royal University May/June

Writing for Children and Young Adults. Evening classes at Mount Royal University in Calgary from May 29 to June 19, 6.30 pm to 9.30 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.

Strange Deep-Sea Diving Suits at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend, entitled Strange Deep-Sea Diving Suits. 

This article takes an in-depth look at diving suits, those strange looking costumes that many of us have seen before, on TV, in movies or maybe even in real life. 

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.

Calgary Comic Expo This Weekend - Visit Booth 210

This weekend, I'll be exhibiting at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. You can find me in booth 210, along with some of my fellow authors. You can buy autographed books, find out more about the many services I offer for writers, businesses, social media, editing, teaching, presenting, public speaking or you can just stop by and say hello.

This is the only festival in Calgary where you can get your sci-fi, film, television, fantasy, horror, comic book, gaming, and animation fix all in one incredible weekend. Join 60,000 other fans for this celebration of pop culture at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo taking place at BMO Centre, Stampede Park on April 26, 27 and 28. 

Hope to see you there.

The Golden Age of Cigar Box Art at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend, entitled The Golden Age of Cigar Box Art.

The collecting of cigar boxes is, like the collecting of stamps and coins, a specialized field of interest. Peculiar Postage, which previously appeared on Dark Roasted Blend, was not intended as a detailed study of stamps, merely a look at some of the more curious examples. Similarly, this article examines just a small selection of some of the most striking cigar box artwork from years gone by.

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.

School Programs, Presentations and Workshops

I offer a variety of presentations, author in residence programs and conduct workshops for children at schools. 

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.

Study Guides and Classroom Resources

Study Guides and Classroom Resources provide some ideas regarding how each of my novels can be used for student projects in the classroom. You can access the Study Guides here

• Character Creation 
• Time Travel Stories 
• Historical Eras 
• The Superhero Genre 
• Ideas and inspiration
• Ancient Mysteries 

The Puzzles page features word searches related to the text and character names in each novel, plus you can also access the Super Scavenger Search, where the answers to a series of mind boggling questions are hidden in different pages all over my website.

Class sets of books are also always available from me directly at discounted prices, depending on the number of books ordered.

Coaching for Writers

My coaching program is designed to help you progress as a writer. You decide what you want to work on during a personalized, one on one relationship. For example, I can be your coach for just one month or we can establish a month-to-month arrangement, depending on your schedule and expectations. 

Just a few examples of topics we can cover during the coaching period are point of view, creating characters, developing dialogue, story structure, editing and revision, marketing and promotion and submissions to publishers. However, I am very flexible and happy to discuss your own unique requirements and areas where you feel that you may need the most help. 

In addition to coaching, on my website you can learn more about my other services for writers, such as online workshops for adults, manuscript evaluation and online workshops for children and young adults.

Online Course with the University of Calgary - Writing for Children and Youth - May and June

Writing for Children and Youth - May 1 to June 21

The children and youth writing market is a rich and vibrant one. In this online course, you will examine the writing process from initial concept to finished work 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 Writing for Children and Youth and how to register here

Thrill Ride: Bumper Cars at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend about Bumper Cars. 

Most of us have experienced bumper cars at least once at an amusement park. These things have been around for quite a while, providing exciting, yet simultaneously somewhat tame, entertainment, as we crash into other vehicles racing around the track. 

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.

The Calgary Young Writers Conference 2013

This weekend, I am once again proud to be a presenter at the Calgary Young Writers Conference, where elementary and junior high school students have the opportunity to meet published authors and illustrators and learn more about the creative process. The Calgary Young Writers Conference has consistently made a significant contribution to literacy and inspired countless aspiring writers over the years. The event is expertly managed by a team of dedicated volunteers and is recognized as an invaluable part of the school year by children, teachers and parents alike. 

Over 1500 participants are expected to be in attendance in 2013, as students develop creative writing skills and give full reign to their incredible imaginations.  My own workshops focus on where writers get ideas come from and how they turn them into stories, plus the importance of editing and revision, the need for good historical research, as well as delving into the complexities of time travel, after which students create their very own time travel machines, methods and devices.