Interviews and Profiles

The National Writing for Children's Center is the home of the Children's Writers' Coaching Club (CWCC), and a growing resource for children's writers, aspiring children's writers, and elementary school teachers and/or librarians. You can hear my interview from January 2008 on Book Bites for Kids on blogtalkradio here

For over thirty years the Long Ridge Writers Group program has taught thousands of aspiring authors how to find their own writing niche and how to break into print. You can find transcripts of my online interviews from October 2007 and January 2008 here

Meet Children’s Author, Simon Rose

Author: Sue Reichard,
Published on: April 1, 2004

Simon Rose is about to bound onto the children's literature scene. With two popular books now under his belt, this writer from Calgary, Canada is one of the voices in this field.

His first book, "The Alchemist's Portrait"(published by Tradewind Books) is a tale for younger readers, 8-12 (or so) and has all the right ingredients. Adventure, a little mystery, suspense, fantasy and time travel. The main character, Matthew is taken back in time when he visits a museum and discovers a Dutch boy who is trapped within his own portrait.

Simon's second book, "The Sorcerer's Letterbox" will be published this month by Tradewind Books. A time travel story that takes readers back to Merry Ol' England in the city of London.

Be sure to visit Simon's very informative website at: http://www.simon-rose.com

1.SR: How and when did you become interested in writing?

Simon: I've always been interested in writing since my teens I guess, although I was never sure if anything would come of it. One of the first things I began to write was a sprawling science fiction/fantasy epic that I still tinker with from time to time. I began to write portions of it down as a teenager and have never really stopped. It has changed its focus over the years, but the basic premise and plot remains the same.

My inspiration probably came from Marvel comics, sci fi movies and television and novels I was into at the time. In addition, I was very immersed in history back then, and still am, and devoured books on every historical period imaginable.

2.SR: Is there an adult from your childhood who inspired or encouraged you to write? or read?

Simon: Not particularly, or at least not one that I can remember. I actually read a tremendous number of comic books as a child, so much so that my parents became a little concerned. However, my teacher at the time assured them that at least I was reading something, and of course even comic books stimulated the imagination.

3.SR: You also write for adults, why and how did you make the transition from writing for the adult market to writing for children? Similarities, differences? Advantages, disadvantages of both?

Simon: My work has mostly been for children, but I have a number of story ideas for adults and a few screenplays with older viewers in mind. Occasionally, I may see a way to adapt a story line to a younger audience, but often I'll leave it as an adult story or screenplay.

The best thing about writing for children is that it allows me to write about the kinds of things that used to fascinate me when I was young. I often think I write for the boy I was aged about nine or ten years old. For most of us, it’s a lost, magical time before we grew up. Even if we have children of our own, it’s difficult to remember just how things felt when we were young. And of course the stories can be very imaginative if they are for children, which makes writing them so much fun. Sometimes you need to be very technical with adult stories. For example, you must describe exactly how a time machine works or how dinosaurs can be recreated, as Michael Crichton does so well in Timeline and Jurassic Park among his many novels.

I don’t really think of myself as being in any particular pigeonhole. One of the best things about science fiction or fantasy is that more or less anything you can imagine is possible. I do draw inspiration from many different areas and tend to throw everything into the mix. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't.

4.SR: What is the best writing advice you have ever received?

Simon: Writing is in some ways the easy part. It can be a very long process not only to write a book, but also to get it published. A book is a marathon measured in years rather than weeks or months. Don’t be afraid to revise and revise over and over again. Most authors go through many revisions before their work reaches its final format. Remember too that your book will never be to everyone’s taste, so don’t be discouraged. A firm belief in your own success is often what’s necessary. After all, if you don’t believe in your book, how can you expect other people to?

Read as much as you can and write as often as you can. Keep an ideas file even if it’s just a name, title sentence or an entire outline for a novel. You never know when you might get another piece of the puzzle, even years later.

You also mustn’t forget the marketing. You may produce the greatest book ever written. However, no one else is going to see it if your book doesn’t become known to potential readers. Be visible as an author. Do as many readings, signings and personal appearances as you can. Get your name out there and hopefully the rest will follow. Especially for newly published authors, books don’t sell themselves and need a lot of help.

5.SR: What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Simon: Editing and revising, as every time you think you've finished, you find something else that needs to be changed. However, it's almost always for the best and benefits the story, so attention to detail is vital.

6.SR: What element of writing has given you the most difficulty? How did you improve this weak point?

Simon: I think perhaps the revision process, as I just mentioned, but it's really a case of practice makes perfect. I found with my second novel that I needed to make far fewer changes as I went along.

7.SR: How and why did you develop your interest in science fiction and fantasy?

Simon: I became immersed in science fiction as a boy. The original Star Trek series springs readily to mind, along with many other influences. I read a lot of science fiction novels and collections of short stories, as well C S Lewis, Tolkien, other fantasy writers and ghost stories. I also read a tremendous number of comic books as a child, so much so that my parents became a little concerned. However, my teacher at the time assured them that at least I was reading something. And of course comic books were great for the imagination. I leapt headfirst into those stories of superheroes in what was probably the golden age of comic books in the 1960’s. The stories took me across the universe, into strange dimensions, into the land of the Norse gods or had me swinging from the New York rooftops. Pure escapism perhaps, but terrific for a child. At high school I studied history a great deal, and have retained my interest in the subject up to present day. I also read voraciously on ancient civilizations, mysteries, the supernatural, and the unexplained.

8.SR: How are you like Matthew, your protagonist in "The Alchemist's Portrait"?

Simon: I'm not sure if I am. However, as I mentioned earlier, I believe I'm writing for the boy I was at that age, whether consciously or unconsciously. When I first thought seriously about writing, my own children were very young. I wasn't interested in writing for the very young and I'm not an illustrator. Once I decided to write for the eight to twelve age group, I found myself drawn to the sorts of things that interested me at that age; science fiction, time travel, the unexplained, ancient mysteries, fantasy, ghost stories, myths and legends.

9.SR: You are a native Brit. How is life different on "this side of the pond"?

Simon: I've always said that it's the same, but different. We have houses, cars, schools shopping centres and all that, but I think here in Canada, people have a different attitude to life in general. Canada also regularly places high, if not top, of the UN's list of the best places to live in the world. I do prefer Canada, but have very fond memories of the UK and have visited family over the years since my move here in 1990.

10.SR: How did you deal with rejections?

Simon: I never took them personally. Your work isn't going to be loved by everyone, even if it's published all over the world and wins prizes.

11.SR: Can you describe a typical writing day?

Simon: I'm not sure if there is such a thing. At the moment I am very busy with promotion of 'The Alchemist's Portrait' in the approach to Christmas with bookstore events. I am also putting together a children's book fair with other local writers in Calgary in time for the festive season. I tend to spend much of the daytime on administration and promotion work; arranging signings, book reviews, school visits etc and responding to e mails. Oh yes, and in between, I find time to run my kids back and forth to school twice a day. I find that I can only be creative later in the evening, so the writing day for me sometimes ends around 2 A.M.

In terms of a typical writing process, it depends on the book really. I have a huge ideas file and some are no more than a title, a sentence, or a paragraph, others are more developed. Once I sit down to write the novel, I like to create a plan, including a chapter by chapter outline, even if some chapters are more developed than others. Often the rest comes to me once I start writing. A novel can be completed in three or four weeks, at least in a basic form. This would be the first rough draft of the text. I would then immediately begin making revisions, even deleting some portions altogether. If things aren’t coming together, it’s often best to leave the story for a while. Take a break, do something else and come back at it fresh. I may then work on different sections individually. Altogether, before the publisher and editor add their suggestions, it would be a five or six month process.

I do most of my work on the computer, but I also use hard copy, particularly when making revision and edits or developing the outline for a story. All stories have to have a beginning, middle and an end, but that doesn’t mean they have to be written in that order. As the first few pages are the hooks that get the reader into the story, they are usually one of the last parts written. Similarly, the ending has to be effective, particularly for a book that has sequel potential.

12.SR: Please finish this sentence: For me writing is.....

Simon...a wonderful experience, and when I receive e mails from children who have read my work and think it's great, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Interview with Sue Reichard on Suite101.com http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/childrens_writing/104369

A Time Traveler Drops In
Mike Harmer, The Booster, Mississauga, Ontario, June 22, 2005

Avid junior grade readers at Nahani Way Public School got to meet one of their favourite writers recently when Simon Rose paid a visit to Mississauga. A confessed devotee of science fiction and fantasy, ancient enigmas, and “anything mysterious and unexplained”, the Calgary-based author delights his young enthusiasts with adventures in time travel and historical intrigue.

His appearance helped celebrate the school’s keen participation in the Silver Birch Award program, a province-wide event that has Grade 4-6 children selecting the best Canadian books of the year. His second novel, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, the tale of a new millennium youngster cast back into a royal mystery in medieval London, was shortlisted for the coveted prize in the fiction category this year.

Born and raised in Derbyshire, England, Rose completed a degree in history in 1982 and moved to Canada eight years later. He has been experimenting with the written word since his early teens, he says, and gravitated to children’s literature after surveying what seemed to be a whole genre of “fluffy bunny books” and deciding he could provide something more challenging.

He began his presentation to the students by likening his craft to their own creative writing efforts in the classroom. He too writes every day, and, like them, worries about style and tone and the search for ideas. And then there’s the matter of spelling, punctuation and grammar, the editing and revision and proofreading … and more revision. The process from first draft to final publication takes at least a year, he would suggest, and the manuscript evolves through as many as twenty or thirty versions.

Rose enjoyed a comfortable rapport with the kids: he welcomed their questions, tweaked their imagination, coaxed them into role play, did a spot of verbal jousting, and joked about typical classroom mannerisms, ploys and evasive manoeuvres. They were particularly amused by his demonstration of how garbled the language can become without due attention to proper word order and punctuation.

The presentation wrapped up with a closer look at the author’s feted book, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox. Rose’s abiding interest in history really came to the fore as he shared text and illustrations from his personal library to sketch the times of Richard III and the puzzle of the Princes in the Tower. Talk of knights and swords and castles, combined with modern forensic attempts to unravel the mystery, left the students anxious to sample his first novel, The Alchemist’s Portrait, and looking forward to his soon-to-be-published next effort, The Clone Conspiracy.

Silver Birch really caught fire at Nahani Way this year. Teacher/librarian Alex Tsitsias and colleagues on staff took on the task of becoming an authority on one of the twenty nominated entries, and lunchtime book clubs were convened to allow students to discuss the book they were reading with its designated teacher expert.

Reading passports were issued to participating students and stamped appropriately as each book was completed. A minimum of five titles in each of the fiction and non-fiction categories entitled the reader to vote for the respective winners, and fifty youngsters qualified for ballots on polling day, May 4.

Organized by the Ontario Library Association, and in its twelfth year of operation, Silver Birch celebrated its major league status in style with a grand unveiling of award winners during the Milk International Children’s Festival. More than 1500 children assembled on Toronto’s Waterfront on May 26 to hear the official announcements!

In the event, Simon Rose did not win an award this time – information that meant very little to the appreciative students at Nahani Way as they lined up to buy autographed copies of his books. After all, it’s not every day you get a visit from a time traveller!

Reading, Writing and Simon Rose
Author helps kid’s celebrate literacy
Chris Simon, The Barrie Examiner, May 28, 2005

Rachel Kelly wasn’t scared when she opened The Sorcerer’s Letterbox. That’s because the East Oro Public School pupil loves to read.

The Letterbox is actually a children’s novel written by Calgary author Simon Rose. As part of the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch program, Kelly and several hundred other children from across Ontario have read several books before they are released in schools.

“We get to read (books) before anyone else does in our school,” she said. “Then my friends want to read them after I’ve read them.” Kelly and about 100 other Grade 4-6 students from throughout the Simcoe County participated in a literacy celebration to honour Canadian authors and young readers involved in the Silver Birch program at West Bayfield Elementary School on Friday.

Rose, who was among 10 authors nominated for a Silver Birch Award this year, spoke to the pupils, autographed books and posed for pictures.

“It’s always good to meet your readers. It means a lot to them to actually meet an author,” he said. “For them to know that authors are not all from other countries and they’re not all dead is quite a revelation for some of them.”

Bringing authors into schools to speak to the children is an important learning method, says Rose. “It will encourage them to read. It gets their brains working in a slightly different way,” he said. “They can’t learn without reading. At some point they’re going to have to read books.”

Rose also visited Allandale Heights and Shanty Bay public schools and Holly Meadows Elementary School, this week. He also travelled on a bus with Cundles Heights Public School students Thursday to attend the Silver Birch award ceremony in Toronto.

The librarians’ association selects books for Silver Birch students to read. The pupils vote for their favourite. “The best thing about the awards is that the winners are chosen by the children,” said Rose. “These are the books kids actually want to read themselves. If the children enjoy my books it makes it all worthwhile.”

Others agree the children develop a connection with the author if they meet. “Normally, you get a book and the author is not even an important part of the book,” said Kimberly Hughes, a teacher at King Edward Public School. “It’s really important for them to be exposed to the people who write, to make the connection with the books.” And meeting other Silver Birch students is important, says Kelly. “It was nice to meet other people from the group across (the) county.”