Fantasy

Interview with Author Simon Rose About His Latest Book “Royal Blood”

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My guest today is Calgary author Simon Rose, who has published eighteen novels for children and young adults, eight guides for writers, more than a hundred nonfiction books, and many articles on a wide variety of topics. Today, we’re looking at his latest release, Royal Blood, the second novel in the Stone of the Seer series.

Remind us about the Stone of the Seer series. What’s it all about?

The Stone of the Seer is an exciting historical fantasy series for young adults, primarily set during the English Civil War in the mid-seventeenth century. The Stone of the Seer, is the first book in the series. At Habingdon House, Lady Elizabeth Usborne, Kate, and Tom discover a magical black stone, mysterious ancient manuscripts, and the tempus inpectoris, an incredible time viewing device. They are also in grave danger from Daniel Tombes, who has a fearsome reputation as a witchfinder.

And without giving too much away, what can readers look forward to in the second novel?

In Royal Blood, Lady Elizabeth, Kate, and Tom move to London in the middle of the Civil War, experiencing the great political changes taking place at the time, including the

trial and execution of Charles I. They are also still under threat from Tombes, who is also in the city. The story has many twists and turns, and I doubt if any of the readers will expect the novel’s cliffhanger ending.

And then they’ll have to wait for the third book?

Yes, they certainly will. I’m hoping that Revenge of the Witchfinder, the final novel and the conclusion of the story,will be published later this year. After that, people will be able to buy all three books in the series.

And what’s the story behind the story?

The story, main characters, and some of the settings in Royal Blood are fictional, but like in The Stone of the Seer, they’re based on real events and historical characters, such as King Charles I, appear in the story. The English Civil War broke out as a result of the struggle between Charles I and Parliament, regarding how the country should be governed. The king’s defeat in the war was followed by his trial and execution in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and replaced first by the Commonwealth of England and then the Protectorate. However, although the monarchy was restored in 1660, in the person of Charles II, his father’s defeat confirmed that an English monarch couldn’t rule the country without the consent of Parliament. This was eventually legally established in 1688 after the Glorious Revolution.

Did you conduct extensive historical research for this book, as you did with the first one?

Although the English Civil War is a time period I’ve always been interested in, I still engaged in lots of research. I needed to study what life was like in seventeenth century London, the political and religious beliefs that were around at the time, the influence of real witchfinders such as Matthew Hopkins and others like him, and of course the trial and execution of Charles I. The trial itself was very well recorded and I was able to ensure that the words spoken by both the king and his accusers were accurate. There were also many witnesses to the execution, so I was able to include established facts about that aspect as well.

As I did in The Stone of the Seer, I’ve included a glossary at the end of Royal Blood, where readers can learn more about the events, settings, and leading characters from the era, locations that are mentioned in the text, life in the seventeenth century, and about other historical periods that are featured in the story. On my website, there’s also a page with details about the historical background behind the books, with links to online sources about the time period.

Do you have any current projects?

Right now I’m working on another historical fantasy novel series, this time set in the early years of World War II. I’m also working on another series of paranormal novels, in the same genre as my previously published series that includes Flashback, Twisted Fate, and Parallel Destiny. You can learn more about those books at www.simon-rose.com. In addition, I’m in the early stages of another couple of historical projects, and am also working on some screenplays, including adaptations of my Shadowzone series, and on several other topics.

Do you still work with other authors as well?

Yes, I offer coaching, editing, consulting, and mentoring services for writers of novels, short stories, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, inspirational books, and in many other genres, plus work with writers of scripts and screenplays. I’m also a writing instructor at the University of Calgary and served as the Writer-in-Residence with the Canadian Authors Association. You can find details of some of the projects I’ve worked on with other authors, along with references and recommendations, at www.simon-rose.com.

Where can people buy Royal Blood and The Stone of the Seer?

The novel can be purchased at most of the usual places, as follows:

Royal Blood

Ebook: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Paperback: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA

The Stone of the Seer

Ebook: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords 

Paperback: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA

Thanks Simon, for being my guest here today and the very best of luck with Royal Blood and the Stone of the Seer series. I hope the books sell thousands and thousands of copies in the coming weeks and months.

You can learn more about Simon and his work on his website at www.simon-rose.com, where you can also link to his social media sites and other locations online.

Tangle of roots of an old yellow birch tree, ON (photo and rendition by Nina Munteanu)

Interview with Author Simon Rose on “The Stone of the Seer”

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Calgary author Simon Rose has published eighteen novels for children and young adults, eight guides for writers, more than a hundred nonfiction books, and many articles on a wide variety of topics. Simon has agreed to talk to me about his latest release, The Stone of the Seer, the first novel in the Stone of the Seer series.

Here’s my interview with Simon:

Nina: What’s the new series all about?

Simon: The Stone of the Seer is an exciting historical fantasy series of adventure novels for young adults, primarily set in the turbulent period of the English Civil War.

The Stone of the Seer, book one in the series, features the Vikings, Leonardo da Vinci, and the political turmoil of the 1640s. At Habingdon House, Lady Elizabeth Usborne, Kate, and Tom encounter a magical black stone, mysterious ancient manuscripts, and the incredible time viewing device known as the tempus inpectoris, all while under constant threat from the murderous witchfinder, Daniel Tombes.

The other novels in the series are Royal Blood and Revenge of the Witchfinder, which will be published in the coming months. There will be a box set including all three novels at some point in the future as well.

Nina: What’s the story behind the story?

Simon: The story, main characters, and some of the settings in The Stone of the Seer are fictional but are based on true events and the story features real historical characters, such as King Charles I. The English Civil War was a series of conflicts in England, Scotland, and Ireland in the 1640s and early 1650s. The war originated in the struggle between Charles I and Parliament, regarding how the country should be governed.

The king’s defeat in the civil war led to his trial and execution in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and replaced first by the Commonwealth of England and then the Protectorate, before the monarchy was restored in 1660. However, the defeat of Charles I confirmed that an English monarch could not rule the country without the consent of Parliament, although this wasn’t legally established until the Glorious Revolution in 1688.

Nina: You must have done quite a lot of historical research for this book.

Simon: Yes, it’s a time period I’ve always been interested in, but it still involved considerable research. I’ve included a glossary at the end of each of the three novels in the series where you can learn more about the historical events, settings, and leading characters from the English Civil War, locations that are mentioned in the text, life in the seventeenth century, and details from other historical periods that are featured in the story. There’s also a page on my website all about the historical background behind the books, with links to online sources about the time period.

Nina: What are you currently working on?

Simon: I always have a current project or two and right now I’m writing another historical fantasy novel series set in World War II. I’m also working on sequels to the Flashback series of paranormal novels, which includes Flashback, Twisted Fate, and Parallel Destiny, which you can learn more about on my website at simon-rose.com. In addition, I’m working on screenplay adaptations of the Shadowzone series and have also completed a number of picture books for younger readers, which I hope will be published soon.

Nina: You also work with other authors, don’t you?

Simon: Yes, I do quite a lot of that these days. I provide coaching, editing, consulting, and mentoring services for writers of novels, short stories, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, inspirational books, and in many other genres. I also work as a writing instructor at the University of Calgary and have served as the Writer-in-Residence with the Canadian Authors Association. You can find details of some of the projects I’ve worked on, along with some references and recommendations, on my website.

Nina: Where can people buy The Stone of the Seer?

Simon: The novel can be purchased at most of the usual places, as follows:

Ebook: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords 

Paperback: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA

Thanks Simon, for being my guest here today and the very best of luck with the Stone of the Seer series. I hope the first book sells thousands of copies in the coming weeks and months.

You can learn more about Simon and his work on his website at www.simon-rose.com, where you can also link to his social media sites and other locations online.

The Otonabee River glinting on a sunny winter day, ON (photo and rendition by Nina Munteanu)

Delos Digital Publishes Nina Munteanu’s “l’Ultima Evocatrice”

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I was recently commissioned by Andrea Franco at Delos Digitalin Milan to write a novelette for their Fantasy Tales Series. The resulting story was Summoning the Future’s Past a short adaptation of my alternative history novel The Last Summoner published by Starfire in 2012.

The novelette was translated by Chiara Beltrami then released by Delos Digital as the ebook l’Ultima Evocatrice, (Fantasy Tales 66), on April 13, 2021. 

Here is what Andrea Franco said about l’Ultima Evocatrice:

“Recentemente in Fantasy Tales-Delos Digital abbiamo pubblicato il primo testo ‘internatiozionale’, della bravissima scrittrice Canadese Nina Munteanu, tradotta per noi in modo eccellente da Chiara Beltrami. Un bellissimo racconto lungo che gli appassionati di fantasy non dovrebbero farsi scappare. Lo avete letto?”

As with The Last Summoner, l’Ultima Evocatrice(Summoning the Future’s Past) is a fresh twist on chaos theory and observer-induced collapse of quantum entanglement. It’s June 14th, 1410, on the eve of the Battle of Grunwald, when history records that a ragtag peasant army will slaughter the arrogant monk knights of the imperialistic Teutonic Order … or will they? Because of an impetuous choice, 14-year old Vivianne Schoen, Baroness von Grunwald, makes the startling discovery that her mother is from the future and Vivianne herself can alter history—but not before she’s branded a witch and must make the most difficult choice of her life …

 “l’Ultima Evocatrice”was recently featured in Fantasy Magazine. 

Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto.  Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press(Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in June 2020.

Nina Munteanu Interviewed by Simon Rose on Fantasy Fiction Focus

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On Fantasy Fiction Focus Nina Munteanu discusses with author Simon Rose about the writing process, the emerging hybrid publishing industry, the importance of branding yourself as an author, and what can authors do to successfully market themselves and their writing. She and Simon discuss the writing community and the importance of conventions and festivals for aspiring writers.

The interview was done in 2015 but what Simon and Nina discuss remains topical and germane.

Nina Munteanu

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist, limnologist and internationally published author of award-nominated speculative novels, short stories and non-fiction. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books.

The Art & Science of World Building: The Tools You Need to Make a Believable World

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Vanc Library-Atrium2
Vancouver Central Library (photo by Nina Munteanu)

Most fantasy and science fiction novels require major world-building, which involves both real and imagined aspects.

World building spices real physical and social facts with the author’s imagination to create a civilization, a political structure, a culture and zeitgeist as backdrop and influence to story. Writers define world-building as the process of constructing an imaginary world, usually associated with a fictional universe.

Popularized at science fiction workshops during the 1970s, the term describes the development of an imaginary setting that is coherent and possesses a history, geography, and ecology that is rich, unique and resonates with the story’s premise.

The list below provides things to consider when first building your world:

  • The world (e.g., on Earth or not)
  • Physical and historical features (climate, geography, resources)
  • Magic and magicians (e.g., rules of magic, technology)
  • Peoples and customs (e.g., language, ethics and values, religion)
  • Social organization & structure (e.g., government, politics, conflicts, fashion, entertainment)
  • Commerce & trade (e.g., industry, transportation, communication)

Science vs. Art In World-Building

EcologyOfStory

If a novel is a historical fantasy set on Earth, science is not a critical part of world building; if a novel is set on some probable planet in the Andromeda Galaxy, then science becomes an integral part. But, in both cases the writer needs to do his or her research. In the case of the historical fantasy, world building will be based on accurate historical information, even if an alternate history is being written.

Part of the reason people read historical epics is to learn more about that particular civilization and time period. The reader trusts that the writer will give him or her the facts on the world, while taking liberties on the remaining story elements. Similarly, a science fiction reader opens the first book in Larry Niven’s Ringworld series with the expectation of learning about a made-up world based on accurate principals of science.

A lot of science fiction is written by nonscientists. That said, many science fiction readers— particularly those who enjoy hard science fiction—expect your science to be not only plausible but somewhat proven and your premise to be based upon sound scientific principle. They expect your research to be impeccable because they are expecting to learn something—in science.

World-Builder’s Disease? 

City of Woven Streets

“Fantasy writers have a penchant for working up histories of imaginary empires that can run for hundreds of pages, full of maps and chronologies and genealogical trees a yard long,” says Ansen Dibell, author of The Elements of Writing Fiction: Plot. “Similarly, science fiction writers can fall in love with their hardware and want to show it off,” he adds and describes this as a kind of narrative cancer, a “World-Builder’s disease.”

Most writers who world-build keep extensive files of background information on their worlds. In some cases, these can be published as companions to the main book series (e.g., J.K. Rowling’s books on Quiddich or magical creatures, which most certainly came from her extensive background notes). Dibell’s point is that this information doesn’t belong in the main book, where it can interfere with the process of storytelling. It becomes “info dump”, which is often very static, lacks drama, and proves ultimately boring.

Tying Your World to Theme and Plot

NineteenEightyFour
“Nineteen Eighty Four” by George Orwell

What’s important to remember is that the world you build is part of the story. It isn’t just a lot of “interesting” detail. The world you build, like a character in your story, plays a role in defining and supporting its theme. The major qualities of your world are, therefore, best derived for plot and thematic reasons—which come from “story”. The rest—the details—are things you can find in books, websites or get from experts in your local university, etc.  Don’t let science intimidate you; but ensure that you get it right by using your resources and verifying your information with an expert. Use your local libraries, universities, colleges, and online resources. Interview scientists, technical people and other writers. That’s part of being a writer too.

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of award-nominated speculative novels, short stories and non-fiction. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books.