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Note: All this week, Simon Rose is our guest blogger for the National Writing for Children Center.

by children’s author Simon Rose

Just as The Sorcerer’s Letterbox involved research into the medieval period and specifically into the mysterious disappearance of Edward V and his younger brother, in writing The Heretic’s Tomb, I studied the subject of the Black Death, which is estimated to have killed over twenty five million people in Europe in the mid fourteenth century.

In The Heretic’s Tomb, Lady Isabella Devereaux comes into the possession of a mysterious amulet that has the power to restore life to the recently deceased. Living at the time of the Black Death in 1349, the noble and virtuous Lady Isabella intends to use the mysterious artifact to cure the relentless disease. However, the villain of the piece, Sir Roger de Walsingham, is also determined to secure the amulet for himself, in order to raise an army of the dead in order to seize the kingdom and make himself King of England. In the present day, while exploring a medieval archaeological site containing the ruins of an ancient English abbey, Annie discovers the amulet in the long-forgotten tomb of Lady Isabella and is suddenly sent hurtling back to the Middle Ages in a thrilling time travel tale.

The Heretic’s Tomb involved considerable research into the world of fourteenth century England, especially the era of the Black Death and its impact on England and Europe. Some dialogue in spoken in Middle English, which had to be authentic. The story also features a spell book written in Latin, so it was very important to get all the words and phrases correct. I also read extensively on the harsh realities of medical treatments in the Middle Ages. I delved deeply into the world of the medieval church, monasteries, abbeys, the long reign of King Edward III, the Hundred Years War between England and France, the history of scrolls, manuscripts and printed books, medieval cities, villages, houses and castles, as well as archaeological excavation sites for the portions of the novel set in the present day. Some of the information I needed was readily available online, but books also played a large in the research process.

My website has a page devoted to The Heretic’s Tomb, including the historical background of the novel.

Stop by every day this week because children’s author Simon Rose will be our guest blogger here at the NFWCC starting tomorrow, today, Monday, June 30th through Friday, July 4th.

Simon Rose is the author of The Heretic’s Tomb, The Emerald Curse, The Clone Conspiracy, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and The Alchemist’s Portrait.

Visit his website at www.simon-rose.com, where you’ll find book descriptions, author profiles, interviews, audio files of readings, book reviews, teacher and reader comments and more. Rose offers a wide variety of presentations, workshops and author in residence programs for schools and libraries, writing services for both adult and young writers and is also available for summer camps and children’s parties. He has a variety of creative services designed for writers, including editing, critiquing and manuscript evaluation. For the business community, Simon Rose offers freelance writing services, including website content and copywriting.

I've been in California the past several days, which was nice. But I've come down with bronchitis, which is not-so-nice. Especially when you have to ride on an airplane. Oh, what misery. At least tonight I can sleep in my own bed. . . .

While I was down there, I watched The Spiderwick Chronicles movie, which I liked very much. Somehow the ending left me a teensy bit unsatisfied, but overall it's an amazingly fun film that I had a blast seeing. I would definitely recommend it (and watch it again). And it was so cool and a bit insane seeing Holly Black's name on the big screen - I mean, I chatted with her online just a few months ago at readergirlz. How exciting for both her and Tony Diterlizzi.

I had about a week off from sickness this month, but otherwise I've been pretty flattened. I'm so behind with things - classes, a couple of book reviews, emails - which is frustrating. But I try to focus on the ups: Oscar season (I have a deep love for watching the Academy Awards), a fresh stack of books from the library (that's always thrilling), yummy muffins, making lists, planning and looking forward to things yet to come.

Only one more week left until March! Spring will be upon us soon. . . !

Thank you all for the nice get well comments on my last post. They made me smile. :) I think I'm on the mend; I'm mostly just exhausted now with my still cold lingering.

Yesterday I read Cassie Was Here by Caroline Hickey. Now I'm beginning/in the middle of three books:

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) by Alison McGhee
The Boggart by Susan Cooper

So, I want to know, what are you reading right now?

I have been sick for the past six days. The first day or two I couldn't really read because I felt so awful. Since then I've managed a few light books that are easy on the brain:

The Nixie's Song by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
No Cream Puffs by Karen Day
Trial by Journal by Katie Klise
Elvis and Olive by Stephanie Watson

I have also watched a movie and some TV episodes. And watched my brother play Super Mario Galaxy on our Wii.

Mom just started reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz out loud to me. So far it's really good and funny.

But mostly I have just been sitting on the couch feeling miserable.