Overall I am giving this one a solid 4 stars, but there are aspects here that are easily 5 star (or even 6 star) worthy making this a must read for fans of 'classic' vampire fiction. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike-a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels-was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.Ī heartfelt bravo and a cap tip to Danny Simmons for breathing fresh air into the crowded, stale world of the vampire. He does much of his writing at Windwalker-their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. He's always attributed that coincidence to 'helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life.'ĭan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado-in the same town where he taught for 14 years-with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.ĭan's first published story appeared on Feb. Whenever someone says 'writing can't be taught,' Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own 'Writing Well' curriculum which he had created for his own classroom.

During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students.

He then worked in elementary education for 18 years-2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York-one year as a specially trained BOCES 'resource teacher' and another as a sixth-grade teacher-and 14 years in Colorado.

in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.ĭan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Dan Simmons grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional 'Elm Haven' in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING.

Children of the Night by Dan Simmons