C.S. Simpson's Blog, page 3
March 30, 2021
Childhood Reading Favs
The recent death of beloved author Beverly Cleary has me thinking about the books of hers that I loved as a child, as well as all of the others that got me into reading longer stories. I'm pretty sure that Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is one of the very first chapter books that I tackled (around age eight, I might add). I identified with Ramona's tomboy wackiness and having a "bossy" big sister to annoy. I know Cleary wrote more stories, and I read these out of order, but this is how I remember being introduced to her books:
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Henry and Ribsy
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Runaway Ralph
Ralph S. Mouse
I count myself fortunate to have grown up in a reading household. My parents had a packed bookshelf and usually toted a paperback around to appointments. They both took time to read out loud to my big sister and myself in the evening—complete with character voices! Hearing about hobbits and the world of Narnia sparked my already-busy imagination in ways I cannot begin to count. I'm told I knew my alphabet before starting kindergarten. As soon as I could read on my own, I was enjoying Dr. Seuss, Little Bear, Frog & Toad, Babar, Sesame Street books, Berenstain Bears, Mr. Men & Little Miss, Little Critter, Curious George, and Golden Books—ad nauseam.
There are SO many story characters that became my temporary friends as a kid, but I thought it might be fun to highlight those I remember best. The most memorable titles (in no particular order) are as follows:
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Superfudge by Judy Blume
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar
The Little Gymnast by Sheila Haigh
Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards
Surprise at Big Key Ranch, Book 1 of The Tyler Twins Series by Hilda Stahl
Amelia Bedelia books
The Bobbsey Twins Collection
Nancy Drew Collection
Choose Your Own Aventure Books
Encyclopedia Brown Series
The Babysitters Club Series
The Mandie Series by Lois Gladys Leppard
Seasons of the Heart Series by Janette Oke
I guess I was obsessed with orphans, twins, and mystery back then! In case you're a parent looking for good kid-friendly books, I definitely recommend the titles above—regardless of their original publication date.
I think my transition to adult level books was either through Frank Peretti's Darkness Series or C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. Either way, my story options grew exponentially from there—and I never looked back (until now).
Did I miss any titles that were YOUR favorites? Please add a comment at the bottom of this page and let me know!
- Book Covers I Remember -
March 1, 2021
Anthology Publication
Check it out! My short story, "Memories," will be included in the first-ever Pikes Peak Writers anthology, Fresh Starts—available on April 9th!
I heard of the plans for this project in January of 2020 and immediately started writing for it. Over the next few months, I wrote, polished, and submitted four stories and two poems to them, all with the requested theme of Fresh Starts. I was thrilled when three of them made it through to the second round of decisions, and when they let me know in August that they wanted to include "Memories" in their anthology, I felt like I'd won the lottery. It was my first offer of publication, and I'll always be grateful that they saw worth in my craft.
So what is the story about? Well, I was staying with my sister and her family at the time, so the narrative is set in the city of Albuquerque. Walking my dog early one morning, I was admiring the way the sunlight from the east appeared as individual streaks across the western face of the Sandia Mountians, when the feeling of the story began to grow. I started with the image of a woman jogging alone in the foothills, and blossomed into an emotional tale of a woman's inner journey the day of her father's funeral.
To see my my face on their website, and learn more about the other twenty-nine authors and poets included in the anthology, please head over to: https://pikespeakwriters.com/ppw-anthology
There is no pre-order available at this time, but please stay tuned for ordering information!
January 31, 2021
Walking the Dog
Have you wondered how my writerly journey began? I'd like to share it with you.
In August of 2017, I was working diligently in a small company's marketing department, when I was unexpectedly dismissed—for inadequately explained reasons. I spent the following month depressed and doubting nearly everything about myself. Thankfully, my husband was amazingly supportive and helped me through it bit by bit. The next two months were spent looking for other gainful employment—to no avail. And then . . . we got a puppy.
Bella was a joy from the moment I laid eyes on her; inquisitive and full of energy from the start. She grew into a strange little stress-ball, but I love her. From very early on, she begged (nay, demanded) her twice-a-day walks around the neighborhood to visit with people and doggies alike. These walks became a time for my mind to wander and make up stories, stories which I began to write down.
Before a year was up, The Elephant and the Dragon was finished, and I self-published it for fun. A year after that The Flower Maiden was completed with the help of family, friends, and two critique groups. Then the arduous task of editing Maiden began. As a mental distraction from revising, I started writing short stories and submitting them to various magazines and journals.
Honestly, I've surprised myself with this expedition into authorship. I've always loved reading (especially a series), but didn't consider writing my own stories as a career path until . . . until my world was upended, and I was forced to change my self-view. So, I guess one could say that I fell into this. But it feels so very right.
If you find yourself in an unfamiliar place in life, if you feel unmoored, lost, or even confused, try going for a long walk. You never know where your mind might take you.
December 27, 2020
2020 Recap & 2021 Plans
It's almost time to bid goodbye to the strange year that has been 2020. So many lives have been affected by an insidious global pandemic, causing much fear, depression, and loss. I hope and pray it hasn't been too hard on you and yours. It's definitely been a year to remember and we can only hope next one brings us something better.
Despite the frustration of the pandemic, I had a pretty good writerly year. I wrote TEN short stories, and submitted EIGHT of them to various magazines and anthologies. I received SIX rejections, but TWO have been chosen for publication (click ,,here to see the one that's already available). As for my yet-unpublished slow-burn novel, The Flower Maiden, I sent queries to SEVEN literary agents and received FOUR rejections. After a few more months without hearing from the remaining three, they will become rejections by default. Que sera sera.
I know my chosen author-road is an arduous one, yet I'm committed to giving it my absolute best. I convince myself that every defeat is an opportunity to find a better fit for my stories, and that the literary world is just like the art world—subjective. It's my job to find a good agent or a publisher match for myself, and it's going to take a lot of time. When I find myself wondering and fretting, I try to remember all of this. It's hard, but I think I'm getting the hang of this patience thing.
You may be wondering—what does 2021 look like for me?
Well, with the encouragement of my amazing critique group, I've begun writing a NEW novel (a portal fantasy) based on one of my short stories with a tentative title of The Sanctuary. I will also continue to look for an agent or publisher who believes in The Flower Maiden as much as I do. I plan to roll with the punches and keep looking for my place in the literary world—and on bookshelves.
May 2021 be better for all of us in some way, even though I'm certain there are still dark days ahead. Don't lose your hope. Keep dreaming. Keep trying, because you'll learn something amazing along the way.
November 28, 2020
Worthy
I bear wonderful news! As of now, two of my short stories will be published over the next few months.
The first is a flash fiction fun commentary on this crazy year, and will be published in the Shoreline of Infinity science fiction & fantasy magazine, Issue 19. They're based out of Edinburgh, Scotland, so you know there will be other great stories in there! This issue will be available in a few days, but you can still pre-order either a print or digital copy.
Click here to check it out!
The second story is much more serious and will be published early next year in the first-ever Pikes Peak Writers Anthology. I am currently working with the editors on polishing this short story and will let you know as soon as they announce sales on their website.
Thank you to all of those who have been in my corner these past few years. Having outside professionals find my work worthy of publication is exciting and humbling. I had great hopes this January of finding my novel picked up by a literary agent, but then the world fell into a pandemic panic, and I turned my focus elsewhere. There were many low days for all of us, and to have these two writing victories feels extra amazing, somehow. May you find the victories in the midst of the crazy too!
June 8, 2020
Exciting News!
I've learned (and relearned) ,numerous things about writing over the past two years. There are a great deal of grammatical rules and suggestions for the American-English written language, and I had forgotten many of them. With help from the internet and two critique groups, I've been re-introduced to words, phrases, and punctuation rules, like: past perfect, passive voice, and (a brand-new one for me) ,the em dash. What's an em dash, you ask?
So what's the exciting news?
Well, I've taken all of my new-found "writerly knowledge" and applied it to my earlier works. The exciting news is that I’ve been diligently working on a more descriptive rewrite of ,THE ELEPHANT AND THE DRAGON for you,—and it's dropping next month! Yay!
Stay tuned for a teaser of the updated book cover. :)
February 5, 2020
Takin' A Novel Break
Takin' A Novel Break
February? How did we get a week into February already? Where did January go?
I don't know about you, but I've been busy reading through four novels, starting to read three more, and completely ignoring my own novel-in-progress. Why? I needed a break from my own story already! Why?
My first completed novel, THE FLOWER MAIDEN (not yet published), was written in first-person, present-tense in order to capture the protagonist's mental and emotional journey, and allow linear clarity for the reader with the many past-tense flashbacks involved. I began the first five chapters of my new Work In Progress (WIP) the same way, but have been questioning the general sell-ability of a present-tense novel after some great agent feedback (and subsequent research) for THE FLOWER MAIDEN.
Thus... I have some brain freeze and much general questioning of my own writing/story telling skills.
Instead of getting bogged down by concentrating on the WIP I'm not sure what to do with, I've been focusing my creative juices elsewhere. How? Short stories and poetry! A friend told me about a local writer's organization that's accepting submissions for an anthology, and I intend on submitting several pieces. Yay me!
I'm enjoying writing in various combinations of tenses and point of views, just to shake out the cobwebs of familiarity in my mind. I believe it's helping, because I'm starting to think about my WIP again, after taking a month away from it. I like my new short stories and poetry, and want you all to have a chance to read them! So if my submissions to the anthology are NOT printed, I promise to share them here on my website and on Wattpad!
Meanwhile - I shall take another look at my WIP, bust out another short story or two, and give myself a happy headache trying to get my poetic rhythm "just right".
To My Fellow Writers - happy story-telling, and don't forget to try a new way to express yourself creatively every now and again too!
