C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 105

First Words: September 03, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Today’s words came through okay, and I finally reached the seed idea that started it all. At this point, I am officially past the half-way point for this novel and on track to complete it… this time round, at least. In today’s extract, Cutter has decided against being drowned in ant-honey and decided to trade one kind of trouble for another. 
 
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For a moment, I hoped at least one of them would run right into us, maybe even bump the vat in their hurry, but that didn’t happen. Two kept heading for us, and one split off and went around the other side of the vat. It had just vanished from sight, when the vat jerked like a counterweight was swinging on the other side, and I hoped it was from two big dudes weighed down by combat armour swinging from the edge, and not one big dude in combat armour being ripped off the side by a giant ant.The Stars knew the ones standing in front of me looked plenty mad at what we were doing.“And down,” said the guardsman beside me, and, catching a vague idea of what he was thinking, I dropped the vat when he did.We were gonna try and use its own momentum to put it over. I just hoped it didn’t rock so far this way that it squashed us instead. It didn’t, and we threw our backs against it as it rocked back the other way. It wasn’t much, just a fraction of an inch off the ground, but it was more than we’d had when we started.----------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to read more? 
The first three books and two short stories in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series: Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , The Depredides Dance , Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host , Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach and Cloud Door , are also available. The fourth book, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour will release shortly.

First Words: September 02, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Today’s First Words find Cutter finding trouble, because where’s the fun otherwise? ---------------------------------------------------------------- “It’s not something we can afford to miss,” he said. “As it is, we’ve stayed too long already.”As if his words were a signal, the others shifted, melting back into shadows, and taking side tunnels. Varian’s gaze flitted around the cavern, and mine followed it. I caught movement at the top edge of a corner his men had avoided, just as turned and bolted.“This way!”I didn’t ask why. I just ran after him. The movement had looked bulky enough to be something man-shaped zip-lining down through a narrow crack in the cavern ceiling—and who knew that had been there? I guess the spiders had to have come from somewhere.Varian ran back the way we’d come, and I ran after him, bitching at Tens and Case as I went.“You didn’t think to warn a girl?”“You’ve only just come back on-line. We were getting ready to pull you out. Now, move your ass!”Well, someone had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today!“What’s a bed?”Oh. Well. That explained it.It didn’t take us long to realise we’d picked the wrong tunnel.
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Would you like to read more? 
The first three books and two short stories in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series: Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , The Depredides Dance , Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host , Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach and Cloud Door , are also available. The fourth book, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour will release shortly.

An Extract in Place of First Words: September 02, 2018—The Dockmaster

I finished going over the first 37,000 words of The Dockmaster , today—and then started the writing. Given today’s first words seem a bit boring, I decided to share one of pieces I edited that almost made me cry. In this extract, Tescha is shown her quarters in the sevarthin citadel: ---------------------------------------------------------------- The queen brushed an antenna across Tescha’s cheek, and turned away, her body guards forming a defensive perimeter around her, as she moved between rows of kashta grass that was close to flowering. Tescha did not need a mirror to know more pheromone dust glittered on her cheek, and she found she did not mind. She could not have hidden from the sevarthin, forever, and she did not like to live in fear.

They could have kept her as their prisoner, while the queen pulled the information they needed from her head, and, while Tescha knew it was better for them to have it willingly, she could not find it in herself to resent it.The world turns, she thought, and we must turn with it.Thoughts of Veran crossed her mind, and she wondered if the assassin would eventually consent to join her in her new haven. The Heavens knew he would one day need such a place. She wondered if the nest would accept him, couldn’t think of what she would do, if it did not.Having cost you one lover, we would try not to lose you another. The queen’s thoughts intruded, unbidden, on her own, and Tescha, although disconcerted by the intrusion, felt slightly comforted. She startled when an antenna touched her arm, and looked to see the sevarthin called Nektin waiting for her.“I am sorry,” she said. “I did not mean to keep you waiting.”“It is of no matter,” Nektin said, “but we both have taskings to attend.”And Tescha followed Nektin and her silent sevarthin companion out of the garden cavern, and into another section of the sevarthin nest. Her quarters were a series of chambers, located up a winding tunnel that took her past several doors set at uneven intervals.The laranach entered them first, Nektin laying a restraining foreclaw on Tescha’s forearm to stop her following her guardian directly inside. She wondered why they needed to take such precautions, and was momentarily surprised when Nektin didn’t answer her unspoken question—until she remembered that only the queen had the ability to hear her thoughts.“What is the danger?” she asked, and was startled when the other sevarthin answered.“Parasites,” it said. “We do not catch them all, no matter how hard we try.”Nektin chittered reprovingly, and the other sevarthin flipped its antennae, before laying them back along its body. The gesture made Tescha push down the urge to laugh, because its meaning was clear, and clearly impolite.“Ignore Tiknet,” Nektin advised. “She has been assigned to me so that she can learn better manners from my example.”Tescha thought the explanation was almost as entertaining as Tiknet’s behaviour.“I take no offense,” she said, just as the laranach returned.“Your quarters are clear,” it said, and Tescha sensed hostility in its tone.She hesitated on the threshold, her uncertainty clear. The laranach made an impatient sound.“Enter,” it said. “I might not yet like you, but I would bring no harm to the nest—and your survival is essential to its survival.”Tescha entered, surprised to find all the furnishings she would have expected in a well-appointed inn. The parlour had several well-stuffed sofas and a coffee table, and there was a dining room, complete with a long timber dining table surrounded by chairs. A small area for food preparation was set off to one side. It was stocked with a simple larder containing bread, cheese and a small variety of fruit. Nektin promised to show her where to obtain more, once she had settled. Tescha nodded, and the sevarthin showed her through to a sitting room fronted by a screen that slid aside to reveal a wide balcony overlooking the gardens.“The queen remembered your quarters at the compound,” Nektin said, from behind her shoulder, and Tescha fought down the urge to cry, although not at the queen’s care; it reminded her of time spent with Faledron, and the memories were bitter sweet. She wondered if Veran would mind sharing that space with Leilavish’s brother, and remembered what he had said the first time she had told him he would not be a replacement for her former lover.“I have had others before you, and one I treasured more than life itself, who was taken from me, and whose demise made me what I am. If you can live with my memories of her, I can live in your Faledron’s shadow.”

Yesterday’s First Words: September 01, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

It was late when I finished doing a very little bit of writing, yesterday. Here are the first words from that late-night session:
 
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Varian looked down at my ribs, and then back up into my face. I’ll give him this, his eyes didn’t linger anywhere else. Good man.“You know we’re gonna have to do somethin’ about that.”He even managed to look apologetic.I looked around the cavern, and then made a point of nudging a pile of spider guts near my boot.“You got somewhere cleaner we could go?”There was movement as two of the bigger guys moved in. I looked from left to right, snagging their eyes, and they stopped, which was when I made a point of putting my blaster back in its holster. Let’s just say that what came next wasn’t fun, and that nan-gel has helpful anaesthetic properties when it comes to minor field surgery, but does nothing for the pain you get from being hit once too many times upside the head.“Sorry.”----------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to read more? 
The first three books and two short stories in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series: Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , The Depredides Dance , Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host , Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach and Cloud Door , are also available. The fourth book, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour will release shortly.

New Cover—The Songster & the Pirates

The first cover for the month, completed yesterday, is for this month’s release, The Songster & the Pirates . You would not believe just how hard it is to find winged women not looking like they’re designed for an erotica cover! Artists – wish list: winged women turned so they can be positioned looking out at something in the background, and looking tough and determined, not like sex kittens. I can’t be the only author or cover designer looking for that kind of thing. I purchase mainly from Dreamstime, too, for the curious.
The pieces that went into this cover were purchased from Dreamstime and consist of: planets and asteroids art by Sdecoret, spaceship art by Junichi Shimazaki, and an angel photographed by IrinaKharchenko.



Once a space merc, now a singer, Taran keeps her identity as a siren secret. When spacewolves join the audience at her current gig, she knows what they’re looking for. The only question is can she slip away, before the wolves and her past can catch up with her?

An Excerpt and a New Project—The Dockmasters of Kerevesh

Today, apart from the usual end of month administration, some reading for another project, and the creation of a new cover, I spent reading over the existing words for an older project. With only one other project currently under way, it is time to up my game. Pending confirmation of any other projects, this novel marks the start of two projects running concurrently, with the occasional third, shorter work, thrown in. It will also be the first to be sacrificed for higher priorities, and then recommenced once those priorities pass. As I went over what I’d written – way back in 2015 – this reunion between Dockmaster Tescha and a very old acquaintance caught my eye:
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They all waited as the queen surveyed them once more, Tescha just as curious about the reactions of those around her, as she was about the queen herself. When the gaze of those golden orbs rested on her, she raised her head, and gave the queen her full attention.“Will you teach us what the arach master taught to you?”“Yes. Will you tell me why?”The queen stilled, for a moment, her antennae swaying slightly, and then she replied.“You do not recognise me, do you?”“No, your majesty. I am sorry.”“I was smaller then, a queen-no-longer-waiting, having flown the main nest to create one of my own. My own queen mourned me as lost, but did not attempt to stop me.”Tescha stared, and then moved forward so she could see more of the queen’s hide. The sevarthin monarch held up one large fore-claw when one of the laranach and the young sevarthin queen-in-waiting moved to intercept her.The stripes weren’t as obvious, from the front, but, when Tescha moved to the side, she could see them clearly. Jagged slashes of blue, in a steel-grey carapace dusted with gold. She moved back to her place behind the young queen.“You stopped me from returning for Faledron’s body.”The antennae dipped.“I could not save your mate, just as I could not save those who fought to delay the arachine soldiers.” A soft, wordless keen punctuated these words, and Tescha wondered who of those lost could still make the queen mourn. The antennae abruptly straightened, twitched defiantly. “But I QQcouldQQ save you.”Tescha stared, the pain of losing Faledron stirring with an intensity it had not held in years.“I did not want to be saved,” she whispered, and the antennae dipped towards her, brushing lightly over her head and shoulders. If Tescha hadn’t known better, she would have thought it was a gesture of comfort.“We all make sacrifices for the nest.”“But I was not part of your nest,” Tescha protested, and the sevarthin nearest recoiled in horror.The queen merely raised her antennae, and dipped her head in a slow nod.“This much was true, but we had lost the arachine master, and his journeyman, and you were further along in your studies than we. We had the basics that would enable the nest to survive, but, for it to flourish, we needed more.” Her voice took on a note of entreaty, and one antenna laid a feather-light touch on Tescha’s cheek. “For that to happen, you must take your place in the nest.”Tescha reached up, and laid a trembling hand on the broadest part of the antenna. From the movement around her, she knew the gesture was unprecedented. She leant her head into the antenna, cupping it between her cheek and her palm, and hoping she wasn’t sending the wrong message. It was as though the room held its breath. From the stillness around her, she guessed the sevarthin and laranach were waiting to see what she would do. Gently, she released the antenna, and dipped her head.“Very well, your majesty,” she said, pushing aside all thought of what her words might mean. “I will be a part of your nest.”Immediately, she felt the room around her relax. It was as though her words had turned a valve and released the tension. Tescha found that she was no longer standing isolated in the middle of a wary group of guardians, but that she was in the middle of a press of curious antennae, and hands. Chirped greetings came at her from all sides, as she was touched on the shoulders, head and hands.“Welcome nestling. Welcome,” they said, surrounding her in a swirl of motion, and then pulling away, to stare expectantly at their queen.Looking down, Tescha realised she was covered in a dusting of colour, silver, gold, blue and purple and rose.“The colours of the nest,” the queen said, by way of explanation. “Your sisters greet you.” 

August 2018 Progress Overview

August saw an improvement over July’s performance, which was expected as my health improved, and the RSI injury healed enough not to hurt when I typed. By the end of the month I was typing a regular 5k with notes. The goal for September is to increase that to 7k of words and notes as a minimum. I did get sidetracked earlier in the month as I improved my business knowledge, and that learning will continue. After trying out a couple of different work schedules, I think I’ve found one that’s both acceptable, and achievable and sustainable, but only time will tell. I have a list of tasks as long as my arm, so the long days will continue, and I won’t be terribly social. Hopefully, that will ease, coming into October or November. With that in mind, here is what was achieved in August:

Progress: August 2018New words produced: 72,085Outlines and Notes: 9,606Words compiled: 0Works completed: 0Works edited: 5 (Shadow’s Rise, two submissions, River’s Edge, The Songster & the Pirates)Covers created: 3 (Jalaya, Harper & the Unicorn, Shadow’s Rise)Works formatted: 3 (two submissions, Shadow’s Rise)Works published: 2 (River’s Edge, Shadow’s Rise)Works released: 2 (River’s Edge, Shadow’s Rise)Works submitted: 2Competitions Entered: 1Bloggery: 9,069August Hours at Desk: 263 hours, 29 minutesHours at Desk—August 26-August 31: 54 hours, 57 minutesHours at Desk—August 19-August 25: 80 hours, 36 minutesHours at Desk—August 12-August 18: 57 hours, 49 minutesHours at Desk—August 05-August 11: 57 hours, 45 minutesHours at Desk—July 29-August 04: 20 hours, 40 minutesJuly Hours at Desk: 264 hours, 18 minutesJune Hours at Desk: 230 hours, 5 minutesMay Hours at Desk: 302 hours, 6 minutesApril Hours at Desk: 167 hours, 41 minutesMarch Hours at Desk: 201 hours, 43 minutesFebruary Hours at Desk: 183 hours, 50 minutesJanuary Hours at Desk: 180 hours, 3 minutes

First Words—August 31, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Today’s words are done for Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9. They took longer than I’d like, but I kept getting ideas and scenes for another project which needed to be recorded as they came, since ideas don’t like to hang around and they refuse to be called back. I’ve also run through the final edit for September’s short story, and should be able to finalise that tomorrow. Right now, I’ll post this, and I’ll be off to do some reading to familiarise with a new setting for a short story submission.

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“You weren’t expected,” said the man holding my blaster, and I took a good long look at him.Dark-haired, brown eyed, a little taller than most, and pretty well built, he stood like a fighter, not a soldier. I was willing to bet he moved more like Tens than a Marine. And I was pretty darned sure he’d be hard to drop on his ass… and that was without the blaster. With the blaster, I had no chance, because he’d shoot me first.
His eyes told me that, and his face backed it up. I waited for him to get on with explaining what he meant. He seemed to be waiting for me to ask him something else. That was not how I was going to play the game.It took him a minute to get the message, but then, he sighed.“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what you were doing down here…”I looked at him.“Like I said: It’s your house.”His lips twitched, but he wasn’t amused.“You’re the guest. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”He made a fair point, except…“I didn’t ask to be invited.”Someone sighed behind me, and I was up and out of the seat, before I’d turned round.I almost made it.
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Would you like to read more? 
The first three books and two short stories in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series: Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , The Depredides Dance , Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host , Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach and Cloud Door , are also available. The fourth book, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour will release shortly.

First Words—August 30, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

I’ve just finished the words for Mack ‘n’ Me #5. They are good words… until tomorrow, when I will edit them again and probably ask myself who wrote this shit, and then they will be edited and will be good words, all over again. For now, in their mostly unedited first draft state, here are the first words of the day, written around 7 hours ago. You don't need to ask if Cutter's mission is going sideways, you just need to ask how bad and how fast:
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Turns out it was a good question to ask.I’d been trotting through the tunnel, towards the slant-wise cutting that would take me down a level, when Tens and Case called me back.“That wasn’t the maid,” Tens said. “It was the concubine.”“Figures.”I slowed to a walk, found an alcove, checked it for creepy crawlies, and stepped inside.“Go on.”“And it’s a slave bracelet.”“A what?”“You heard the man,” Case told me. “A slave bracelet. You know, the kind of thing that stops folk from running away, or lets their masters track them.”“Uh huh. So why does he need me, then?”“That would be the thing to ask.”I huffed out a sigh.“No point. He probably wouldn’t tell the truth, anyway. What I want to know is why he hasn’t sent a squad after her, and why he needs someone from off-world. And it would be good to know I wasn’t’ going to be retrieving a person, because you know the contract’s breached nine ways to Hell, if he expects that. I’m not taking anyone back to slavery under that asshole.”“Literally,” Case said, and I rolled my eyes.Not what I needed to hear.---------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to read more? 
The first three books and two short stories in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series: Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , The Depredides Dance , Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host , Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach and Cloud Door , are also available. The fourth book, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour will release shortly.

First Words—August 29, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

I’ve just finished the words for Mack ‘n’ Me #5. They are good words… until tomorrow, when I will edit them again and probably ask myself who wrote this shit, and then they will be edited and will be good words, all over again. For now, in their mostly unedited first draft state, here are the first words of the day, written around 7 hours ago. You don't need to ask if Cutter's mission is going sideways, you just need to ask how bad and how fast:
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Turns out it was a good question to ask.I’d been trotting through the tunnel, towards the slant-wise cutting that would take me down a level, when Tens and Case called me back.“That wasn’t the maid,” Tens said. “It was the concubine.”“Figures.”I slowed to a walk, found an alcove, checked it for creepy crawlies, and stepped inside.“Go on.”“And it’s a slave bracelet.”“A what?”“You heard the man,” Case told me. “A slave bracelet. You know, the kind of thing that stops folk from running away, or lets their masters track them.”“Uh huh. So why does he need me, then?”“That would be the thing to ask.”I huffed out a sigh.“No point. He probably wouldn’t tell the truth, anyway. What I want to know is why he hasn’t sent a squad after her, and why he needs someone from off-world. And it would be good to know I wasn’t’ going to be retrieving a person, because you know the contract’s breached nine ways to Hell, if he expects that. I’m not taking anyone back to slavery under that asshole.”“Literally,” Case said, and I rolled my eyes.Not what I needed to hear.---------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to read more? 
The first three books and two short stories in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series: Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , The Depredides Dance , Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host , Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach and Cloud Door , are also available. The fourth book, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour will release shortly.