C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 106

Progress Report—August 19-25, 2018

Last week was busy as I tried to get myself back on track and incorporate the catch-up with getting the writing back on track. It started out rough, and didn’t really pull together, until I decided to submit some work elsewhere. It’s interesting to find that adding people to the mix adds to the ability to get things done, because you just don’t want to let anyone down. I may need to have a talk with myself about that. I also did a tonne of learning about newsletters and marketing and will be putting some of what I learned into practice over the coming week. The first title to have its back matter updated, a quick re-edit and re-format, and a new cover was Shadow’s Rise .

Progress: August 19-25, 2018New words produced: 12,451Outlines and Notes: 3,860Words compiled: 0Works completed: 1Works edited: 1 (Shadow’s Rise)Covers created: 1 (Shadow’s Rise)Works formatted: 1 (Shadow’s Rise)Works published: 1 (Shadow’s Rise)Works released: 1 (Shadow’s Rise)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 4,478Hours 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 29, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Today went well, even with an unexpected change of schedule created by the changeover from CreateSpace to KDP. My son and grandson came to visit, and a very pleasant afternoon and evening were spent catching up with them, but words were written, too, and the very first of them are copied, below. In this excerpt, Cutter discovers some of the undisclosed complications she might have to contend with on her mission:
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Everyone slowed to a stop, and the captain made his way back through his men to replace the one beside me.“We’ll escort you to the cavern entrance,” he said, as a low hum filled the air.I whipped back around to face the door, along with the rest of the squad, but the doors were closed, and the hum came from outside. From the look on the captain’s face, the humming wasn’t good news. He spoke into the mike on his collar.“Tell the kitchen we’ll be doing our own meals until I give the all-clear—and let his lordship know that incursion of ants added harromet to the mix.” He looked down at me, lifting his chin away from the mike. “Hornets. Sting paralyses and preserves you, and they lay their eggs in your body. A week later, you get eaten alive. Don’t get stung.”I met his eyes, and tried not to show any fear. Hornets, huh?
---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 28, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Yesterday, I made sure I got my words down first. There weren’t many of them, but this is a new routine and I’m getting there—also, I got started on fining down the submission to a point where I could start writing it, so I added more words, just not on Mack ‘n’ Me. Cutter’s arrival at the mines was not without its dramas: ----------------------------------------------------------------
“We need to move,” he said. “Stay with me.”As though his words were a more direct command for action, his men formed up around us, and he led off at a brisk walk. I wasn’t linked into their comms, but I saw when one of his men pointed at the wall opposite, and Easrick snapped his head to look. I followed his gaze.“Keep moving,” was soft, but audible, and the walk became a jog.I wondered if they could shoot on the run—and also how twelve men were going to take out the twenty or so monstrous shadows darkening the cliff. It was hard to run and keep an eye on the shadows, and I’m not sure how Easrick and his men did it, but the jog became a trot, and then a lope, and then an all-out run with Easrick screaming “Move, move, move,” in my ear.
---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 27, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

I had a busy week, this week. An opportunity occurred that I thought long and hard about throwing my hat in the ring, for, and then I revamped the schedule to take into account the various illnesses and occurrences that have occurred over the last few months. Once the new schedule looked somewhere close to workable, I got right down to work. Here are the words from the 27th, where Cutter agrees to work for Barangail, when she’d rather be shooting him:

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I was waiting when Barangail turned back to me. It was obvious he was about to give me another spiel. I just wished he’d get it over and done with.“I could really do with a set of combat fatigues,” I said, when he just stood and stared at me.He raised an eyebrow, and then made a point of looking me up and down like I was a prospective concubine he was considering taking on. I lowered my chin, and stared right back, raising an eyebrow to mirror him. I also folded my arms across my chest, and tapped my foot—which reminded me…“And boots,” I said. “Could I have my boots and weapons back… please?”I considered the ‘please’ a nice touch, considering there was no way in Hell I was going to address him as a superior, so he might as well start looking me like the contractor I was. He raised his eyes to meet mine, and his lips twitched. It wasn’t a smile, and it wasn’t a baring of teeth. It was more an acknowledgement of the line I was drawing between us.He glanced at Foksall.“See she gets the equipment on the list, and the equipment she came with.” He glanced at where I was standing in my leggings, and the black tank top I’d worn under the corset. “Except for the dress. I don’t think she’ll be needing it.”Not if I got my combat fatigues, I wouldn’t. I waited some more.
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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 25, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Had a very slow start to the day – a late night led to a sleep in, and I was slightly down. No idea why. Either way, a little bit of time spent clearing email, and chatting with friends on Facebook, and I was okay to write. Here are today’s first words, in which Cutter looks to start a fight—because, when doesn’t she:
----------------------------------------------------------------  That was all it took to bring down the wall in front of me, and I didn’t wait for the guards to cross. As far as I was concerned, there was only one person who needed to die today, and he was on the balcony above our heads.Which would do him little good if I could clear enough space for a run-up. Now, all I had to do was activate the nans to release the stim into my system—and the best way I knew how to do that was to start a fight. I looked at the soldiers, still lined up where the wall used to be.Nice of them to volunteer.
---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 24, 2018—Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

Work on Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9 , the fifth book in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series, continues. I laid down another 3,000 words today, and left Cutter and Mack in the usual depth of trouble. Here are the first of those 3,000 words. Apparently, Cutter’s table manners leave a bit to be desired: 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------  Watching What You Eat  Surely your Delight told you about long-range psi?I wanted to answer that, but I couldn’t remember if she had, or not. Not that it mattered. Long range psi, huh? How long a range?Some of us can speak between starships.I wondered how much distance was between the starships, and if that needed special focus, but the spiders weren’t forthcoming. Before I could chase that down via their implants, a trolley bearing a large soup tureen was pushed through the kitchen doors, and wheeled over to stop beside Barangail. I watched as they served his lordship first, and then watched as they served Mack next.I was served last, but I didn’t mind; it gave me a chance to check the contents of the tureen before anyone ate—Mack specifically. I stood up as it drew to a halt beside me, and swiped my finger horizontally through the contents of the bowl, checking for an invisible barrier. When I found none, I swiped it the other way, pleasantly surprised to find nothing.I couldn’t smell any glorrin in the steam rising from the tureen, either.“The chef made enough for his lordship’s household; we were told to offer it as an alternative,” the steward told me, and I couldn’t work out if he was offended, or disgusted.Across the table, Mack covered his eyes with one hand.
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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.

A Second Excerpt from Today’s Edit—August 23, 2018—Shadow Trap

The Shadow Trap edit continues, but here is the second passage to have caught my eye.

----------------------------------------------------------------  A Goddess Prepares to Defend or Die
“I must go, brother,” Sariel said, as Criella’s shriek reached her ears.“You cannot,” Larias replied, knowing what she’d heard. “The Old One lies in wait for you. He will not let you take her unscathed.”“You do not understand, Larias,” the goddess replied. “It is not I who is important. It is the Old One’s defeat that is important. Even my death cannot change that.”“But dead you cannot aid us any further,” Larias protested. “We need you alive, helping us defend this world and all that rely on it for life. What importance could a mere girl have in comparison to that?”Sariel took his face in her hands and laid her forehead against his own.“Dear Larias,” she said, “don’t you understand? If the Old One takes that mere girl’s life, he is only one, at the most two, steps away from freeing himself. I cannot let him take her soul. This is one battle I must fight but, fear not, that which gave me my power has already chosen another to succeed me. It is she you should be protecting, for she could be a wife to you where I am only a sister.”“Sweet sister,” Larias replied, taking her hands in his own and drawing them from his face, “I would be a bachelor for eternity, and have you alive and safe, than take any wife your death must provide. Go if you must. I will help you where I can.”Sariel stepped away from him and, reluctantly, he had to let her hands go.“I will watch over you,” he whispered, as she vanished from before him. “I must.”There was a rustle of feathers at his back, and he glanced around, drawn from the picture that was forming in the air at his request. A winged messenger stood at his side.“You cannot watch over her,” it told him. “Your calling lies elsewhere and I have come to take you there.”“But I must watch her,” Larias protested.“And see her die?” the creature demanded, its voice harsh. “You will do her no good here. Your part for the future is vital. You must come with me now!”For the second time, reluctance slowed the god’s reactions, and he noticed the Messenger had clawed feet and skin hued with every shade of metal he could imagine.“Who are you?” he asked, stepping towards it.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to read more? 
The currently unmodified version of this book, Shadow Trap, and the third book of the Shadow series, Shadow’s Fall , are currently available for individual purchase. The updated version of the first book in the series, Shadow’s Rise , is also available. 

An Excerpt from Today’s Edit—August 23, 2018—Shadow Trap

The Shadow Trap edit continues, but here is the first passage to have caught my eye.
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At the Swap-Meet of the Gods
Gilzereet raised his head, tears gleaming in his eyes. Aravare’s presence filled the empty space Berveragna had left. Power and comfort flowed through him, soothing the hurt of Berveragna’s rejection, but leaving sadness at their separation. For that, Gilzereet was grateful; there were some things even the gods had no right to touch, some feelings better left for mortals to deal with in their own time and way.“Thank you, my lord,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. He turned to Berveragna. “My Lady,” he acknowledged, searching for the words to express what he felt. As he opened his mouth to speak those words, a shadow fell over the hall.Evil and dark as it was, Tara saw even the gods of wickedness look for its source, disquiet in their eyes. Aravare groaned, his presence flickering in and out of phase. The shadow about them laughed.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to read more? 
The currently unmodified version of this book, Shadow Trap, and the third book of the Shadow series, Shadow’s Fall , are currently available for individual purchase. The updated version of the first book in the series, Shadow’s Rise , is also available. 

First Words—August 23, 2018: C.M. Simpson

Well, Day 2 of making writing a part of the daily routine. So far, so good. In fact, today went better and I hit the 3,000-word mark that I’m trying to sustain. Here are today’s first words: ----------------------------------------------------------------
His arms tightened across my back, but Barangail was speaking, and Mack didn’t say a word.“What’s wrong with her, this time? It can’t be heights.”Which gave me an idea of just how closely we’d been monitored on the trip down to his estate. I wondered whose technology he’d been using. Did he have the place wired up himself, or had he used his new friends to get the kind of access that would allow him to tap into the surveillance systems on a public structure? Or maybe he just had a hacking team, like Odyssey’s Delight.Of all of those possibilities, only the second idea bothered me, because that suggested the arach weren’t all that new on the friendship scale of things—and, if they weren’t new, then just how far along had their plans for Alpha 9 had progressed?“Not heights,” Mack agreed, and left it at that, making it hard for Barangail to pry without being obvious.Right now, I wished I could see his lordship’s face, because I was willing to bet just how curious he felt would be written all over it. It was hard to do that with my head buried against Mack’s chest. By the same token, not being able to see the elevator walls around me meant I wasn’t reminded of a… other things.It also meant I wasn’t able to watch the floor counter as we descended, and that made the journey to the mansion proper seem interminably long.“Hang in there.”It was an improvement on being soothed like some fractious beast. That startled an abrupt laugh out of Mack, and I felt him looking down at me.“If the boot fits.”
----------------------------------------------------------------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 Excerpt from Today’s Edit—Shadow Trap

Work continues, and I move on to editing and updating the second book in the Shadow series, Shadow Trap . Not as much done as I was planning, but I tried to fit in some writing and walking, and then came across something that needed attention in the email, so it’s all full-ahead-stop, here. This scene caught me, as I edited, today – and I worked up a partial for the new cover to go with it:
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Gods VisitTara waited, watching as the number of priests on the stage dwindled, until Gilzereet knelt alone. Just as the High Priest bowed his head to speak to Aravare, a door on the other side of the room slid abruptly open, and a man and a woman were ushered through to join those already waiting. The priestess, accompanying them, closed the door, before leading them to the cleared circle at the head of the room. As they drew closer, Tara noticed the woman was blue-skinned, and dressed in the robes of Yasmeh, the fishergod. The man was tanned, until his skin looked a coppery bronze in the lamplight, the loose-fitting silk of his shirt declaring him some kind of noble or merchant.His eyes surveyed the gathering of priests with the wariness of one not comfortable in large crowds, but his posture held the arrogance of someone used to command. When his gaze fell on Gilzereet, his hand dropped to the hilt of his sword. Tara tensed. If this stranger tried to harm her master, he’d find himself facing more than he bargained for, priests and sanctified ceremony or no.She relaxed, when, at the edge of the circle, Aravare’s priestess motioned for the man to stop and wait with the rest of the gathering. The woman was taken to kneel some distance from Gilzereet. When fisherpriest was settled, the high priest of Crewesno, the god of worlds, stood forth. The high priest of Aravare stepped forward, also, and was followed by the high priest of Iarius, the all-encompassing god of oceans, seas and coastlines.Aravare’s high priest glanced back at the high priest for Berveragna, and received a sharp shake of that priest’s head, as though in reply to an unspoken question. Tara saw the high priest suppress a sigh, and turn to the woman who knelt to his right.A presence built around him, a power that was the combined manifestation of the gods. Tara stifled a gasp, and shrank further beneath the stone brazier, seeking protection in the shadows. Beyond the manifestation, she could see the gods themselves.Iarius, god of coasts and coastal waters, reminded her of the sea she had seen on travels with her previous master. Crewesno, god of worlds, struck her as strange—he held nothing in his hands yet, when she glimpsed his palms, they seemed to hold all things between them. His legs seemed at once there and not, as though, even now, at the ceremony’s end, he was walking the distance between her world and another. She shivered, and snuggled more closely against the rock.Aravare was less frightening, save for the impression that he knew everything that was going on, including the fact she was hiding in his temple, when no one but the priests and the woman’s companion had been allowed admittance. His presence looked once in her direction, as though in confirmation, and his lips quirked briefly upwards in greeting, leaving Tara stunned. Did he read thoughts as well?Another glance at him, revealed nothing. His attention had returned to the words his priest was intoning over the head of the fisherpriest. Tara was surprised when the high priestess of Yasmeh also came forward to stand before the girl.“You have travelled far,” Aravare’s high priest intoned, “feeling the rejection of your god, and wondering why he has forsaken you.”The girl raised her face to look at him, her cheeks streaked with tears.The priest continued, appearing not to notice. “He has not. See, he is here, waiting to soothe your hurt. He has watched over you, all your long journey, unwilling to withhold his presence from you, but knowing that he must, or you would not know your path.”The girl looked from Aravare’s priest to the priestess of Yasmeh. The priestess smiled, and the developing presence of Yasmeh smiled with her, and the girl’s face reflected their joy. She opened her mouth to thank them, but the high priest of Aravare continued on.“Know that Yasmeh bids you well. Know that he has chosen you for the path about to open to you. Know that his blessing and good wishes go with you.”The girl bowed her head in answer.Aravare’s high priest reached down, and placed one hand on her shoulder, offering her his other hand.“Rise now, and meet your new master. His name is Iarius, and he knows all that happens in the realm of the sea and the lands that border it. Lord over Yasmeh, he has asked your service from his aide, and been granted it.”Here the priestess of Yasmeh nodded. The girl took the high priest’s hand, and allowed him to help her rise.“I present you with Maron, high priest to Iarius within these lands and others.”Jasrian’s voice faltered, as though he had finally noticed the all-too-tangible presence of the gods. When he spoke again, it was with quaking deference and awe.“My lady, I present you with Iarius himself.”All around the room, Tara saw priests drop to their knees, and wondered why it had taken them so long to notice their deities. Again, she caught a glance from Aravare and, this time, he winked.---------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to read more? 
The currently unmodified version of this book, Shadow Trap, and the third book of the Shadow series, Shadow’s Fall , are currently available for individual purchase. The updated version of the first book in the series, Shadow’s Rise , is also available.