C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 118
March 25, 2018
Progress Report: March 4-10, 2018
In the first full week of March, I focussed on editing
Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins
. I’d hoped it would be done by the end of the week, but no such luck. I made around a half dozen full passes and almost completed the CreateSpace formatting process. I hoped to complete that in the second week.
Progress: March 4-10, 2018New words produced: 974Outlines and Notes: 2,785Words compiled: 0Works completed: 0Works edited: 1 (6x Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins )Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works released: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Hours at Desk—March 4-10: 50 hours 6 minutesHours at Desk—March 1-3: 27 hours 24 minutesFebruary Hours at Desk: 183 hours 50 minutesJanuary Hours at Desk: 180 hours 3 minute
Goal Progress
Publish Fortnightly Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
Short Story a Month Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Chapter Book a Month Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Novel a Quarter Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Publishing 3-Months Ahead Goal: This goal is not yet on track.
Finishing Series-I-Have-Started Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Anthology Challenge
No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Chapter-Book-Collection ChallengeNo further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Progress: March 4-10, 2018New words produced: 974Outlines and Notes: 2,785Words compiled: 0Works completed: 0Works edited: 1 (6x Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins )Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works released: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Hours at Desk—March 4-10: 50 hours 6 minutesHours at Desk—March 1-3: 27 hours 24 minutesFebruary Hours at Desk: 183 hours 50 minutesJanuary Hours at Desk: 180 hours 3 minute
Goal Progress
Publish Fortnightly Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
Short Story a Month Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Chapter Book a Month Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Novel a Quarter Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Publishing 3-Months Ahead Goal: This goal is not yet on track.
Finishing Series-I-Have-Started Goal: No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Anthology Challenge
No further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
Chapter-Book-Collection ChallengeNo further advances have been made, but the goal remains on track, as follows:
March 24, 2018
First New Cover for March—Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s Host
Here is the cover for
Mack ‘n’ Me: Blaedergil’s
Host, the second novel in my new science fiction series, Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey.
I stayed off Mack's radar for a good three months, or so I'd thought. Maybe he was just letting me run. He found me, kicked my ass and hauled me right back on board. He'd been doing that on and off for the past two years. Problem was, Odyssey was also on my tail, and, when this job was done, Mack was supposed to hand me back. Not gonna happen. And, now I was back to Square One: Kick free of Odyssey & kick free of Mack... just as soon as the mission was done, because how could I turn my back on *that*?
I stayed off Mack's radar for a good three months, or so I'd thought. Maybe he was just letting me run. He found me, kicked my ass and hauled me right back on board. He'd been doing that on and off for the past two years. Problem was, Odyssey was also on my tail, and, when this job was done, Mack was supposed to hand me back. Not gonna happen. And, now I was back to Square One: Kick free of Odyssey & kick free of Mack... just as soon as the mission was done, because how could I turn my back on *that*?
Writing Log: Blaedergil’s Host, Dear Tiger, and Camp NaNo
19/03: Dear Tiger: Let's Go A-Hunting: Revised/edited yesterday's words. Added around 300 words here. Went on to add another 3,580. After that I created a cover for, and added 3,046 words to,
Blaedergil’s Host
, and did a little social media,.
20/03: Today I created the cover for, and added 3,304 words to Dear Tiger: Let’s Go A-Hunting . After that, I spent a half hour on another project before adding another 3,041 words to Blaedergil’s Host .
21/03: Today, I got hurt my back and could not sit for extended periods of time. Of the 4 hours I managed, I spent too much time on social media, and only wrote 158 words on Blaedergil’s Host.
22/03: With the time lost yesterday, and with my back continuing to be painful, today, I had to prioritise my publishing goals. I dropped work on Blaedergil’s Host so that I could finish Dear Tiger: Let’s Go A-Hunting and, hopefully, start on Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters . I managed the 2, 031 words needed to complete Dear Tiger: Let’s Go A-Hunting , and wrote the outline and the first 407 on Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters . Both these chapter books are due for release in April.
23/03: Continued back pain made it difficult to write. I only added 1,093 words to Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters , and was not able to return to Blaedergil’s Host .
24/03: The back pain continued, but I was able to sit at the desk for longer periods of time. The pain was also less distracting, so I managed 3,965 words on Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters , but none on Blaedergil’s Host. If my back improves, I hope to get back to that next week.
20/03: Today I created the cover for, and added 3,304 words to Dear Tiger: Let’s Go A-Hunting . After that, I spent a half hour on another project before adding another 3,041 words to Blaedergil’s Host .
21/03: Today, I got hurt my back and could not sit for extended periods of time. Of the 4 hours I managed, I spent too much time on social media, and only wrote 158 words on Blaedergil’s Host.
22/03: With the time lost yesterday, and with my back continuing to be painful, today, I had to prioritise my publishing goals. I dropped work on Blaedergil’s Host so that I could finish Dear Tiger: Let’s Go A-Hunting and, hopefully, start on Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters . I managed the 2, 031 words needed to complete Dear Tiger: Let’s Go A-Hunting , and wrote the outline and the first 407 on Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters . Both these chapter books are due for release in April.
23/03: Continued back pain made it difficult to write. I only added 1,093 words to Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters , and was not able to return to Blaedergil’s Host .
24/03: The back pain continued, but I was able to sit at the desk for longer periods of time. The pain was also less distracting, so I managed 3,965 words on Dear Tiger: Help Me Find My Sisters , but none on Blaedergil’s Host. If my back improves, I hope to get back to that next week.
March 16, 2018
New Release—Dear Tiger: Don’t Look Back
Dear Tiger: Don’t Look Back , the third story in the Letters Across Space series, released today on Smashwords, and will soon be available on Amazon, DriveThruFiction, and via Smashwords and Draft2Digital distribution.
Simone escaping FedExplore was only the first step. Now, Tiger has to do the same. Simone says Odyssey can help, but Tiger is already on the run. Catching up with him and getting him to safety might be harder than it looks. Can he give FedExplore the slip, or will its bounty hunters bag him first? And what about the aliens that killed his parents? Are they really following him? Or is it just coincidence? Once again, a trail of email tells the story as Simone and Tiger try to reach each other against all odds.
March 12, 2018
Ingress: Tactics—A Question of Cooperation
Ingress is a game that can be played on your own, or as part of a group. You can seek out the company of other players, play with friends, or play on your own – whatever suits your play style, or life-style best – but what you can’t ignore is that Ingress is a team game. Regardless of whether or not you acknowledge the rest of your team, the fact remains that you are part of it.
I find this aspect one of the nicest things about Ingress. I’m not a terribly social person, and there are days when I just need to be by myself, but I find I like the idea that there are people around who are on my side, even if I never see them. Sometimes, however, you can feel like you’re playing completely on your own, that no-one cares what you do, or don’t do, and like your team just doesn’t exist—but there are ways around that. Talk to other agents – there’s a faction tab in your Comms panel. You can use that to communicate to just your own side. If you’ve got time to spare, you can always check to see if there’s anything you can do to help others in the area you’re in. Or you can just lurk.Play like you’re on a team. If you come across a portal deployed by another team member, don’t just use it to link out from, buff it up by upgrading its resonators, or filling empty resonator slots. Add some useful mods to it. Recharge it, if it needs it. It’s one way of acknowledging that you are building on someone else’s work, and also a way of letting another agent know that they, too, are not alone.Above all, remember that your team is made up of people, and that people aren’t so good with strangers, even if they’re meant to be on the same side. Try to get to know other team members first by attending some Ingress events. You don’t need to be able to get to an Anomaly, or an NL-1331 Meetup, you can go to a First Saturday, or see if there is a local Hang-Out for your team that you can join on-line. At least that way you can chat with other agents, and you might make some new friends you can meet up with. Just because you start out as strangers doesn't mean you have to stay that way.And have fun. It's always time to move.
I find this aspect one of the nicest things about Ingress. I’m not a terribly social person, and there are days when I just need to be by myself, but I find I like the idea that there are people around who are on my side, even if I never see them. Sometimes, however, you can feel like you’re playing completely on your own, that no-one cares what you do, or don’t do, and like your team just doesn’t exist—but there are ways around that. Talk to other agents – there’s a faction tab in your Comms panel. You can use that to communicate to just your own side. If you’ve got time to spare, you can always check to see if there’s anything you can do to help others in the area you’re in. Or you can just lurk.Play like you’re on a team. If you come across a portal deployed by another team member, don’t just use it to link out from, buff it up by upgrading its resonators, or filling empty resonator slots. Add some useful mods to it. Recharge it, if it needs it. It’s one way of acknowledging that you are building on someone else’s work, and also a way of letting another agent know that they, too, are not alone.Above all, remember that your team is made up of people, and that people aren’t so good with strangers, even if they’re meant to be on the same side. Try to get to know other team members first by attending some Ingress events. You don’t need to be able to get to an Anomaly, or an NL-1331 Meetup, you can go to a First Saturday, or see if there is a local Hang-Out for your team that you can join on-line. At least that way you can chat with other agents, and you might make some new friends you can meet up with. Just because you start out as strangers doesn't mean you have to stay that way.And have fun. It's always time to move.
March 9, 2018
Pre-Release Special—Dreams of the Serpent 99C US on Smashwords
Just to let you know that April’s story, Dreams of the Serpent , will be discounted to 99c US, ON SMASHWORDS ONLY, until shortly after it releases, when it will return to the usual price of $2.99 US.
When the contract’s done, and you’re fleeing for your life, the company’s supposed to be on your side, right? Am I right? So, you tell me what happens when the company understands the contract wrong, and you get stuck somewhere you really don’t wanta be. You tell me how I’m gonna make it back to the stars.
A short science fiction story set in the Odyssey universe.
Book Deposits with the National Library of Australia: February 2018
As is required by Australian copyright law, the following titles were deposited at the National Australian Library in February 2018. These titles (and all those previously deposited) are available for on-site borrowing only:
March 8, 2018
Pre-Release Available—Dreams of the Serpent
April's short story is now available for pre-order on Smashwords, and soon on Amazon.
When the contract’s done, and you’re fleeing for your life, the company’s supposed to be on your side, right? Am I right? So, you tell me what happens when the company understands the contract wrong, and you get stuck somewhere you really don’t wanta be. You tell me how I’m gonna make it back to the stars.
A short science fiction story set in the Odyssey universe.
When the contract’s done, and you’re fleeing for your life, the company’s supposed to be on your side, right? Am I right? So, you tell me what happens when the company understands the contract wrong, and you get stuck somewhere you really don’t wanta be. You tell me how I’m gonna make it back to the stars.
A short science fiction story set in the Odyssey universe.
Pre-Release Special—Dear Tiger: I Like Your Lab 99c US on Smashwords
Just to let you know that, Dear Tiger: I Like Your Lab, the fourth story of the Letters Across Space series will be discounted to 99c US, ON SMASHWORDS ONLY, until shortly after it releases, when it will return to the usual price of $2.99 US.
Finally located in the same complex, Tiger and Simone are separated again, as Simone begins to mutate—and it isn’t pretty. Tiger says he’ll talk her through it, but will he be there when she finally emerges? There are some things no friendship can survive. Could the hunter fever be one of them?
New Cover—Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins
The cover for my first science-fiction novel has arrived! Release should be next month.
I ran away from home to find a better life—not be forced into one. You can call me picky, but a girl likes to be asked if she wants to work for you, not coerced—and Odyssey should know better. Now, I have to find a way to kick free—of Odyssey, and my trainer, Mack—without getting myself killed. Surviving the mission is just the first step. Getting out from under, that’s gonna take some doing.
