C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 122
February 15, 2018
New Novel Finished - Mack 'n' Me: Origins
After two years of writing flash fiction surrounding Joss Cutter (the first-person narrator) and Mack, I finally found the story of how they first met. What I didn't expect was to find that Odyssey also featured in the way Joss started out... or that they had a much darker side.
The novel was supposed to be the development of a different novel idea, but became its own beast, pushing the original novel in the position of Book 2, and I knew I had a trilogy on my hands. At the end, though, I found a fourth book, and a short story. Plans are to now complete the other three books in the series, and try for an anthology of the short stories and flash before year's end, with all of them coming in around 90k... nothing like aiming high, right?
The novel was supposed to be the development of a different novel idea, but became its own beast, pushing the original novel in the position of Book 2, and I knew I had a trilogy on my hands. At the end, though, I found a fourth book, and a short story. Plans are to now complete the other three books in the series, and try for an anthology of the short stories and flash before year's end, with all of them coming in around 90k... nothing like aiming high, right?
February 12, 2018
Ingress: Gold Creek Walk Mission Mosaic
A couple of weeks ago, I was able to do a 12-mission series set in Gold Creek Village, in Nichols, in the north of Canberra.
Time to Complete: It is possible to do this series in an hour at a brisk walk, however, if you glyph hack, capture, fully deploy and link it can take twice that time - and, if you are playing PokemonGo and spinning every stop, capturing each of the four or five gyms, and chasing down the wide variety of pokemon that you can find there, it can easily take you the three-and-a-half hours it took me.
Complexity:
This is a very straight-forward mission series with easily accessible portals, and hacking all that is required. It is a good way to get to know Gold Creek Village and become familiar with the wide variety of cafes, sculptures, and tourist locations to which it is home.
Terrain and Location Notes:
Location Accessibility: Gold Creek Village can be reached by bus, or by car, and has ample free parking.
Traversing the Mission Series: If you park at the start of the first mission, you will walk two circuits of the village in order to return to your car. Missions should be completed in numerical order for the mosaic to make sense at the end. Each mission consists of a set of stop that must be done in a set order. It is best not to hack portals outside the mission until it is completed in case you hack a portal you might need at the start of the next mission. Not all portals are accessible from the road, and you will need to park and walk. There is a very slight gradient, but it isn't very noticeable. Most portals can be reached from a sealed surface such as a footpath, but a few are accessible from gravelled areas or pathways. It should be possible to do this series by wheelchair, although you might need to take a slightly more circuitous route to reach some portals.
Toilets: There are three public toilet locations: One is to the right at the end of the walkway leading from Federation Square, down the side of the T on the Square Cafe; one is opposite the entrance to the Australian Reptile Centre just off the arcade leading out to the car park in front of Cafe Injoy; and one is in the back of the building opposite the Green Herring restaurant. There are also other toilets located in public restaurants such as MacDonalds.
Meals: Gold Creek village is home to a good range of cafes, a fast-food restaurant, a pub, and several very nice restaurants. Food can be purchased at any of these venues, which are usually open on weekends, although hours may vary according to their target audience. Some restaurants are only open in the evening, and some cafes are only open during the day, for example.
Mission Medals:
Time to Complete: It is possible to do this series in an hour at a brisk walk, however, if you glyph hack, capture, fully deploy and link it can take twice that time - and, if you are playing PokemonGo and spinning every stop, capturing each of the four or five gyms, and chasing down the wide variety of pokemon that you can find there, it can easily take you the three-and-a-half hours it took me.
Complexity:
This is a very straight-forward mission series with easily accessible portals, and hacking all that is required. It is a good way to get to know Gold Creek Village and become familiar with the wide variety of cafes, sculptures, and tourist locations to which it is home.
Terrain and Location Notes:
Location Accessibility: Gold Creek Village can be reached by bus, or by car, and has ample free parking.
Traversing the Mission Series: If you park at the start of the first mission, you will walk two circuits of the village in order to return to your car. Missions should be completed in numerical order for the mosaic to make sense at the end. Each mission consists of a set of stop that must be done in a set order. It is best not to hack portals outside the mission until it is completed in case you hack a portal you might need at the start of the next mission. Not all portals are accessible from the road, and you will need to park and walk. There is a very slight gradient, but it isn't very noticeable. Most portals can be reached from a sealed surface such as a footpath, but a few are accessible from gravelled areas or pathways. It should be possible to do this series by wheelchair, although you might need to take a slightly more circuitous route to reach some portals.
Toilets: There are three public toilet locations: One is to the right at the end of the walkway leading from Federation Square, down the side of the T on the Square Cafe; one is opposite the entrance to the Australian Reptile Centre just off the arcade leading out to the car park in front of Cafe Injoy; and one is in the back of the building opposite the Green Herring restaurant. There are also other toilets located in public restaurants such as MacDonalds.
Meals: Gold Creek village is home to a good range of cafes, a fast-food restaurant, a pub, and several very nice restaurants. Food can be purchased at any of these venues, which are usually open on weekends, although hours may vary according to their target audience. Some restaurants are only open in the evening, and some cafes are only open during the day, for example.
Mission Medals:
February 5, 2018
Ingress Round-Up: January 2018
Finding Time to Play:
When do I get time to play Ingress? Since I switch between it and PoGo on my morning walks - although I'll admit to giving this game priority for allowing myself to stop... unless I've run out of pokeballs and need to collect more.
Generally, the goal of the (mostly) morning walk is to get as many kilometres covered in the 30-45 minutes I have for walking, before the real-world demands some attention, which means whatever pokemongoing or ingressing that happens has to happen without me having to stop. I do, however, allow 5 minutes of exceptions, such as capturing a gym, or portal, but, after that, too bad, what I find is what I'm stuck with, no matter how much I want to change it.
Weekends, when I have more time, things are different and I get to stop more, but I must still hit a minimum of one hour's walk on the health app before I can go home and do something else - and, I still to impose a no-stopping rule when I need to get things done.
Medal Milestones Achieved in January 2018:
January 2018 was a quiet month for medal achievements, however, I reached the following Ingress medal milestones: double-black Sojourner, bronze NL-1331 Meetups.
Mission Medals Achieved in January 2018:
Yes, there will be a report; it's next. Unfortunately, I only managed one mission series in January. It was a thoroughly enjoyable walk-around of Gold Creek Village, with a very nice mosaic at the end. Here's what it looks like:
When do I get time to play Ingress? Since I switch between it and PoGo on my morning walks - although I'll admit to giving this game priority for allowing myself to stop... unless I've run out of pokeballs and need to collect more.
Generally, the goal of the (mostly) morning walk is to get as many kilometres covered in the 30-45 minutes I have for walking, before the real-world demands some attention, which means whatever pokemongoing or ingressing that happens has to happen without me having to stop. I do, however, allow 5 minutes of exceptions, such as capturing a gym, or portal, but, after that, too bad, what I find is what I'm stuck with, no matter how much I want to change it.
Weekends, when I have more time, things are different and I get to stop more, but I must still hit a minimum of one hour's walk on the health app before I can go home and do something else - and, I still to impose a no-stopping rule when I need to get things done.
Medal Milestones Achieved in January 2018:
January 2018 was a quiet month for medal achievements, however, I reached the following Ingress medal milestones: double-black Sojourner, bronze NL-1331 Meetups.
Mission Medals Achieved in January 2018:
Yes, there will be a report; it's next. Unfortunately, I only managed one mission series in January. It was a thoroughly enjoyable walk-around of Gold Creek Village, with a very nice mosaic at the end. Here's what it looks like:
February 4, 2018
PokemonGo: January 2018 Progress Summary
Why PokeGo?
I like walking - and I like playing games while I do. I like Pokemongo because I don't have to have my head down in the phone to play, so I get to see the birds and say hi to folk I meet on the track - and, apparently, walking is good for me. Go figure. What I hate is actually heading out the door. Having gamer goals makes that a little easier. I can do it without the extra incentive, but I'm really glad I don't have to.
The other thing gaming while I walk does, is to help me break the cycle of going over things that make me depressed. It's hard to stay in a depressive thought cycle when your phone buzzes, and there's a new pokemon on the screen, or an old one, or a raid starting up nearby, and then there's always something happening in the way the game works. I like that; it's interesting.
And there have been a lot of new things happening in the game. I just have to write up the reports and remember to blog what I've noticed. I am well and truly behind in making those reports, but they are coming. This report is just a summary of the month's happenings, medals earned, and pokemon caught.
PokemonGo Happenings in January 2018:
December saw the arrival of a whole bunch of new pokemon from Hoenn, as well as a a Holiday Event that saw more ice pokemon in the area than I've ever see before. During the 2017 Holiday event, my goal was to try and achieve my silver ice-type badge, so I was thrilled to achieve gold. I'm also happy to say that the ice pokemon have stuck around, to brave the 30-39 degree Celsius (86-102.2 degrees Farenheit) temperatures of an Australian summer, so plenty of icy fun is happening.
January also saw the first PokemonGo Community Event, with a special surfing pikachu only available for a few hours on a rather hot Saturday afternoon. That was where I saw, and caught, my very first 'shiny' pikachu. Because these guys were only graded as 'decent', I very nearly sent them off to the Professor. I'm very glad I checked what they were, before I did that. Sadly, though, they did not count as new pokemon, when caught.
The legendary pokemon, Kyogre, also appeared in gyms around the world, but I never could find the numbers to battle it. Sad, but thems the breaks. It is a very cute pokemon, though. See?
Finally, January, saw the arrival of a second wave of pokemon from the Hoenn region, so there were plenty of new catches. This was the first time I'd been aware of new pokemon being released in waves.
New Pokemon Caught in January 2018:
New Pokemon Evolved in January 2018:
New Pokemon Hatched in January
Medals Earned:
In January 2018, I reached the following milestones: gold Skier, silver Depot Agent, double-gold Kindler and Fairytale Girl, and 1,000 pokemon caught for Bug Catcher and Gardener.
Goals for February:
Catch 10 more tiny rattata, Catch enough aron to evolve lairon into aggron,Walk quilava far enough to evolve a typhlosion,Hatch one egg per day.
I like walking - and I like playing games while I do. I like Pokemongo because I don't have to have my head down in the phone to play, so I get to see the birds and say hi to folk I meet on the track - and, apparently, walking is good for me. Go figure. What I hate is actually heading out the door. Having gamer goals makes that a little easier. I can do it without the extra incentive, but I'm really glad I don't have to.
The other thing gaming while I walk does, is to help me break the cycle of going over things that make me depressed. It's hard to stay in a depressive thought cycle when your phone buzzes, and there's a new pokemon on the screen, or an old one, or a raid starting up nearby, and then there's always something happening in the way the game works. I like that; it's interesting.
And there have been a lot of new things happening in the game. I just have to write up the reports and remember to blog what I've noticed. I am well and truly behind in making those reports, but they are coming. This report is just a summary of the month's happenings, medals earned, and pokemon caught.
PokemonGo Happenings in January 2018:
December saw the arrival of a whole bunch of new pokemon from Hoenn, as well as a a Holiday Event that saw more ice pokemon in the area than I've ever see before. During the 2017 Holiday event, my goal was to try and achieve my silver ice-type badge, so I was thrilled to achieve gold. I'm also happy to say that the ice pokemon have stuck around, to brave the 30-39 degree Celsius (86-102.2 degrees Farenheit) temperatures of an Australian summer, so plenty of icy fun is happening.
January also saw the first PokemonGo Community Event, with a special surfing pikachu only available for a few hours on a rather hot Saturday afternoon. That was where I saw, and caught, my very first 'shiny' pikachu. Because these guys were only graded as 'decent', I very nearly sent them off to the Professor. I'm very glad I checked what they were, before I did that. Sadly, though, they did not count as new pokemon, when caught.
The legendary pokemon, Kyogre, also appeared in gyms around the world, but I never could find the numbers to battle it. Sad, but thems the breaks. It is a very cute pokemon, though. See?
Finally, January, saw the arrival of a second wave of pokemon from the Hoenn region, so there were plenty of new catches. This was the first time I'd been aware of new pokemon being released in waves.
New Pokemon Caught in January 2018:
New Pokemon Evolved in January 2018:
New Pokemon Hatched in January
Medals Earned:
In January 2018, I reached the following milestones: gold Skier, silver Depot Agent, double-gold Kindler and Fairytale Girl, and 1,000 pokemon caught for Bug Catcher and Gardener.
Goals for February:
Catch 10 more tiny rattata, Catch enough aron to evolve lairon into aggron,Walk quilava far enough to evolve a typhlosion,Hatch one egg per day.
February 3, 2018
Progress Report: January 28 to February 3, 2018
Editing and publishing was a major focus for last week, with editing completed on four projects, and three of those projects being uploaded for pre-order. I also completed a cover for the first release in March, and the major goal this week will be to complete the releases scheduled for March. So far, I have two to go. Progress was still made on all writing goal fronts—except the unspecified one to finish
Babes in London
, and I’m working towards clearing a day of desk space just for that. Here is the writing progress made in the past week:
Progress Overview: January 28-February 3, 2018New words produced: 6,917Outlines and Notes: 2,081Words compiled: 13,675Works completed: 0 Works edited: 4 ( Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore, Memory's Vampire )Covers created: 1 ( Memory's Vampire )Works published: 3 ( Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Works released:2 ( Reluctant Liaison, Dear Tiger: I Miss You )Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 1,154Hours at Desk—January 28-February 3: 27h 39m
January Hours at Desk: 180 hours 3 m
Goal Progress
Publish Fortnightly: Weekly pre-releases have already been uploaded to the end of February, 2018. Stories have been written to cover the release schedule to the first week of March 2018, and the second release for that month is in the process of being written. This goal is currently on track.
Short Story/Month Goal: So far, the short story, Reluctant Liaison , has been released for February 2017, and stories have been written, but not yet published, for March through to June, 2017: Memory’s Vampire, Dreams of the Serpent, Destiny’s Queen, and Harper’s Choice . A seventh short story was started this week, tentatively titled River’s Edge . This goal is currently on track.
June 2018: May 2018: April 2018:
March 2018: February 2018: January 2018:
Chapter Book/Month Goal: So far, one chapter book, In Full Flight , has been released for January, February’s chapter book Granny Finds a Gas Mask is available on pre-order, and March’s chapter book has been started. This goal is currently on track.
March 2018: February 2018: January 2018:
Novel/Quarter Goal: So far, I have released 1 young-adult novel for Quarter 1, A Planet’s Ransom , and completed the first 50,000 words of the novel due for the second quarter. This goal is currently on track.
June 2018: January 2018:
Publishing 12-Months Ahead Goal: I am going to follow the same pattern for next year’s work, as I am for this year. This means publishing 12-months’ worth of short stories and 12-months’ worth of chapter books, and 1 novel each quarter. I have yet to writing towards this goal, but the writing schedule is in place.
Finishing-Series-I-Have-Started Goal: At the start of the year, I named several series that I wanted to advance. For C.M. Simpson, these were the: Freeman, The Priestess, the Prince & Dragon, Aggie & Tams series; and for Carlie Simonsen they were the: Wings and Tag Man One series. So far, I have released In Full Flight , for the Wings series, and am in the process of writing the third book for the Dear Tiger series. This goal is on track.
Finishing-Novels-Started-2017 Goal: At the start of the year I said I wanted to finish some novels started last year. I mentioned Mack ‘n’ Me , Arach. I forgot about the second book in the Aggie & Tams series, and the second book in The Priestess, Prince & the Dragon series. I am currently 50,000 words in to writing Mack ‘n’ Me , which is now slated for release in the second quarter.
Anthology Challenge ProgressThe Anthology Challenge is to release one collection of short work each month in 2019. When I began this challenge, I had completed four collections, but had to compile, cover, edit and upload any. The current status for each collection is as follows:
January—Short Work for 2017, Volume 1: Completed and collated at 98,000 words, requires cover, front and end matter, editing, formatting and publication;
February—Short Work for 2017, Volume 2: Completed, requires collation editing, and publication;March—Tales from Odyssey: 79,824/90,000 words;
April—An Anthology of Bloodlines: 46,510/90,000 words;May—Pixie-Dust Dreaming: 53,020/90,000 words;
June—The Story-Match Challenge 2015:Completed at 102,655 words, requires collation, editing, and publication;
July—The Story-A-Week Catch-Up Collection:Completed and compiled at 96,700 words, this still requires a permanent cover, formatting, editing and publication;
August—Another Anthology of Dragons: 43,311/90,000 words;
September—Tales from When the Trolls Came: 21,815/90,000 words;
October—Stories from the Lizardine: 31,493/90,000 words;
November—Tales from Tallameera: 19,902/90,000 words; and
December—Another 366 Days of Poetry: 0/90,000 words.
Extension—Another 366 Days of Flash Fiction: 0/90,000 words.
Chapter-Book-Collection Challenge ProgressThe Chapter-Book-Collection Challenge is to release one collection of chapter books each month in 2020. When I began this challenge, I had not completed any of the proposed collections. The current status for each collection is as follows: January—Wings: 3 of 4 proposed volumes completed; existing stories compiled with updated front and back matter;
February—Rocky: previously known as the Otherworld series; 5 of 6 proposed volumes completed;
March—Wheelchair Romance: currently included in the Wheelchair Adventures series; 3 of 4 proposed of volumes completed;
April—Granny Finds Adventures: 1 of 6 proposed volumes completed, but overviews are completed for the first three, and writing has commenced on the second volume.
May—Tag Man One: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
June—Long Hair Collected: 1 of 6 proposed volumes completed;
July—Ribbondrake Riders: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
August—On Patrol Collection: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
September—Running with the Pack: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
October—Traveller’s Tales: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
November—Marcus Drain’s Collected Adventures; 0 of 6 proposed volumes completed;
December—The Dear Tiger Letters: 2 of 4 proposed volumes completed, and a fifth volume is now planned. The third volume of the series is currently being written.
Progress Overview: January 28-February 3, 2018New words produced: 6,917Outlines and Notes: 2,081Words compiled: 13,675Works completed: 0 Works edited: 4 ( Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore, Memory's Vampire )Covers created: 1 ( Memory's Vampire )Works published: 3 ( Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Works released:2 ( Reluctant Liaison, Dear Tiger: I Miss You )Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 1,154Hours at Desk—January 28-February 3: 27h 39m
January Hours at Desk: 180 hours 3 m
Goal Progress
Publish Fortnightly: Weekly pre-releases have already been uploaded to the end of February, 2018. Stories have been written to cover the release schedule to the first week of March 2018, and the second release for that month is in the process of being written. This goal is currently on track.
Short Story/Month Goal: So far, the short story, Reluctant Liaison , has been released for February 2017, and stories have been written, but not yet published, for March through to June, 2017: Memory’s Vampire, Dreams of the Serpent, Destiny’s Queen, and Harper’s Choice . A seventh short story was started this week, tentatively titled River’s Edge . This goal is currently on track.
June 2018: May 2018: April 2018:
March 2018: February 2018: January 2018:
Chapter Book/Month Goal: So far, one chapter book, In Full Flight , has been released for January, February’s chapter book Granny Finds a Gas Mask is available on pre-order, and March’s chapter book has been started. This goal is currently on track.
March 2018: February 2018: January 2018:
Novel/Quarter Goal: So far, I have released 1 young-adult novel for Quarter 1, A Planet’s Ransom , and completed the first 50,000 words of the novel due for the second quarter. This goal is currently on track.
June 2018: January 2018:
Publishing 12-Months Ahead Goal: I am going to follow the same pattern for next year’s work, as I am for this year. This means publishing 12-months’ worth of short stories and 12-months’ worth of chapter books, and 1 novel each quarter. I have yet to writing towards this goal, but the writing schedule is in place.
Finishing-Series-I-Have-Started Goal: At the start of the year, I named several series that I wanted to advance. For C.M. Simpson, these were the: Freeman, The Priestess, the Prince & Dragon, Aggie & Tams series; and for Carlie Simonsen they were the: Wings and Tag Man One series. So far, I have released In Full Flight , for the Wings series, and am in the process of writing the third book for the Dear Tiger series. This goal is on track.
Finishing-Novels-Started-2017 Goal: At the start of the year I said I wanted to finish some novels started last year. I mentioned Mack ‘n’ Me , Arach. I forgot about the second book in the Aggie & Tams series, and the second book in The Priestess, Prince & the Dragon series. I am currently 50,000 words in to writing Mack ‘n’ Me , which is now slated for release in the second quarter.
Anthology Challenge ProgressThe Anthology Challenge is to release one collection of short work each month in 2019. When I began this challenge, I had completed four collections, but had to compile, cover, edit and upload any. The current status for each collection is as follows: January—Short Work for 2017, Volume 1: Completed and collated at 98,000 words, requires cover, front and end matter, editing, formatting and publication;
February—Short Work for 2017, Volume 2: Completed, requires collation editing, and publication;March—Tales from Odyssey: 79,824/90,000 words;
April—An Anthology of Bloodlines: 46,510/90,000 words;May—Pixie-Dust Dreaming: 53,020/90,000 words;
June—The Story-Match Challenge 2015:Completed at 102,655 words, requires collation, editing, and publication;
July—The Story-A-Week Catch-Up Collection:Completed and compiled at 96,700 words, this still requires a permanent cover, formatting, editing and publication;
August—Another Anthology of Dragons: 43,311/90,000 words;
September—Tales from When the Trolls Came: 21,815/90,000 words;
October—Stories from the Lizardine: 31,493/90,000 words;
November—Tales from Tallameera: 19,902/90,000 words; and
December—Another 366 Days of Poetry: 0/90,000 words.
Extension—Another 366 Days of Flash Fiction: 0/90,000 words.
Chapter-Book-Collection Challenge ProgressThe Chapter-Book-Collection Challenge is to release one collection of chapter books each month in 2020. When I began this challenge, I had not completed any of the proposed collections. The current status for each collection is as follows: January—Wings: 3 of 4 proposed volumes completed; existing stories compiled with updated front and back matter;
February—Rocky: previously known as the Otherworld series; 5 of 6 proposed volumes completed;
March—Wheelchair Romance: currently included in the Wheelchair Adventures series; 3 of 4 proposed of volumes completed;
April—Granny Finds Adventures: 1 of 6 proposed volumes completed, but overviews are completed for the first three, and writing has commenced on the second volume.
May—Tag Man One: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
June—Long Hair Collected: 1 of 6 proposed volumes completed;
July—Ribbondrake Riders: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
August—On Patrol Collection: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
September—Running with the Pack: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
October—Traveller’s Tales: 1 of 4 proposed volumes completed;
November—Marcus Drain’s Collected Adventures; 0 of 6 proposed volumes completed;
December—The Dear Tiger Letters: 2 of 4 proposed volumes completed, and a fifth volume is now planned. The third volume of the series is currently being written.
Pre-Order Book Deal on Smashwords—Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore
Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore is now available for pre-order for 99c on Smashwords. It is also available at its usual price on Amazon. This is the second book in the science fiction series, The Tiger Letters, which I write as Carlie Simonsen, and this time readers get to see Tiger’s responses to Simone’s letters. The frontiers of space aren’t the only thing humanity has reached, and Tiger and Simone are caught right in the middle of its next advance.
Trapped in a room, and unable to hug her family, Simone knows she is changing. She just doesn’t know what she’s changing into, or how long it will take. The company doctors won’t tell her, and Tiger seems so far away. But at least he writes back, and he’s trying to help. Maybe, together, they can find a way out.
January 2018 - Publishing and Writing Progress
January saw me get a little of my shit together, although not necessarily in a nice, neat pile. Either way, I was a lot more organised by the end of the month than I had been at the beginning, and I was moving forward on the publishing schedule, despite the continuation of school holidays with all that entails. Here is what was achieved.
Progress Overview: January 01-31, 2018New words produced: 74,753 (so I have absolutely NO excuse for not completing NaNoWriMo this year)Outlines and Notes: 7,834Words compiled: 226,640Works completed: 2 ( Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Works edited: 4 ( Reluctant Liaison, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Covers created: 4 ( Reluctant Liaison, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Works published: 3 ( Reluctant Liaison, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Miss You )Works released: 4 ( The Queen’s Game, A Planet’s Ransom, In Full Flight, Dear Tiger: I Miss You )Works submitted: 3 (1 market)Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 10,794Hours at Desk—January 28-31: 12 hours 20 minutesHours at Desk—January 21-27: 35 hours 50 minutesHours at Desk—January 14-20: 46 hours, 28 minutesHours at Desk—January 7-13: 47 hours, 16 minutesHours at Desk—January 1-6: 38 hours, 19 minutesTOTAL HOURS AT DESK—January: 180 hours, 3 minute
Progress Overview: January 01-31, 2018New words produced: 74,753 (so I have absolutely NO excuse for not completing NaNoWriMo this year)Outlines and Notes: 7,834Words compiled: 226,640Works completed: 2 ( Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Works edited: 4 ( Reluctant Liaison, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Covers created: 4 ( Reluctant Liaison, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Miss You, Dear Tiger: I Don’t Think I’m Human Anymore )Works published: 3 ( Reluctant Liaison, Granny Finds a Gas Mask, Dear Tiger: I Miss You )Works released: 4 ( The Queen’s Game, A Planet’s Ransom, In Full Flight, Dear Tiger: I Miss You )Works submitted: 3 (1 market)Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 10,794Hours at Desk—January 28-31: 12 hours 20 minutesHours at Desk—January 21-27: 35 hours 50 minutesHours at Desk—January 14-20: 46 hours, 28 minutesHours at Desk—January 7-13: 47 hours, 16 minutesHours at Desk—January 1-6: 38 hours, 19 minutesTOTAL HOURS AT DESK—January: 180 hours, 3 minute
New Cover: Memory’s Vampire
The cover for March’s short story, Memory’s Vampire, has arrived. I like it a lot.
Not all vampires feed on blood. The ones we hunt take your memories before they take your life—and now they are hunting back. We’ve been compromised, and I don’t know who to trust. That comes later. Right now, I just want to make it back to my body alive
February 2, 2018
Just Released: Reluctant Liaison
This is just to let you know that
Reluctant Liaison
has just released and will return to the usual price of 2.99, shortly. It is available on Smashwords, Amazon, and DriveThruFiction, and is available via Draft2Digital distribution.
I woke up in a car—upside down, staring into the faces of a half dozen pixies sitting on a tree branch. To one side, was a cliff face, to the other, sky, and things were starting to shift. Apparently, I’d had an interesting night… if only I could remember what it was, and why I’d run, and why following the pixies scared me almost as much as the idea of staying in the car…In Reluctant Liaison the Paranormal Operations Squad is faced with a dilemma outside their usual remit, when Otherworld and ‘real’ world cultures clash.
I woke up in a car—upside down, staring into the faces of a half dozen pixies sitting on a tree branch. To one side, was a cliff face, to the other, sky, and things were starting to shift. Apparently, I’d had an interesting night… if only I could remember what it was, and why I’d run, and why following the pixies scared me almost as much as the idea of staying in the car…In Reluctant Liaison the Paranormal Operations Squad is faced with a dilemma outside their usual remit, when Otherworld and ‘real’ world cultures clash.
January 29, 2018
99c Smashwords Pre-Release Available for Granny Finds A Gas Mask
Granny finds a Gas Mask is now available for pre-order from Smashwords. It will be available for 99c until shortly after its release date of February 17, 2018, when the price will return to $2.99.
Helping Gran is a chore, but with her holding their mobile phones hostage, Gareth and Giselle have no choice. Unpacking boxes of books is no surprise. Unpacking the gas mask is—and so is finding themselves back in the war, in Gran’s war, because ‘some things are meant to be changed’. How on Earth, does Gran expect them to help with this? Better yet, how on Earth, can they get back home? Granny Finds a Gas Mask is the first book in a series where the things Granny finds lead to adventure, and Gareth and Giselle have to figure out how to get back to their own time and place.
