C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 129

Progress Report: Week 2, November 2017

I had visitors all the second week of November, but I started to settle down into some semblance of a routine. I had decided to try and write my NaNo novel, and pick up where I had left off on a couple of other projects, while continuing my walking and language study. Let’s just say that this was a bit of a miscalculation, and I needed to start off more slowly. It’s easy enough to see looking back, just harder when you’re in the middle of it.
So, progress for the second week of November looked like this:
Progress for Week 2, November 2017
New words produced: 13,740Outlines and Notes: 1,280Works completed: 32 (1 short story— Destiny’s Queen , 16 poems, 15 flash fiction)Works edited: NilCovers created: NilWorks published: NilWorks submitted: NilCompetitions Entered: NilBloggery: Nil

Progress Report: Week 1, November 2017

I struggled. With university stuff finished, I had to work out what to do next—and I find change hard, let alone next-phase-of-life-change. Was I going to go all out to find a conventional job? Was I going to go full-time on my writing?

I was still pretty shocky from my experiences working for Defence, so thought of going into another workplace and discovering it was like that had me in tears. We decided I needed at least another year to regroup, so full-time writing and a little bit of language study it became. I now also had to consider the possibility that I might not ever be able to go back into the field I had just spent four years of my life building the skills for. Still, a lot of those skills can be drawn on and retuned for a career in writing, so I’ll be looking at that, and maybe trying to keep my hand in so that they stay current.
I don’t know about you, but a big change like that can really knock a person about. I started to sort out my writing priorities, and the second set of family arrived, so the writing push was put on hold because family is important—and I hadn’t seen these guys for twelve months. (Before that, it had been… um, over ten years. Family moved to the top of the list of importance.)
Writing still got done, though, as I began work on the second novel in the Aggie & Tams urban fantasy thriller series. I also prioritised my fitness, because the recent bout of illness hadn’t been fun, got my language study started, and tried to work out where I was headed in life in general. It was an interesting week.
Progress for Week 1, November 2017
New words produced: 3,109Outlines and Notes: NilWorks completed: NilWorks edited: NilCovers created: NilWorks published: NilWorks submitted: NilCompetitions Entered: NilBloggery: Nil
When Aggie Dormain arrives in Canberra to paint some old diggers, she does not expect to meet an out-of-work archaeologist investigating an alien conspiracy, much less to be pulled into an adventure that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money.




 
 

Progress Report: October 2017

This much-belated report gives a quick overview of writing and publishing activity in October 2017. October was the last month of university assessment, for me—ever, and a very busy month besides. I had four Indonesian exams (spoken, vocabulary, grammar, and translation from Indonesian to English), two essays-in-lieu of exams, and two sets of family visiting from interstate: one in October, and the other in late October or early November, when the exams would be held. And then there were the usual class attendances, which had to be made to fulfil course requirements.
That was October’s ‘real life’ component. In addition, I had two releases, only one of which was already on pre-order. The other was a young adult novel, which only had the cover completed; the rest of the editing and formatting was waiting. It was due mid-month. I also had to try to work out what next year’s release schedule looked like so I could start writing and publishing for it in November, when all the assessments were handed in. And, finally, I wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo, which started November 1st.A lot of things slid in October, but I did not compromise the quality of my exam essay submissions, my exam preparation, or the publishing of Army Boots and Stilettos . All those got done to the very best of my ability. I even managed to keep up with Babes for that month. Unfortunately, Babes was one of the things that slid towards the end of the month, and I’m only just making my way towards restarting work on it.I ended up with a mild dose of the flu, and my back going (although not badly enough to put me in bed for the week, fortunately), but made it through, with a very dented writing and release schedule for November. NaNo wasn’t looking good.
Overall Progress for October 2017
New words produced: 5,609Outlines and Notes: NilWorks completed: 2 ( Dreams of the Serpent, Memory’s Vampire )Works edited: 1 ( Army Boots & Stilettos )Covers created: 0Works published: 1 ( Army Boots & Stilettos )Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 4,530 University Prep and Assignments: 7,676



Cord thought boarding school was a long way from home—until she was chosen for a traineeship with Bluebirds Mining. After that, who knew where home might be? Or how to get back to it? Or even if she could. With her mind playing tricks on her, and her best friend in the same boat, Cord is in it, but deep. Now, all she has to do is find a way out.
Army Boots & Stilettosis the first book in the Space Adventures series, which is a series of science fiction adventures set in space, or on the colonies of newly discovered worlds. Each book is a stand-alone story that can be read without needing to read other books in the series.

 

New Cover: Serpents' Souls & Dragons' Hearts as C.M. Simpson

I have a new short story coming out on December 1st, a dark science fiction tale called Serpents' Souls & Dragons' Hearts . It revisits the characters from The Reptiles' Blade , but occurs some years later. Here is the cover that came in, today.




Mankind has legends of intelligent serpents, dragons and vampires in almost every culture, and now mankind is out amongst the stars. When an emergent psi of lizardine-human descent dreams of a many-legged threat and serpents walking the skies, mankind might just have a chance to discover those legends made real.
Artwork is sourced from Dreamstime and the artists: Junichi Shimazaki and Yorkberlin. The spider photograph is from Dreamstime photographer, Panayot Kindalov. The background photograph, composition and manipulation are all mine.

Today's PokemonGo Medals - Berry Master Gold, Silver Youngster

I've been a little bit swamped, but I've managed a walk every day, and done some incidental pokemonning. This was not a bad way to start the morning:

Just Released Wheelchair Mermaid as Carlie Simonsen

Wheelchair Mermaid is now out on Smashwords, Amazon, and DriveThruFiction, as well as being distributed via Draft2Digital. It will also be available in paperback shortly, and that is being distributed via CreateSpace, so yay!


All Stacey wants is a morning on the beach—okay, and maybe to surf again. Like that’s ever going to happen, but a morning on the beach, on her own, as close to the waves as she’ll ever get, again, will do. It’s just that when something swims under the jetty, and a speedboat full of dangerous-looking men arrives on the beach shortly after, she has to do something. Right? Wheelchair or not, right? And that’s when life really starts to get interesting…

Wheelchair Mermaid is the fourth book in the Wheelchair Adventures series, which is based around young people getting their wheels underneath them, after they find themselves in wheelchairs.

New Cover: Wheelchair Mermaid

Sorry for the long silence! Will post later to explain. In the meantime, I have a new cover for my next release as Carlie Simonsen. The one on the left is for the ebook version, and the one on the right is for the print-on-demand version from CreateSpace.



















All Stacey wants is a morning on the beach—okay, and maybe to surf again. Like that’s ever going to happen, but a morning on the beach, on her own, as close to the waves as she’ll ever get, again, will do. It’s just that when something swims under the jetty, and a speedboat full of dangerous-looking men arrives on the beach shortly after, she has to do something. Right? Wheelchair or not, right? And that’s when life really starts to get interesting…

Wheelchair Mermaid is the fourth book in the Wheelchair Adventures series, which is based around young people getting their wheels underneath them, after they find themselves in wheelchairs.

Just Released: Cloud Door

Happy to say that my science fiction short story, Cloud Door , has just been released as a stand-alone ebook. It's available from Smashwords, DriveThruFiction, and Amazon, and via Draft2Digital distribution, and will be included in the collection of 2017's short work due to be released mid- to late- next year. Cloud Door is a precursor to two novels set in the Mack 'n' Me universe: Mack 'n' Me and Arach .

So, we’ve done this job, and I’m checking our tails are clear, and I find they’re not—and then I find the only way to kick clear is to find the Cloud Door. Only trouble is the Cloud Door’s a legend, and Mack? Well, he’s not too fond of chasing legends. Fortunately, this one’s a no-brainer: we want to live, and that’s got to be enough to make anyone chase a legend, right?

Progress Report: Week 3 October 2017

This week, I finished my university studies—but this report is about last week. Last week, I was still suffering from a sore back, while trying to keep up class attendances so that I didn’t drop below the attendance requirements. I wanted to graduate – and not miss out because of a technicality—so, not much got done, as I spent most of the week in bed when I wasn’t trying to do what needed doing.
 
Week 3 ProgressNew words produced: 2,741Works completed: 1 (short story – Memory’s Vampire )Works edited: 1 ( Army Boots and Stilettos )Works published: 1Bloggery: 1,795University Prep and Assignments: I counted 11 hour s and 39 minutes, but there was more.Writing News
Last week saw me scrape through with the e-release of Army Boots and Stilettos . It got out on time, but only just. I completed all last week’s priorities, which were to study for this week’s exams, and brush up the formatting of the first essay in lieu of exams and see if it needs more formatting. It didn’t need more references, and it’s formatting is fine.

      June-July Challenge: Babes in London
Last week saw me scrape through the entry for Babes . I haven’t gotten to it this week.
NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.


Ingress Update
Last week’s Ingress consisted of  just the usual to and fro from university, and nothing more. Not a lot got done; I was too sore to go chasing portals - beyond the daily hack, which I did on Saturday morning, while I was out hunting ghost pokemon. 
PokemonGo Update
Last week’s PokemonGo was pretty much the same—and for the same reasons, although to start the week, I hatched a snorlax, levelled up and earned a new gold medal - not a bad pay off for casual play on the journey to and from class.

I also managed a five-minute walk Saturday morning, and caught some of the Halloween pokemon, before going home and crashing. Up until that point, I'd thought I was on the mend...

Later that day, I checked to see if there were any evolutions I could do, and discovered three. That extra candy thing meant sending one of my strong togepi to the professor, but it paid off, evolution-wise.
 Priorities for Week 4, October 2017
This week’s priorities are as follows:
Get through the examsUpload the two essays-in-lieu-of-examsRelease the PoD version of Army Boots and Stilettos Start the next short storyRound 1 edits of Wheelchair Mermaid .

Babes in London: Act Four, Scene 2 (Part 2: The Unicorn Maid and the Lady of the Bower—Aftermath)

AFTERMATH:

If the PCs and Anika’s brood drive off the attacking forces, ask them to make an Earth (Senses) Test. For those who make a TH4, read, or paraphrase, the following:
As the last creatures flee or fall, you see something gleaming in the grass: metal, reflecting sunlight shining through the canopy.
Allow the PCs to examine the item.
It’s a small, round disc made of beaten gold, on which is scribed the now familiar symbol of a long, upright shepherd’s crook, standing beside a half oval (flat-side down) above a long narrow rectangle broken by vertical wavy lines (lying lengthwise). It seems a strange alliance, these creatures with an Egyptian god, but things were different in Mythic times.
Once the connection has been made, read, or paraphrase the following description. If the PCs do not make the test, incorporate the disc’s description in the description below, but as something they remember finding after the original fight:
The disc gleams in your hand, and the forest around you fades. When it comes back into focus, you are no longer in the company of dragons, just three children, all of whom are staring at you with the most serious of looks.
If the PCs and Anika’s brood lose, the flashback ends. Read or paraphrase the following:
Well! That’s not how you remember it. This dragon thing is more difficult than you knew. At least, maybe. Already things are tangling in your head. You were sure you’d won that battle, driven off the Fomorians, found a disc lying in the grass… a Setite disc, if you recall. As the forest is replaced by the better groomed gardens of Kew, you can feel your mind reeling with confusion. You were sure that had been a victory. With that tangle slowly unsorting itself, you find yourself facing the gaze of two young girls. “When you’re quite ready,” Anika says, sounding much older than she looks.
What the PCs do, now, depends on what they were doing when the flashback occurred. They find that the girls are much more amenable to trusting them, now, but are still uncertain about being turned over to either the Consortium, or LN7. Complete the scene you were running when the flashback took place, and follow the options given, or find a different option, if the PCs’ actions dictate it.
When you reach a quiet point in the action, where the girls can talk to the PCs in private, or in semi-privacy, go to Scene 3.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.