C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 168
June 13, 2015
Progress Report: Week 2, June 2015
Lots of writing completed this week. Catch-up was started on two poetry and two flash fiction anthologies, and further progress was made on June’s listed tasks, although the bigger word counts meant only one of the set were completed, although substantial progress was made. Progress was as follows:
Overview
New words produced: 26,366Old words revised: 12,772Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 10
Tier 1 (June) Tasks
Novella6C: Added 5,000 wdsRomanceNovel1B-Nadine’s Story: Added 8,000 wdsNovella10B: Added 1,400/5,000 wdsDarkFantasy2B-The Priestess, the Prince and the Dragon’s Children: Added 6,000/20,000 wdsNovella24A: Added 1,400/2,000 wds
Publishing Tasks
Created 1 blog post for this blog
New Arrivals
The following pieces arrived, and were completed, last week:
Poem65— Buaya, buaya : An Indonesian-English poem for children based on an Indonesian story about a monkey tricking a crocodile.Poem498— In the Forest Deep and Dark : a science fiction rhyming poem about an other-worldly forest;Poem499—The Northern Knight: a fantasy rhyming poem about love, loss and loyalty;Poem500—The Mountaintop: a science fiction rhyming poem about mistakes and war;Poem501—The Dragon Furled: a science fiction-fantasy rhyming poem about negotiations with a dragon;Poem502—Eucalypts on Guard: a speculative poem inspired by the eucalypts lining Barry Drive in Canberra;Poem503— When the Campus is Sleeping : an urban fantasy rhyming poem about trolls on a university campus, inspired by an early morning walk through the Australian National University;Poem504—No Rewards for a Job Done Well: a poem inspired by the time once spent working for one of the Australian Public Service departments;Poem505—A Deathly Lullaby: an oddly metered rhyming poem about an alien invasionPoem506—Buses form the Backdrop: a short poem inspired by the Canberra Civic bus terminal;Poem507—City Storm: a haiku about a storm in a city;Poem508—Decisions for Humanity: a poem inspired by Bring Larks and Heroes that has relevance to boat refugees;Poem509—Decisions: a short poem about deciding how to treat your fellow man;Poem510— Of Unicorns and Pegasii : a poem exploring mythical horses and their threat;Poem511—Search by Crow: an urban fantasy poem about crows flying through the city;Poem512—The Spider Prayer: a dark science fiction-fantasy poem about being snared by giant spiders;Poem513— The Battle of Thyrus Hill : a fantasy rhyme about defeating a sorcerer in his fortress;Poem514—Raid Awakening: a cinquain about raiders;Poem515—Flies the Sparrow Young: a fantasy rhyme about a sparrow fleeing from danger;Poem516— Sanctuary : an acrostic about a place of safety;Poem517—The Origin of Zombies: a cinquain about the origin and life cycle of the zombie virus;Poem518— Swampland, Troll-land Deep : a fantasy alphabet acrostic about a troll marsh and the fate of those who enter it;Poem519— The Starships Rise : a science fiction acrostic about starships taking off;ShortStory429—The Starships in my Head: a piece of science fiction flash about communicating with starships;ShortStory430—The Price of Sleep: a piece of speculative flash fiction about facing death in old age;ShortStory431—Ghosting the Ghost: a piece of urban flash fiction about getting rid of a ghost;ShortStory432—The Worth of Dragons: a piece of fantasy flash fiction about when to hire dragons;ShortStory433—Snowbound Requiem: a piece of fantasy flash fiction about snow, travellers and a song, set in the world of Jendavik;ShortStory434— The Transgenic Larder Fights Back : a piece of science fiction flash about a new hunting technique;ShortStory435—Forest Connections: a piece of dark fantasy flash fiction about a dead body and fairies, elves and unicorns;ShortStory436—Land Shark: a piece of science fiction flash about colonists being hunted by a land shark;ShortStory437—The New Start: a piece of science fiction flash about colonisation and first contact;ShortStory438— The Heckler’s Gully Threat : a piece of science fiction flash about coming back to face a monster;ShortStory439— Me, Miss Delight and the Scrapie Dilemma : a piece of science fiction flash about a bodyguard, his principle and an alien threat set in the Odyssey universe;ShortStory440—Zombie Trapping: a piece of horror flash fiction about zombie removal;ShortStory441—June Bug Encounter: a piece of science fiction flash about the June bug threat.
June 12, 2015
Free Read: Forest Connections
Today, I managed to settle down and write a response to the latest flash fiction challenge on Chuck Wendig's Terribleminds blog - The Dead Body. There were only two rules: the word limit was 1,000, and the story had to open with a dead body. This is what came out:
Forest Connections
The body swayed in the trees rocked by storm winds and illuminated by lightning. It was naked, except for the green, leather gloves it wore on both hands—the hands from which it was suspended from the tree.It might have been an attractive body, if there hadn’t been a gaping wound where its stomach should be. Perhaps… but Garamond wasn’t looking at the body, didn’t notice the slender hips or sculpted chest, the beauty of fine-chiselled cheek bones or luxurious fall of hair. Garamond fought his breakfast back into place, swallowed bile, forced his focus to the other trees in the grove, the ground onto which he’d nearly stepped.If it hadn’t been for the crow flying out of the chest cavity, he’d have crossed into the spell, been trapped within it. The crow could fly, and had not been caught in the markings carved through grass and rock and the earth—or perhaps the spell had not been intended for crows.Garamond noticed the small bodies curled on the ground, wings crumpled as though they’d cushioned the falls. He studied them, praying their tiny lives hadn’t been used to fuel the magic, releasing a soft sigh of relief when he noticed they breathed. What had drawn them into the circle?Lightning flashed again, and cloud subsumed the dawnlight, as Garamond circumnavigated the clearing, the spell’s workings becoming easier to identify, now he knew to look for them. Each one served a purpose. Each one was part of a pair. Some were meant to contain, and some were meant to focus. He didn’t notice the steps echoing his own, great bodies passing as glimmering white shadows, through the not-so-distant trees. Garamond returned to where he’d almost blundered into the trap.Why here? He crouched. Why here where it can catch anyone who comes along?And why now? Why this day, and not the day before, or the day after?Everything was significant. The timing, the bait—ah, the bait. He had been forgetting it was a trap. And traps were set for catch things. One set snares for small game such as rabbits or pheasant, dug pits for bear, used the right gender and race to lure intelligent humanoids to locations where they were vulnerable. Why this?What was to happen today?Noting the symbols carved into both earth and tree, Garamond settled, cross-legged in the middle of the path. He eliminated solstice celebrations, moon-linked festivals, seasonal first days. None of those were due,-and there had been no unusual phenomena to spark such sacrifice.Shifting his thoughts from the forest to the village, he sifted through rumours: a visiting nobleman, the king’s messenger passing through, stories of her ladyship visiting the clans…Her ladyship—and her proclivities were well known. Garamond studied the body. The man had been the right build to draw her attention, had the long hair attract her like a butterfly to nectar. Was he looking at petty revenge on his lord’s behalf?No; Garamond pushed that thought away. His lord had no need of magic, was wary of its practitioners. Would he hire? Again, Garamond pushed the thought away, and made himself look at the body.He wanted to lift the hair, see if those ears were elven, wanted to take a closer look at the face. Was it marked by tribal tattoos, did the throat show signs of having worn torc or collar? Apprehension knotted coldly in his gut. Had the clans objected to her ladyship’s choice of lovers?Garamond discarded that idea, too. Her ladyship’s lovers had never bothered the clans, before. No, this was something new. One of her secrets, perhaps, or something to bring her, if such a device was needed.Garamond knew too little of the lady’s past, too little of her travelling, but he did know she sometimes took a side road, and her journey almost always took her longer than expected. He had dismissed the forest too soon.What was there in the forest to draw her ladyship’s attention?He stood and studied the trap. The body wasn’t immediately visible from the path. It would have been seen easily four paces in, where a natural gap led to the giant beech dominating it. It would be the perfect place for a rendezvous, but that didn’t explain the fairies.Sensitive to magic, the little creatures had flown into the trap, anyway, and, judging from the way their bodies had fallen, they hadn’t followed the crow’s path. They’d obviously flown in in a panic. Garamond couldn’t make sense of it, but he stared harder, studying every detail, again, hoping for something that would make sense, wishing something to stand out.Why the green gloves?Why strip the rest of the sacrifice bare and leave the gloves? Why green? Why a beech?Green-fingered, Garamond thought, in the forest. A druid, and that explains the fairies. Possibly elven, the beech for wisdom, providence, a sacred site. So, who?Feet stamped impatiently behind him. Hitherto silent, the shadows had gathered, demanding his attention. Startled, Garamond turned, drawing his sword before he was facing them. Unicorns, ever the fairy companions, nodded their approval, and snorted, still bobbing their heads. Garamond lowered the blade, and the nearest nose-nudged him over the circle and into the spell.He shouted in alarm—and discovered the spell did not touch him. Yes, it had been a spell of entrapment, but not for him. The unicorns did not enter, snorting anxiously at its edge. magical creatures then. In spite of the approaching storm, the clearing smelt ‘wrong’. Defilement.A beech tree. Now, Garamond understood, whipped around, tried to seek a battle ground where he was not likely to crush fairies underfoot. He met the serpentine sorceress as she dropped from the tree, taking her down as the spell broke with the storm. Rain cleansed the spell marks as Garamond carefully gathered and settled the fairies in the beech tree’s branches.The druid, he buried, while the unicorns stood guard.
Forest Connections
The body swayed in the trees rocked by storm winds and illuminated by lightning. It was naked, except for the green, leather gloves it wore on both hands—the hands from which it was suspended from the tree.It might have been an attractive body, if there hadn’t been a gaping wound where its stomach should be. Perhaps… but Garamond wasn’t looking at the body, didn’t notice the slender hips or sculpted chest, the beauty of fine-chiselled cheek bones or luxurious fall of hair. Garamond fought his breakfast back into place, swallowed bile, forced his focus to the other trees in the grove, the ground onto which he’d nearly stepped.If it hadn’t been for the crow flying out of the chest cavity, he’d have crossed into the spell, been trapped within it. The crow could fly, and had not been caught in the markings carved through grass and rock and the earth—or perhaps the spell had not been intended for crows.Garamond noticed the small bodies curled on the ground, wings crumpled as though they’d cushioned the falls. He studied them, praying their tiny lives hadn’t been used to fuel the magic, releasing a soft sigh of relief when he noticed they breathed. What had drawn them into the circle?Lightning flashed again, and cloud subsumed the dawnlight, as Garamond circumnavigated the clearing, the spell’s workings becoming easier to identify, now he knew to look for them. Each one served a purpose. Each one was part of a pair. Some were meant to contain, and some were meant to focus. He didn’t notice the steps echoing his own, great bodies passing as glimmering white shadows, through the not-so-distant trees. Garamond returned to where he’d almost blundered into the trap.Why here? He crouched. Why here where it can catch anyone who comes along?And why now? Why this day, and not the day before, or the day after?Everything was significant. The timing, the bait—ah, the bait. He had been forgetting it was a trap. And traps were set for catch things. One set snares for small game such as rabbits or pheasant, dug pits for bear, used the right gender and race to lure intelligent humanoids to locations where they were vulnerable. Why this?What was to happen today?Noting the symbols carved into both earth and tree, Garamond settled, cross-legged in the middle of the path. He eliminated solstice celebrations, moon-linked festivals, seasonal first days. None of those were due,-and there had been no unusual phenomena to spark such sacrifice.Shifting his thoughts from the forest to the village, he sifted through rumours: a visiting nobleman, the king’s messenger passing through, stories of her ladyship visiting the clans…Her ladyship—and her proclivities were well known. Garamond studied the body. The man had been the right build to draw her attention, had the long hair attract her like a butterfly to nectar. Was he looking at petty revenge on his lord’s behalf?No; Garamond pushed that thought away. His lord had no need of magic, was wary of its practitioners. Would he hire? Again, Garamond pushed the thought away, and made himself look at the body.He wanted to lift the hair, see if those ears were elven, wanted to take a closer look at the face. Was it marked by tribal tattoos, did the throat show signs of having worn torc or collar? Apprehension knotted coldly in his gut. Had the clans objected to her ladyship’s choice of lovers?Garamond discarded that idea, too. Her ladyship’s lovers had never bothered the clans, before. No, this was something new. One of her secrets, perhaps, or something to bring her, if such a device was needed.Garamond knew too little of the lady’s past, too little of her travelling, but he did know she sometimes took a side road, and her journey almost always took her longer than expected. He had dismissed the forest too soon.What was there in the forest to draw her ladyship’s attention?He stood and studied the trap. The body wasn’t immediately visible from the path. It would have been seen easily four paces in, where a natural gap led to the giant beech dominating it. It would be the perfect place for a rendezvous, but that didn’t explain the fairies.Sensitive to magic, the little creatures had flown into the trap, anyway, and, judging from the way their bodies had fallen, they hadn’t followed the crow’s path. They’d obviously flown in in a panic. Garamond couldn’t make sense of it, but he stared harder, studying every detail, again, hoping for something that would make sense, wishing something to stand out.Why the green gloves?Why strip the rest of the sacrifice bare and leave the gloves? Why green? Why a beech?Green-fingered, Garamond thought, in the forest. A druid, and that explains the fairies. Possibly elven, the beech for wisdom, providence, a sacred site. So, who?Feet stamped impatiently behind him. Hitherto silent, the shadows had gathered, demanding his attention. Startled, Garamond turned, drawing his sword before he was facing them. Unicorns, ever the fairy companions, nodded their approval, and snorted, still bobbing their heads. Garamond lowered the blade, and the nearest nose-nudged him over the circle and into the spell.He shouted in alarm—and discovered the spell did not touch him. Yes, it had been a spell of entrapment, but not for him. The unicorns did not enter, snorting anxiously at its edge. magical creatures then. In spite of the approaching storm, the clearing smelt ‘wrong’. Defilement.A beech tree. Now, Garamond understood, whipped around, tried to seek a battle ground where he was not likely to crush fairies underfoot. He met the serpentine sorceress as she dropped from the tree, taking her down as the spell broke with the storm. Rain cleansed the spell marks as Garamond carefully gathered and settled the fairies in the beech tree’s branches.The druid, he buried, while the unicorns stood guard.
June 10, 2015
Books Read: May 2015
It's amazing how much reading you can get done when you're sick. Elizabeth Moon is one of my favourite authors and her Vatta's War and Serrano Legacy series are particularly good - and I've read them many times, as you can probably tell from the battered covers.
June 7, 2015
Progress Report: Week 1, June 2015
The week just gone was a week where I studied for, and sat, three exams, but I also wrote more in the last two days than I have in some time. Next year’s release schedule is starting to look okay, but I’ll only be sure when the books are done and waiting for the final edit and format. It means working on multiple projects in multiple genres and it’s different to anything I’ve tried before, so I don’t know if it will work. It also means a change in work habits, which is always a challenge to effect. Still, I’m seeing a change, and I have the break to get the changes in place. Wish me luck.
OverviewNew words produced: 5,954Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 237
Tier 1 (June) Tasks
ShortStory61-Seppelitus:Added 3,000 wdsChapbook14I-Legacy of Hope: Added 2,000 wdsShortStory424-Volevin and the Assassin: Added 1,000 wdsChapbook10C-In Full Flight: Added 1,000 wds
Publishing Tasks
Finished revamping release schedule, starting from January 2016Created 2 blog posts for this blog
New ArrivalsThe following pieces arrived last week:
Nil
June 6, 2015
Progress Report: Week 5, May 2015
This one’s only a week late. Not a lot happened due as exam preparation took priority.OverviewNew words produced: 1,543Old words revised: 1,870Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Publishing Tasks
Updated royalty records.Began revamping release schedule, starting from January 2016
New ArrivalsNil
May 23, 2015
Progress Report: Week 4, May 2015
Yes, it's late - again, but life has happened. The next progress report will be tomorrow and then we'll be kinda caught up. The chance of major life changes blew in this week, and threw me a bit of a curve ball. I’ve been following two paths for so long, I hadn’t really noticed when they started to diverge. I will have to choose between them soon, and life may be giving me a little nudge. Either way, it was a very disrupted week, and I was also not well, but writing still got done, new ideas were wrangled and stories continued to be uploaded. Not a bad week, really.
Overview
New words produced: 1,490Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery:683 Publishing Tasks
Created 4 blog posts for this blog;Formatted and uploaded Basofi’s Choosing to Draft2Digital;Formatted and uploaded C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2012 to Draft2Digital;Formatted and uploaded A Vignette for Rashkah to Draft2Digital;Formatted and uploaded A Window to Salukia to Draft2Digital.
New Arrivals
The following pieces arrived last week:
Poem489—In a Wide, Wide Land: a poem about an Australian journey inspired by In the Dark, Dark Wood;Poem490—The Emotional Sky: an Easter cinquain;Poem491—The Child Wakes: a cinquain about a child waking up;Poem492—The Dragons and What Wish I: a poem about wishing for choices;Poem493—Indonesian Numbers Poem: a poem for learning Indonesian numbers by;Poem494—Vengeance Comes Flying In: a series of reverse cinquains about a dragon;Poem495—Thinking on the Starbound: a poem urging thought on the dangers of space travel;Poem496—Aussie Urban Legends: about Australian urban legends;Poem497—Devereaux and I: about a predatory planet
May 19, 2015
Progress Report: Week 3, May 2015
Studied for another test the week of May 10-16, and prepared three more assessment items, so I did not get as much done as I would have liked, but I did get as much done as I should have expected… in all bar the writing field.
OverviewNew words produced: 0Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Publishing Tasks
Created a cover for Carlie Simonsen's Orb Wielder ;Began CreateSpace large print format and edit of Orb Wielder ; Updated royalties records; major overhaul finally complete.
May 18, 2015
Progress Report: Week 2, May 2015
With the essay written and handed in, a little more got done between May 3-10, but then I had some study to catch up on, and yet another test.OverviewNew words produced: 0Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Publishing Tasks
Created 1 blog post for this blog;Created 4 blog posts for the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog;Formatted and uploaded Anna and the Rock Dragons to Kindle;Formatted and uploaded Anna and the Rock Dragons to Draft2Digital;Formatted and uploaded 365 Days of Flash Fiction to Draft2Digital;Updated title records to include Draft2Digital uploads;Formatted and uploaded 365 Days of Poetry to Draft2Digital;Updated a release roster;Completed pre-format edit of Orb Wielder chapters 1-10;Formatted and uploaded Ducky to Omnilit;Formatted and uploaded A Battle of Minds to Draft2Digital;Updated title records for OmniLit and Kobo releases;Formatted and uploaded Anna and the Rock Dragons to DriveThruFiction; Completed pre-format edit of Orb Wielder chapters 11-17.
May 17, 2015
Progress Report: Week 1, May 2015
Not a lot got done between 27 April and 2 May, beyond the usual study required for a mid-week test, and the preparation for a 2,500 word essay due on the 4th.
OverviewNew words produced: 0Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Publishing Tasks
Created 4 blog posts for this blog;Created 1 blog post for the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog;Created 3 blog posts for the C.M. Simpson Art and Photography blog.
May 8, 2015
Quick Update - New Platform and More Uploads
This week, I started uploading titles to Draft2Digital, as well as continuing the release of
Anna and the Rock Dragons
and
Ducky
. Going over the story records I've been updating, I've noticed I missed putting some titles up, and I'll be working to fill in those gaps as well. In the meantime, I'm in the middle of editing another of Carlie Simonsen's novellas - this one's a more traditional fantasy tale, where a group of heroes cross between worlds to ensure an artifact makes it into right hands.
In the meantime, you can now find Anna and the Rock Dragons at Amazon in Kindle Format and at DriveThruFiction in PDF.
When Anna heads out to her family’s country cottage for the holidays, she has no idea what lies in store. Chosen as the Key Bearer and Door Finder for a race of exiled dragons, Anna soon finds herself being hunted by a nightmare from local legend, while racing against a mining magnate set to make his fortunes by turning the dragons into crystal. Will she survive long enough to find both key and door in time to help the dragons escape, and then live to tell the tale?
Ducky is now up at Amazon in Kindle format, at DriveThruFiction in PDF, and at OmniLit in PDF, html and .prc formats.
Three characters, a dead duck, and a plague-devastated city. What more could you ask for?A post-apocalyptic short story of a ghostly girl, a pandemic and regret, told from three viewpoints.
And the following titles have been uploaded to Draft2Digital for distribution through Tolino:
In the meantime, you can now find Anna and the Rock Dragons at Amazon in Kindle Format and at DriveThruFiction in PDF.
When Anna heads out to her family’s country cottage for the holidays, she has no idea what lies in store. Chosen as the Key Bearer and Door Finder for a race of exiled dragons, Anna soon finds herself being hunted by a nightmare from local legend, while racing against a mining magnate set to make his fortunes by turning the dragons into crystal. Will she survive long enough to find both key and door in time to help the dragons escape, and then live to tell the tale?
Ducky is now up at Amazon in Kindle format, at DriveThruFiction in PDF, and at OmniLit in PDF, html and .prc formats.
Three characters, a dead duck, and a plague-devastated city. What more could you ask for?A post-apocalyptic short story of a ghostly girl, a pandemic and regret, told from three viewpoints.
And the following titles have been uploaded to Draft2Digital for distribution through Tolino:
