C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 190

Australian Birds: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

The crimson rosellas aren't the only Australian cockatoos who like the pine trees on my morning walk. These sulphur-crested cockatoos were busy proving they *will* chew something other than power-lines (see previous post on these guys).

There were three of them, busy vandalising the top of this pine tree:

Suspect #1, tried to look innocent:

Suspect #2 had a very devil-may-care attitude and kept right on munching:

Suspect #3 proved too difficult to photograph, but Suspect #1 made up for it, by slowly stalking another branch:

I guess he thought if he acted casual, no one would suspect:

And then he struck:


Suspect #2 wanted to know what I was gonna do about it:

Progress Report: Week 2 February 2014

Another hot week in Oz... but one with two days of relief—and by that I mean that I had two days under thirty degrees Celsius, one of which was less than 25. Awesome! We have no air-conditioning so temperature regulation is achieved by using black-out curtains, fans and by closing and opening the house windows depending on whether or not the air outside is cooler than the air inside. So far, we’ve managed to keep the internal temperature in the mid-twenties, even on the worst days, but sleep is another matter. Still, amidst all the hustle and bustle of work and family and personal admin, stuff got done, and that’s what matters. Wordage is up (and they’re good words), I’m finally managing to submit ms to paying markets, and the release schedule is on track and looking healthier. I haven’t quite managed to get my ironing under control, and I’ve yet to schedule another drawing schedule, but these things will come.
 OverviewNew words produced: 11,858Old words revised: 0Works completed: 19 (6 for submission to 1 market, 4 for inclusion in one larger work, 7 for inclusion in a 2nd larger work, 2 for submission to a 2nd marketWorks revised: 0Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 10Competitions Entered: 0 Tier 1 Tasks
Annual13: Added 533 wordsAnnual14: Added 2,024 words

Tier 2 Tasks
RomanceNovel14A—Country Rush: Added 3,721 words
Publishing Tasks
Created 2 blog posts for this blog;Created 2 blog posts for the C.M.Simpson Publishing blog.
  New Arrivals
The following ideas arrived this week:
Poem287—Of Vipers and the Stars: a prose poem of science fiction betrayal;Poem288—Cinnamon and Scarlet: a rhyming poem to do with pixies taking revenge;Poem289—Fire Trees: Yet another verse set in Medilo Swamp; Poem290—Draconic Desires: a butterfly cinquain exploring the desires of dragons;Poem291—On Oakenfeld Hill: a prose poem of zombies in a science fiction setting;Poem292—In Memory of Hummingbirds: a poem about conservation and the stars;Poem293—The Passing Storm: a poem about a passing storm.Poem294—Star Light Reflections: a poem about the stars;Poem295—Find Hope: a poem about hope, the future and the past;ShortStory201—Dragon Hunters: a piece of fantasy flash fiction about dragons and dragon hunters;ShortStory202—Jezza’s Tale: a piece of urban paranormal fantasy flash fiction about scary things in the dark;ShortStory203—Murder in the Medilo: a piece of science mystery flash fiction about a murder discovery and investigation;ShortStory204—Beginning, Middle and End: a piece of flash science fiction about a war;ShortStory205—Dimension Walker: a piece of speculative flash fiction about following a voice in the dark;ShortStory206—Rescue Beyond the Rifts: a piece of flash science fiction about a war between dimensions;ShortStory207—Of Sugar Plums and Souls: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction about pixies and witches;ShortStory208—Karma, Pixie Luck and Shantelle Nox: a piece of flash urban paranormal fiction about pixies and a missing girl;ShortStory209—Childhood Dragon: a piece of speculative flash fiction about how our outlook changes between child and adulthood;ShortStory210—Of Troll Lords and the Stars: an urban fantasy short story about trolls, goblins, starships and the fey.

A Very Late Happy Launch Day to Andrew Schneider

This is something I promised myself I'd do - and it got lost in the cracks, so I just want to wish a friend and fellow author:

BELATED HAPPY LAUNCH DAYANDREW SCHNEIDER
He's gone ahead and launched two of his novels:

Undercaffeinated and Overexposed: The Tale of a Coffee Shop Princess
Undercaffeinated is the story of a fairytale princess caught up in the 'real' world, where fairytale creatures - and politics - can really complicate a girl's life.
and
Nothing Left to Wish For
Nothing Left to Wish For is a tale of gritty high fantasy set in a world of genies, dragons, deserts and secrets, some of which are ancient, others merely old and others which are new in comparison. Unique spellcasting and high seas adventure in a desert sky. 
Both books became available on February 1, 2014 (I told you I was late) at Smashwords.
 

An Anthology of Blades: First Pages - Death Comes in Bone

Death Comes in Bone has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades . It is a dark fantasy short story about a skeletal assassin.

Murdered by his closest friend, Tanag is not surprised to wake and find himself dead. He is surprised, however, that others have come to the caves hidden not so far from what used to be his home. As the adventurers plunder his bones and move on, Tanag remembers who killed him, and the vow he made as he died. In order to fulfil that vow, Tanag must rise and leave his impromptu tomb—but first he has to get his sword back from the adventurer that woke him and took it from his remains.

Death Comes in Bone is available in electronic form from, among others: Smashwords, OmniLit, DriveThruFiction, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook.

Here's the first page.




First Page: Death Comes in Bone

Tanag woke as light broke into his resting place. He didn’t know how long he’d been dead for, knew only that he’d been murdered and that he was still angry about it. His best friend had betrayed him, had chosen his family’s ambitions over loyalty and friendship after all. Tanag had made a serious misjudgment of character. He worried that it had cost his family their lives.
Careful, lest he should be destroyed before he’d woken, Tanag lay still. His sword lay in its sheath—Arrin had given him no time to draw it, plunging the weapon he’d taken from the yellowthorn thicket deep into Tanag’s kidney and holding his friend, his prince, until he was sure Tanag had died of the injury and the poison in the yellowthorn’s sting.Tanag remembered the pain, so great he hadn’t been able to make a sound, but not as great as the pain in his heart. Arrin had gone to great lengths to ensure Tanag’s murder remained undiscovered, bringing down the cave roof with a magical ability Tanag had not even suspected. The wielding had brought about a distinctive stench and the prince wondered just how long Arrin had consorted with demons, or when he’d found the time. Arrin had spent his off-hours and many stolen moments in the arms of dark-eyed, dark haired Lannara.Rocks tumbled, metal gauntlets scraped against stone and the light grew stronger. Tanag tried to resist the urge to squint against the light, and registered that he had no eyes, no eyelids. He started to raise a hand to feel his face, but the first twitch of his fingers brought a startled shout to ears that were no longer there. Retribution was swift, even though he’d stilled his hand. A sword was driven through his ribs. There was pain, but not the kind of pain Tanag expected. This time it was no effort to keep himself still.Magic bound him together… Why would magic bind his bones together when his flesh was clearly gone. He had known he was dead, but this… Why?Laughter interrupted his thoughts.“The great knight Devas, frightened by a pile of empty bones.” Mockery.“I swear I saw it move.”“Well, it’s not moving now. Who was it, do you think?”Tanag listened to them try to work out who he’d been. Not a single word was close. He did not protest when they took the sword, well-preserved by its sheath, and rifled through the trinkets and coins that had fallen into his remains when his pockets had rotted away. He did not try to stop them scattering his bones when they noted the glint of gold that had once adorned his fingers or the entwined gold and solid medallion that he’d worn around his throat. None of that mattered.What mattered to him now, was to work out why he lived beyond death—a death unfairly given, certainly, but an ending none-the-less. As the big man in plate mail and his trio of less well-protected companions made their way further into the cavern complex, Tanag wished them luck.

END OF FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more, Death Comes in Bone is, or will be, available in electronic form from, among others: Smashwords, OmniLit, DriveThruFiction, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook.

Art Development: Rosebuds

So, for a very long time I've been saying I'm going to re-develop my drawing skills. I *did* make a start on it in January, but I still haven't managed to coordinate the time factor to really get into it. That's going to be a challenge this year, but we'll see how it goes. It only took a month to start pulling the writing schedule into a vague sense of shape.

In the meantime, I started with still life and grey lead to get the feel of it again. Here is my first picture in far too many years.

An Anthology of Blades: First Pages - The Reptile's Blade

The Reptiles’ Blade has been incorporated in to An Anthology of Blades . The Reptiles' Blade is a science fiction novella about a retired military member, a lizardine warrior-come-“diplomat” and some high-level negotiation that very nearly goes astray before it even gets started.
When Felicity Shannara Jones is ordered by her command to infiltrate a criminal organization using humanitarian aid as a front, she isn’t sure she’s the right girl for the job, but then she finds Mika, second planetary adviser to humanity’s current foe, and she knows things just got serious. When Mika escapes custody, things go from serious to dire in one jet-propelled moment and Felicity, with her history in the lizardine war, finds herself in the firing line once more.
The Reptiles’ Blade is available from Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Omnilit, DriveThruFiction and iTunes.

First Page: The Reptiles' Blade
Felicity Shannara Jones, Captain Jones to most who knew her, Felix to her friends, Jay to Manx Carlisle who followed her up the steps from the car.“You could drop the uniform, you know,” he said. “After all, you don’t wear one anymore.”“Can it, Carlisle.”“And I know you’re pissed when you go formal on me.”“You have no idea.”Carlisle placed a hand on her forearm. It was just a touch, firm, a warning. Felix stopped half way up the stairs, let him partially block her path and catch her eye.“Take a breath, Jay. They are the dumbest damned civilians we’ve yet come across, but they are holding all the cards.”It took an effort, but Felix managed to halt the epithet before it crossed her tongue. This was what they paid him for. This was why she had kept him around, long after she had given most of her other PAs the can. Carlisle knew the playing field, and knew her well enough to warn her when she was letting too much of her inner self show—and, tonight, she had to present a cool, collected façade. The institute they were visiting was holding someone she dearly wanted to meet. If they caught a whiff of who she really was and what she was doing here, she’d be out on her ear before she could see him.She laid a hand over the top of Carlisle’s fingers, acknowledging his assistance. Turning her head so she could meet his eyes, she took two deep breaths, careful to stay aware of her surroundings even as she lost herself in the color of his eyes. Blue and green swirled together to remind her of the oceans of Aquapearl.Aquapearl. Not all of her memories of that distant world were so peaceful. In fact, most of them were highly disturbing. She had been a killer then, worn a uniform, led a squad against one of the most cunning and adept enemies humanity had ever had the misfortune of irritating. Attempting to claim someone else’s planet tended to have that effect on the inhabitants. The oceans, though. She had been given time to heal beside one, and had learned to associate the uniquely colored water with security—and then they had whisked her out of the war zone and slotted her with an advisory position. It was too dangerous to send her back to fight; she’d draw too much attention to any unit to which she was attached.Felix had learned a lot about the politics behind the conflict, since then, was active in trying to find a way to peace that would let both sides retire with grace. Or, at least, with their economies intact. The lizardine warrior being held was probably the emissary they had been waiting for, and that was going to put a big hole in their hopes for an equitable ending.


END FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more, The Reptiles’ Blade is available from Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Omnilit, DriveThruFiction and iTunes.

Australian Birds: Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)

I went for a walk - and don't let the pine trees fool you, this is still Australia and still Canberra. I could hear the parrots, but not see them.

Ad then I spotted a flash of colour. He was kind of hard to miss, really, sitting up there and preening in the morning sun:

It took me a little while to notice the second bird sitting off to his right, but then he moved:

And that was when I realized there were three of them.

All together, and all watching the camera:

An Anthology of Blades: First Pages - Stiletto's Luck

Stiletto’sLuck has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades.

 Stiletto’sLuck is about an assassin dealing with the consequences of taking part in a battle for reasons of his own, while trying to remain uncompromised by either side.

They could have called him Scimitar, Blade or Dagger, but, no, his parents had to call him Stiletto. Stiletto did the only thing he could. He learned to be the best at what he did, and he learned to walk tall - without the heels. When he finds himself in the center of a plot to assassinate the most powerful men in the city, Stiletto has only one question: How on earth is he going to walk out of this one?
Stiletto’s Luck has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades, and is currently available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

First Page Stiletto's Luck

Sheathed in a suit that shifted with the colors of a city night, Stiletto crouched in the shadows, looking very much like the other gargoyles on the roof line, but one set far too close to the casement. Those he’d arranged to meet in the room beyond had been on time. They’d come, as arranged, bringing no nasty surprises and no extras, but he wanted to learn something more about them before going inside.Such as why four of the pairs hadn’t left as soon as they’d seen each other. And why their bodyguards had failed to check the window and make sure it was locked. Were they careless, or did they know he waited just outside? And why did they stray so far from their principles, each guard moving to the outer perimeter of the room, leaving their masters close enough to do each other harm before they could intervene.Three had hired him to protect them from one of the others. Two had hired him to investigate separate matters that now appeared linked. And he had approached one of the men acting as a guard, with a proposition.Stiletto waited. The figures in the room grew restless. Finally, one of the three turned to another.“A precision weapon, you said he was. I would have thought he’d have been on time.”“Perhaps he scries,” another—Anderman—said and his guard gave a sigh. The man breathed in, sweeping his arms wide and drawing them in as he exhaled. His principle watched as his protector settled into stillness. The others waited.“No,” the guard said, after six heartbeats of concentration. He did not say what else he might have noticed with his heightened sensitivity, but he moved closer to Anderman’s side. “No one scries here.” The men in the room did not seem to realize the significance of the guard’s movement. They relaxed.“Then why did he invite us together, if he wasn’t going to meet with us?”Huh, now they thought of it. Stiletto watched as the bodyguards moved closer to their principles before shifting onto the narrow ledge alongside the casement and opened the window. Three crossbow bolts and two shards of magic parted the space he might have filled.

END FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more, Stiletto’s Luck has been included in An Anthology of Blades , but is currently available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

Progress Report: Week 1 February 2014

Yes, I know it’s technically only got one day of February in it, but the rule of thumb is that, if the Saturday is a day of that month, then that week belongs to that month—even if it’s only one day. So, now that’s clear, here’s the progress made this week:OverviewNew words produced: 5,859Old words revised: 0Works completed: 13 (12 for inclusion in longer work)Works revised: 0Covers created: 1 (5 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Tier 1 Tasks
Anthology13: Added 547 wordsAnthology14: Added 2,396 words
Tier 2 Tasks
RomanceNovel14A—Country Rush: Added 424 words;
Tier 3 Tasks
Novella2B: Added 2,492 words. 
 
 
Publishing Tasks
Created 12 blog posts for this blog;Updated LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook;Activated An Anthology of Blades on OmniLit, Amazon Kindle and CreateSpace;Activated The Reptiles’ Blade on CreateSpace;Created Cover for Ellie Moonwater’s Candy Cane Dancer for C.M. Simpson PublishingCreated 1 blog posts for the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog and updated another;Updated C.M. Simpson Publishing page on Facebook.
New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
Anthology47: themed flash fiction;Anthology48: steampunk;Anthology49: Victoriana;Anthology50: thematic work;Poem282—Diamonds: a cinquain about diamonds;Poem283—The Gone and Future Dreaming: a contemplation of hopes, dreams, futures, what’s missing and what needs to be donePoem284—Rose-Death Summer: a poem about roses in the Australian summer.Poem285—Winds from the Four Quarters: a poem about the wind in an Australian summer.Poem286—Night-Dancing Pixies: a butterfly-type cinquain about pixies dancing at night.ShortStory202—The Man from Juniper Wood: flash speculative fiction about a messenger;ShortStory204—Of the Land: a piece of flash science fiction about belonging;ShortStory205—Valentines: a piece of flash horror fiction about zombification;ShortStory206—The Spur-Winged Traders of Calemkaspia: a piece of flash science fiction about creatures on another world;ShortStory207—Tiny and the Lake: a piece of flash urban futuristic fiction about the pursuit of a data thief;ShortStory208—Rose-Thorn Fairies: a piece of flash urban paranormal fiction about the involvement of thorn fairies in the pixie-dust world;ShortStory209—Banana-Based Ingratitude: a piece of flash horror fiction involving zombies and bananas.

An Anthology of Blades: First Pages - The Soul in the Sword

The Soul in the Sword has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades.

When an Arach raiding party attacks a wagon train and moves on to take on the next town, Dannon is part of the out-riders who must clean up in their wake. The dead girl on the wagon is just one of many reasons he doesn’t like spiders, or the elves that ride them.

The Soul in the Sword is a short tale of fantasy battle, which will be incorporated into An Anthology of Blades.
It is available as a stand-alone story from Smashwords, and will soon be available from Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.
First Page: The Soul in the Sword
The spider reared, raking down with its forelegs. Allun threw himself sideways, dodging the blade-like spines of one leg and blocking the other leg’s cutting edge with his sword.The spider lunged after him, wicked fangs flashing, their points gleaming dully in the dawn-light. Allun rolled from beneath them, turning to face the beast and its rider again.The spider’s rider raised his lance and sliced at the man below him. Allun tried to parry the deadly thrust. His sword flashed up, splintering the lance’s wooden shaft.His success was short-lived. The lance’s leaf-shaped blade had already smashed its way into his chest, ripping its way through his heart and lungs and making his arms numb with shock. His sword dropped into the grass as his arms fell to his sides.The spider’s rider looked down at his body, and Allun saw the creature’s lips curl with scorn as his sight faded. With a careless shrug, the rider threw the broken shaft of the lance onto Allun’s still body and turned his beast away.Allun had been one of the last to fall. The livestock were scattered and some of the wagons had already been put to the torch.The rider surveyed the damage and drew another lance from across his back. Only raiders moved amidst the carnage. He led them from it, shouting a war cry as he went.A ray of sunlight lit the burning wagons behind them but they did not look back. Rising smoke carried news of their deed to the sky and they did not care.The raiders sped on, blood and war paint mingling. Dawn was fading and they had far to go.
*   *   *
Amidst the wreckage, Kurjasta wept. She was dead and it had not been her time to die. The heat of a burning wagon blackened her fingers and she fell away from her body with a sudden clatter. The abrupt parting from her flesh, the shock and pain of death and the jarring as she hit the ground drove her into darkness and forced her to sleep.
*   *   *
It took the outriders most of the day to answer the alarm call of the smoke. When they reached the devastated wagon train the carrion crows had already begun their work.
END OF FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more, The Soul in the Sword is available in An Anthology of Blades or as a stand-alone title from  Smashwords, and will soon be available from Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.