C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 192

Australian Bird: Red-Rumped Parrot ( Psephotus haematonotus)

This little guy - yep, it's the male - came to visit in our tree. I've since seen him with a little harem of females, but never been able to get close enough to them for a photograph. Watch this blog. Eventually, I manage it. In the meantime, please enjoy the shots I *did* manage to get as he sang (or chirped merrily) in my backyard.


He was pretty wary, and hard to get close to, and



 He very stubbornly stayed behind a screen of leaves.


Occasionally, he turned his back, giving me a clear view of his red rump.


And his yellow tummy.


Eventually, I managed to move around enough to get this hot.


He watched every move, so I went back inside and left him in peace.

Release Dates: C.M. Simpson and Madeleine Torr

An Anthology of Blades will release on January 25, 2014:


Axes, swords, knives, cursed, blessed or from the Otherlands, this anthology is all about things that cut, slice, dice or amputate. From a buried blade housing one of the protagonists of an ancient battle, to axes wielded by a barbarian at the crossroads of destiny, all the short stories and poems contained in this anthology have one common theme—they are some kind of blade.
An Anthology of Blades will be available from Kindle, Kobo, Smashwords, CreateSpace (in both large and small print), DriveThruFiction, and OmniLit, as well as all outlets to which Smashwords distributes, which include Barnes and Noble Nook and iTunes.

Country Rush will release on March, 22, 2014:

Country Rush is the first book in the Bookstore Romancesseries which centers around the characters who work in, or pass through, Highway's Book Emporium, a bookstore in a city very much like Melbourne or Canberra.
When Taylor helps a tall, dark stranger hide from men pursuing him, she embroils herself in the seedier side of city life. With her mother watching over her seriously injured father in hospital, Taylor has dropped out of university to help pay the bills, taking on a second job to do so. The last thing she needs is a rapid exit from the city and a quick trip to the country, but that's exactly what her tall-dark-and-handsome insists on. With a nasty criminal element on their heels, the pair of them take a fast train and a slow bus out of town, before fleeing to a country property to try to work out how to escape their dilemma.
Country Rush is the first book in the Bookstore Romances series, and will be available from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, AllRomanceEbooks and CreateSpace, as well as being distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

New Cover: An Anthology of Blades

An Anthology of Blades , the sixth in The Simpson Anthologies series, will be released next week. Here is its new cover.

Cover for An Anthology of Blades Axes, swords, knives, cursed, blessed or from the Otherlands, this anthology is all about things that cut, slice, dice or amputate. From a buried blade housing one of the protagonists of an ancient battle, to axes wielded by a barbarian at the crossroads of destiny, all the short stories and poems contained in this anthology have one common theme—they are some kind of blade.

Progress Report: Week 3, January 2014

Progress Report: Week 3 January 2014We have no air conditioning, and only bought fans yesterday (Friday, 17 January). On hot days (you know, those over 30 degrees Celsius), not only do I have trouble functioning, but the computer does, too. This week has been 39 degrees Celsius and up, with the last week being in the 40+ mark. Not a lot has been done and I am behind. Today (Saturday, 18 January), I have managed to keep both the computer and myself cool, in spite of it being over the 40-degree mark. Stuff is happening, but slowly. Here’s what I’ve achieved this week.OverviewNew words produced: 3,599Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0 Tier 1 Tasks
Annual13: Added 481 wordsAnnual14: Added 3,118 words
Publishing Tasks

Anthology7—An Anthology of Blades: completed cover, formatted for Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, DriveThruFiction, OmniLit and CreateSpace. Uploaded for pre-release on all bar Kindle, CreateSpace and OmniLit.Created 3 blog posts for this blog;Created 1 blog posts for the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog;Created cover for An Anthology of Blades .
  New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
ShortStory189—A Family in the Stars: a piece of flash science fiction about bloodlines and belonging.ShortStory190—The Invisible Bookshop: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction from the Otherworld setting.ShortStory191—When Hell Came From Under the Troll Bridge: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction from the Otherworld setting.ShortStory192—A Royal Visit: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction from the Otherworld setting ShortStory193—The Pixies and the Corrupt Cadets: a piece of flash urban noir fantasy fiction from the Pixie Dust settingShortStory194—Monsters of the Medilo Mist: a piece of flash science fiction from the Medilo Swamp setting.ShortStory195—The Flight of Edmond Hask: a piece of flash science fiction introducing Edmond Hask, who may just become a character of some significance.Poem271—The Dragon Lands: about a dragon on a sunny morning;Poem272—Elves, Humans and the Stars: about elves, humans and the stars, a poem blending science fiction and fantasyPoem273—Spring-Time Dragon: a haiku about a dragon in the spring.Poem274—Red Earth through White Wine: a short poem about looking at our land a different way.Poem275—Australian Summer: Two short verses about the Australian summer.Poem276—Pixies and the Aussie Summer: four short verses about how Australian temperature extremes in summer affect pixies.

Terribleminds Flash Fiction Challenge Response due 17-01-2014

Terribleminds Flash Fiction Challenge Response: The Invisible Bookshop
Very excited to be able to take part in the first terribleminds flash fiction challenge of the year.

Written on January 13, 2014, for the terribleminds flash fiction challenge due midday, January 17, 2014, this piece explores more of my Otherworld setting. I’m beginning to think, this setting and the pixie-dust setting might be one and the same. I’ll write some more to work it out. We had to randomly roll two words, which made up our title, and then we had 1,000 words in which to write a story. This piece is exactly 1,000 words long.

The invisible bookshop stood on the corner of Pattinson and Lane. It was not a secretive place, tucked away in an alley or down a side-street. It stood proudly where all could see—or where all would be able to see, if the shop itself was visible. Most of the time, it looked like a big, blank corner of wall, with no windows and no door. I loved the place.As if invisibility wasn’t enough, the front door shifted, and the symbol marking it had to be discerned amongst the protective graffiti that adorned what met mortal and immortal eyes alike—a symbolic doorbell, usually a twist of paint representative of shape and form, but not a direct portrait. You rang it, and stepped through on the left. If you didn’t, you’d end up face first in the wall. I was good at spotting the doorbell in its myriad forms. Very good, also, at noticing those who might do the bookstore harm.There are all sorts of creatures who wish to see it gone, different factions who don’t believe the bookshop has a right to withhold tomes which might do lasting damage to this world, the Otherworld, and the worlds between. The last time the bookshop was attacked, was because the Summer Queen’s court decided the Winter court must perish, that it had no place in the dry and sunny climes they now called home.It took a troll to remind the fey that some rules still held sway in this land to which the colonists had brought them. Most trolls will have nothing to do with books—except as kindling. Troll kings are rare, and most don’t read. This one did. Born of the fantasies woven by authors who had never met a bard, and mingled with the earlier and wilder creatures found in the folklore of a time long past, the existence of troll kings challenged everything we knew a troll to be. It was a complication I had not thought I needed at the time.The warriors of the Summer Court are fair and golden, descended from tales born in Scotland and the old country. When the Scots and English came to Australia, they prepared the way for doors to open in the Dreaming, doors the spirit people sometimes closed, if the fey caused too much trouble. Trolls just came through wherever there were bridges closely tied to similar Otherworld landmarks. Sometimes a culvert would suffice. I hated trolls; they fed without discernment or restraint—anything that moved or breathed or screamed with fear.And trolls were ugly, from the small squat and hairy ‘bouncers’ to the misshapen masses that were as tall as trees or as large and lumpy as granite outcrops, their noses constantly a-twitch for ‘Christian’ blood or true believers. Not a single one of these would try to enter the bookshop, but the troll king did. I saw him and alarm shivered through me, but he was wearing a large pair of blue jeans and no shirt or shoes. Tribal tats in ochre red and yellow, and wode-enshaded blue covered his torso. His tusks gleamed a creamy ivory in the fading dusk, and his hair fell in a single plait to the centre of his back.He pressed the buzzer, once, stepped carefully to the left and disappeared from sight. I was about to hurry after him, lest he cause too much damage before he could be stopped, but sly movement caught my eye. Elves. Twenty or more, having forsaken their steeds in favour of silence and stealth. I slipped back into the café, holding my newly-bought and well-wrapped fish and chips to my chest.“I’ll need a bag,” I said, at the proprietor’s enquiring look. “Two. One for the food and the other for the drinks.”It was enough. While he packed my dinner into environmentally unfriendly plastic, I scoped out the elves—and sighed. I was off duty, but it looked like dinner was going to be late. The elves definitely had plans for the bookstore, and they weren’t friendly.I watched as one unslung a globe of magical fire, while another pressed the doorbell. I suppressed a snicker as another leapt to the right of the symbol and rebounded from the wall. Even elves make mistakes, and these weren’t your modern fantasy elves; these were fey from the legends of another land—mean-tempered and capricious. I forgot about the troll. The real trouble had just worked out it needed to step to the left.“Thanks,” I said, taking the bags and strolling across the road to where the last two fey were loitering outside the door.“It’s closed.”They moved to stand in my way.“Is not.”“Is now.”I put my bags down and unbuttoned my coat—I love Canberra; it’s temperate enough for dusters, and late autumn can be downright cold in the evening. The elves watched, their eyes widening when they saw the elven blade hanging at my waist.“Whose betrothed are you?”“I never did catch his name,” I said, “but do you really wish to dare his ire?”I pull the chain from beneath my shirt. I have yet to work out which fairy queen has allied me to her court, but the Summer elves knew. They stood aside. I drew the sword and entered.“Winter must come,” the troll was insisting. “Without it Summer cannot be.”The elves were arrayed before it.“The book your queen requires is here,” the proprietor said, emerging from amongst the stacks. From the looks on their faces the elves still thought him behind the counter. I glanced at the title The Symbiosis of the Seasonal Courts of the Fey.The raiders’ captain drew himself tall, and snapped out a hand.“Two hundred gold,” the proprietor said, and the troll lord bared his fangs. I let the chain hang free, held the sword steady. The captain paid.“We’ll be back,” he said.“I sincerely doubt it,” the proprietor replied.

Adventure Edition: Babes in London Update

 

















 I am currently reading through the rules update that came through late last year, so that I can tweak the already released Acts into line. After that, I will write the final scene in Act II and then compile each Act into a downloadable PDF and place it in a separate post AND on the Babes in London page on this blog. You have not been forgotten.

Progress Report: Week 2, January 2014

Progress Report: Week 2 January 2014Apologies for the late post - internet outage. Week 2 was a very busy week, this week, with changes at the day job and the continued evolution of routine at home. Life is getting more balanced, and the writing continues.OverviewNew words produced: 2,683Old words revised: 0Works completed: 11 (11 for longer works)Works revised: 0Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Tier 1 TasksAnthology13: Added 330 wordsAnthology14: Added 2,353 wordsPublishing TasksReworked blog schedules for both my blog and the publishing blog.New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
Chapbook1G-J: About a cat in different locations.Chapbook20B: more science fiction from a muddy worldPoem267—Dragons from the Story Leap: a dragon acrosticPoem268—Purity Falls: about the loss of a knight;Poem269—The First Hit: about a hit man targeting his prey;Poem270—The Troll Slayer’s Flight: about a troll slayer;ShortStory181—Stanifa on an Upside-Down World: a piece of flash science fiction about an otherworldly pursuit and capture.ShortStory182—Salvation in a Lettuce Patch: a piece of zombie flash fictionShortStory183—Darkness Falls: a piece of flash fantasy fiction about an assassinShortStory184—Through the Otherworld to the Stars: a flash fiction blend of science fiction and fantasy to do with elves.ShortStory185—Captain Amy on Black Mountain: a piece of steampunk fiction set in Australia.ShortStory186—Take Me with You: a piece of steampunk fantasy set in outback Australia.ShortStory187—Take me with You: a piece of steampunk flash fiction set in Outback Australia.ShortStory188—Hot-Iron Pixies: a piece of urban fantasy flash fiction noir.YANovel14E: title only, about a teenaged dreamer

Australian Insects - Small Cicadas

Every Australian summer, you hear them - singing in the trees. Sometimes, on a fine hot day, you'll walk through the shade of a gumtree grove and be showered in a spray of fine droplets. Looking up, you won't see a single cloud - you have just been peed on by the very songsters chirping all around, and above you. I am hoping to get a picture of one of the bigger ones, but this little fellow sang most enticingly in the back yard and I had to hunt him down.

I finally found him on a tall branch of flotinnia.


But he wasn't very cooperative and kept shifting around the branch.


Every time, I moved, he moved, too.


Finally flying to another branch...


... and shifting around on that, until flying from sight.


Disappointed, I was about to head inside, when I heard another one, and found it sitting in a plum tree.


It was much more cooperative.

PDF – Madeleine Torr: First Chapters from 2012-2013

Last year was a very quiet year for my romance-writing head, Madeleine Torr. With another novel almost finished, Madeleine had no releases, but will make up for that this year. In the meantime, here is the first chapter of my 2012 release: Secondhand Sweetheart.


And HERE is where you can find the PDF.

Enjoy.

PDF – Carlie Simonsen: First Chapters from 2013

Not only was I busy as C.M. Simpson, but my younger fiction head was also having a fun time getting out her earlier work. This year, I hope to finish writing a good portion of one of the series I started last year, AND to start on adding to a second one.

In the meantime, here is a collation of the first chapters of the 14 chapter books I released in 2013:



And HERE is where you can download them as a PDF.