C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 206
July 6, 2013
Progress Report: Week 1 July 2013
A new financial year has begun, and I have assessed what I planned to achieve by the end of the year. After doing the ‘first-of-quarter’ set-up, this is what I achieved for the very first week in July 2013.OverviewNew words produced: 414Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 1 (1-3 variations)Works published: 32 (2 formats each on OmniLit)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0
Publishing TasksCreated 3 blog posts for this blog;Created 4 blog posts for the C.M. SimpsonPublishing blog;Created the print-on-demand and ebook covers for Carlie Simonsen’s Wings ;Uploaded all Carlie Simonsen and 90% of C.M. Simpson’s short story and anthology, and novel titles to OmniLit.
New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
ShortStory60: about girls and knives;ShortStory61: about a very special kukri;ShortStory62: a Tzamesch story featuring a different kind of barbarian, Honz.
July 5, 2013
Adventure Edition: Fireborn Revisited - Babes in London Overview
Many, many moons ago, as some of you are aware, I fell in love with Fantasy Flight Games Fireborn setting. I started writing an adventure for it, when they put out a call, but I could find no one to play it with - the RPGA's 'Living' campaigns were in full swing and gamers in my area had pretty full dance cards at the time - and then the setting went away, and I turned to other things.
Years have passed, but the setting haunts me still. It is a writing challenge I want to complete, a setting that cries out for exploration, and something that is ignoring my attempts to ignore it, and work on more saleable projects.
So, I will write this adventure arc, and I will post it here for free to get it out of my system - a piece of fan fiction, if you will. It is in no way endorsed or supported by the company that created the Fireborn roleplaying game or setting; it is not official; and it does not indicate any kind of relationship between myself and that company, and I do not claim any of the setting-specific material or setting-specific concepts as my own. It is a personal project, that I hope someone will enjoy playing, nothing more. And, as I have no playtesters (and my previously arranged playtesters fell through), it has not been playtested, so it might just suck - BE WARNED.
PLAYERS: should not read the adventure. PLAYERS will need a copy of the Fireborn Player's Handbook . At the time of this post it costs less than US $10 at DriveThruRPG.
GAME MASTERS: should read the adventure. GAME MASTERS will need a copy of the Fireborn Player's Handbook and a copy of the Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook . If they are interested in running an adventure prior to this one, GAME MASTERS can also purchase a copy of The Fire Within , Fantasy Flight's official introductory adventure. I will not be reproducing stat blocks of opponents that can be found in these references, and I have built in notes that will enable you to build on actions taken in the introductory adventure if it is played with the same characters. At the time of writing this post, The Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook costs less than US $10 at DriveThruRPG, as does The Fire Within .
Adventure posts will be added once a week. Act One of Babes in London , will take 5 more posts, or 5 more weeks before it is complete enough to run... and I advise waiting until you have it in its entirety before beginning. That leaves plenty of time to familiarise with Fantasy Flight's system and setting rules.
Below is the overview of the Babes in London plot arc.
PLAYERS SHOULD NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT.
INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to the Babes in London plot arc. This module consists of three, multi-scene Acts.This series of modules is built around the concept that, when dragons are reborn as humans, they must follow the path of maturity that all humans take. The return of magic to the world did not wait until all such scions had reached human maturity, and the dangers for this young generation of ‘lost’ dragons is just as great, if not greater, than for their more adult counterparts.
When PCs come in contact with brood of child scions, they soon become aware of the dangers posed—and of yet another threat reigniting a path into an unprepared world.
The Babes in London plot arc is written for scions who have already started down the path of self-discovery and assumes that such characters are already aware of their dual natures. It is not recommended for characters who have yet to become aware of their true natures, although limited suggestions on how to tailor the adventure for such characters are included.
The Babes in London plot arc consists of three modules. They are:
Little Girls Lost: in which PCs searching for the ‘Seer of Cathach’ in order to gain information about a lost karmic item encounter two child members of another brood. This encounter occurs just before the child scions run away from their human homes and the PCs become involved in the investigation. The PCs must gather the clues needed to find the child scions before the other groups involved can do the same. It ends once the clues have been gathered from the girls’ homes.Little Girls Found: in which PCs follow up on the clues they have gathered and attempt to convince the girls to return home. By this stage the scions have found a third member of their brood – two-year-old Lewistrom, and possibly kidnapped him (for his own safety of course). The module ends with the child scions realizing the danger to their parents and the PCs having a new direction in which to go.Girls & Boys Go Off to Play: in which PCs place the children and their families in a place of safekeeping and go off to rescue the set of parents that have been kidnapped by cultists. Upon the discovery of a minor temple of Set, the rescue and return of the parents to safety and the acquisition of an ally in the form of LN7 or the Gehenna Consortium, this sequence ends.
Throughout the sequence, PCs encounter the cult of Set in both the mythic and modern ages. They earn the enmity of this cultist group, while learning of their mythic opposition to them. Mythic encounters occur in Atlantis, Keheb, Arcadia and Albion, while all modern encounters occur in London. Successful completion of the sequence sees the PCs potentially allied to either LN7 or the Gehenna Consortium, in possession of new contacts in the form of other dragons, an archaeologist and university lecturer or librarian, an artist, and the children’s families. They will also be well on the way to finding an important karmic item from their hoard. Possible rewards gained from completing the entire sequence are as follows:
Little Girls Lost: 4/3AP; Modern: Anika’s Book of Law, Anika’s Unicorn Picture, Setite Identity Token, Leyila’s Book of Songs, Enmity of the Setites; Modern/Mythic: Friend of Kredak; Mythic: Hound of the Law, Friend of the Temple Dancers of Prophecy, Enmity of Set, links to future adventures Designation: Containment Required, Entry to Sha’ir of Shadow & Sand . Little Girls Found: 2/3AP; Modern: Friend of David Markovin (North London Artist), Friend of Andrew Harvey (London Archaeologist), Enemy of the Setites, Friend of LN7 and/or Friend of the Gehenna Consortium; Modern/Mythic: Friend of Anika Collins/Unicorn Maid, Friend of Leyila Andrews/Lady of the Bower, Friend of Lewistrom Beam/Lewistrom the Smith; Mythic: Friend of Havram the Gardener, Hunted by the Setites; Special: links to planned future adventures: The Lost Horn of the Unicorns, and The Third Hour of the Night. Girls & Boys Go Off to Play: 2/5AP; Modern: Friend of the Beam Family, Friend of the Andrews Family; Friend of the Collins Family, Ally of the Gehenna Consortium OR Ally of LN7, Hunted by the Setites, Location of the Gehenna Consortium’s Irish Retreat (if an Ally of the Gehenna Consortium) OR Contact with the Lawbringer’s Brood (if an Ally of LN7); Special: Links to: Gehenna Redemption (if an Ally of the Consortium), or The Lost Horn of the Unicorns (if an Ally of LN7)The sequence has the potential to lead into three other adventure sequences:The Lost Horn of the Unicorns: which sees the PCs involved with the child scions once more and could lead to the return of unicorns to the world; Sha’ir of Shadow and Sand: which sees the PCs engaged in a new battle with minions of another old enemy; andThe Third Hour of the Night: which sees the PCs following the clues gained in the Babes in London sequence and trying to regain their karmic item from the ‘third hour of the night’ in the Egyptian underworld.There is a possibility for PCs allied to the Gehenna Consortium to later rescue the child scions and their families from the Consortium’s clutches. This sequence is called Gehenna Redemption.
END OF OVERVIEW
Next week, I will post the Background section for Little Girls Lost .
Years have passed, but the setting haunts me still. It is a writing challenge I want to complete, a setting that cries out for exploration, and something that is ignoring my attempts to ignore it, and work on more saleable projects.
So, I will write this adventure arc, and I will post it here for free to get it out of my system - a piece of fan fiction, if you will. It is in no way endorsed or supported by the company that created the Fireborn roleplaying game or setting; it is not official; and it does not indicate any kind of relationship between myself and that company, and I do not claim any of the setting-specific material or setting-specific concepts as my own. It is a personal project, that I hope someone will enjoy playing, nothing more. And, as I have no playtesters (and my previously arranged playtesters fell through), it has not been playtested, so it might just suck - BE WARNED.
PLAYERS: should not read the adventure. PLAYERS will need a copy of the Fireborn Player's Handbook . At the time of this post it costs less than US $10 at DriveThruRPG.
GAME MASTERS: should read the adventure. GAME MASTERS will need a copy of the Fireborn Player's Handbook and a copy of the Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook . If they are interested in running an adventure prior to this one, GAME MASTERS can also purchase a copy of The Fire Within , Fantasy Flight's official introductory adventure. I will not be reproducing stat blocks of opponents that can be found in these references, and I have built in notes that will enable you to build on actions taken in the introductory adventure if it is played with the same characters. At the time of writing this post, The Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook costs less than US $10 at DriveThruRPG, as does The Fire Within .
Adventure posts will be added once a week. Act One of Babes in London , will take 5 more posts, or 5 more weeks before it is complete enough to run... and I advise waiting until you have it in its entirety before beginning. That leaves plenty of time to familiarise with Fantasy Flight's system and setting rules.
Below is the overview of the Babes in London plot arc.
PLAYERS SHOULD NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT.
INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to the Babes in London plot arc. This module consists of three, multi-scene Acts.This series of modules is built around the concept that, when dragons are reborn as humans, they must follow the path of maturity that all humans take. The return of magic to the world did not wait until all such scions had reached human maturity, and the dangers for this young generation of ‘lost’ dragons is just as great, if not greater, than for their more adult counterparts.
When PCs come in contact with brood of child scions, they soon become aware of the dangers posed—and of yet another threat reigniting a path into an unprepared world.
The Babes in London plot arc is written for scions who have already started down the path of self-discovery and assumes that such characters are already aware of their dual natures. It is not recommended for characters who have yet to become aware of their true natures, although limited suggestions on how to tailor the adventure for such characters are included.
The Babes in London plot arc consists of three modules. They are:
Little Girls Lost: in which PCs searching for the ‘Seer of Cathach’ in order to gain information about a lost karmic item encounter two child members of another brood. This encounter occurs just before the child scions run away from their human homes and the PCs become involved in the investigation. The PCs must gather the clues needed to find the child scions before the other groups involved can do the same. It ends once the clues have been gathered from the girls’ homes.Little Girls Found: in which PCs follow up on the clues they have gathered and attempt to convince the girls to return home. By this stage the scions have found a third member of their brood – two-year-old Lewistrom, and possibly kidnapped him (for his own safety of course). The module ends with the child scions realizing the danger to their parents and the PCs having a new direction in which to go.Girls & Boys Go Off to Play: in which PCs place the children and their families in a place of safekeeping and go off to rescue the set of parents that have been kidnapped by cultists. Upon the discovery of a minor temple of Set, the rescue and return of the parents to safety and the acquisition of an ally in the form of LN7 or the Gehenna Consortium, this sequence ends.
Throughout the sequence, PCs encounter the cult of Set in both the mythic and modern ages. They earn the enmity of this cultist group, while learning of their mythic opposition to them. Mythic encounters occur in Atlantis, Keheb, Arcadia and Albion, while all modern encounters occur in London. Successful completion of the sequence sees the PCs potentially allied to either LN7 or the Gehenna Consortium, in possession of new contacts in the form of other dragons, an archaeologist and university lecturer or librarian, an artist, and the children’s families. They will also be well on the way to finding an important karmic item from their hoard. Possible rewards gained from completing the entire sequence are as follows:
Little Girls Lost: 4/3AP; Modern: Anika’s Book of Law, Anika’s Unicorn Picture, Setite Identity Token, Leyila’s Book of Songs, Enmity of the Setites; Modern/Mythic: Friend of Kredak; Mythic: Hound of the Law, Friend of the Temple Dancers of Prophecy, Enmity of Set, links to future adventures Designation: Containment Required, Entry to Sha’ir of Shadow & Sand . Little Girls Found: 2/3AP; Modern: Friend of David Markovin (North London Artist), Friend of Andrew Harvey (London Archaeologist), Enemy of the Setites, Friend of LN7 and/or Friend of the Gehenna Consortium; Modern/Mythic: Friend of Anika Collins/Unicorn Maid, Friend of Leyila Andrews/Lady of the Bower, Friend of Lewistrom Beam/Lewistrom the Smith; Mythic: Friend of Havram the Gardener, Hunted by the Setites; Special: links to planned future adventures: The Lost Horn of the Unicorns, and The Third Hour of the Night. Girls & Boys Go Off to Play: 2/5AP; Modern: Friend of the Beam Family, Friend of the Andrews Family; Friend of the Collins Family, Ally of the Gehenna Consortium OR Ally of LN7, Hunted by the Setites, Location of the Gehenna Consortium’s Irish Retreat (if an Ally of the Gehenna Consortium) OR Contact with the Lawbringer’s Brood (if an Ally of LN7); Special: Links to: Gehenna Redemption (if an Ally of the Consortium), or The Lost Horn of the Unicorns (if an Ally of LN7)The sequence has the potential to lead into three other adventure sequences:The Lost Horn of the Unicorns: which sees the PCs involved with the child scions once more and could lead to the return of unicorns to the world; Sha’ir of Shadow and Sand: which sees the PCs engaged in a new battle with minions of another old enemy; andThe Third Hour of the Night: which sees the PCs following the clues gained in the Babes in London sequence and trying to regain their karmic item from the ‘third hour of the night’ in the Egyptian underworld.There is a possibility for PCs allied to the Gehenna Consortium to later rescue the child scions and their families from the Consortium’s clutches. This sequence is called Gehenna Redemption.
END OF OVERVIEW
Next week, I will post the Background section for Little Girls Lost .
July 3, 2013
Australian Birds: Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo
These guys were enjoying the morning sun on the highest point they could find.
They came.
They sat.
They preened.
They munched on the power-line.
They stared at me staring at them.
And put on a good display.
Then they went.
But even this large cockatoo is scared of magpies!
They came.
They sat.
They preened.
They munched on the power-line.
They stared at me staring at them.
And put on a good display.
Then they went.
But even this large cockatoo is scared of magpies!
July 1, 2013
New Cover for Carlie Simonsen's Wings
I have just finished the new cover for Carlie Simonsen's pending release:
Wings
. I rather like this cover, and now I'm going to have to think real hard on how to make the next cover just as striking.
E-book Cover
Print-on-Demand Cover
Wings is the first book in the Wings series, which follows a family of people who have wings and bird-like feet. They have lived as normal a life as possible, concealing their not-so-human aspects as best they can. So far they have been successful, but that’s all about to be turned upside down.
Jack has wings, but he keeps them well-hidden. When a new girl comes to school and does not hide her own wings, what changes will she bring to Jack’s life?
Wings is due for release in July 2013, and will be available from Amazon-Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, and iTunes.
E-book Cover
Print-on-Demand CoverWings is the first book in the Wings series, which follows a family of people who have wings and bird-like feet. They have lived as normal a life as possible, concealing their not-so-human aspects as best they can. So far they have been successful, but that’s all about to be turned upside down.
Jack has wings, but he keeps them well-hidden. When a new girl comes to school and does not hide her own wings, what changes will she bring to Jack’s life?
Wings is due for release in July 2013, and will be available from Amazon-Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, and iTunes.
June 30, 2013
Progress Report: Week 5 June 2013
The day job decided to raise some complexities this week, so I have gotten very little done. I think I am back on track, once more, but this week will be the proof of that. Wish me luck. In the meantime, here is a summary of what was achieved in the last week of June 2013.OverviewNew words produced: 0 (not including blogs)Old words revised: 8Works completed: Works revised: 0Covers created: 1 (1-2 variations)Works published: 1 (2 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0
Publishing TasksCreated 2 blog entries for this blog;Created 1 blog entry for C.M. Simpson Publishing blog;Created covers for C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2012 ;Formatted C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2012 for upload to Smashwords and Amazon-Kindle (decided against an Amazon release);Formatted C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2012 for upload to DriveThruFiction;Updated FaceBook with with C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2012 ;Uploaded entire catalogue to DriveThruFiction bar the individual stories from the first four anthologies. These will be uploaded as covers are rebadged.
Traditional Writer Tasks
Created 1 blog entry for the Magic Thursdaycolumn at Dark Siders DownUnder
New Arrivals
Chapbook7B: Another Air Ace Adventure tale. This one precedes the one that arrived last week.Concept for several adventures, and possibly stories, set in Mandalay, or a fantasy version thereof.
June 29, 2013
Late Night - New Release: Short Story and Poem Collection
So, last night I was up late, uploading most of the C.M. Simpson Publishing catalogue to DriveThruFiction, and that all started because of the release of a collection of all the short stories and poems I wrote and released in 2012. All up, it took me around 16 hours. Crazy, hey?
So, in addition to checking out the publisher page on DriveThruFiction, feel free to head on over to Smashwords and take a look at the new release. It's priced so that you get the four anthologies and extra material for less than if you purchased them separately.
This is a collection of all the short stories C.M. Simpson published and wrote in 2012. Many of these pieces can be found in earlier anthologies or on C.M. Simpson’s blog, but some have not previously been published. Genres range from paranormal urban fantasy to dark fantasy to space opera and comedic science fiction and magic realism. With tales ranging from her earliest years of writing to more recent times, this collection showcases one writer’s exploration of the worlds in her head and outside it.
This collection contains all short stories and poems included in An Anthology of Battle , An Anthology of Dragons , An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us , and An Anthology of Worlds , as well as previously unpublished content.
This collection is currently available from Smashwords and DriveThruFiction.Published on: June 29, 2013
So, in addition to checking out the publisher page on DriveThruFiction, feel free to head on over to Smashwords and take a look at the new release. It's priced so that you get the four anthologies and extra material for less than if you purchased them separately.
This is a collection of all the short stories C.M. Simpson published and wrote in 2012. Many of these pieces can be found in earlier anthologies or on C.M. Simpson’s blog, but some have not previously been published. Genres range from paranormal urban fantasy to dark fantasy to space opera and comedic science fiction and magic realism. With tales ranging from her earliest years of writing to more recent times, this collection showcases one writer’s exploration of the worlds in her head and outside it.This collection contains all short stories and poems included in An Anthology of Battle , An Anthology of Dragons , An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us , and An Anthology of Worlds , as well as previously unpublished content.
This collection is currently available from Smashwords and DriveThruFiction.Published on: June 29, 2013
June 28, 2013
Books Read in June 2013
Here are the covers of the books I read this month. Did I mention that I was currently reading Dick Francis and that he had published over 30 titles? Well, they're taking a bit to read, and I'm enjoying every minute of it:
June 27, 2013
Covers Designed Created and Tweaked this Month
June 26, 2013
Blogging Elsewhere: I’m visiting DarkSide DownUnder and writing about world-building the magic of Tzamesch
DSDU = Dark Side Down Under: A group of Australian writers of romance and other paranormal genres has kindly hosted me today on their regular Magic Thursday blog spot. Today I thought I’d share a little about the importance of world-building in general, and creating the magic of Tzamesch in particular. Feel free to come over and join me.
June 25, 2013
First Pages: Magick on the Forest's Edge
Forced to flee with her village, priestly apprentice, Althessa, discovers that danger comes in many guises and salvation is often unexpected. When their undead pursuers are slain by an unknown force, Althessa assists her mistress in consecrating their remains to ensure they cannot return from the dead, yet again. But magick calls from a nearby forest, and another life is in danger. One of those responsible for bringing down their pursuers is balanced on the edge of death. With the priests too busy to assist, and only her wizardly brother to help her, can Althessa perform the healing required, or will the attempt bring death to all who dare it?Magick on the Forest’s Edge is a fantasy short story, where two children investigate a magical alarm, and face the consequences of trying to do the right thing against great odds.
Magick on the Forest’s Edge can now be found at Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes.
First Pages: Magick on the Forest's Edge
They were three weeks into their flight before the forest came into view. It had been hard, moving an entire village with little more than a night’s notice, harder still to avoid the undead warriors pursuing them. Winter was drawing perilously near. It meant respite from the endless pursuit, but certain destruction if shelter for the season wasn’t found.Althessa was wakened by Rowany, her mentor and priestess to Beresia. Having slept the day, they hurried to receive the evening meal Althessa’s mother, Mallee, and the other village women had prepared.It was bread, cold mutton, and cheese, again, but no one minded enough to complain. The food was filling and took little time to prepare and consume. Time took precedence over even the smallest of matters in their flight, and the laird had promised a change to their diet as soon as they were free of Escarlion’s borders, and the creatures on their trail.Once they’d eaten, Rowany took Althessa to join the other priests in their evening supplications. Tonight their prayers would call the starlight and the snow breezes; one to guide them, the others to cover their tracks.Althessa rejoiced in the prayers. She could feel herself growing in Beresia’s favor and power each time she communed with the goddess. She reveled in the goddess’s pleasure, rejoicing in the service she had found.Even the king’s prejudice against the priesthoods could not spoil her joy. Althessa lifted her voice and blended it with the prayers of the other priests, calling the goddess’s attention to the villagers’ need once more. And, once more, Althessa felt the gods answer in chorus and her eyes filling with tears of joy at their reply.She saw the intensity of her feelings reflected in the faces of the other priests. All had had felt the comfort of their gods, before, but this chorus of gods was something still new to them, and they treasured it.The starlight shone around them, gilding the coming night in silver. Althessa stared in wonder. Around her, the same wonder touched all the villagers’ faces, as they arranged themselves in the marching order dictated by their laird. Tonight they would reach the forest’s edge, and safety.
END OF FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more, Magick on the Forest’s Edge can now be found at Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes.
