C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 207

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!

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.

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 Tasks
Created 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.

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

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:

Covers Designed Created and Tweaked this Month

Here are the covers I created or tweaked this month. Not all of them are for my books - but that's half the fun :-)

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.

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.

Australian Birds: Eurasian Coots on a Polluted Pond

More birds, just a short walk from home. I'm in the middle of trying to find out what this one's called. I think it's some kind of grebe or native waterhen, but I'm not sure. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

UPDATE: These are Eurasian Coots or Fulica antra.

They don't mind swimming in polluted water, have red eyes and a distinctive white marking in the middle of their foreheads.


See? Red eyes!



 They eat some kind of green stuff from under the water - probably plant-life...


But they have to dive for it. I caught *this* shot as the coot launched itself into the water it had been sitting on.


But this is all I usually managed to get when I tried to catch them diving.


I guess there's always next weekend :-)

Progress Report: Week 4 June 2013

Not a lot of writing achieved this week (if you don’t count blog entries). I focused a bit more on my photography, and did a bit of needed sewing, as well as catch-up on what I didn’t get done when the internet slowed down. Overall, it was a productive week.OverviewNew words produced: 4,272Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0 (1-2 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Publishing TasksI spent the week catching up on things that I’ve been putting off or neglecting, and in trying to get ahead on the blog entries . They were as follows:
Created 12 blog entries for this blog;Updated the Tales of Tzamesch, Madeleine Torr, Carlie Simonsen and Simpson Anthologies pages on this blog; Created 6 blog entries for C.M. Simpson Publishing blog;Updated the  Updated Shelfari with Tag Man One, Traveler, The Dog’s Way, Troll-Mist Morning, Gulvane and the Dragon, Of Hunters and the Color Blue, Magick on the Forest’s Edge, Shadow’s Fall ;Updated GoodReads with with Tag Man One, Traveler, The Dog’s Way, Troll-Mist Morning, Gulvane and the Dragon, Of Hunters and the Color Blue, Magick on the Forest’s Edge, Shadow’s Fall ;Updated FaceBook with with Shadow’s Fall .
New ArrivalsIn order of appearance:
NonFiction3A-6A: Disabilities.Chapboook14B: About a mermaid’s adventures on land.Chapbook7C: another tale in the Air Ace Adventure series.