C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 212

Blogging Elsewhere: Today I’m at the DSDU Blog, sharing one way to make promotions easier

DSDU = Dark Side DownUnder: A group of Australian writers of romance and other paranormal genres has kindly hosted me today on their regular Magic Thursday blog spot. In return I’m sharing one of the tricks I use to make promoting my work easier. Feel free to come over and join me

New Cover: The Soul in the Sword

Here is the cover for my latest short story. This one's a dark fantasy that will one day grow into a novel. 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 will soon be available as a stand-alone story from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, DriveThruFiction, iTunes, and Nook.

New Release: Long Hair as Carlie Simonsen

When Michael sees movie star, Ky Lin, taking down the bad guys with her long-hair karate, all Michael wants is to be able to do just that. He convinces his karate teacher to train him, and works hard, even when the kids at school tease him. Michael is super-excited when he finds out Ky Lin and her co-star, Joe Wy, are coming to visit his school, but when thieves strike, the visit is in danger of being cancelled. Can Michael discover who is stealing money from the kids and offices at school before the head master calls the movie visit off? Or will his long hair just get in the way?
Set in a world similar to our own, where long hair really can be used as a karate fighting style, Carlie Simonsen's Long Hair is a teen to young adult story that deals with issues of teasing and working towards one’s dreams even when those we want to please most don’t support us.
The non-illustrated version of Long Hair can now be found at Smashwords, and will soon be available from Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes.

New Cover: Long Hair as Carlie Simonsen

Carlie Simonsen's newest chapter book has a cover and will release shortly.

 When Michael sees movie star, Ky Lin, taking down the bad guys with her long-hair karate, all Michael wants is to be able to do just that. He convinces his karate teacher to train him, and works hard, even when the kids at school tease him. Michael is super-excited when he finds out Ky Lin and her co-star, Joe Wy, are coming to visit his school, but when thieves strike, the visit is in danger of being cancelled. Can Michael discover who is stealing money from the kids and offices at school before the head master calls the movie visit off? Or will his long hair just get in the way?Set in a world similar to our own, where long hair really can be used as a karate fighting style, Carlie Simonsen's Long Hair is a teen to young adult story that deals with issues of teasing and working towards one’s dreams even when those we want to please most don’t support us.The non-illustrated version of Long Hair will shortly be available from Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes.

Progress Report: Week 1 April 2013

At the start of each quarter I make a note of the works being carried over from the last, and how many words were added last quarter. To start this quarter, I’m bringing forward five works from last quarter at a total of 173,063 words. Of these, 41,389 were added last quarter.As part of this process, I usually take a look at what was started, progressed and completed in the previous quarter, and tally up what I ended up publishing. It helps me put things in perspective. So, last quarter I started three new works, completing two, and progressed 16 older works, of which I had to complete two and revise 14. In total, I published 13 pieces of work last quarter, totalling 250,995 words, of which 10,281 words were new, and 240,714 were revised. In addition, I created 11 new covers (two of the covers released were created in late 2012), and several black-and-white line drawings.The final thing I do is a quick average of the words produced per day. Last quarter, I produced 51,760 words total. Not too bad, I guess, considering I work full time, but still well short of the average 1,000 words per day target that I set. I was going to increase that target to 1,500 words per day, but I have started a program of study, and am in the middle of seeing what level of writing is realistic to maintain. When the month is over, I’ll let you know what I’ve come up with.So, this last week, how did I progress? Let’s take a look and see:
Words written: 9,781 out of 10,500 (1,397 per day, enough to produce 500,000 words/year). Works progressed: 5Works completed: 0Covers produced: 0Works published: 0
Tier 1 TargetsTier 1 is well ahead of the rest, but there is only one way to keep it on track, so I scaled back a bit, but continued. This week I worked on the following:
SciFanNovel1A—Freeman’s Choice: an early science fiction-fantasy blend that needs completing. This week I commenced revising what had been written. Chapters 1-6 revised; added 1,000 words. This project is currently 257 days ahead of schedule.DarkFantasyNovel1C—Shadow’s Fall: Still waiting on beta reader edits. This project is currently 126 days ahead of schedule.DarkFantasyNovel2B—Fisherpriest2: Added 1,000 words. This project is currently 504 days ahead of schedule. I am hoping to be able to release this book this year instead of next year.
Tier 2 TargetsTier 2 is still behind, so I will be working double-time to catch up, as often as I can.
RomanceNovel14A—Taylor’s Story: started the quarter at 27,000 words, a full 67 days behind schedule. This week I added 1,000 words, and it is now 68 days behind schedule.
Tier 3 TargetsThe current project on Tier 3 started the quarter running to time, but the other one was six days behind schedule.
ChapBook4—Long Hair: Revised Chapters 1-6, added 1,000 words. This project is currently running one day ahead of time.
Tier 4 TargetsNo work was completed on Tier 4 targets this week.Tier 5 Targets (was ‘Extras’)One project started this quarter 56 days behind schedule, and the rest is icing, in spite of the unofficial goal of completing older releases and Anthology7—An Anthology of Blades this quarter.
Annual1: Added1,000 words, completed Ch 1-2. This project is currently 89 days behind schedule.
Publishing TasksUpdated records to reflect progress, or lack thereof, and updated tracking;New ArrivalsThe following arrived this week, which is a blessing and a worry, given the current records, which show 360 projects to be completed.
Novella17A: about a modern dryad.PictureBook14: about a spider.SciFiNovel6A: about an apocalypse

First Pages:Screams for the Dying

Screams for the Dying is the fifth and final short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story.

Screams for the Dying is a short science fiction story that blends myth, fantasy and science fiction. In the time in which this short story is set, banshees and star ships are real, and so are a lot of other things.

Screams for the Dying is available as part of An Anthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: Screams for the Dying  I had lived here from childhood to my thirtieth year but, in spite of the wattle dancing on the breeze and the eucalyptus-scented air that brushed across my skin, I knew I no longer belonged. My nostrils remembered the faint fizz of Kelfa blossoms from the sun-drenched planet of Bolan, and my eyes recalled the darkness of subterranean living on the asteroid of Quorbet.
Now, as I stood, again, beneath the gold-flecked grey of the acacia and stared at the red earth of my home, I felt my homecoming a farce and found myself cursing the accurate wisdom of another older than myself.I had doubted her when she said that few who had wandered as long as I had, could retain the links to the lands of our birth. It had been the truth.I was different now. I had learnt so much. I had discovered the truth of legends and the reality behind fairy tales.I knew there were creatures for whom death was but a step in the cycle of life, another stage in their own strange metamorphosis. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, the fey; all were real. I no longer doubted the existence of banshees.I had disbelieved that the banshee’s wail meant death, only to discover it true, and I had also found that not all impending death compels the creatures to scream.Take the man now walking towards me, his dark face a picture of anxiety as he searches for his daughter. She has been missing for just over an hour. I know where she is hidden, but I will not tell him. He is about to die and, if he finds her now, she will die with him. I have discovered that banshees suffer prescience to a merciless degree, but never when they need it. The explosion comes. I hear it as a dull ‘crump’ above us. Red rock hurtles through the air. It swarms as helplessly as ameleorites in a solar wind. I will be showered by pebbles and sharp shards. He is buried beneath a boulder. Someone comes.
END EXTRACT
If you'd like to read more, Screams for the Dying is available as part of An Anthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

Quarter 1 Goal Assessment

Score CardAt the beginning of the year, I laid out a writing and release plan. It went through two changes before I put it into action… and then it went through a third before the end of the quarter. The following score card is based on the goals as they were before the third change:1 dark fantasy: 3 completed, 2 released;1 romance novel: 1 completed, 1 released;1 annual: not completed; 1 novella: 1 completed, 1 released;1 chapter book: 4 revised and released (but only 1  illustrated as originally planned);0 short stories: 6 revised and released.What I learned.I have discovered that goals change, as plans progress and we learn how to do things better or differently. So, here’s what I’ve learnt in the first quarter of 2013:My initial release plan was okay, but did not let me respond to areas that sales showed my readers were interested in. I changed it, and the new tiered system is working fine… for now.Writing new words is different to preparing older works for release. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but I have trouble doing both activities side by side. Who knew?Being flexible is important, because it enables a writer to respond to changes in personal circumstances and goals, as well as to areas of reader interest.Balancing health, family, day job and writing is interesting.Changes and Other GoalsAs the quarter progressed, I started to realise what could be achieved with the current commitments I had at work and home and I formed 2 new goals:I wanted to write and publish 500,000 words this year. (I figured it was pretty reasonable as I had around 270,000 words in completed novels that ‘just’ needed revising.) Currently, I’ve completed 348,902 words of the 500,000-word goal in 3 months.I also wanted to do as Dean Wesley Smithrecommended a while back, and release something new each week… just for the year. This was adjusted to become: release an average of 1 new item per week over the year. Currently, I’m at 13 releases for 14 weeks—but next week, I’ve more planned and will soon be back on track with those.I also changed the release and writing schedule, because, while I had nearly 300,000 words written to assist me this year, I realized I was going to have to write around 1,340 new words a day to achieve 500,000 words next year—and I wasn’t sure I could. To assist me in tracking these goals, I’ve been using the word tracker from Svenja Liv. It is awesome and great for motivation. It also comes in a number of great designs.

Progress Report: Week 5 March 2013

This was a four-day work week, so I put in more time writing, but not as much as I might have. I also had to make some clothes for the littlest podrat, who is too skinny and tall for store-bought clothes to fit. The things we do. This week also marked my return to walking after the very rough start to doing that this year.Beyond that, this week was a week I tried to dedicate to producing new words; next week has to be dedicated to publishing, as I am now three releases behind my ‘on average, one release per week’ goal for the year. I will also be trying to maintain a minimum of 1,500 new words produced per day… let’s see how that works out. Tier 1Tasks
DarkFantasyNovel1C—Shadow’s Fall written as C.M. Simpson: Into beta read and editing stage. This project is running 137 days ahead of schedule.
Tier 2 Tasks
RomanceNovel14A—Taylor’s Story written as Madeleine Torr: Added 5,000 words. At the beginning of the week, this project was running 62 days behind the original schedule. It is now only 60 days behind that schedule.
ExtrasShortStory23—The Soul in the Sword: Added 3,000 words to complete story for single release at 5,000 words.Publishing tasks
3 blog posts completed for this blog.DarkFantasyNovel1C—Shadow’s Fall in beta stage. Awaiting reader comments for edits.Updated Annual12 with short stories blogged this fortnight, and with final version of ShortStory23—The Soul in the Sword.Updated Anthology7—An Anthology of Blades with ShortStory23—The Soul in the Sword.
Craft tasks
Chuck Wendig Flash Fiction Challenge:Ten words will give you five resulting in ShortStory57—Lettersfrom Beyond
New ArrivalsI don’t know what to say, except that getting more sleep and starting an exercise program seem to be really good for getting the creative juices flowing… if not so good for the level of persistent pain. All bar Letters from Beyondarrived either Friday night after my first walk (3), or Saturday morning after my second walk and a good night’s sleep and sleep in (3).

ShortStory57—Lettersfrom Beyond completed for Flash Fiction ChallengeNonFiction2A: about treacheryLiteratureEssay2: about science fiction.RPGAdventure20A: about a storm, set in RPGSetting3spawned by the storm scene in RomanceNovel14A—Taylor’s Story.RPGAdventure21A: about a camping trip, set in RPGSetting3 spawned by the storm scene in RomanceNovel14A—Taylor’s Story.YANovel13A: also spawned by the storm scene in RomanceNovel14A—Taylor’s Story. PictureBook13: about a baby going to sleep.

First Pages: Nettlefold Princess

Nettlefold Princess is the fourth short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story.


All is not well in Nettlefold Hollow. Amity claims she see things in the shadows and refuses to go out at night. Her classmates laugh at her until she goes missing on the way home from school. When her best friend, Samantha, looks in Amity's locker and finds her diary, she learns that Amity was being haunted by a fairy prince. Who can she rely on to help her with a problem like that?

Nettlefold Princess is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: Nettlefold Princess
Nettlefold Hollow took its name from the myriad nettles that grew there. Stinging nettles mingled with greater and lesser nettles as well as wood and hedge nettles. Clambering amongst the rocks and mingling with clumps of grass or peeking from beneath the blackberries, the nettles dominated the hollow. With emerald leaves, highlighted in silver and dripping diamonds from the morning dew, the nettles were beautiful… until some unwelcome visitor brushed against them. Rumors of fairies were rife.At first, no one lived in Nettlefold Hollow. No one even lived near it. No one visited it or traveled through it. No one. Even when settlers came and built farms, people left Nettlefold Hollow alone. When the farms grew into a small town, people stayed well away. It was only when the small town grew into a large town that the developers moved in.Nettles can’t hurt bulldozers, and fairies fare poorly against cold iron and steel. Within a few short months, the suburb of Nettlefold Hollow was born.New houses with green roofs sparkling in the morning dew lined the streets. Roses bloomed where white nettle flowers once ruled. Neatly trimmed lawns replaced the jostling tangle of blackberries. Not one fairy was seen welcoming the brightly painted garden gnomes.People came to the Hollow and shattered the quiet with the sound of cars, buses and children. Moving vans brought whole families to settle there. Dogs and cats took over from squirrels and raccoons as the dominant animals in the valley. The Hardangers with their pet cocker spaniel were the first family to arrive.They said nothing of fairies, or nettles, but their garden was wilder than most. This was more because they were too busy doing other things to care for it, than any other reason. On the weekends, Mr. Hardanger made pottery, and Mrs. Hardanger brewed herbal remedies. During the week they worked in the office towers in the center of town. Their daughter, Amity, had the darkest hair and bluest eyes of all the girls on her street. She went to school on the bus, and rode the internet at night. She did not roam the Hollow once the sun had set. When asked why, she said the shadows freaked her out, that something moved within them.
END EXTRACT
If you would like to read more, Nettlefold Princess is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Pages: Finders-Keepers

Finders Keepers is the second short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story.

A single gold coin shines on the pavement, but no one except me seems to have noticed it. I watch it, hoping someone will take it and claim it as their own. Needing someone to take it. Please take it.

Finders Keepers is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: Finders-Keepers

The two-dollar coin lay on the pavement, shining. Its golden surface gleamed beneath the sun, casting a knife-edged wedge of shadow where it touched the concrete.I sat on a bench at the bus stop and watched the coin shine. I watched the different shoes walking past it and hoped someone would take it. No one had, yet.A mother wheeling a pram paused, the front of the pram casting enough shadow to block the sun from the coin. I wondered if anyone else saw how the coin shone despite the shade. The mother hadn't.A pepper-haired, wiry-coated terrier noticed the coin. It paused, in lifting its leg on a nearby wall, and growled, its wiry coat standing more on end than usual. Growl over, object intimidated, the terrier finished placing its mark and trotted away. Its wiry hair remained spikier than usual, but it didn't look back.I sighed. Even the terrier would have done.The mother with the pram didn't notice the still-shining coin. She was too busy reading the timetable pasted beneath the glass of the bus shelter. Satisfied with the whens and the whiches of buses, she walked away. Her baby gurgled at me as she passed, but I ignored it, knowing it would do me no good to tuck the offending currency into its pram. I continued to stare despondently at the coin.Behind me, from the post office, I heard the clock strike, and counted the chimes. One, two, three. Good, three o'clock. That meant there’d soon be children on the street. Bigger children, I mean, than the one in the pram. Children who were likely to pounce on the sparkling bounty on the pavement. I needed only wait a little longer, and my trials would be over.A bus arrived, pulling up beside the shelter with a hiss of brakes and a sigh. The bus driver looked at me to see if I was interested in his bus. I wasn't, so I looked deliberately away. He... 
END EXTRACT
If you want to read more, Finders Keepers is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.