C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 212

First pages: Pigs Might Fly

All her life Lily has prepared herself for taking over the family farm. The property talks to her, the animals and plants thrive under her care, and even the old tractor bends to her will. Her brothers have other careers planned, and help Lily position herself to take over when they are gone, but her father has other ideas. He wants to pass the farm on to one of his sons. He says pigs might fly before a girl would be any good at running a farm. How is Lily going to convince him that farming is the only thing she has ever wanted to do, and that she is the best of his offspring to take over when he is gone? And what do her dreams and hopes have to do with flying pigs?
Pigs Might Fly is a story of magic realism, where the world we see is only nearly as it seems to be.
Pigs Might Fly is currently available as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, and will soon be available via Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook, but will one day be incorporated into An Anthology of Sorcery and Magic .

First Page: Pigs Might Fly

Lily wept as her father scolded her, fresh, hot tears that made tracks in the dirt her hands had smeared across her cheeks."No daughter of mine!" her father bellowed. "No daughter of mine..."Lily listened as he launched into another roaring spiel of dismay and disapproval. Her feet, clad only in thin, leather boots and not the protective rubber of galoshes, sensed the stone floor of the kitchen. Without her approval her toes began to tap, a coarse discordant beat that melded with her father's torrent of words. She had been to the pigsty again.She had seen the sow through her farrowing and counted the piglets into the sty. She had ensured the mother slept in clean straw, safely separated from her young by a metal gate to prevent her from crushing them, and she had gone to the fields afterwards.The noisome waste of the pig's birthing she had burnt in the incinerator, leaving the ashes to cool before burying them in the compost, and washing their remnants from her arms and face with a hose. She had sought the clean, fresh smell of earth to drive it from her mind.There was no plowing to be done. Instead, Lily had traversed the fields, plucked the weeds from amongst the cabbages and ripped competitive growth from beneath the tomatoes. It was nothing her father would not have done had he not been in town seeing to his wife and their newest daughter.Lily had cleared the weeds from the cabbages and the tomatoes and wiped the sweat from her face with hands stained by dirt, then she had set about gathering her garnered piles together and carrying them to the furnace. Her father would not compost the weeds for fear the seeds survived to contaminate his crops, but he gladly used their ashes."…and to see you heaving wood into the furnace like a charcoaler's son, well..."Her father continued. Lily felt her foot tapping harder and harder against the stone. He had almost finished his tirade, and she had managed to say nothing against him.He wanted to send her away, to have her become a nurse, a secretary, some rich man's wife. He did not want her to become a farmer; he had sons for that.It did not matter to him that farming was all she was good at, or that none of his other three children wanted his place on the land. Lily listened as her father finished shouting, then hurried upstairs to wash as he instructed.Lily heard him stomp out to the sty to check on the sow. She did not tell him the beast had already farrowed. Let him discover that for himself and think one of the boys had seen to it.

END OF FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more, Pigs Might Fly is currently available as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, and will soon be available via Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook

New Release: Rocky to the Rescue as Carlie Simonsen

Rocky to the Rescu e was released on Saturday. Carlie Simonsen now has six chapter books to her name.

E-Book cover Print coverWhen Rocky wakes up one morning, he discovers his house is deserted. With his mother, father and little sister nowhere to be found in-doors, he goes outside and discovers the animals are missing, too. When aliens arrive, Rocky realises that something has gone horribly wrong. Stowing away in the alien skimmer, Rocky sets out on his first and most important rescue mission, ever.




Carlie Simonsen’s Rocky to the Rescue is set on a station in the Australian outback, where help is often a long, long way away and the people must rely on themselves and each other. Twelve-year-old Rocky must either track down his family and take on alien invaders, or travel fifty miles to ask a neighbor for help. Well, what would any twelve-year-old do if they were in his shoes?

Rocky to the Rescue is currently available from Smashwords, and will soon be available from Amazon-Kindle, CreateSpace, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: The Soul in the Sword

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 from  Smashwords, and will soon be available from Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Chapter: 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.First Chapter Extract Michael saw a karate movie where the hero had long hair. The hero was a girl. Her hair came down to her feet.She would braid her hair with wire and spikes and use it to hit the bad guys she went after. Her hair was deadly in a braid, and her name was Kay-Lin. She was in a lot of karate movies. Michael loved karate movies.Michael did karate after school. He was getting good at it. He was two belts from getting his black belt, but that was going to change.Michael bet he could grow his hair long and put it in a braid. Anything a girl could do, he could do. He might even do it better.He could fight with his hair if it was in a braid. He could be as good as Kay Lin. And then he could be in movies as well.Kay Lin had a partner. His name was Joe Wy. Joe’s hair was short. It was cut so close to his head that it looked like he had no hair. He was nearly as good as Kay Lin at karate, but he used jumps and flips. Joe was in a lot of movies, too, but not all of Joe’s movies had karate.Like Joe, Michael had short hair. It stuck up from his head in short, sharp spikes. Like Joe’s hair, it was no good in a fight. Michael looked at his hair in the bathroom mirror. It looked back at him. Its short, sharp prickles were too soft to be any use, even when he added gel.“I will grow my hair,” he said, “and no one will laugh, because I will be as good as Kay Lin and Joe Wy.”
END FIRST CHAPTER  If you would like to read more, this 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: Rocky to the Rescue

Here is the cover for my latest young adult story Rocky to the Rescue.

             E-Book Cover                                                                                 Print-on-Demand Cover





















When Rocky wakes up one morning, he discovers his house is deserted. With his mother, father and little sister nowhere to be found in-doors, he goes outside and discovers the animals are missing, too. When aliens arrive, Rocky realises that something has gone horribly wrong. Stowing away in the alien skimmer, Rocky sets out on his first and most important rescue mission, ever.
Carlie Simonsen’s Rocky to the Rescue is set on a station in the Australian outback, where help is often a long, long way away and the people must rely on themselves and each other. Twelve-year-old Rocky must either track down his family and take on alien invaders, or travel fifty miles to ask a neighbor for help. Well, what would any twelve-year-old do if they were in his shoes?

Rocky to the Rescue is currently available from Smashwords, and will soon be available from Amazon-Kindle, CreateSpace, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook.

New Release: Pigs Might Fly

Pigs Might Fly is now available for sale.
All her life Lily has prepared herself for taking over the family farm. The property talks to her, the animals and plants thrive under her care, and even the old tractor bends to her will. Her brothers have other careers planned, and help Lily position herself to take over when they are gone, but her father has other ideas. He wants to pass the farm on to one of his sons. He says pigs might fly before a girl would be any good at running a farm. How is Lily going to convince him that farming is the only thing she has ever wanted to do, and that she is the best of his offspring to take over when he is gone? And what do her dreams and hopes have to do with flying pigs?
Pigs Might Fly is a story of magic realism, where the world we see is only nearly as it seems to be.
Pigs Might Fly is currently available as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, and will soon be available via Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook, but will one day be incorporated into An Anthology of Sorcery and Magic .

New Cover: Pigs Might Fly

This will be my third release this week. I played with magic realism to produce this little exploration of traditional values and how they change between generations.
  All her life Lily has prepared herself for taking over the family farm. The property talks to her, the animals and plants thrive under her care, and even the old tractor bends to her will. Her brothers have other careers planned, and help Lily position herself to take over when they are gone, but her father has other ideas. He wants to pass the farm on to one of his sons. He says pigs might fly before a girl would be any good at running a farm. How is Lily going to convince him that farming is the only thing she has ever wanted to do, and that she is the best of his offspring to take over when he is gone? And what do her dreams and hopes have to do with flying pigs?
Pigs Might Fly is a story of magic realism, where the world we see is only nearly as it seems to be.
Pigs Might Fly is currently available as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, and will soon be available via Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook, but will one day be incorporated into An Anthology of Sorcery and Magic .

New Release: The Soul in the Sword

The second of this week's new releases is another short story to do with magic swords, although this blade is a little different from the last. 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.

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.