C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 215

Today I’m giving editing tips at the DSDU Blog

DSDU = Dark Side DownUnder: A group of Australian writers of speculative fiction with romantic elements, has kindly hosted me today on their regular Magic Thursday feature. In return I’m giving away some of the techniques I use to whip my manuscripts into shape. Feel free to come over and join me.

First Pages: Nothing

Nothing is the Second short story to be found in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us . It is also available as a stand-alone short story.

Nothing is a science fiction tale in which humans and shapeshifters find themselves locked in a battle for supremacy after a colony ship crashes.

Nothing is available as part of AnAnthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, and also as a stand alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: Nothing  It was dawn on the prairie. The sun rose, red-gold, in a sea of pale blue sky, and was reflected in apricots and peaches on a sea of ice-green grass. The soft morning wind did nothing to ease the winter cold from the air.Jerome watched the sun, and the prairie waking slowly beneath it. The colors of land softened the brown in his eyes, tainting it first with emerald, then with gold. He would have been horrified had he known. He had been a technician in the starship’s engine room, but now he was a soldier.He stood on a rise in the rolling prairie, the grass lapping around his knees and steaming gently as it warmed with the sun. He stood above the town of Nothing, shivering as the breeze wound chilly fingers through his hair, and the dew on the grass soaked its way through the legs of his cotton fatigues. His breath came in small misty clouds as he gazed across the plains.Beyond the town a river wound or rather, a riverbed, for its bottom was sand and rocks and islands of earth crowned with grass and trees that water rarely touched. Jerome looked it over carefully, just in case. The uneven ground and clumped vegetation provided a perfect place for concealment.His gaze wandered to where another sentry stood, on another rise, overlooking the town. The man had shifted so that his back was to the town, reminding Jerome that the river wasn't the only place his enemy could hide. He turned to survey the ground behind the rise. Nothing broke the wavelike ripple of the grass.The sun climbed higher in the sky, turning the grass from an ocean of softly rippling green ice to a never-ending land of waving gold. It reminded Jerome of the wheat fields that, on another world, had surrounded his home. Small, birdlike creatures whistled and flitted just above 
END EXTRACT   If you would like to read more, Nothing is available as part of AnAnthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, and also as a stand alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Pages: A Battle of Minds

Danzer is a VR combat star. Unfortunately, somebody wants him dead. Is it a private vendetta from someone he’s defeated, a disgruntled fan, or someone else entirely. Whoever they are, their poetry stinks, but its meaning is clear. Security personnel for the VR games insist on overseeing the match between him and his most dangerous opponent, but no one knows if it will be enough. Will Security succeed in their intervention, or will their efforts result in more than Danzer losing their lives?
A Battle of Minds is a speculative science fiction short story about what the world of virtual gaming might be like. It is available from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, Amazon, Nook and Kobo. It will one day be incorporated into An Anthology of Minds .
First Page: A Battle of Minds
The words stood out, stark and black, against the thick white paper, but Danzer didn’t notice the quality of the page, only the words… and the threat inherent within them.

The twist and grapple of unseen handsTwo seated figuresKnuckles white where fists clutch chairs.
A stab of lightning.A shimmering block.Sweat beads on browsThe twomindslock.

A figure slumps into his seat,His silent screamUnheard by ears.The other opens blurring eyesanddrawshis mindback.
He leaves the room.
The first mandies.
Danzer stared at the page that held the poem before crumpling it slowly in his fist. It described the VR battle-room perfectly, although it mentioned nothing of the tall clear walls topped with bulletproof glass and of the faces beyond the windows.He knew that arena like the back of his hand. The two chairs had intrigued him even before he had been old enough to accept the trodes that allowed him to see the battle for himself.
Until his tenth birthday, he had been forced to watch it, second hand, on a compucording. Now he was old enough to compete. 

END FIRST PAGE  If you would like to read more,  Battle of Minds is a speculative science fiction short story about what the world of virtual gaming might be like. It is available from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

First Pages: Shadow Life

Shadow Life is the first short story to be found in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us . It is also available as a stand-alone short story.

Jalaya is a story of family, long-standing love and of sacrifices made for the sake of community, duty and loyalty. It is a story of heroes, fire-fights, wits and courage. And it is the story of a last battle in a ten-year war.

Shadow Life is available as part of AnAnthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, and also as a stand alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: Shadow Life


I took a short cut down the alley. The moon was full, the night was late and I was alone. None of these things worried me.There were things in the night and in being alone that would have made me tremble with fear had I not known them so intimately. Things that still gave me shivers in spite of, and because of, my knowing them so well.My lover waited for me in the alley but, by the time I reached where she was to meet me, she was dead. I saw the blood, one of her shoes flung carelessly on the ground and a strip of her dress caught on the edge of a fire escape two floors up.I remember climbing the stairs of the fire escape, bile a cold lump in my throat, and my heart hammering in dismay as I retrieved the scrap of dress. My lover had planned a night of ‘pleasure untamed’ judging by the sequined green velvet she had worn.I looked down from the fire escape at the shoe and the blood spray on the wall and alley floor and shivered. Somehow the secrets of the dark didn’t seem so safe anymore.Nicola hadn’t known them. I hadn’t had time to tell her, had been sworn against telling by the Lady herself. I had sworn on pain of ... something worse than death.Then, as I climbed back down to the shoe, clutching the scrap of velvet in my hand, I remember saying over and over to myself, “But I didn’t tell her. I didn’t.”I remember, too, the velvet mockery in the laughter that greeted me as I picked up Nicola’s shoe.“You don’t have to now,” it teased. “She knows all about us now.”



END EXTRACT
If you would like to read more, Shadow Life is available as part of AnAnthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, and also as a stand alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

Progress Report: Week 1 March 2013

I know, it’s half February, half March, but, if the Saturday falls on March, it’s a March Week. So, what did I get up to, this week? Take a look:Tier 1:
DarkFantasy1B—Shadow Trap: To be released under C.M. Simpson. Next round of edits completed.
Backburner Tasks:Some of these were put on the backburner or not prioritised when they were created. The following was added, but not prioritised:
Collection1: collated, edited and pre-formatted. Given a June 30, 2013 release date. Not really a backburner task, but almost complete. Requires a cover and final formatting prior being released.
Publishing Tasks: The following publishing tasks were completed this week:
Formatted and uploaded Shadow Trap to SmashwordsFormatted and uploaded Shadow Trap to Amazon KindleFormatted Shadow Trap for KoboFormatted Shadow Trap for DriveThruFictionFormatted and uploaded Shadow Trap to CreateSpace in both small and large print versions.Updated Shadow Trap to Linked In.
New Arrivals:The following ideas arrived this week. Sleep and exercise are not to be overrated.
YANovel10A: Paranormal with trolls, building off ChapBook16A.RPGSupplement10A: civilisationsRPGAdventures15A: SpidersRPGAdventures16A-B: ElvesRPGAdventures17A-B: DwarvesRPGAdventures18A-B: GeniesRPGAdventure19A: TrollsNovella15A: romanceArticles1A-B: craft – Christmas decorations.

New Release: Shadow Trap (The Shadow Series #2)

Released three months earlier than anticipated.
 
Shadow Trap is the second novel in the Shadow series trilogy. The series started with Shadow’s Rise , which was released on January 1, 2013, Australian Eastern Standard Time, and will be completed by the forthcoming Shadow’s Fall .

Exchanged by the gods, so he can better suit their purpose, thargramorg priest Gilzereet Urkhrist must now travel to the distant realm of Thargood in order to discover the Old One’s prison and prevent his escape. Accompanied by Vorgren, Tara, Ailina and four apprentices, he flees the temple of his new god as the current pantheon faces down Beauwallin’s most savage attack yet. With the Old One gathering power more quickly than before, will the support of the gods be sufficient to give them a chance to contain him?

Shadow Trap is currently available from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, DriveThruFiction, iTunes, and Nook.

First Chapters: Legacy of Dreams as Carlie Simonsen

Carlie Simonsen's Legacy of Dreams is a teen to young adult story about how Tanya learns to cope with losing her ability to walk, the withdrawal of her best friend, the disappearance of her boyfriend, and her ability to do the sport she loves. Faced with the chance of losing her beloved horse as well, Tanya has to come up with a plan that will somehow let her salvage something of the life she used to have, and the dreams she was making reality. Legacy of Dreams is a tale of learning to live again.Tanya knows her parents have been tip-toeing around the problem of keeping a horse she can no longer ride, and whose very name makes her burst into tears. Tanya has only just discovered something that might help things, when she is faced with having to face losing her horse, Copper, altogether. The only question is, whether the family budget can stretch that far. Must she lose the only link left to the life she used to have?
The non-illustrated version of Legacy of Dreams can now be found at Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes.
First Chapter: Legacy of Dreams
If Copper hadn’t bolted—set off as fast as a scalded cat and taken a running jump over Brumby’s fence with my best friend and my new saddle on his back—I’d never have met Daniel Tulloch.Now some of you will say that meeting Daniel was a bad thing, anyway. Some would even say that, if I’d never met Daniel, I wouldn’t be in this wheelchair now.I can’t argue with you about the wheelchair thing. At least, I can’t argue with you about it in a way that will make any sense. Someone once told me that ‘these things happen for a reason’. If they’re right, then I’d probably be in this wheelchair, Daniel Tulloch or not, in which case not meeting him wouldn’t have helped.To be honest, I don’t think they were right. It’s possible that there were some things I had to learn, but I didn’t have to be in a wheelchair in order to learn them. The hiking accident with Daniel was just that—an accident. You can argue with me until you’re blue in the face, but don’t you ever try and tell me the wheelchair was a thing that ‘had to happen’. If you do, I’ll ask you to leave, because you won’t be my friend any more.Do you know what I miss the most? Riding in the moonlight on the track by Maple Creek. Actually, no, that isn’t what I miss the most. I think I miss Daniel’s company the most. I miss that a lot.He went away after the accident. He didn’t even say goodbye. I’ve asked all my friends at school if they know where he’s gone, but none of them do. It seems he didn’t tell them he was leaving.Now, I’m leaving, too.

END FIRST CHAPTER
If you would like to read more, Legacy of Dreams can now be found at Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes. 

First Pages: Jalaya

Jalaya is the fourth and final short story to be found in An Anthology of Battle . It is also available as a stand-alone short story.

Jalaya is a story of family, long-standing love and of sacrifices made for the sake of community, duty and loyalty. It is a story of heroes, fire-fights, wits and courage. And it is the story of a last battle in a ten-year war.

Jalaya is available as part of An Anthology of Battle or as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook.

First Pages: Jalaya
Michael looked down at the town in the sand. Red, flat roofs of clay interspersed by the elegant, wooden gables of buildings from northern climes, still stood in a basin of protective hills. From where he stood, the rotting boards were invisible, as was the sand that swirled along the unkempt streets.He tried to see the town as it had been ten years before. There had been trees standing inside walled islands of stone dotting the center of the main streets, and the sweetly scented jalaya flowered beneath them. There had been window boxes full of color clinging to the walls and the town had been white, the color of snow and light-hearted purity, not red, the color of old blood and war.Caroline had danced in the streets with him on the first day of the new year, and the unseen rains had made the river roar with pride as it rushed between the white stone walls of the canal. That had been ten years ago when the Scorpions had first attacked, and the town had emptied shortly thereafter.Caroline’s family had disappeared in the melee, along with his son, but Caroline had refused to grieve them. They were safe, she insisted. His son was safe, but he had to take their daughter. Michael had had no time to argue or grieve and clung to her promise. His son was safe. His daughter would be safe with him, but of his bride-to-be…Caroline had refused to go. She said she had duties that must be attended. She had asked him to stay. Michael had possessed other duties, other responsibilities that forced him to leave her behind, so she said she would dance the streets on the first day of every new year in his memory. When he had protested that the day was no longer safe, she had promised to dance at night.Michael had begged her to come with him, to wed him in the desert. Caroline’s eyes had glistened with tears when she said she had to stay, the reasons secret until they married and united as family. She had said she would not take him from his duties, hugged him fiercely tight, and then fled swiftly away.Caroline would dance again tonight, without his arms to hold her as she wound her way through the streets. She would raise her voice in bittersweet song, her body clad in the white of a bridal gown that had never seen a wedding day. And Michael would watch her from his place upon the hill. Once, during all her dancing and serenade, Caroline’s steps would bring her to the edge of the town. She would stretch her arms towards where he sat, folding back towards herself as sh... 
END EXTRACT
If you would like to read more, Jalaya is available as part of An Anthology of Battle or as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook.

First Chapters: All Alone as Carlie Simonsen

All Alone is a short tale about the trials of two children after their parents go missing while Christmas shopping in a shopping centre that suffers a bombing attack.
Jason must look after his little sister Emmie when they find themselves alone in a city, in another country, far from home. Did their parents survive the bomb blast, and can they find them, or will they be stuck growing up in the care of strangers and never see home again?
All Alone is the debut chapter book for tweens by Carlie Simonsen. It is currently available from Smashwords, and will shortly become available from Kobo, Kindle, and CreateSpace.

First Chapter: All Alone
The gun spat bullets at the night.Bark! Bark! Bark!Jason could hear it yelling in the dark. He could see the yellow flash every time it barked up another bullet. He slid off his bed and lay down on the floor.Bark! Bark! Bark!The gun yelled again. Jason heard footsteps outside his room. Someone knocked and the door opened. It was Jason's little sister. Her brown eyes were as wide as they could go and her hair was messy. She looked like a ghost in her dressing-gown.She looked at Jason's bed. He saw how she clutched her teddy closer to her chest. She couldn't see him."Emmie," he called.She jumped. Jason saw her bite her lip to keep from crying. He had to smile. His sister was one tough little kid."Emmie," he called again, "I'm under here."Emmie crouched down so she could see under his bed."Jason?" she whispered. "Is that you?""Yep. You want to hide here with me?"Bark! Bark! Bark!The gun yapped at the stars. Jason heard the smack, smack, smack of bullets hitting the house."Hurry up, Emmie," he said. "You'll be safe here with me."Emmie hurried. She did not stand up. She crawled along the floor, holding her teddy in her mouth. She dragged her doona behind her.When she got to Jason, she hugged him tightly. He could tell she was afraid. She only hugged him like that when she was scared.He pulled her doona over her head and stroked her hair. "Sshh," he whispered, when he heard her crying in the dark."It's not me," she sobbed. "It's teddy. He gets really scared when we're alone."Jason hugged her and the teddy."Well you tell him he doesn't have to be scared. You're safe here," Jason said.Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!Reeow! Reeow! Reeow!This time there was the sound of police sirens and the yellow flash of the gun was lost in the red and blue of the police cars' lights.Emmie hugged her teddy and Jason hugged her. He wished they had never come to this part of the city! He wished his mum and dad hadn't been shopping the day the bomb went off.

New Release: A Battle of Minds

Danzer is a VR combat star. Unfortunately, somebody wants him dead. Is it a private vendetta from someone he’s defeated, a disgruntled fan, or someone else entirely. Whoever they are, their poetry stinks, but its meaning is clear. Security personnel for the VR games insist on overseeing the match between him and his most dangerous opponent, but no one knows if it will be enough. Will Security succeed in their intervention, or will their efforts result in more than Danzer losing their lives?
A Battle of Minds is a speculative science fiction short story about what the world of virtual gaming might be like. It is available from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, Amazon, Nook and Kobo. It will one day be incorporated into An Anthology of Minds .