C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 228

Progress Report Week 3 August 2012

Current ProjectsThis week I made the following progress on my current projects:
DarkFantasy2A: Added 2,000 words.Publishing TasksThis week I completed the following tasks related to independent publishing:
Formatted Poem7 – In a Cyber World and released it on Smashwords and Kindle; andUpdated LinkedIn with In a Cyber World.

Progress Report Week 2 August 2012

Current ProjectsThis week I made the following progress on my current project. DarkFantasy2A: added 6,000 words, and am now working on the last chapter. Almost done :-).Publishing TasksThis week I completed the following tasks related to independent publishing: Updated LinkedIn, GoodReads, Shelfari with details for Finders-Keepers;Uploaded artwork for An Anthology of Worlds and the individual titles associated with it to Pinterest;Updated On a Ship Called Mythicus and Finders-Keeperscovers on Kindle and Smashwords;Updated blog twice; and Filed publication records for the past six weeks.Projects on the Back BurnerThis week I didn’t work on any back-burner projects.New ArrivalsThe following projects and project ideas arrived and joined the work queue. Perhaps I shouldn’t have picked up that magazine and randomly open it to an article, at least not while remembering an old challenge of finding a story in a randomly chosen piece of reading material…:Picturebook9: About a boy and his big brother’s motorbike;Adventure6: Also about a motorbike; one which the PCs in this urban fantasy need;Novellas 5A-5B: More motorbike tales with a twist;FantasyNovel1A: A fantasy tale with an otherworld hero.UrbanFantasy1A: More motorbikes.UrbanFantasy2A: No motorbikes, but spawned from a title.

Change of Cover Art for On a Ship Called Mythicus, Finders-Keepers and An Anthology of Worlds

So, it's been bothering me for a while - the art for the latest anthology. I liked the composition, but somehow it didn't quite gel for me, even when I thought I had found the version I was most happy with, so today, when I was updating my Pinterest boards, and I noticed I made a mistake in my first set of covers, I took the time to change the covers to something that I like even better. Note to all: This is not something you want to do if you can possibly avoid it. Anyway, here are the new covers:

Progress Report Week 1 August 2012

A good start to the week with an extra day at home, but a very slow week overall with the return of two night classes a week. I have been trying to finish my fantasy novel. In the outline, I am two sentences from completion. Writing-wise this means I am anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 words off. When it is done, I have to decide on what I’m going to do about the cover, because I don’t want to delay its release any longer.Current ProjectsDarkFantasyNovel2A: added 3,000 words;PublishingThe following publishing tasks were completed this week:Updated blog four times; Updated Amazon Author Central UK, US, FR, DE;Updated Goodreads, LinkedIn and Shelfari with On a Ship Called Mythicusdetails;Formatted and Uploaded ShortStory15 – Finders-Keepers – to Smashwords; and Formatted and Uploaded ShortStory15 – Finders-Keepers – to Kindle.BackburnerThe following backburner projects demanded my attention this week, and this is what they got:Novella3B (written under PenName1): Added 2,000 words.New ArrivalsThe following projects arrived this week: CrimeNovel4: to be written by PenName3.Novella4A: to be written by PenName1.

Favourite Quotes and Sayings – from Chuck Wendig, Pen Monkey

In his blog entry of the 6th June 2012, Pen Monkey, Chuck Wendig, shared this advice on his Terrible Minds blog: “Finish your shit” (http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/06/06/the-secret-to-writing/; Chuck Wendig) and “Try very hard not to suck.” (http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/06/06/the-secret-to-writing/; Chuck Wendig) Why do these stand amongst my favourite quotes? Because the first reflects where I was at with my writing at the time and confirmed what I had started to do to move it forward, and the second reflects one of the fears that gets in the way of many writers publishing or submitting their work for publication.
 So, even though we've never met, thank you, Mr. Wendig.  

First Paragraphs—Peace Flower

Peace Flower is the sixth short story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third Simpson Anthology, and it starts like this:
Shoru fell amidst the fighting. Her basket flew from her hand and disappeared beneath booted feet and metal-shod hooves. The peonies were trampled and the scent of crushed herbs mingled with the smell of blood.  can be found in








Peace Flower is a fantasy short story set at a time of battle, where the future of a race of hereditary sorceresses rests on the outcome of the war. It is approximately 4,500 words in length.An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us was released in late July 2012.

On a Ship Called Mythicus is up on Amazon and Smashwords

On a Ship Called Mythicus has been released on Amazon and Smashwords. This short story is the first story in An Anthology of Worlds It is a science fiction comedic parody in which a space ship crewed by creatures of myth and legend chase down a pirate. On a Ship Called Mythicusis approximately 5,188 words in length, and is the first short story in the fourth Simpson Anthology—An Anthology of Worlds.  can be found in








An Anthology of Worlds will be released in mid-September 2012.

An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us is up on Amazon and Smashwords

An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third of the Simpson Anthologies, has been released on Amazon and Smashwords. This collection of short stories is set around the theme that not everyone who appears to be human is human, that there are other races hiding amongst us, and that there might be a concrete reason why legends of shapeshifters and vampires exist. An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Usis approximately 19,500 words in length and contains the previously published short stories:  
Shadow Life; Nothing;Esmeralda and the Breeze; Nurse;Treaty Time; and Peace Flower.

Progress Report Week 4 July 2012

Despite a busy start to the week, with the return to school and yet another change to the work routine, progress was made as follows:Current ProjectsI worked on the following current projects this week:·         DarkFantasy2A: Revised Chapters 1-23, added 3,000 words;PublishingThe following publishing tasks were completed this week:·         Updated An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us on Shelfari;·         Updated blog four times;·         Completed cover art and design for Anthology4 – An Anthology of Worldsand individual stories;·         Formatted and uploaded ShortStory17 – On a Ship Called Mythicusto Smashwords;·         Formatted and uploaded ShortStory17 – On a Ship Called Mythicusto Kindle;·         Updated Author Central pages for Amazon US, UK, FR, and DE; and·         Caught up with industry, publisher, agent and author blogs subscribed to on Reader.BackburnerI made the following changes to backburner projects:·         I moved the following projects to the current projects list as I want them completed and released by December 30, 2012:o   DarkFantasy1A-C;o   DarkFantasy2A; ando   SciFanNovel1A (although the decision to move it was probably made last week).·         I moved the following projects from the current list to the backburner list:o   Annual1;o   Annual2.New ArrivalsThe following projects arrived this week:·         ShortStory40: Another tale of the sharp and pointy, to be incorporated in Anthology5.

First Paragraphs—Treaty Time

Treaty Time is the fifth short story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third Simpson Anthology, and it starts like this:
Ariel had been frantic when she found Varian gone. She had searched the house, then the stables and the work sheds. She had searched the gardens and the kennels and then she had called Grey.


 can be found in







Treaty Time is another science fiction story, set on the same world as Nothing, albeit a few years later. In this tale, humankind has established a foothold on the planet, but tensions between the humans and shapeshifters remain. Treaty Time is approximately 3,320 words in length.An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us was released in late July 2012.