C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 229
July 24, 2012
First Paragraphs—Nurse
Nurse is the fourth short story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third Simpson Anthology, and it starts like this:
The nurse stood by the edge of the bed and glanced at her patient. She took the young man’s hand and began to bandage his mangled finger. It was the least gruesome injury she’d seen that day and he was her last patient. It had been a long and particularly busy day, and the nurse was looking forward to the end of a long shift. Her name tag called her Alison; the hospital records knew her as Alison Glaze.
can be found in Nurse is a short horror story in a contemporary urban setting, and features a secretive species of vampire and its newest recruit. Nurseis approximately 2,540 words in length.An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us was released in late July 2012.
July 22, 2012
First Paragraphs—Esmeralda and the Breeze
Esmeralda and the Breeze is the third short story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third Simpson Anthology, and it starts like this:
Esmeralda sat upon the front step of her veranda. She sat and looked over her front garden, across the white-washed palings of her fence and past the pond on the village green. She sat and stared at the forest beyond.
can be found in Esmeralda and the Breeze is a magic realism tale centered around a young girl who grows up and estranges herself from her own family. Esmeralda and the Breeze is approximately 1,820 words in length.An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us was released in late July 2012.
July 21, 2012
Progress Report Week 3 July 2012
A slow week.Current ProjectsThe following progress was made on my current projects:· Novella2A: Added 2,000 words.PublishingThe following tasks related to publishing were completed this week:· Commissioned cover art for RomanceNovel1;· Updated blog 4 times· Formatted and uploaded Anthology3 – An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us.· Updated LinkedIn and Goodreads with An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us details.
July 19, 2012
First Paragraphs—Nothing
Nothing is the second short story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third Simpson Anthology, and it starts like this:
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.
can be found in 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 approximately 1,250 words in length.
July 16, 2012
First Paragraphs—Shadow Life
Shadow Life is the first short story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us, the third Simpson Anthology, and it starts like this:
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.
can be found in Shadow Life is a contemporary paranormal urban horror which opens with Denie discovering the murder of Nicola, her lover. While Denie was sworn not to reveal the secrets of the night to Nicola, others were not so bound, and with Nicola’s death, Denie discovers just how much of a free spirit Nicola truly was. Her need for vengeance overrides her scruples about crossing the line between life and undeath, and Denie joins with the vampires in order to wreak justice on Nicola’s killer. Shadow Life is approximately 5,250 words in length.
July 14, 2012
Progress Report Week 2 July 2012
A much more respectable effort this week. Still not ideal, but improving.Current ProjectsThe following progress was made on my current projects:· Novella2A (PenName1): Added 5,000 words.· DarkFantasy1A: (Rewrite) Added 1,000 words.· SciFiNovel4: Revised first two chapters. Started fleshing out outline and backstory so writing could commence.· Anthology7: Four poems complete (see below). Three forms: two haiku series, one non-rhyming verse, and one 100-word non-rhyming paragraph.PublishingThe following publishing tasks were completed this week:· Formatted and uploaded ShortStory12—Peace Flower to Amazon and Smashwords.· Updated blog x 3· Updated Treaty Time details on social networking sites.· Updated Peace Flower details on social networking sites.BackburnerThe following backburner projects raised their heads for a bit of attention and got a bit of love in return:· Annual1 added 1,000 words.New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived while on the bus:RomanceNovel1D: Part of the current romance series being written by PenName2, this is a contemporary, romantic suspense. The background is complete and the overview is almost done.Poems26-29: For Anthology7.Poem30: For Anthology27.
July 13, 2012
Peace Flower is up on Amazon and Smashwords
Peace Flower has been released on Amazon and Smashwords. This short story is the sixth story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us. It 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. Peace Flower is approximately 4,500 words in length.
can be found in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us will be released in late July 2012.
July 8, 2012
Treaty Time is up on Amazon and Smashwords
Treaty Time has been released on Amazon and Smashwords. This short story is the fifth story in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us. It 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.
can be found in An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us will be released in late July 2012.
Progress Report Week 1 July 2012
This time I found time to write on the bus, so some writing was achieved as I re-structured my timetable to include study, a change of workplace and a move from car to bus transport. It seems to be holding for now, but the 0430 starts are a killer.Current ProjectsI haven’t typed up the words currently written, but this week I worked on Annual1and Annual3. I also worked on RomanceNovel1.PublishingNot much accomplished on the publishing front.New ArrivalsBuses are very conducive to writing. The following new ideas arrived this week while I was travelling on the bus:ShortStory39: an idea to do with elves and knives for Anthology5.RPGSetting5: linked to ShortStory39.CreativeEssay5: spawned by ShortStory39and RPGSetting5. Troll theory.
June 30, 2012
Progress Report Week 5 June 2012
Busy week with a new study schedule, and a sick child. Not a lot of writing done, but all the administration seems to be caught up on.PublishingSet up author pages for Amazon France, Germany and UK;Uploaded ShortStory9 – Esmeralda and the Breeze, the third story in Anthology3– An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us;Formatted and ShortStory11 – Nurse, the fourth short story in Anthology3 – An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us;Created and populated the cover art boards for An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us on Pinterest;Updated all books and author page on Shelfari and Good Reads;Formatted and uploaded ShortStory14 – Treaty Time to Smashwords and Kindle.New ArrivalsDon’t be too impressed, this is a cascade of ideas that came about because of the idea for a science fiction Christmas story. Who knew buses were such good places for brainstorming?ShortStory39: a science fiction Christmas story;Anthology32: a Christmas anthology;YANovel8: a YA novel based on characters and events in ShortStory39;Picturebook7: a children’s picture book about Santa;Picturebook8: a children’s picture book about Christmas.
