CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Old Magic is a short tale about surviving in post-apoc alyptic Melbourne by C.M. Simpson.   After disaster and disease wipe out the world we know, powers carried by right of ancestry act as a sixth sense for trouble in a ruined city. Can she be the only one to have survived? Old Magic is one of the short stories that will be included in An Anthology of Bloodlines. I t is currently available on Smashwords , a nd will soon be available on K obo, Kindle, iTunes , and Nook. First Page Excerpt: Old Magic Heather stood amidst the wreckage of the city in the cold, grey light of dawn. She felt the soft mist of the newly fallen rain settle on her arms. Constant and clingy, the rain reminded her of gum leaves, silver-grey with the same misty drops. It brought to mind the sharp scent of eucalypts on a damp mountainside, a scent that momentarily eclipsed the smell of sodden cement and bitumen in decay. The rain formed a patina of dew over her hair, making the top layer

The Runaway is the first short story to be included in An Anthology of Bloodlines . It is also available as a stand-alone short story. With fire and otherworldly invaders closing in, a commander takes the time to tell the story of his capture and return to continue the fight. What are the secrets of his past? The Runaway is currently available as a stand-alone title at Smashwords , Kobo , Kindle , iTunes , and Nook, but will one day be incorporated into the anthology, An Anthology of Bloodlines .

To start the ball rolling on the short story excerpts, we have the first page for paranormal urban dark fantasy tale: The Buried Blade , which released last week.   When the grass in one of her uncle's fields starts to die, Amanda tries to work out why, but her uncle only sees stones, where she sees fragments of pottery. In a war as old as time, will Amanda convince her uncle of the truth, and remain unscathed, or will she fall under the control of an old and subtle power? The Buried Blade is a short tale of dark fantasy, which will later be incorporated into An Anthology of Blades. The Buried Blade is a vailable from Smashwords and Kindle and will soon be available from Kobo, iTunes and Nook. Fir st Page Excerpt: The Buried Blade The sword sang in the darkness. It sang through the rubble that buried it. It sang through the bones of skeletal fingers that had wrapped themselves around it. The song could not be heard through the muffling shroud of earth

And what, some want to know, have I achieved in the last ‘almost-seven’ months as a new indie: ·          4 anthologies released (made up of the stories and poems below) ·          25 short stories released (17 edited, 6 new, 2 completed, a total of 19,000 new words) ·          7 poems released (7 edited) ·          7 poems awaiting release (1 edited, 6 new, a total of 1,000 new words) ·          2 novels released (2 completed, a total of 34,000 new words) ·          11 tween chapter books edited and awaiting release (all pre-written) ·          21 covers designed (not including one outsourced; 4 covers ‘retired’) ·          5 b&w illustrations created ·          1 roleplaying adventure proposal submitted (total of 1,000 new words). ·          2 novellas released (2 edited, total of 4,000 new words) Is it a lot? I don’t know. Maybe not if I was writing full-time, but holding down a day job and running a family? Who knows. This year will show another set o

My publisher just poked me and said I should share the first chapters of my novels and the first pages of my shorter works with you. Given that the last couple of weeks have been all about paranormal, science fiction or fantasy works, I thought some romance would provide a change of pace. Usually these will come out a week after the book releases, but we'll be doing a bit of catching up as well. Enjoy!   Secondhand Sweetheart is my first full-length romance as Madeleine Torr. Set in both contemporary Melbourne and Tasmania, Australia, it is the tale of betrayal, recovery and how not everything is as it seems. When Lisa Montgomery resigns her job as a flight attendant so she can mend her relationship with her long-time boyfriend, Duncan Holland, the last thing she expects is to have to face the prospect of a future with another man. Photographed in a compromising situation with one of the airline directors, and then compromised a second time by the same photographer, Lisa