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Showing posts from May 19, 2013

Another Australian Spider - Garden "leaf" spider

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Here is another of the eight-legged guests that live in my garden. I don't know what the first one is called, but I spent 2-3 hours one autumn day, stalking her while she fed. I came across her while she was feeding. She fed on this fly for some time. So I tried different angles and lenses.  She very obligingly came out of her leaf to chase down another fly. I was so excited!

First Pages: Gods in the Lianreida by C.M. Simpson

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Gods in the Lianreida is a short story taken from Shadow’s Fall , the third novel in the Shadow series. It is currently available as a chapter in that novel or a stand-alone story, but will be eventually incorporated in An Anthology of Gods and Older Magic , and the collection, Short Stories and Poetry from 2013 . When Larias, god of problem-solving and secrets, flies over the forbidden lands of the elves, he only hopes to discover what force is powerful enough to breach the elven magic protecting the forest. What he finds, instead, is a battle in which he is compelled to intervene, but, regardless of intent, when gods meddle in the realms of other gods, there is always a price to pay.   Gods in the Lian reida is available from Smashwords , Amazon-Kindle , Nook, iTunes, Kobo and CreateSpace. First Pages: Gods in the Lianreida It hadn't been a cataclysmic event in the realm of the gods, unheard of yes, and a matter of urgency, but not yet a cataclysm. The en

Blogging Elsewhere: Today Carlie Simonsen at the DSDU Blog

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DSDU = Dark Side Down Under : A group of Australian writers of romance and other paranormal genres has kindly hosted me, as CarlieSimonsen , today on their regular Magic Thursday blog spot. In return I’m giving away some tips on writing for a younger audience. Feel free to go over and join me.

Covers Created April 2013

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 As well as writing stories, I create covers for them (and for the other writers at C.M. Simpson publishing. Here are the covers I created in April: E-book cover for 7 April 2013 release E-book cover for 7 April 2013 release PoD Cover for 7 April 2013 release E-book cover for 7 April 2013 release E-book cover for 13 April 2013 release PoD Cover for 13 April 2013 release E-book cover for Ellie Moonwater's 23 April 2013 release PoD Cover for Ellie Moonwater's 23 April 2013 release PoD Cover for 27 April 2013 release E-book cover for 27 April 2013 release E-book cover for 27 April 2013 release  

What I'm Reading: Enquiry by Dick Francis

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I am currently on a bit of a Dick Francis kick, and am working my chronological way through his titles. So far, I'm up to Enquiry , which was first published in 1969. It's about a jockey who has lost his licence through being framed and who sets about proving his own innocence, and the innocence of the trainer he was riding for at the time. It starts a little slowly, but soon ramps up to the normal Dick Francis pace - which ranges from rollicking to breackneck.

First Chapters: Tag Man One

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Tag Man One is the first chapter book in the Air Ace Adventures series. Set on an imaginary air base, it tells part of the story of two brothers, who share a love of flying and look out for each other. When Jerry sees something flash on a hill overlooking the air base where his brother works, he thinks it might be a bottle reflecting the sun. His brother takes a different view, and reports it to base security. They have not had time to investigate before the base is attacked, and Jerry must do his best to get his brother out alive.   Tag Man One is available from Smashwords , Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes. First Chapter: A Flash in the Hills Jerry wrapped his arms around his knees and looked into the sky. He was in the branches of a small tree on top of a hill. In the tree, Jerry could pretend he was a pilot like his brother, Andrew. He could pretend he was flying test