CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

I originally wrote this for the Dark Side Down Under's regular Magic Thursday Feature , but I've added a little bit more and thought it worth repeating here. Enjoy. Promotion. Regardless of whether or not you’re independently or traditionally published, it’s a nightmare, a time-eater, a word-creation-time thief. But there are ways of reducing the amount of time you spend preparing each promotion and blog post. The simplest of these is to create an Excel spreadsheet or Word document capturing the information you’re going to find yourself needing to repeat for each and every title you produce. Arranging it in alphabetical order makes it easier to find in a list, or document. The following is a list of the information I find myself looking for every time I write a post to promote a particular title: Title: Well, duh. Helps you find it on the spreadsheet or Word document Author Name or Pen Name: for those of you who write under different ones. Trust me, when you’re in a...

You can find the introduction to the Babes in London adventure sequence HERE , the background to Act One HERE , the Overview for Act One HERE ., Act One Scenes 1-2 HERE and Act One Scene 3 HERE . Act Two Preparation and Scene 1 can be found HERE , Act Two Scene 2 can be found HERE , Act Two Scene 3A can be found HERE , Act Two Scene 3B can be found HERE , Act Two Scene 3C can be found HERE , Act Two Scene 3 Finalization can be found HERE , Act Two Scene 4A can be found HERE and Act Scene 4B can be found HERE . To play or run this game you will need the following: PLAYERS: Fireborn Player's Handbook ; GAME MASTERS: Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook ; This is a piece of fan fiction. It is NOT endorsed or acknowledged by Fantasy Flight Game s; it is IN NO WAY official; it DOES NOT indicate any form of relationship between myself and Fantasy Flight Games; and I DO NOT CLAIM any of the setting specific material or setting specific concepts as my own. GMs, pleas...

So, I was taking pictures of the European coots swimming on the lake, but these little guys caught my eyes and just dared me to try to catch them on the wing. It wasn't easy, but this is what I got: And now they have set me a challenge... I know where they nest. Between the shift in light and their swift movement, those shots are going to be hard to get.

This week's flash fiction challenge over at Chuck Wendig's terribleminds blog involved randomly rolling two words and joining them together to become a title. We were allowed to add 'The' in front, if we wanted to. I rolled a '9' and a '1' and came out with 'apocalypse' and 'bride'. My first reaction was that I did not want to write a zombie story. I know it would have worked but... just 'no', okay? So, I ran the words together and the next thought that struck was that this would make a great name for a starship. And the story came from there. The Apocalypse Bride is 1,000 words long - excluding the the title. Enjoy :-) The Apocalypse Bride The Apocalypse Bride came down in a shower of star dust and meteor debris. She took the hit that would have set the world askew, and her fleet sisters did the rest. Her entire crew were snagged from orbit after sending her on her way. Most of the rescue ships even made it plane...

So, a while back, I submitted an idea for Raging Swan's Village Backdrop series called Agravaine's Rest .  The good news is that it was accepted, better news is that it released last week, and the best news is that it received a five-star review shortly afterwards, which was pretty exciting. What's it all about? Agravaine's Rest is a waystation, built around a paladin's grave at the foot of a mountain pass. It is also a haven for half-orcs and orcs and a fortress for civilisation in a very inhospitable area. This small settlement is designed to be added to a campaign set in a hilly or mountainous region. More details are available from its page at Raging Swan Press , and it can be purchased from DriveThruRPG , d20pfsrd , e23 , Paizo , and RPGNow .

I am so sick of being sick. Overview New words produced: 650 Old words revised: 27,359 Works completed: 0 Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations) Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms) Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Extra Tasks ShortStory39— Death Comes in Bone : Added1,800 words, completed and edited story Researching new setting. Publishing Tasks Created 3 blog posts for this blog; New Arrivals The following ideas arrived this week: Poem176— Remnants of a Lost Art : about old magic; Poem177— Trolls in Acrostication : about trolls; Poem178— Thieves : about thieves; Poem179— Sorceress : about a sorceress facing overwhelming odds; Poem180— A Storyteller in the Aftermath : About a storyteller in the aftermath of an apocalypse; Poem181— Do not Dwell in the Night—Remember : A farewell; ShortStory87— Paperwork Makes the World Go Round : seriously, it’s true; ShortStory88— Holographic Control ...