CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

The Soul in the Sword has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades. When an Arach raiding party attacks a wagon train and moves on to take on the next town, Dannon is part of the out-riders who must clean up in their wake. The dead girl on the wagon is just one of many reasons he doesn’t like spiders, or the elves that ride them. The Soul in the Sword is a short tale of fantasy battle, which will be incorporated into An Anthology of Blades . It is available as a stand-alone story from Smashwords , and will soon be available from Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook. First Page: The Soul in the Sword The spider reared, raking down with its forelegs. Allun threw himself sideways, dodging the blade-like spines of one leg and blocking the other leg’s cutting edge with his sword. The spider lunged after him, wicked fangs flashing, their points gleaming dully in the dawn-light. Allun rolled from beneath them, turning to face the beast and its rider again. The ...

Here is the cover I created for my anthology this month: An Anthology of Blades is available from Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, and DriveThruFiction And here is the cover I created for Ellie Moonwater's next release on behalf of C.M. Simpson Publishing:

Here are the blogs that grabbed me enough for me to read to the end: Writing Craft:   http://jwmanus.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/why-you-shouldnt-format-your-word-docs/ http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/01/20/writing-advice-from-my-dream-brain/ http://www.davidfarland.com/writing_tips/?a=334   Writing Business:   http://kriswrites.com/2014/01/22/the-business-rusch-pricing-part-2-or-discoverability-part-7-continued/ http://kriswrites.com/2014/01/08/the-business-rusch-branding-discoverability-part-6-2/ http://kriswrites.com/2014/01/15/the-business-rusch-pricing-discoverability-part-7/ http://kriswrites.com/2014/01/01/the-business-rusch-in-the-beginning-discoverability-part-5/ http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=10961 - about setting up as an independent writer and publisher http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=11312 - about publishing production and scheduling   Writing Industry:    http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/why-now-is-t...

Blood and Iron has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades . When a murderer follows the barbarian from one city to the next, he knows sorcery is afoot and that he must defeat it. With the help of his roguish friend, Stanislau, he begins his investigations. Blood and Iron is a short tale of sword and sorcery. It is available as a free read on this site or as part of An Anthology of Blades . First Page: Blood and Iron “The difference is not that he kills, but how and why he kills,” Stanislau said. “Every woman he touches. The only thing they have in common is you.” Haft knew where this conversation was going. He’d had it before. Next Stan would be telling him they had to leave another city and Haft had his eye on the prettiest wench yet. Stan did not know about her; Haft could keep his secrets better than the petty sneak gave him credit for. At least Haft did not have to make his living by sneaking. He only had to do that when wenching, sneaking and ...

Here are the books I've managed to read this month. Two that will become classics - if they haven't already -  and two that are already classics. Give them a whirl!

The following anthology was released in January 2014. Axes, swords, knives, cursed, blessed or from the Otherlands, this anthology is all about things that cut, slice, dice or amputate. From a buried blade housing one of the protagonists of an ancient battle, to axes wielded by a barbarian at the crossroads of destiny, all the short stories and poems contained in this anthology have one common theme—they are some kind of blade. An Anthology of Blades is the sixth volume in The Simpson Anthologies and is available from Kindle, Kobo, Smashwords , CreateSpace (in both large and small print), DriveThruFiction, and OmniLit, as well as all outlets to which Smashwords distributes, which include Barnes and Noble Nook and iTunes. While Smashwords, DriveThruFiction, and Kobo had scheduling options, there may be a short delay before CreateSpace, Kindle and some Smashwords distributors list this title.

The Buried Blade has been incorporated into AnAnthology of Blades . 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 Anthologyof Blades . The Buried Blade is a vailable from Smashwords and Kindle , 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 covering the sword although it echoed throughout the ancient citadel that was imprisoned with it. The song seeped through the ea...

Made the base word goal for the week—for the first time this year. My main two projects are progressing nicely, and a minor project is also advancing. Overview New words produced: 8294 Old words revised: 0 Works completed: 11 (all for inclusion in a larger work) Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations) Works published: 1 (5 release platforms) Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Tier 1 Tasks Annual14 —Added 5,740 words Annual13 —Added 569 words Publishing Tasks Created 15 blog posts for this blog; Created 17 blog posts for the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog; Released An Anthology of Blades to Smashwords.   Joined the Smashwords Affiliate Program. New Arrivals The following ideas arrived this week: Anthology47: themed flash fiction. Poem277—The Fey in Two Lands: about the fey in two lands; Poem278—The Dead and the Feather of Ma’at: An exploration of Egyptian mythology; Poem279—A Pixie’s Last Request: Abo...