CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Babes in London was a labour of love for a game that captured my imagination. I wrote it for sheer enjoyment of the setting and I wrote it for the challenge of writing the prehistory for the characters to enjoy, which is one of the unique aspects of the game. When I put it up, I didn't realise I hadn't finished the third act, although the outline is in place. I've noticed your interest - every day for the last week and a bit and then some. Babes a non-earner for me as the company that owned it weren't interested in seeing the module when I queried and they're not open to unsolicited submissions. Because of this, I have had to prioritise work with earning potential ahead of it. Because it cannot be submitted, Babes remains an adventure written by a fan, not officially endorsed or acknowledged, but it is one I enjoyed writing. Because of your interest, I will now look at finishing it sooner rather than later, but I'm not sure it will be completed before the end o

Up at 0700 with the little one. Breakfast and so forth and then back to the computer. An hour of pfaffing about with Facebook, blogs and email, and then at 0830 I settled to write. The word goal is 2,800 and I rolled 28- The Heights of , and 28- Winter for my title. Should be interesting. After a stop-start pull that ended around 1330, I had 4,800 words. Went back to it while cooking dinner and ended up with 5,146 words. It was weird, given I was convinced at 2,600 that I wouldn’t go much past 3,000. The tale started out as a Medilo story and reached out to include Odyssey and Miss Delight. Double bonus—I should have never expected it to be simple. So – on to the poems and flash. Done. Story Match Challenge: Complete— The Heights of Winter (science fiction – 5,146 words) Poetry: Complete—3 pieces; 384 words Flash Fiction: Complete— 3 pieces; 774 words Word Total for the Day: 6,475

I woke with a headache, today. I managed to complete another two classes of prep today (and another 1,300 words of study-related matter) before the headache got me and I had to go soak in the tub and then nap. Woke about an hour later feeling much better and did a few chores before sitting down to type before watching Dr. Who with my littlest. The story grew to 500 words in a half hour, and then it was Dr. Who time, followed by a spot of knitting and the bedtime-story routine and then I sat back down to type. A paragraph into it and I remembered I hadn’t posted the last two blogs, so that happened, and then I got back to it. Tonight’s story is aiming at 4,400 words and the randomly rolled title was 93- Years of and 89- Voyage , so Years of Voyage it was. It’s another story about a recently established colony. Tonight, I will have to listen to my body and stop when it says to, or I will be sick tomorrow, so I probably won’t complete the story, but we’ll see how it goes. Dean

A.M. Home all day, today. I have one short research essay to complete—which will take 3-4 days to research and about a day to finish the first draft on since we’ve only just started the subject. Not much room for writing, but I will make some time. Let myself sleep in, but will probably work late tonight as I have no classes tomorrow. Very much looking forward to a quiet house and a straight five-and-a-half-hour run at things. To get started on today’s challenge, I took a look at Dean’s blog . He is pretty amazing. Even when he’s had a full day and is tired, he manages to meet the challenge. Today, he wrote about how finding ideas in short stories is like finding unexpected books in bookstores and a little on the place of bookstores in a digital age. Today’s randomly rolled title is: 92-Year’s, and 02-Starfish, which morphed into “This Year’s Starfish” And that’s all I’ve got. School and study took up the day. We’ll chalk that up as another fail – although I did write ano

I did not complete yesterday’s challenge and will not complete today’s, but I will at least nail down the title: 71-Luck Among, and 16-Servants. I am facing the idea that I may just have to accept the reality that a full university load, coupled with home responsibilities and language study means reduced writing until the assignments and readings are done for the semester. I know, excuses, but I have to do the math: I need around 8 hours sleep; School takes 6-10 hours a day for the first three days of the week; house takes around 5 hours; travel takes 2, languages take 1-2. I’m looking at 15-19 hours a day BEFORE I even think of sleep. So far, I’ve carved out an hour in the morning to write, but it’s not my most creative time. Add the writing in and I’m looking at 16-20 hours before sleep. Hmmm… Okay, that’s pretty self-evident, but the week’s not over. I’ll see what’s achievable around mandatory readings and essay writing over the next four, but it doesn’t look good until the a

Orb Wielder is now available from Amazon in Kindle format, and from the Create Space bookstore as a print-on-demand mass market paperback and large print in trade paperback. EBook Cover When Liralee buys an orb from the Shawl Lady’s stall, she opens a path to another world, for the orb is not just a pretty glass ball that impresses her friends; it’s a symbol of power that produces magic for enchantments. And it’s wanted by two warring kingdoms and a sorcerer with plans of conquest. When strangers try to take the orb, and her friends gather to aid her, Liralee begins an adventure that could end in disaster or victory. The choice is hers. Large-print paperback print-on-demand cover Mass market paperback print-on-demand cover