CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

I'm a little snowed under, right now, but I thought I'd drop in and show you the new cover I designed for August's short story release. I haven't had any time for new words in the last couple of days as I've been deep in the editing and formatting weeds, preparing Mack 'n' Me: The Transporter's Favour and River's Edge for release. Mack 'n' Me: The Transporter's Favour is now edited and formatted, but will go through an additional beta reading step before being released, so it will be a little delayed, but is coming soon, and River's Edge is edited and formatted, and also waiting beta reading, but looks good for its scheduled release date in early August. The rest of the week will be focused on preparing all bar the last short story for the year, and starting the fourth book in the Mack 'n' Me 'n' Odyssey series. And here's the cover, featuring artwork and photographs sourced from the Dreamstime artists:

I got a lot done last week – never as much as I wanted, but enough that I should be content. Here’s what was achieved (in addition to the partial cover designs below): Progress: July 8-14, 2018 New words produced: 30,131 Outlines and Notes: 539 Words compiled: 0 Works completed: 22 (17 x poems; 2 x flash fiction, Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favour, River’s Edge, Harper & the Unicorn ) Works edited: 0 Covers created: 0 Works formatted: 0 Works published: 0 Works released: 0 Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Bloggery: 2,722 Hours at Desk—July 8-14: 69 hours 48 minutes Hours at Desk—July 1-7: 35 hours 36 minutes June Hours at Desk: 230 hours 5 minutes May Hours at Desk: 302 hours 6 minutes April Hours at Desk: 167 hours 41 minutes March Hours at Desk: 201 hours 43 minutes February Hours at Desk: 183 hours 50 minutes January Hours at Desk: 180 hour

Since I’ll be releasing the fourth book in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series on Friday, US time, I figured I’d continue with the first chapter reads of the series so far. This week, it’s the first chapter of Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach , the third book in the series. You can find the first chapter of the first book, Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , HERE; the first 500 words of The Depredides Dance , the short story that takes place between these volumes, HERE; and the first chapter of the second book, Mack 'n' Me: Blaedergil's Hos t , HERE. What’s it About? Nothing ruins a good cup of kaff than a spider teleporting on board… and these were in the six-foot-business-suite-and-tie range, carrying blasters and a sense of entitlement like you wouldn’t believe. They gave me a job to do, and held my ship hostage while I went to do it—and *that’s* when everything went all to Hell. Exactly how I’m gonna get us out of this one, is a mystery to me. First step, though, is to bust Mack and the

First words were completed, today. Tomorrow, there will be more. Another 365 Days of Poetry Farewell to the Conquering Queen Written on July 15, 2018, for the March 9 entry of Another 365 Days of Poetry , this elegy takes its inspiration from stories of medusa and asks what would happen, if she’d been a queen. Gone! The West Wind weeps. The waves sing their grief. Gone! This island is much more barren, now, without the sibilance of your waving hair. Gone, the truth of your words, your treachery, all gone with your plotting, your schemes, and your wars. Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction The Threat Beneath Written on July 15, 2018, for the July 15 entry in Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction , this piece contemplates an unexpected danger on a colony world. The worms came in the morning, millions of them, rising from beneath the ground and spewing curlicues of dirt. The chickens went wild, and a feathered feeding frenzy ensued, but I wondered what w