An Announcement & Some Snippets—C.M. Simpson

I’ve been sitting on this announcement for a while, now, but have been told it’s okay to share: I’m writing a series for the Age of Magic!

Set in a world well on the way to recovering from a global disaster of apocalyptic proportions, these stories follow one woman’s journey to harness her own unexpected magical abilities, and save her homeland from the ever-growing threat of raiders. Along the way, she joins forces with a shadow mage and a large, wild cat, and accidentally adopts two children. With magic rising in the catacombs and caverns, and the raiders coming in greater numbers, Marsh’s world is changing—and maybe not for the better. Her challenge is to meet the change and raise the stakes to beat it.

Three books into the writing, and I’m almost excited. Working with Marsh is a challenge, given she’s as strong-willed as I am, and has some pretty definite ideas on where she wants to go. Every day, when I finish the writing part of the day it’s “Wait! You can’t…” and then add in whatever tight spot I’ve tucked her into, or situation I’ve left her to face, while I’m doing other things.

It’s lucky for me she’s trapped behind the screen.

To celebrate the impending release of her adventures, here are the first 200 words from each novel, and you can expect to see snippets from future edits, or the book I’m working on, to follow—and covers… there will be covers - from the redoubtable Mihaela Voicu. Until then, enjoy:

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Book 1: Trading into Shadows

Through the caverns Marchant ran, fleeing from the shadows reaching through the dark. She ran from their flaming eyes, and grasping claws, trying to get out of range of limbs that stretched and flowed like molasses through the cracks of the Irth. It wasn’t long before she’d put some distance between her and the shadow monsters, but she kept running. A little distance was never going to be enough.

Towing a frightened pack mule, with the two children she’d managed to grab and toss aboard, Marsh kept running, back along the trail, following the glow-rods marking the way. They were meant to mark a safe-zone, too, forming a barrier the shadow monsters could not cross. Trouble was, the damned things stalked the line of light, and if any of the glows went out… well, that’s what the caravan guards were for—if you could afford to hire them.

Or if your boss wasn’t too tight-fisted and hired light, or stuck you with a caravan, and no guards of your own. You’da thought he’d take better care of the goods he needed her to deliver, even if he didn’t give two gems’ worth of a damn about her. Well, she’d be saying something about that when she got back to Kerrenin’s Ledge. If she got back…

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Book 2: Trading into Darkness

The trail ahead of Marchant passed through a tall stand of calla shroom, but Marsh had no time to admire their graceful white trunks, or the soft glow coming from the underside of their caps. Nor did she have time to collect any of the smaller shrooms and toadstools growing at their feet. Stretching her magic into the cavern around her, she knew Mordan had sensed the ambush, too.

The big kat stalked silently a half dozen yards to her right, moving silently through the cavern dark, even as Marsh adjusted her eyes to see better. The problem with calla shrooms was that they were big enough to hide behind… unless you weren’t from the world below, and were built just a little taller and wider than its inhabitants.

But she wasn’t that lucky. She was slender and slight of build, like all the cavern folk, her skin pale and shaded like the stone amongst which she made her home. Her eyes were a shade darker than her skin, but with green flecks, and a slightly golden tinge, and her hair a swiftly disciplined mass of copper, drawn back into a braid to keep it out of her eyes. She didn’t need it blocking her vision, even when she was using her magic to see by.

It wasn’t easy to hold her scan for other life in the cavern, while she asked the shadow threads to reveal how many, and who, waited in the dark. She kept moving forward, knowing she was moving further into the trap that had been set. She had the kat—and the big beast was confident they could take the small force waiting.

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Book 3: Trading towards Light

Now you’ve done it…

Roeglin’s voice whispered through Marsh’s head, and she resisted the urge to give him the finger.

It wasn’t very hard; her mule had started snorting and stomping as soon as the first shadow monster had shrieked their discovery, and Marchant needed both hands to control it—which was a problem, since she also needed her hands to defend herself against the monsters, now howling through the dark towards them.

The feel of Mordan’s blatant disgust as the big kat ran beside her was easy to ignore.

“Ride!” Gustav shouted. “We’ll try to outrun them.”

“Where to?” Marsh shouted back, but she was already kicking her mule into a gallop and following him down the trail, the hoshkat running beside her.

Behind her the shadow guards followed, their mules needing no urging.

“Mid-Point!” Gustav shouted back. “We’ll hole up in the station.”

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You can find more books in this setting on Amazon, but the best place to start might be with the Age of Magic Welcome Pack, which contains the first book of each series in the setting, and which you can find right HERE:

Until next time, happy reading, everyone!