An Update, a Poem and a New Cover

-

I know it's been a while since I actually blogged...or did a writing blog, but here's where we're at this week. By far the best news this week was the arrival of a new cover by Jake at JCaleb Design. It's for the upcoming re-release of 366 Days of Flash Fiction and it is nothing short of spectacular.

 
 
I have spent far too much time staring at it, but other news from this week, includes, in brief:

Another 365 Days of Poetry is almost done...and I'll be writing the last two pieces for that as soon as I finish with this post.

I've also advanced Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction, and I'll post the latest piece I wrote for that, tomorrow. If you're a fan of the Lunar Wolves, stay tuned for that.

The work-for-hire has been difficult but is going well and now entering the final stages as its deadline draws near. Needless to say, I can't share any of that.

And, finally, I've been working on an exclusive short story for the Tales of Mack 'n' Me collection, which I'll share a snippet of in a couple of days' time.

If you'd like to see snippets from the works-in-progress, you can find them on my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/CMSimpsonWriter/

That's where I also share sales from my publisher and any books I have on special, as well as new covers, releases and anything that's gone up for pre-order. Speaking of which, my publisher is currently having a sale on the 8-book Magic Below Paris boxed set, which is currently available for less than a US dollar. You can find that, here: https://books2read.com/u/4EPBeE

 

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so I'll leave you with this poem from Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction, which is due for release early next year.

 

Creatures in the Night

 

Written on August 13, 2021, for the December 22 entry of Another 365 Days of Poetry, this piece is inspired by things that move in the shadows.

 

I seek them…in the moonlight…in the dark

Soft shadows, creeping slyly

Bright eyes that gleam and spark

within the gold-light that I carry

in the lamp my clenched fist holds

as I raise it to the night sky

to see what the darkened yard enfolds.

 

I can never make them out.

They flicker, scurry from the gleam.

I catch a hint of litheness

as they scatter from the beam.

Almost human in one scant glimpse,

and beast-like in another,

The scrabble of their feet and claws

mingles with the rustle of their cover.

 

And, as much as I would like to know,

what shape their true form takes

Not one step past the porch I’ll go

to try my curiosity to slake.


And that's all the news I have for now. Take care out there, wherever and whenever in the world you are.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Australian Insects: An Unknown Caterpillar eating Grevillea flower buds

-
Image
So, this little guy nearly bought it when I caught it eating the still-forming buds on my Robyn grevillea, but then I thought I might like to see which particular butterfly was responsible, so I took some pictures and decided to keep an eye on it, so I knew when it pupated. The first shot - caterpillar happily nibbling on flower buds:  Yup - definitely nibbling: And here's another view. Note the little yellow lumps near its back end. Same day, but it was one of those cloudy days with variegated light. And it kept nibbling for quite some time: Stretching out to get the more tasty tidbits, and using its hind feet to keep a firm grip on the branch. Eventually it looped back on itself... ...and headed into denser foliage. It didn't always move in a straight line... How come caterpillars have more feet than butterflies? Eventually, it got into some much thicker growth (well, for a young grevillea, anyway), meaning it was somewhat prot
Read more

PokemonGo Tips - Earning the Berry Master Medal

-
Image
Another relatively easy one to earn, but it takes time. Main tip? Feed Them All. Well, okay, it's a bit more like this: Only the berries you feed to a pokemon in a gym count. You can only feed berries to pokemon in a gym that belongs to your team. You can feed up to a maximum of 10 berries to each pokemon. You can feed any pokemon that belongs to a team member, as well as your own. You can feed your team's pokemon from home, as long as you have a pokemon in the same gym - as last week's post showed. It's interesting, but really annoying if you accidentally feed a golden razzberry to a pokemon in a gym... just sayin'. Sometimes, not having a berry on hand to help catch a pokemon is also annoying - especially when you've just fed all yours to your team's pokemon - so think about that before you go all out stuffing their faces; the medal is pretty, but catching stuff is cool, too. Also, pokemon are little piggies when it comes to berries. And that&
Read more

NEW RELEASE: AUTUMNAL THREAT

-
Image
An alien autumn. An unseen predator. Deadly burrowers and an oncoming winter. And bugs big enough to ride. Joaquin only wants to warn his daughter of a new danger. To keep her safe. To make her understand her mother isn’t coming back, while keeping her alive. But what if he’s wrong? What if Mariam really did survive? What if, when everything looks like it’s going wrong, it’s really going right? Autumnal Threat is Joaquin's story. It is a father's story...and the story of a husband who misses his wife, and wants to keep his daughter safe from a new threat on their frontier world. It's a story of hope, and not giving up, and of family, as well as an exploration of what an alien eco-system might look like. It was a lot of fun to write. You can find links to this newly released, stand-alone, science-fiction short story on this Books2Read page: https://books2read.com/u/mgyopK or read an earlier version in A Collection of Lost Ships and Colonies .  
Read more