CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

In 2022, I published a total of 14 titles. The break-down of those is as follows: 4 new and updated versions of existing titles, 3 novels published for the first time, 5 collections set on a theme that drew from existing collections or out-of-print short stories previously published as stand-alones, but which also consisted of a significant amount of fresh materials written for the theme, 1 novel started, and finished, this year, and 1 new collection, the majority of which was completed this year.  In addition, I ghost-wrote a couple of novels...I forget how many. The books are, as follows: January The Unwilling: in which a werewolf who chooses to bite his friend to save his life, finds himself running from not only Lunar One law, but two angry mega-corps, and a slew of bounty hunters, as he tries to find them refuge. This is the first book in the Strays of Lunar One series. February The Unwanted: in which the two werewolves are forced to leave their sanctuary and find a way to ...

This month's first release is also my entry into the Great Publishing Challenge. You will have seen extracts from it, spread throughout the month, as well as links to author readings, as I work on the next two submissions. Great Publishing Challenge : Milestone 5 Book 5: A Collection of Death & the Undead Due: October 20, 2022 Uploaded On: October 1, 2022 Due for Release On: October 5, 2022 Type: A collection of science fiction short stories, flash fiction & poetry themed around death, the undead, grief and grieving. Content Breakdown:   total pieces-183: Flash Fiction: 8; Poetry: 89; Short Stories: 88 Length: 85,117 words Links:  - A Collection of Death & the Undead (B2R): https://books2read.com/u/ 47gVYg   - A Collection of Death & the Undead (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0BGZRNS2Z/  - Collections Reading List : https://books2read.com/rl/ Gw8Oaz        

The year's been a busy one, between ghost writing and working on my own books. September saw the release of three titles, but only one was eligible for the Great Publishing Challenge: A Collection of Lost Ships and Colonies. Great Publishing Challenge Book 4: A Collection of Lost Ships and Colonies Due: September 20, 2022 Uploaded On: September 2, 2022 Due for Release On: September 14, 2022 Type: A collection of science fiction short stories, flash fiction & poetry themed on colonies, and mishaps in the space-lanes. Content Breakdown:   total pieces-76: Flash Fiction: 51; Poetry 15; Novelette: 2; Short Stories: 8 Length: 87,055 words Links:  - A Collection of Lost Ships and Colonies (B2R): https://books2read.com/u/ mBvQYA   - A Collection of Lost Ships and Colonies (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0BCV2SNQN/    - Collections Reading List : https://books2read.com/rl/ Gw8Oaz  

The third book in the Great Publishing Challenge was published in August. It was another collection set in the Mack 'n' Me 'n' Odyssey universe, this time featuring Odyssey and its agents. Great Publishing Challenge : Milestone 3 Book 3: Tales from Odyssey and Miss Delight Due: August 20, 2022 Uploaded for Release On: August 3, 2022 Type: A collection of science fiction short stories, flash fiction & poetry featuring Odyssey and its agents, in particular its most notorious, Agent Delight. Content Breakdown:   total pieces-59: Flash Fiction: 47; Poetry 3; Novelette: 2; Short Stories: 7 Length: 86,767 words Links:  - Tales from Odyssey and Miss Delight (B2R): https://books2read.com/u/ 3LnZ95   - Tales from Odyssey and Miss Delight (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Tales- Odyssey-Miss-Delight- Collections-ebook/dp/ B0B7933X9H/  - Collections Reading List (once B2R cooperates): https://books2read.com/rl/ Gw8Oaz    

I completed the second milestone of the Great Publishing Challenge in July, 2022, but didn't have time to celebrate it. Great Publishing Challenge : Milestone 2 Book 2: Tales of Mack 'n' Me Due: July 20, 2022 Uploaded and Released On: July 8, 2022 Type: A collection of science fiction short stories and flash fiction focused on the characters of Mack and Cutter from the Mack 'n' Me 'n' Odyssey series. Content Breakdown: 29 total pieces: Flash Fiction: 22; Short Stories: 2; Novelettes: 5 Length: 84k Links:  - Tales of Mack 'n' Me (B2R):  books2read.com/u/4jgjqZ   - Tales of Mack 'n' Me (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0B62YGG43/  - Collections Reading List: https://books2read.com/rl/ Gw8Oaz        

This is a quick note to say, I've passed the first stage - which, admittedly, was the one I was best set up for, as the book was complete and ready to go. From here on, it gets a little trickier. Great Publishing Challenge : Milestone 1 Book 1: Pixie Dust Dreaming Due: June 20, 2022 On Pre-Order for Release: June 04, 2022 Type: mixed genre short fiction and poetry collection, with short author forward, compiled from pieces previously published pieces themed around the urban fantasy crime Pixie Dust crime setting. Content Breakdown: 85 total pieces: Poems: 9; Flash Fiction:68; Short Stories: 8 Length: 84k Links:  - Pixie Dust Dreaming (Books2Read): https://books2read.com/u/ mY6xvP   - Pixie Dust Dreaming (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0B1WTKV67/  - Collections Reading List : https://books2read.com/rl/ Gw8Oaz        

Last week I wrote about reading other writers’ blogs. I had wanted to write about something I had read that morning on another writer’s blog. Quite a few of you will know there are two people whose blogs are my first ‘go-to’ point whenever I start a blog-reading session, at least when it comes to writing. They are kriswrites.com and deanwesleysmith.com , the blogs of Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, respectively. These two people have been making a living in the world of publishing for over twenty years each. They have been traditionally published, have run their own publishing business, and, most importantly for me, been successful writers for all of that time. They have followed the changes of publishing and made their own way, and they have both unstintingly shared what they learned doing that, and continue to do so today, so, when they say something, I take the time to listen, and then see if it’s something I should apply. A couple of weeks ago, in her blog on...

Recently, Dean Wesley Smith blogged about Heinlein’s Rules and learning from them . He listed the rules , and I had to think about what they might mean for me, and for my writing. And this is also a very important part of learning, another point on which I agree with Dean—and another point on which he blogged recently . So, what did I think? Well, here are my initial responses: #1 You must write. Totally Agree. You must write. If you do not write, you have nothing to sell. #2 You must finish what you write. Absolutely: If you do not finish what you write, you have lots of writing, and still nothing to sell. #3 You must refrain from rewriting except to editorial order. Not so sure about this. Yes, I write one draft and I tend not to redraft, so I agree here. No major rewrites. However, since I’m my own editor, it’s me who gives the orders—as well as any beta readers I’ve found… I have to be careful, or the edit-rewrite thing could get very circular. So, no, I don’t rewrit...

Even writers with 40 years’ experience feel self-doubt: Another thing I noticed was that Dean Wesley Smith pushed himself to write, and that he never assumed that what he produced would be publishable. By the sixth day of his challenge, he had repeatedly expressed amazement that the story he’d produced worked for his very experienced beta reader. And this was encouraging. If someone who had produced so much quality work could doubt that what he created had worked, then all those times I’d felt the same way were perfectly normal. It also meant that it was more important than ever that I not rely on myself to judge the quality of each piece of work I produced. Damn, that last was going to be a hard ask when I didn’t have a writing group to turn to. I guess I’m going to have to rely on my readers to let me know what they like and don’t like—after all, they’re the ones that matter.