CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Here are the books I was able to read in November 2013:

Here are some of the awesome titles I've spent time with this week. To the Hilt is one of the most memorable stories, with 'Mad Alexander' one of my favourite characters. Well worth looking up, if you haven't read it. And, don't forget the e-books. This month, I read:   The Road Back by Dean Wesley Smith is a short crime story about rattlesnakes and a police chief's missing son. You can find it over at Kobo . The Poop Thief by Kristine Kathryn Rusch , which is a book about familiars and pooh and secrets. This was one of the best reads this month, with a couple of angles on magic and familiars that I had never considered. Awesome, thank you :-). You can find it over at Kobo .  I also had a bit of time for reading rulebooks. Can anyone tell me if Mind Storm Labs, the creators of Alpha-Omega are still in business? The latest news I can see is from 2009 and 2012, so it doesn't look good. I would like them to still ...

Reading is an important part of writing - it refreshes the mind and gives new perspective. I'm still working my way through Dick Francis's novels. This month I returned and read some of his best.

Have you ever been really enjoying one thing, when you got a craving for another? Well, that's what happened this month when, in the middle of reading the Dick Francis novels I own, I had a sudden craving for Ann Aguirre's gritty space adventure science fiction. And then, I couldn't help but think I might need to read some of Mike Shepherd's naval science fiction. Choices, choices, choices. Here's what I ended up reading this month:

Here are the covers of the books I read this month. Did I mention that I was currently reading Dick Francis and that he had published over 30 titles? Well, they're taking a bit to read, and I'm enjoying every minute of it: UPDATE (30/06/2013): And here is the final Dick Francis novel read for June 2013: Whip Hand .

This month saw the start of an attempt to read all the Dick Francis novels I own. Dick Francis wrote over 30 novels in his lifetime, and I count him amongst the best authors I've come across. Whenever I read his work I am inspired to try to write as well as he did. I have only 10 gaps I need to fill in my Dick Francis collection, pending any more co-written work put out by his son Felix. This month, I read the following books:

Those of you who know me, know that I am a great fan of Dick Francis . Those of you who don’t know me will probably be wondering why, since his work is neither science fiction nor fantasy, being set firmly in the real world. It’s not romance, and it contains no supernatural or paranormal elements at all. The answer is because Dick Francis is a master storyteller, and one of the few storytellers who was a master of both the short story and novel forms. His work is something I know I’ll have a great time reading, and it contains some of the best lessons a writer can learn: It shows without telling.   Characters are described with brevity and accuracy, and in such a way that they are easily visualised. Character personalities are painted with clarity, and an economy of words that almost always puts me in awe. Sense of place is evoked… dare I say it… with no word wastage or long, dragging paragraphs.   Pacing. While Dick Francis’s work is full of action, ...