CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

  As Carlie Simonsen, I originally wrote this piece for the Dark Side Down Under website, six months ago, and we’ve asked her to repeat it here. Carlie writes mostly speculative and paranormal fiction for Younger readers, and very rarely hint at romance. She also writes science fiction ( Dear Tiger , Rocky to the Rescue ), fantasy ( Assassin, Not ), contemporary ‘reality’ with a twist ( Long Hair , Tag Man One , The Dog’s Way ), science-fiction-fantasy blends ( Spit ), and contemporary reality with no twist ( Legacy of Dreams , All Alone ) . So, p eople ask me why I write for a younger audience, and what they need to do in order to write successfully for that age group. Over the years, I’ve come up with the following tips, or rules: The first rule is DON’T WRITE DOWN: No one likes being talked down to, or having it all explained as if they are too stupid to work it out for themselves. Just write the story. Write to entertain. Youngers are *young*; they’re not morons, ...

Not as much completed this week as I would have liked, but understandably so, with sickness and a death in the family. Overview New words produced: 1,868 Old words revised: 5,735 Works completed: 0 Covers created: 1 (2 variations) Works published: 1 (3 release platforms) Tier 3 Tasks ChapBook6A— Spit : edited, formatted, created cover, and uploaded. This project was completed 56 days ahead of schedule Publishing Tasks The following publishing tasks were completed this week: Expanded the distribution on one CreateSpace title; Purchased photography and created the cover for Spit ; Formatted Spit for CreateSpace PoD, Amazon Kindle and Smashwords; Released Spit via the CreateSpace store, Amazon Kindle and Smashwords; Updated Facebook with life event for Spit ; Updated Pinterest with covers for Spit ; Added 4 blog entries to this blog; Added 3 blog entries to the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog; Updated the Carlie Simonsen page on this blog; Updated ...

Here is the first chapter for Rocky to the Rescue . When Rocky wakes up one morning, he discovers his house is deserted. With his mother, father and little sister nowhere to be found in-doors, he goes outside and discovers the animals are missing, too. When aliens arrive, Rocky realises that something has gone horribly wrong. Stowing away in the alien skimmer, Rocky sets out on his first and most important rescue mission, ever. Carlie Simonsen’s Rocky to the Rescue is set on a station in the Australian outback, where help is often a long, long way away and the people must rely on themselves and each other. Twelve-year-old Rocky must either track down his family and take on alien invaders, or travel fifty miles to ask a neighbor for help. Well, what would any twelve-year-old do if they were in his shoes? Rocky to the Rescue is available from Smashwords , and will soon be available from Amazon-Kindle, CreateSpace, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook. Rocky to the Rescue Fir...

Looks like I completely forgot to post this last week, so… before I post Week 3, which will go up tomorrow morning, I thought I’d better get this out. Overview New words produced: 7,066 Works completed: 1 Covers created: 4 Works published: 4 Tier 1 Tasks SciFanNovel1A—Freeman’s Choice . Chapters 7-10 revised. This project is currently 244 days ahead of schedule.   DarkFantasyNovel1C—Shadow’s Fall: Still waiting on beta reader edits. This project is currently 90 days ahead of schedule. Tier 2 Tasks RomanceNovel14A—Taylor’s Story: Added 1,000 words. This project is currently 64 days behind schedule Tier 3 Tasks Chapbook4—Long Hair: formatted, created cover and uploaded. This project was completed 14 days ahead of schedule. ChapBook5A—Rocky to the Rescue: Chapters 1-4 revised. This project was completed 32 days ahead of schedule     Extras ShortStory23—The Soul in the Sword: formatted and published ShortStory30—Pigs Might Fl...