CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

I struggled. With university stuff finished, I had to work out what to do next—and I find change hard, let alone next-phase-of-life-change. Was I going to go all out to find a conventional job? Was I going to go full-time on my writing? I was still pretty shocky from my experiences working for Defence, so thought of going into another workplace and discovering it was like that had me in tears. We decided I needed at least another year to regroup, so full-time writing and a little bit of language study it became. I now also had to consider the possibility that I might not ever be able to go back into the field I had just spent four years of my life building the skills for. Still, a lot of those skills can be drawn on and retuned for a career in writing, so I’ll be looking at that, and maybe trying to keep my hand in so that they stay current. I don’t know about you, but a big change like that can really knock a person about. I started to sort out my writing priorities, and th...

I'm pretty excited to announce the release of Shades of Memory , a dark urban fantasy thriller set in Australia's capital city, featuring werewolves, shadow mages, shadow creatures, ancient artifacts, government secrets, and internationals spies and intrigue. It's a new genre for me, and I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy the story just as much. When Aggie Dormain arrives in Canberra to paint some old diggers, she does not expect to meet an out-of-work archaeologist investigating an alien conspiracy, much less to be pulled into an adventure that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money.

Yesterday, September's second release, Shades of Memory went up on pre-order at Smashwords and Amazon. This one will also be released as a print-on-demand large-print paperback on CreateSpace. It will be available from all outlets on September 22, 2017. When Aggie Dormain arrives in Canberra to paint some old diggers, she does not expect to meet an out-of-work archaeologist investigating an alien conspiracy, much less to be pulled into an adventure that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money.

Completed this cover last night. I wanted something more, but this is about the limit of what I can do right now. It suits, although I think it needs a werewolf. Still, it’s welcome, and I’m glad it’s done. When Aggie Dormain arrives in Canberra to paint some old diggers, she does not expect to meet an out-of-work archaeologist investigating an alien conspiracy, much less to be pulled into an adventure that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money.

Yeah, I know; it would probably have been more interesting if I’d started posting these earlier, but I was kinda busy, so it didn’t happen. I’ll try and do better next year. Anyway, I decided to try NaNoWriMo this year, despite not completing it last year. Here’s what’s happened, so far: Project Title: Shades of Memory Project Blurb: When Aggie Dormain arrives in Canberra to paint some old diggers, she does not expect to meet an out-of-work archaeologist investigating an alien conspiracy, much less to be pulled into an adventure that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money. Project Description: A crime noir novel of between 50,000 and 60,000 words set in an urban fantasy world, where conspiracy theories have some validity and maybe a bit of a thriller as well. Progress so Far: November 1-3: Nil words on Shades ; take-home exam started, completed and submitted; November 4: 5,146 words completed on NaNo novel; November 5-8: Nil words on Shades ; take-...