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 a lot of writing achieved this week (if you don’t count blog entries). I focused a bit more on my photography, and did a bit of needed sewing, as well as catch-up on what I didn’t get done when the internet slowed down. Overall, it was a productive week. Overview New words produced: 4,272 Old words revised: 0 Works completed: 0 Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 (1-2 variations) Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms) Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Publishing Tasks I spent the week catching up on things that I’ve been putting off or neglecting, and in trying to get ahead on the blog entries . They were as follows: Created 12 blog entries for this blog; Updated the Tales of Tzamesch , Madeleine Torr, Carlie Simonsen and Simpson Anthologies pages on this blog; Created 6 blog entries for C.M. Simpson Publishing blog; Updated the Our Authors , Anthologies , Fantasy Fiction , Paranormal Romance , Contemporary and Romantic Suspense...

Traveler is a teen post-apocalyptic paranormal urban tale about a girl who survives a war and the loss of her family. When she ends up alone, she sets out to find the one family member whose fate she doesn’t know. On the way, she encounters cannibals and a mysterious boy. And from there, things get distinctly weird. Traveler is the first book in the Traveler’s Tales series. Traveler knows she must cross the Rubble by dusk. At dusk, the cannibals come out, and they will want payment. She doesn’t count on the gang living on the other side of the Rubble to deny her passage until evening arrives. And she doesn’t count on being the prize in a turf war between the two groups. When a boy who seems to be made of mist helps her escape, she refuses to believe she is finally safe. The city is full of danger. Traveler knows she hasn’t found them all. Traveler is about embarking on a journey, and overcoming anything that might stand in the way—even if that means having the coura...

This week I released two more chapter books as Carlie Simonsen: One science fiction paranormal, and one paranormal urban. Without further ado, here they are: E-book cover Print-on-Demand cover The Dog’s Way is a teen paranormal urban about a boy who finds unexpected help with bullies. The Dog’s Way is the first book in the Running with the Pack series. When Michael jumps a brick wall to escape from Jacko and his group of thugs, he didn’t need to find a pack of dogs waiting for him on the other side. Pinned down by the biggest of them, Michael counts himself lucky that the dogs are more interested in Jacko than him. Unfortunately, with Jacko on the other side of the fence, that’s not going to last forever. And what’s he going to do then? The Dog’s Way is about discovering who you are, and learning to face your fears with whatever you can find inside. The Dog's Way can be found at Smashwords , Amazon-Kindle , Kobo, Nook and iTunes . E-book cover ...