CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

First flash for the week...and for a very long time. An Act of Kindness  A cup of water. Who’d have thought it would matter now that the battle was lost, but it did…or Shiloh hoped it did. He dared to raise his gaze enough to catch his opposite number’s eye, and froze. Not because of the commander’s familiar features, but because of the markings on her armored breastplate. “Y…your majesty?” he managed, staying on his knees, and all too aware of the firm grip on his shoulder. The look she returned was implacable. “You showed me kindness,” she replied in hard tones, “and yet you have rebelled. Tell me why I should spare you.” “Spare my men,” Shiloh said. “Their lives were forfeit if they did not take up arms.” “And forfeit if they did,” she reminded him. “They have families…” Shiloh’s voice cracked, memory bringing grief. “Their lives…” His voice shattered, and he bowed his head, unable to continue. “So do you,” she said, but he shook his head. “Not anymore,” he r...

The stand-alone edition of the novelette, Jalaya , released on January 7, 2024, and is now available for purchase. It can be found individually at any of the platforms on this Books2Read link , and it can be found as one of the stories in: A Collection of Battle and its Aftermath. For those of you wondering what it's all about. Well... The Short Version: It's about family, duty, love and war, and the perils of past secrets. The Longer Version: It's about: A yearly tradition. A dance not forgotten. A planet torn by a long-running war. Hunted by an implacable foe, and driven into the ruins of a town he once called home, Mark Leader, Michael, must try to save his people against savage odds. And try, too, to save the woman he loves. Will the secrets of their past save or doom their future? How It Begins: Michael looked down at the town in the sand. Red, flat roofs of clay interspersed by the elegant, wooden gables of buildings from northern climes, still stood in ...

This is a short excerpt from the editing process, showing part of the process I go through when editing one of my books. In this case, The Unwilling, the first book in the Strays of Lunar One series:

Edits began today, on The Unwanted, the second book of the Strays of Lunar One series. In this, Oliver and Lewis are once again on the run. This scene occurs just prior to their departure from Alpha 9: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Nettles?” Oliver asked, as a dapper gentleman in a white suit jacket stepped out of the small craft’s hatch. He was jerked back inside, as four of the guards closed ranks and jogged to block Oliver and Lewis’s path, raising their blasters as they came. Oliver skidded to a halt, and glanced over at his friend. “Was this part of the plan?” Lewis shook his head. “Roof top was supposed to be empty.” Oliver looked at the guards, who’d stopped and now formed a line in front of them. “Uh huh.” He glanced over at the door and then back at Lewis. “So, is it?” “Is it what?” Lewis had started to raise his hands, and Oliver was tempted to follow his exampl...