CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Day 1: Those of you who know me, know I don’t do high volumes of people well… but most people can’t pick it. Until I’d attended three days of convention, I didn’t fully understand this about myself either. Day 1 was the first time I’d been to a public event in a number of years. It was wonderful. Full credit should go to the Conflux 8 organisers and panellists for putting this event together… and I am very much looking forward to Conflux 9, early next year. Now, on to Day 1: 0910-0950: The Opening Ceremony FILDENSTAR! Oh, wait, first there was Jack Dann opening the convention and welcoming us, paying respects to the traditional landowners of the ACT region, and THEN introducing Fildenstar, a pair of performers who brought us speculative songs like Ghost Butterfly Ships . Memorable. 1000-1100: What makes a good fantasy/sf/horror story with Sue Isle, Ian McHugh and Alan Baxter This panel discussed the different elements that writers should pay attention to, if t...

Conflux 8 was the first writing conference I’ve been able to attend in a long time—a very long time. I’d like to thank the organisers for the wonderful experience they put together for those who were able to attend, and to thank those who sat on the panels during, and ran the workshops prior to, the convention. I am looking forward to seeing what they do for Conflux 9 , now. Conflux 8 ran over two days, with a day of workshops run the day before the convention opened. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend three of the workshops and many of the panels, although discovered I was a bit short on stamina by the time late afternoon arrived, so I didn’t attend the afternoon or evening sessions. Pre-con workshops were very, very good, and I regret I couldn’t clone myself or use a magical device to attend more than the three workshops I managed. I also regret not taking out my camera and photographing those I could attend. To recap: Workshops—Friday 28 September 2012 I know ...

Nettlefold Princess is a speculation on conflicts that might arise with urban encroachment over land that once belonged to fairies. In this case, a teenager finds out first hand. Here's how it starts: Nettlefold Hollow took its name from the myriad nettles that grew there. Stinging nettles mingled with greater and lesser nettles as well as wood and hedge nettles. Clambering amongst the rocks and mingling with clumps of grass or peeking from beneath the blackberries, the nettles dominated the hollow. With emerald leaves, highlighted in silver and dripping diamonds from the morning dew, the nettles were beautiful… until some unwelcome visitor brushed against them. Rumors of fairies were rife.  can be found in    An Anthology of Worlds was released mid-September 2012 and can be found at Amazon (in print and e-book) and Smashwords.

This week, I really got my tail into gear and worked solidly towards the goals I have set. Current Projects While no writing was done on current projects, DarkFantasy2A— Fisherpriest entered and completed the publishing stage, and RomanceNovel1A entered the publishing stage. Publishing Tasks The following publishing tasks were completed this week: Wrote and scheduled 3 blog updates; Edited DarkFantasy2A— Fisherpriest , and formatted and uploaded it to Smashwords (ebook formats), AmazonKindle , AmazonCreateSpace (large and small print), DriveThruFiction (pdf); Created new cover art for DarkFantasy2A— Fisherpriest ; Finalised cover art for RomanceNovel1A — Secondhand Sweetheart with HelzKat Designs ;   Released Anthology3— An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us in small and large print paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon; Released Anthology4— An Anthology of Worlds in small and large print paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon; Released Anthology2— A...

And here are the last of the blog entries that made me stop on my catch up day earlier this month: Lindsay Buroker on leaving an agent and choosing to self-publish with Kendra Highley: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/interviews-success-stories/leaving-an-agent-and-choosing-to-self-publis-kendra-highley/ Lindsay Buroker on her self-publishing thoughts after selling 50,000 works: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/amazon-kindle-sales/my-self-publishing-thoughts-after-50000-ebook-sales/ Lindsay Buroker on marketing opportunities on Wattpad: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/book-marketing/can-posting-stories-on-wattpad-help-you-sell-books/ JA Marlow on Smashwords distribution and formats: http://jamarlow.com/2012/09/clarifying-smashwords-file-formats-and-distribution-channels/ JA Marlow on finding inspiration in blob spam: http://jamarlow.com/2012/10/plot-bunny-spam-comments/ How to Successfully Self-Publish on reaching readers without self-promotion by Orna Ross: http://selfpublishinga...