NEW RELEASE: This Year's Star Fish

We have just released C.M. Simpson's new fantasy short story This Year's Star Fish on Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, and DriveThruFiction, as well as for distribution via Draft2Digital. This fantasy short follows the theme of pursuing a dream.

Every year the fish come down from the stars, and every year Faulknor hopes they come for him. Well, this year he’s tired of waiting; this year it’s his turn to do the seeking. This year, he’s going to catch himself the fish of his dreams. This year, he’s coming for them… just as soon as he’s finished with the assassin, and the elf with its human and orc sidekicks. Yeah, after that he’s going to find himself a fish.

Pre-Order Available: This Year's Star Fish

This Year's Star Fish, C.M. Simpson's second release for June, is now available for pre-order from Amazon-Kindle and Smashwords. It is scheduled for release on June 16, 2017.

Every year the fish come down from the stars, and every year Faulknor hopes they come for him. Well, this year he’s tired of waiting; this year it’s his turn to do the seeking. This year, he’s going to catch himself the fish of his dreams. This year, he’s coming for them… just as soon as he’s finished with the assassin, and the elf with its human and orc sidekicks. Yeah, after that he’s going to find himself a fish.

An Anthology of Blades: First Pages - Stiletto's Luck

Stiletto’s Luck has been incorporated into An Anthology of Blades.

 Stiletto’s Luck is about an assassin dealing with the consequences of taking part in a battle for reasons of his own, while trying to remain uncompromised by either side.

They could have called him Scimitar, Blade or Dagger, but, no, his parents had to call him Stiletto. Stiletto did the only thing he could. He learned to be the best at what he did, and he learned to walk tall - without the heels. When he finds himself in the center of a plot to assassinate the most powerful men in the city, Stiletto has only one question: How on earth is he going to walk out of this one?

Stiletto’s Luck will be included in An Anthology of Blades, but is currently available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

First Page

 Stiletto's Luck

Sheathed in a suit that shifted with the colors of a city night, Stiletto crouched in the shadows, looking very much like the other gargoyles on the roof line, but one set far too close to the casement. Those he’d arranged to meet in the room beyond had been on time. They’d come, as arranged, bringing no nasty surprises and no extras, but he wanted to learn something more about them before going inside.

Such as why four of the pairs hadn’t left as soon as they’d seen each other. And why their bodyguards had failed to check the window and make sure it was locked. Were they careless, or did they know he waited just outside? And why did they stray so far from their principles, each guard moving to the outer perimeter of the room, leaving their masters close enough to do each other harm before they could intervene.

Three had hired him to protect them from one of the others. Two had hired him to investigate separate matters that now appeared linked. And he had approached one of the men acting as a guard, with a proposition.

Stiletto waited. The figures in the room grew restless. Finally, one of the three turned to another.

“A precision weapon, you said he was. I would have thought he’d have been on time.”

“Perhaps he scries,” another—Anderman—said and his guard gave a sigh. The man breathed in, sweeping his arms wide and drawing them in as he exhaled. His principle watched as his protector settled into stillness. The others waited.

“No,” the guard said, after six heartbeats of concentration. He did not say what else he might have noticed with his heightened sensitivity, but he moved closer to Anderman’s side. “No one scries here.”

The men in the room did not seem to realize the significance of the guard’s movement. They relaxed.

“Then why did he invite us together, if he wasn’t going to meet with us?”

Huh, now they thought of it.

Stiletto watched as the bodyguards moved closer to their principles before shifting onto the narrow ledge alongside the casement and opened the window. Three crossbow bolts and two shards of magic parted the space he might have filled.

END FIRST PAGE

If you would like to read more, Stiletto’s Luck will be included in An Anthology of Blades, but is currently available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

First Pages: Death Comes in Bone by C.M. Simpson

Last week, I released Death Comes in Bone. Today, I'll share the first page with you.

Death Comes in Bone is a dark fantasy short story about a skeletal assassin.

Murdered by his closest friend, Tanag is not surprised to wake and find himself dead. He is surprised, however, that others have come to the caves hidden not so far from what used to be his home. As the adventurers plunder his bones and move on, Tanag remembers who killed him, and the vow he made as he died. In order to fulfil that vow, Tanag must rise and leave his impromptu tomb—but first he has to get his sword back from the adventurer that woke him and took it from his remains.
Death Comes in Bone is, or will be, available in electronic form from, among others: Smashwords, OmniLit, DriveThruFiction, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook.

In the meantime, here's the first page.

First Page: Death Comes in Bone

Tanag woke as light broke into his resting place. He didn’t know how long he’d been dead for, knew only that he’d been murdered and that he was still angry about it. His best friend had betrayed him, had chosen his family’s ambitions over loyalty and friendship after all. Tanag had made a serious misjudgment of character. He worried that it had cost his family their lives.

Careful, lest he should be destroyed before he’d woken, Tanag lay still. His sword lay in its sheath—Arrin had given him no time to draw it, plunging the weapon he’d taken from the yellowthorn thicket deep into Tanag’s kidney and holding his friend, his prince, until he was sure Tanag had died of the injury and the poison in the yellowthorn’s sting.

Tanag remembered the pain, so great he hadn’t been able to make a sound, but not as great as the pain in his heart. Arrin had gone to great lengths to ensure Tanag’s murder remained undiscovered, bringing down the cave roof with a magical ability Tanag had not even suspected. The wielding had brought about a distinctive stench and the prince wondered just how long Arrin had consorted with demons, or when he’d found the time. Arrin had spent his off-hours and many stolen moments in the arms of dark-eyed, dark haired Lannara.

Rocks tumbled, metal gauntlets scraped against stone and the light grew stronger. Tanag tried to resist the urge to squint against the light, and registered that he had no eyes, no eyelids. He started to raise a hand to feel his face, but the first twitch of his fingers brought a startled shout to ears that were no longer there. Retribution was swift, even though he’d stilled his hand. A sword was driven through his ribs. There was pain, but not the kind of pain Tanag expected. This time it was no effort to keep himself still.

Magic bound him together… Why would magic bind his bones together when his flesh was clearly gone. He had known he was dead, but this… Why?

Laughter interrupted his thoughts.

“The great knight Devas, frightened by a pile of empty bones.” Mockery.

“I swear I saw it move.”

“Well, it’s not moving now. Who was it, do you think?”

Tanag listened to them try to work out who he’d been. Not a single word was close. He did not protest when they took the sword, well-preserved by its sheath, and rifled through the trinkets and coins that had fallen into his remains when his pockets had rotted away. He did not try to stop them scattering his bones when they noted the glint of gold that had once adorned his fingers or the entwined gold and solid medallion that he’d worn around his throat. None of that mattered.

What mattered to him now, was to work out why he lived beyond death—a death unfairly given, certainly, but an ending none-the-less. As the big man in plate mail and his trio of less well-protected companions made their way further into the cavern complex, Tanag wished them luck.

END OF FIRST PAGE

If you would like to read more, Death Comes in Bone is, or will be, available in electronic form from, among others: Smashwords, OmniLit, DriveThruFiction, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, and Nook.

New Release: Death Comes in Bone by C.M. Simpson

Death Comes in Bone has just been released to Amazon, Smashwords, OmniLit, Kobo and Drivethrufiction. Of these, Smashwords and OmniLit are now live; the others will follow over the next few days.

First Page: Stiletto's Luck by C.M. Simpson

Stiletto's Luck was released last week. Here's how it starts. Enjoy.

Stiletto’s Luck is about an assassin dealing with the consequences of taking part in a battle for reasons of his own, while trying to remain uncompromised by either side.

They could have called him Scimitar, Blade or Dagger, but, no, his parents had to call him Stiletto. Stiletto did the only thing he could. He learned to be the best at what he did, and he learned to walk tall - without the heels. When he finds himself in the center of a plot to assassinate the most powerful men in the city, Stiletto has only one question: How on earth is he going to walk out of this one?

Stiletto’s Luck will be included in An Anthology of Blades, but is currently available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

First Page

 Stiletto's Luck

Sheathed in a suit that shifted with the colors of a city night, Stiletto crouched in the shadows, looking very much like the other gargoyles on the roof line, but one set far too close to the casement. Those he’d arranged to meet in the room beyond had been on time. They’d come, as arranged, bringing no nasty surprises and no extras, but he wanted to learn something more about them before going inside.

Such as why four of the pairs hadn’t left as soon as they’d seen each other. And why their bodyguards had failed to check the window and make sure it was locked. Were they careless, or did they know he waited just outside? And why did they stray so far from their principles, each guard moving to the outer perimeter of the room, leaving their masters close enough to do each other harm before they could intervene.

Three had hired him to protect them from one of the others. Two had hired him to investigate separate matters that now appeared linked. And he had approached one of the men acting as a guard, with a proposition.

Stiletto waited. The figures in the room grew restless. Finally, one of the three turned to another.

“A precision weapon, you said he was. I would have thought he’d have been on time.”

“Perhaps he scries,” another—Anderman—said and his guard gave a sigh. The man breathed in, sweeping his arms wide and drawing them in as he exhaled. His principle watched as his protector settled into stillness. The others waited.

“No,” the guard said, after six heartbeats of concentration. He did not say what else he might have noticed with his heightened sensitivity, but he moved closer to Anderman’s side. “No one scries here.”

The men in the room did not seem to realize the significance of the guard’s movement. They relaxed.

“Then why did he invite us together, if he wasn’t going to meet with us?”

Huh, now they thought of it.

Stiletto watched as the bodyguards moved closer to their principles before shifting onto the narrow ledge alongside the casement and opened the window. Three crossbow bolts and two shards of magic parted the space he might have filled.

END FIRST PAGE

If you would like to read more, Stiletto’s Luck will be included in An Anthology of Blades, but is currently available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle and CreateSpace and will be distributed from Nook, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

Just Released: Stiletto's Luck by C.M. Simpson

Uploaded to DriveThruFiction, Amazon-Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, and OmniLit, just today, this title will shortly be available for download from all these outlets, and then from Nook, Barnes and Noble and the iTunes store.
 
Stiletto’s Luck is about an assassin dealing with the consequences of taking part in a battle for reasons of his own, while trying to remain uncompromised by either side.

They could have called him Scimitar, Blade or Dagger, but, no, his parents had to call him Stiletto. Stiletto did the only thing he could. He learned to be the best at what he did, and he learned to walk tall - without the heels. When he finds himself in the center of a plot to assassinate the most powerful men in the city, Stiletto has only one question: How on earth is he going to walk out of this one?

Stiletto’s Luck will be included in An Anthology of Blades, but is currently available as a stand-alone title.

Covers Created in August

This month has been pretty busy from the cover creation and revamp point of view, and we've been keeping C.M. on her toes getting all these ready. Some of those below will have been released, and others are on the schedule for release. All are near completion, or in the editing and formatting stages.

E-book cover

Print-on-Demand Large Print

Print-on-Demand cover

E-book cover

Print-on-Demand Large Print Cover

Print-on-Demand Cover

E-book cover

New Cover - Stiletto's Luck by C.M. Simpson

Stiletto's Luck is the next short story to be included in C.M. Simpson's An Anthology of Blades. It's about an assassin dealing with the consequences of having a name more associated with a girl.

E-book cover

Print-on-Demand Large Print

Print-on-Demand

They could have called him Scimitar, Blade or Dagger, but, no, his parents had to call him Stiletto so Stiletto did the only thing he could. He learned to be the best at what he did, and he learned to walk tall - without the heels. When he finds himself in the center of a plot to assassinate the most powerful men in the city, Stiletto has only one question: How on earth is he going to walk out of this one?

Stiletto's Luck is scheduled for release in late August or early September 2013, and will be made available from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, OmniLit and DriveThruFiction. We'll let you know when it goes live.

New Release: Shadow's Fall by C.M. Simpson

The third book of the Shadow Trilogy has now been released.

E-book cover

Large-Print Cover

Shadow’s Fall is the third and final novel in the Shadow series trilogy. This tale contains strong elements of horror, following the path of a small group of heroes who must work together to prevent an ancient evil’s escape.

High Priest Urkhrist has settled to his task as the keeper of Beauwallin’s prison. With his long-time friend and companion, Vorgren, guarding his back, and the spymaster’s apprentice, Tara Bloodthorn, acting as his representative in the city of Thargood, he had thought the battle over, but something is wrong. Beauwallin stirs within his prison, and wizards, priests and sorcerers are being taken from Thargood’s streets. The pattern is similar to the one they saw when Beauwallin attempted to break free the last time. Gilzereet must find out if the Old One is trying to escape, again, and discover how he is garnering the power to do so—and then he must try to find a way to defeat him, to succeed, where a pantheon of gods has already failed.

Shadow’s Fall is available on Smashwords, Kindle, DriveThruFiction, Kobo, Smashwords, iTunes and Nook.

Print-on-Demand Cover

First Page: Gulvane and the Dragon by C.M. Simpson

Gulvane and the Dragon is C.M. Simpson's newest work.

Preparing for a new era in his life, the wizard Gulvane walks the corridors of his mind, remembering the eras locked behind three doors. Forester, Fighter, Assassin. Behind each door lie the memories and skills of who and what he used to be, inaccessible, unless he chose to return to the professions he had left. Uncertain of where his life will lead him, or of what he will become, Gulvane wakes to find a dragon standing over his bed. Now, what would a creature such as that want with an elf like himself?

Gulvane and the Dragon is currently available as a stand-alone short story, but will eventually be incorporated in An Anthology of Mythical Creatures, and the collection, Short Stories and Poetry from 2013.

Gulvane and the Dragon is available from Smashwords, Amazon, Nook, iTunes, Kobo and CreateSpace.

First Page: Gulvane and the Dragon

Gulvane walked the corridors of his mind, going deep into himself to remember who he was, and explore who he might become. The years of an elf were long, many more times longer than the span of an average mortal, and Gulvane was reaching another century, his third as a wizard, his seventh as an elf. In that time, he’d lived a lifetime in each of four different occupations.

Walking down the timber-lined hallway, Gulvane traced a hand along the walls, stopping at each of the three doors that kept the memories and skills that had made up his past. The first door was an oaken gold and adorned by a simple spray of leaves and flowers. A small grey-furred creature peered out from beneath the blossoms, its vivid green eyes touched with blue and gold. Gulvane laid a finger on its forehead and let the bittersweet feeling it invoked touch him briefly. The second door was a glowing bronze, and adorned with a pair of crossed swords. The third door was the color of night, created from a single plank of ebon-wood. A crossbow adorned its center, painted in a shade barely lighter than the surface that bore it.

Forester, fighter… assassin. Was it any wonder he’d become a wizard?

He walked past the gleaming darkness of the third door and stared at the heavy columns slowly forming in the blank space of wall beyond. Soon. His heart was restless, and soon he would embark on another era of his life.

Gulvane sighed. He had enjoyed his time as a wizard. It had been peaceful compared to what he had been before. The trouble was that he had no idea what he wanted to become next… and he was getting old, his body standing towards the end of middle age. He stood contemplating the slowly growing pillars before retracing his steps, touching each door as he passed.

Assassin, fighter, forester, he could return to any one of them by opening the door and stepping into the mind of who he had been. His fingers lingered on the bright-eyed creature peering from the flowers, before Gulvane shook his head and walked on, focusing his thoughts outwards and slowly returning to consciousness.

He woke to find a dragon standing over his bed.

“You are most entertaining,” it said, “and I have always wanted an elf of my own.”

“You look like a man,” Gulvane replied, “yet I know you are dragon. How is it I know that?”

“You are wizard,” the dragon said, leaning forward, quick as lightning, and pinning Gulvane to the mattress by holding the blankets tight across his shoulders.

He bent in closer, until their foreheads almost touched, and then the dragon inhaled, moving his nose a hair’s breadth above Gulvane’s skin and taking in the elf’s scent. It was frighteningly intimate and predatory at the same time.

END FIRST PAGE

If you would like to read more, Gulvane and the Dragon is available from Smashwords, Amazon, Nook, iTunes, Kobo and CreateSpace.

First Chapters: Assassin, Not by Carlie Simonsen

Assassin, Not is a tale of choices and sacrifice, set in a fantasy kingdom. Blade is a young man, born of a long line of assassins. Placed in training at a young age, he has no choice but to take on the trade of his father, and his grandfather before him… or does he?

When Blade is assigned an assassination he does not really want to complete, he believes he has no choice. Deciding if he finds something else to be, before his dagger falls, he prepares to take down the youngest Lord Forester in the city. When a second assassin appears, and options unfold, Blade must step lightly and with speed. With a disgruntled patron on his heels, the only question is can he move quickly enough to stay one step ahead of his own.

Assassin, Not is a fantasy tale set in a land of magic and intrigue. It is currently available from Smashwords and Amazon Kindle, and will soon be available from , Nook, the iTunes bookstore, and Kobobooks.

First Chapter: Assassin, Not

The Target by the Fountain

The dark-clad figure smoothed his hair with the licked palm of his hand. It was a nervous gesture. He didn’t need to do it. It just made him feel better.

He hefted the weight of the dagger in his right hand and eyed his target moving across the street.

‘Now,’ he thought, ‘wouldn’t it be just sweet if the messenger isn’t in place?’

It wasn’t a question, just a thought reflecting his nervousness as he drew back the blade. He waited as someone walked in front of the yellow-haired youth who was destined to wear the knife.

It wouldn’t take a moment. The youth moved restlessly in front of the fountain. He was waiting for someone, just as he had waited for her every afternoon of the last month.

She was late. The watching figure had made sure of that. He had been well paid to do so. This was meant to be a warning; the girl was off-limits.

The watcher waited a moment longer, waited until another innocent had walked past, then flung the blade across the square. It was a good throw; his aim had been true.

The knife flew cleanly through the air and embedded itself into the blonde youth’s leg. The watcher was pleased; the throw had been a difficult one.

‘Hurt, not harm,’ his employer had said, ‘I don’t want him damaged too badly. His family are friends I can’t afford to lose.’

Which was precisely why the message a street urchin had dropped in front of the youth was magicked to disappear in a burst of flame as soon as it had been read.

The watcher waited until the youth had grasped the scrolled parchment and pulled it open. He saw the sweat beading down the youth’s face as what was written on the parchment sank home.

He waited until he saw the parchment flare and heard the youth’s startled cry of alarm, then he slipped quietly down the alley he had been hiding in.

He regretted the loss of the knife, but knew very little could be traced from it by magic. He hadn’t owned it long enough for his aura to have worn onto hilt or blade, so no-one would be able to find him that way.

He began to whistle as he turned out of the alley into Peddler’s Road. All in all, it had been a very good day.

END CHAPTER

If you would like to read more, Assassin, Not is currently available from Smashwords and Amazon Kindle, and will soon be available from , Nook, the iTunes bookstore, and Kobobooks.