C.S. Simpson's Blog

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since my last post! ‍♀️ The good news is that I've been a busy writer bee, but there's no proof...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will receive a tiny commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Hello, dear followers. I know I fell off the web this year and apologize for my silence. I'm still here, still working on writerly pursuits.

My springtime hours were filled with recording narration tracks for The Elephant and the Dragon: the audiobook! I wanted to wait to tell you how it was going until it was all done, but alas I'm still working on it. It's amazing how time-consuming the recording process can be for an amateur like myself. There are various setbacks like needing to pause or re-record because of loud neighborhood noises, choosing to redo an entire page or chapter because I didn't like the way one sentence sounded, and compensating in editing for different recorded volumes between character voice actor recordings. YET—if all goes as planned, The Elephant and the Dragon will be available for your listening pleasure near the end of this calendar year.

As for this summer? It seems I hit a wall called author burnout. What does this mean to a writer? It means my interest in writing or editing my own stories has dropped to an all-time low these past few months. It means every time I consider sitting down and editing or adding to my work in progress, I feel exhausted and inadequate and even question my ability to tell a story.

So instead of writing, my time has been spent trying to refuel. I've been reading encouraging blogs by other writers, listening to podcasts on writing craft or book publishing, and reading several different genres of fiction. I even hit my yearly 50-book reading goal last month—that's extremely early for me! I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I started taking cello lessons two years ago. This second creative outlet has been wonderful for me. Being able to switch gears from staring at a screen to reading sheet music has been good for my psyche. I encourage you to find more than one way to express yourself too, no matter what stage you are in life.

Thankfully, I haven't been completely useless when it comes to writerly work. I'm honored to have been asked to serve as an editor yet again for two fellow authors. Their latest nonfiction books are now available! If these titles interest you, click on them and they'll take you directly to Amazon:

Ignite Your Imagination: Bring What You Never Thought Possible Into Everyday Reality by Wendi Lord PhD

Mischief Maker: A Memoir by Jenna Lynne MacFarlane

As for my own creative works, even though I haven't been able to bring myself to write much, I'm still thinking and considering how to continue the stories. I haven't given up. I just need time to regenerate my creative juices.

Now that we're on the cusp of my favorite time of year—AUTUMN!—I shall endeavor to pick myself up and actively work on my books again. And, in case you're wondering, I will definitely not be participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year. I'm certain I don't have the necessary words in me to even attempt a 50K rough draft, no matter how rough it's allowed to be. Even though I've focused my entire writerly attention on my Mars trilogy these past 18 months, I haven't forgotten about my elven low fantasy. In fact, it might be nice to go back and forth between the two projects until I find my mojo again. Yes, I will do that. Whichever story brings me the most joy will be the one I focus on for the rest of the year.

Wish me luck, my friends!

. . . and plans for this year!

Happy 2024, my friends! There's nothing quite as inspiring as a whole new set of 365 days brimming with promise ahead of us. Our minds turn to fresh ideas, unfinished projects, new goals, and of course . . . our accomplishments from the newly ended year.

So without further ado, I'd like to share my 2023 writerly achievements with you! My year in review:

Completed and published the final book in The Fable Triad, The Mermaid and the River Otter. Had a poem published in a new anthology,  Journeys Into Possibility . Updates on my completed novel, The Flower Maiden: Sent out 31 queries to literary agents and editors Received 17 no-thank-you's, 5 queries have timed-out (so they're a "no"), and am still waiting for responses from the rest. Almost found an agent in the spring (very close call). Added a new element and two new characters to that same novel, based on said agent's comments. Had a chat with a beta reader that was very encouraging. Attended one online writers' conference. Participated in two "pitchfests" (events to get an agent's attention via social media). Received 3 interested agents, two of whom have since declined. Helped edit a friend's non-fiction book, Propel Your Potential . Sent out several short stories to various magazines and podcasts. Attended two book signing events. Was a guest author at a local book club who read The Fable Triad . Began working on an audiobook for my first fable, The Elephant and the Dragon. Completed a passable 2nd draft of my 2022 NaNoWriMo project, The Science of Stars. Participated in NaNoWriMo 2023 with The Science of Stars, Book TWO! Sent/received hundreds of comments to/from my amazing writer's group. Read/listened to 56 books in 2023! Check out Goodreads to see a list of titles.

Whew! I may be missing a thing or two in the above list, but . . . you get the idea. I've been busy!

Now, onto my 2024 goals!

Find an agent for The Statue of Cliffside Manor, formerly titled The Flower Maiden. Finish recording, edit, then release The Elephant and the Dragon audiobook! Write more poetry. Publish another short story or two. Continue developmental edit of The Science of Stars: Book 1. Finish and edit The Science of Stars: Book 2. Plan The Science of Stars: Book 3 for NaNoWriMo 2024 in November!

Fun Fact: This summer will mark the beginning of my full-time journey as a fiction writer. Believe it or not, I didn't know this is who I wanted to be, yet being a writer has become the most fulfilling "me" I've ever been. I'm grateful to have learned so much from other writers, friends, family, and my readers along the way. It's true that we are ever-learning, ever-evolving creatures. Who you are today may not be exactly who you are in five or ten years. Life has a way of growing us—if we let it. If you're still searching for "your thing," don't give up hope! You might just find it around the next corner (or the next).

Now, I must get back to editing and planning and stressing and writing and reading—so much to do! I hope you have a pleasant and fruitful year, my friends. And, as always, I wish you happy reading!

I won during National Novel Writing Month again! What is the prize? I won the right to say I wrote over 50,000 words of a new novel during the thirty days of November! Amazingly, I once again hit the 50K-word goal early, this time on the 26th, and ended with nearly 59K words.

In this year's contest against time, I worked on the second book in my Young Adult/New Adult sci-fi series. A series, you ask? Indeed. While editing last year's NaNoWriMo project, The Science of Stars, over the past eleven months, I realized its length was telling me something. It was telling me the story was actually a trilogy! So, instead of a single long novel in three acts, I am now writing and planning three separate novels. No pressure! As a "serial" novel reader, I'm thrilled! But as the author of said new trilogy, I'm nervous.

Book one is now entitled: The Science of Stars: ALPHA Complex,

Book two is called: The Science of Stars: BRAVO Complex,

and, you guessed it, book three will be: The Science of Stars: CHARLIE Complex.

The entire series is tentatively named: The Martian Complex Trilogy, but we shall see. What do you think? Too wordy? It might be too wordy . . .

Thankfully, there are no deadlines for the project(s) and I'm able to take the time I need to plan, edit, and finish these novels as I see fit. I love my main character's journey toward motherhood in book one, and now I need to solidify her character arc for book two—which is not yet finished, by the way. There's still a lot of work to do, but I'm committed to ironing out the kicks! I'm grateful to my family, friends, neighbors, and critique partners for their patience while listening to me babble on and for their valuable input regarding this story.

You may wonder—will I participate in NaNoWriMo again next November? You bet! I have book number three of this story to write, after all!

Can you believe it's already OCTOBER 1st??

My niece is currently experiencing her first year of college. She's been so buried in her new environment and people and homework, that she somehow missed September passing her by. I can kind of relate! I've spent most of my days editing last year's NaNoWriMo project, The Science of Stars (more about that in a bit). How about you? Have you been staying busy, too?

Now that summer is OFFICIALLY over, I'm sitting on my front porch listening to crispy leaves blow in the wind. Here in Colorado, we're seeing trees and bushes already put on their autumn colors. This is my favorite time of the year. Warmish days and cool breezes make for good writing weather.

So, how is the writing going, you ask? Well, let me tell you! Since last November's NaNoWriMo (my first), I've been dutifully combing through the 67,000 words I cranked out in 30 days. There are SO many plot holes and awful sentences and random character drops! So, I've spent the last year solving the story's mysteries and choosing destinies, and it's rewardingly exhausting. I'm sure you can relate.

So . . . what now? Well, I've decided that The Science of Stars project has become so long that it's telling me it's REALLY a trilogy! This will now be the longest project I've attempted, as the word count of my only other finished novel is around 90K, and this project is already over 80K. Whew! Next month I will use the NaNoWriMo self-motivation event to officially begin book two of the tentatively named "Martian Silo Series." I will write and write and write like a madwoman, stopping only to occasionally acknowledge my husband and dog, eat, sleep, etc. Wish me luck, please!

I hope your autumnal plans and endeavors are successful, too, my readers. Now . . . go enjoy some fabulously dressed nature!

Greetings, Followers! Apologies for such a delay in communications this summer. Yes, I've been slacking off a bit to enjoy the weather (and I hope you have, too). I'm feeling especially studious today, though, so I'm here to fill you in on my writerly doings these past few months.

First and foremost: I've been editing the hot mess that was last November's NaNoWriMo project. Do you remember that one? No? Please click ,here to catch up. Yes, that December blog wishfully mentioned my plan to finish the first draft of The Science of Stars novel by this spring. Unfortunately, it's nearly August and I'm only halfway through the editing process, nowhere near finishing . Honestly, I'm still thrilled with my progress because the project has NOT languished somewhere in the proverbial desk drawer. So, a quick recap: the November mad dash project ended with 67K words written in just thirty days! Then I ignored it for a few months while I polished and published my final fable. Since then, I've added nearly 10K more words to The Science of Stars, fixed hundreds of typos, rewritten several story inconsistencies, and almost solved a mystery that wrote itself into the novel. Whew! My NEW goal is to get everything I wrote last November as polished as possible. Then, THIS November—actually FINISH the book! If I'm lucky, I'll be querying literary agents with the final draft by this time next year! (it's good to have goals, right?)

Second: now that my self-published ,Fable Triad is complete, I've been looking into the process of creating audiobooks for you! The research involved in this has been a little more difficult than I'd imagined. AND I am a notoriously slow decision-maker. Have you seen that t-shirt that says, "Hold on, let me overthink this"? That's me—all the way . So, if you're a voice actor—or know someone who is—I'm open to helpful technology suggestions (PLEASE)! I hope to have at least one audiobook available sometime near Christmas 2023. Wish me luck!

And finally: I am still actively seeking a literary agent for my completed The Flower Maiden manuscript. In case you weren't aware, this is a time-consuming (and frankly maddening) process. However, I harbor no anger at the many, many rejections I've received. I'm mostly confused. I must not be communicating the essence of the novel well in my queries and need to change . . . something. This, too, triggers my overthinking, which can stall progress. Yet, even though the road to traditional publishing moves at a snail's pace, I must assume I'll get eventually get there or I will stop trying. And I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Onward!

Well, there you have it, my friends! My mid-year check-in with you is complete. As always, feel free to ask me questions, for I'm certain I've forgotten to share SOMETHING with you.

I'm delinquent. I've been busy with other writerly pursuits and failed you!

This is your official (late) notice that the THIRD Pikes Peak Writers Anthology, Journeys Into Possibility, is now available for your reading pleasure! (link below.)

Last year, I had the honor of being a "slush pile" reader during the submission period for this book. That means I volunteered to be a first-blush reader for over twenty stories. I simply read them through and let the editors know if the submissions met the requested guidelines or not, in order to save the editor's time. Can you believe this anthology received over 200 submitted stories and poems?

Speaking of poems . . . I submitted three new poems to this anthology and one was accepted! "The Comet's Dance" follows a comet on her journey through space to see her lover again. It's short and sexy. (In case you're wondering about some kind of favoritism, all files were shown as anonymous to the readers until they were accepted by the editors.)

If you're interested in learning more about this brand new anthology, or purchasing your very own copy, please click here:

Hello, my faithful followers. I'm excited to announce the third and final book in The Fable Triad is ALMOST here. ,The Mermaid and the River Otter: A Fable releases NEXT FRIDAY - February 24th! You'll have a choice between ebook or paperback formats.

In celebration, I have a treat for you. Keep reading for an excerpt from chapter three, featuring Corinna the mermaid and Tambreet the platypus!

Now that The Fable Triad is finished, I've updated the older book covers and their back copy to reflect its completion. I've also added an image to the previously "naked" chapters inside of the first and second books, so each chapter now has a relevant story sketch. If you purchased an earlier version of these fables as an ebook - I have good news! Many e-readers allow you to update the ebook file, either from the menu inside the book or from your platform's digital store.

For those forward-thinkers who might be wondering, "Once all three fables are available, will I be able to buy the set in an easy one-purchase bundle?" - the answer is YES! Look for the paperback bundle option this summer.

Okay, back to the newest book! As you may know, my fables each address a culturally relevant selection of morals and lessons throughout the narrative. The Mermaid and the River Otter is no exception. It covers social subjects like self-love, sharing, gossiping, compassion, and more.

Now, are you ready for your sneak-peek? Yay! Without further ado, please enjoy this excerpt from chapter three:

When Corinna saw the platypus pause at the base of her boulder, she dropped gently onto a shallowly submerged nearby rock so the seeker could introduce herself.

“Good day, Counselor Corinna,” the dark brown platypus finally said. She settled herself on the same rock as the mermaid to keep her head out of the water. “I am called Tambreet and I am grateful you had time for me this evening.”

The mermaid’s long, purplish-blue hair fluttered in the breeze as she said, “Of course I have the time, my dear. And I am especially happy to make your acquaintance, Tambreet. I have not had the fortune of meeting many of your species, since your kind tends to keep to the freshwater rivers inside the rainforest.”

The young platypus dipped her head bashfully, causing the tip of her flat snout to drop into the water. Tambreet pressed the tips of her clawed front feet together nervously under her body. “Yes, we do not come this far into the salty waters very often. I am here to ask for advice. It is not important, though. It is something . . . personal.”

When Tambreet did not continue, Corinna pressed, “It is obviously important to you. How can I help?”

Tambreet raised her leathery snout out of the water to look at the mermaid before continuing. “Well, you see, my brother and sister and I do not have many friends. I was wondering if you could help us figure out what we have been doing wrong.”

Corinna was surprised at this. The young mammal in front of her seemed good-natured and easy to speak with. “The other platypuses do not find you or your siblings agreeable?”

“Oh, they do,” Tambreet said, flustered. “We have friends among our fellow platypuses, but I want other friends. I try to be kind to the many creatures of the rainforest, like monkeys and toucans and frogs—especially the monkeys because I like how they can swing. But the way everyone leaves soon after I arrive makes it clear they do not want to be around me. I was hoping you had some hints on how to start conversations with other species. It seems easy enough for you to do.”

“I can certainly share a few ideas,” Counselor Corinna said. “Tell me a little more about your difficulties making friends.”

“It is just that no one, besides platypuses that is, wants to talk or swim with me for long. Either that or they soon make fun of me, and I leave on my own.”

“Tambreet, I am sad to hear this,” Corinna answered with a frown. “Those who make fun of you must not have good manners.”

“I think it is just the way we platypuses look. Why, just the other day, I was trying to play with a couple of beavers and they teased me about the fine fur that covers my tail. I know their tails are wide and flat like mine, but just because mine has fur, and theirs does not, should not be a reason to avoid being my friend.”

As any lingering light from the sky above disappeared completely, and the waters became as dark as the night itself, the counselor tried an indirect approach. “It is true,” Corinna said. “You have some similarities to the beavers, but you are not a beaver. They should not expect you to look like them.”

That's it! If you'd like to read more, and see what kind of advice Corinna ultimately gives the platypus, please click the appropriate link below to pre-order your ebook:

Is your store not listed? Please click ,here to see more options. If you're looking for the paperback version of The Mermaid and the River Otter, unfortunately, it won't be available for pre-order until early next week. Check your inbox for a reminder email on book release day.

Thanks for reading! If you've already read one of these fables, please make this author happy and leave a book review on the store website of your choice. Happy Reading!

"A winner?" you may ask, "What did you win?!"

I won the right to say I wrote over 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November! I can hardly believe it either. This past month was a contest against time, against story ideas, against perfection, and against exhaustion. Can you believe I actually hit the 50K goal mark on day twenty-two, and finished on the 30th at 67,011 words??

As I mentioned in October's blog "Good News, Crazy News", I had three specific goals in mind during my participation in National Novel Writing Month. How did I do?

I wanted to force myself to plan and outline an entire story before beginning it—and I DID, even though the story inevitably took on a life of its own. I wanted to force myself to NOT go back and edit until I'd completed the novel—and I MOSTLY did. The writer-perfectionist in me was terrified, and kept repeating: "If I don't fix this ONE thing right now, I will never remember or find it later and this book will be a complete failure." So, yes, technically I did some minor editing, but nothing too time-consuming. I wanted to write well, despite the mad-dash writing inherent to participation in NaNoWriMo—and I think I did pretty well! I tried not to use too many word-quadrupling tricks, like over-describing mundane actions, but I DID refuse to hyphenate a few words and phrases that really should have been hyphenated (So, I should probably subtract about 56 words from the final word count).

Along the way, I learned a few things about my NaNoWriMo book, The Science of Stars. It will be a YA book (based on the main character's age) and has a quirky little mystery built into it now. What I still don't know about it: who the final romantic interest will be or how it will ultimately end.

So, did I finish writing a book in one month? Unfortunately, no. I think there's still about 30% of the story left to write in this first draft, but I won't know for sure until I actually finish it—which won't be until the spring of next year.

WHY? Because I need to polish off the final fable in The Fable Triad first! Yes, The Mermaid and the River Otter will be available for you to purchase—very soon.

Happy Fall, Y'All!

I begin this note with the 'good news'. My western short story "Onward We Must Go" has been digitally published by FrontierTales.com, and is FREE to read online this month! (Go ahead, click on over and come back to finish this blog.) Not sure you want to read something from the American pioneer times? Here's the teaser to help you decide: "After consumption slowly kills their family in Kentucky, John packs up his surviving daughter, Tillie, and heads west for Colorado. Tillie is not happy. John is hiding a terrible secret."

If you choose to read this dual-journal style story, let me know if you liked it or not. And, please be sure to VOTE for your favorite October Frontier Tales submission (using the box in the center of the home page). Each monthly winner will be physically published in the Frontier Tales 2022 Anthology!

Now, on to the more tantalizing 'crazy news' . . .

In case you were unaware, November is known as National Novel Writing Month. An organization called NaNoWriMo (a shortened version of the longer title) encourages ANYONE to sit and write a down-and-dirty 50,000-word rough draft—all within the measly thirty days of November. A WHOLE BOOK! IN ONE MONTH! Crazy, right? I agree.

But, you guessed it—I'm going to attempt this very thing come the 1st of November! Why on earth would I do that to myself? Because, I want to grow. I want to force myself to plan and outline a novel before typing a single word. You see, I'm what's known in the writerly world as a "pantser" (because I typically write 'by the seat of my pants'). A planner and a plotter, I am not. Also, I have a terrible habit of going back to edit my writing as I go along, thus greatly lengthening the time it takes to simply finish the narrative. Therefore, I'm using NaNoWriMo to force myself to muddle on through, to feel the rise and fall of the character and story arcs as they come naturally, in the moment, just as a future reader will.

I'm not going to start from ground zero (I'm not THAT crazy). My plan is to take a short story I wrote last year, and (ironically) blogged about November of last year: The Science of Stars. I want to use its futuristic setting and the characters for this project, because they've stuck with me all year—even while I've been focusing on Fable #3 and the elf novel. However, I still need to build a novel-length tale out of last year's short story, and therein lies the fear. There's A LOT of work to do.

I spent September thinking about the world, the future broken society in which my novel will take place. I made notes about the main characters and what drives them, what scares them, what they hope to accomplish. Now that it's October, I've been focusing more on a chapter-by-chapter outline. Not a detailed map, more like a phrase or three about what could happen within those pages.

And now? Today? I'm panicking.

I've outlined around three-quarters of the book so far, but am now stuck. So I write to you. I distract myself from one writerly thing by doing another. Hopefully, this will reset my brain a bit and allow me to continue to plan. Because—I want to do this crazy thing for myself, yes, but also for you—my readers. I want to grow as a writer and hone this craft of words and emotion and tension-building. I want to move my readers and make them think. I know November will change me as a writer and I can't wait to see how it will do so.

Hopefully, this mad-dash approach to writing a novel will not break me. I ask for your support. Send me good thoughts and pray I don't give up two weeks into the project. I know they say NaNoWriMo drafts will be terrible—but the perfectionist in me is horrified by this notion. I want to write WELL, but I need not concern myself with perfection at this point in the game, and need to be reminded.

If you want to follow my progress next month, I'll be posting on my @AuthorCSSimpson social media accounts frequently with the current word-count, my snack choices, and other random updates. Feel free to send me a note to encourage me or make me laugh.

Also, if you'd like to JOIN me in this creative insanity, it's not too late! Head to na0nowrimo.org, sign up, and add me as a writing buddy (CS_Simpson). I'd LOVE to freak out over plot and words and who-knows-what with you.

Now, I must bid you au revoir. It is time for me to return to my dark mental cave and plan, plan, plan. Then, November 1st, I will endeavor to attempt the beautifully absurd, and write the first novel-length draft of The Science of Stars.

I hope to remerge intact on December 1st and update you on the progress I made in November. Wish me luck!