Tag: spystory

Categories
Writing

Lessons from Serial Blogging

lessons serial blogging hannah carmichael fiction

When I started the Christy Grace Scarlet Pen website/blog, I didn’t realise that ‘Serial Blogging’ was a thing. Then, I started one, and I STILL didn’t realise that’s what it was called.

The Hannah Carmichael Chronicles was my first attempt at serial blogging. It was a weekly series about a super spy called Hannah Carmichael. She was searching for her missing husband, navigating conspiracies, rival spies and her complicated family.

Want to read THE HANNAH CARMICHAEL CHRONICLES (SEASON ONE) you can grab the updated version on Amazon now!

Even though I didn’t know it was a thing, I still wrote and posted Hannah’s adventures. Eventually I complied all 70 instalments and created an eBook.

Okay, so what did I learn from the serial blogging process?

I realised:

  • Releasing an instalment every week, meant a cut in quality
  • Editing was hard – especially when putting all 70 instalments into an ebook
  • Creating the ebook was a challenge in itself!!
  • Sticking to a weekly schedule can be hard. Particularly if you’ve got a full time job as well
  • Falling in love with characters is easy
  • It’s easy to get carried away and end up writing way too many instalments.

After everything I went through with Hannah, I have a deep affection for her and those characters. The story was my turning moment – the one where I remembered my passion for writing, and found my genre.

Since writing and releasing HCC, I found myself starting another serial blogging series. It comes out every month, and combines technology with murder! The Murder App is my next series, and I’m having fun with new characters and adventures. You can check out the first chapter of the series by clicking on the image below.

What is a continuing story that YOU would want to read? I’d love to hear your ideas, or see a link to your own serial blogging story!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

the murder app serial blogging series cgsp crime murder writer author
Categories
Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

The Spies are Here!

The Hannah Carmichael Chronicles (Part One) is now an official eBook!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089DJLP4P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=hannah+carmichael+chronicles&qid=1590791694&sr=8-1

 

You can grab your copy, the first 30 can be free if you join the CGSP Readers List, but for the rest (Updated and Re-designed) is available now, so make sure to check it out and enjoy a spy adventure!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Life

Plan B, cdefg…

“The Plan is going perfectly.”
“What do you mean perfectly? Everything’s going wrong!”
“That’s why we have a Plan B.”

When you make a plan, do you automatically come up with a backup… just in case?

There are advantages for having a backup plan. When that pesky spy you didn’t want crashing your operation tries to stop you, what else is there but to have a PLAN B?
CGT needed a lot of Plan B’s when Hannah Carmichael came along. Their latest one, was to kill those they couldn’t control (Check out the link at the end of this post for what happened with THAT plan b).

But what about normal Plan B’s – the ones that don’t involve spies or life and death?
A plan B for if it rains on your wedding day, or the movie you picked is sold out? What about your favourite restaurant not having a table for you?
Do you come up with backups, just in case?

I don’t know about for normal life decisions (like the movies or having dinner), but when it comes to committing a crime, a heist or some other sort of dangerous activity – plan B (and c, d, e, f etc) would probably be a good idea. NOT that i’m saying it’s okay to commit such acts, or that we should be thinking about these things on a regular basis, but what happens to a police officer who doesn’t have a backup plan (or the training procedures in place for an alternate option). On a bust, the criminals throw something at you that you didn’t expect… did you come up with a backup plan?

I was thinking about the Plan B idea, and it feels a little like you don’t have faith in your Plan A, but on the flip side, that you’re thinking of every possible outcome. So where do you land on Plan B’s? I think for something life altering, maybe we should have one….

I’d love to hear your thoughts, so comment below 😀
If you want to read what CGT’s Plan B was, check out the link below and join the super spy Hannah Carmichael:
https://atomic-temporary-148610121.wpcomstaging.com/2020/02/11/senseofhumour/

Hope your Plan B’s are going okay during times of lockdown and isolation!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Hannah Carmichael Chronicles Life

From the Shadows, To the LIGHT

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A secret company which works in the shadows of the spy community. Claiming to be a force for good, but really a force for profit, war and chaos!
Sound familiar? (Apart from every other spy movie out there) – That’s because Hannah Carmichael (my super spy character) is dealing with such an agency called CGT!

These shadowy agencies are fun for a conspiracy hit in a spy story, but the way they operate is similar to the feelings some people are having right now. Stuck in the shadows, in a dark place with the light not shining through yet.

Some of us are trapped in lockdowns and self isolation which feels dark and we are being bombarded with negative thoughts, emotions and options.
I’ve had some tough days and a tough week over the last few months, but there were some things that I discovered about myself, about negativity and about bringing the light into my situation – which you can as well!

I love light. It pierces the dark so amazingly, that it just doesn’t exist anymore. Hannah Carmichael is trying to bring CGT out of the shadows and into the light, where it can be examined and stopped! That’s what we should be doing to our own shadowy agencies. Our thoughts that we are alone, that things will never go back to a place of ‘normal’, that we aren’t enough. These thoughts, these negative feelings and emotions need to be brought out of the shadows and into the light. Why? Because you take away their power.

Once you bring something to the light; you talk about it, admit it (even to yourself), work through whatever triggered it, and move through it – you take away it’s power. An unspoken word can often have more power than a spoken word. It’s hard to admit that you’re struggling, it’s hard to admit that you need help, it’s hard to take a step towards the light. It might seem comfortable where you are in the shadows; nobody will understand, I’ll sound crazy, people will think i’m just complaining all the time – NO!
Bringing a thought to light, takes away it’s power and allows your brain to process it and move on.

So in these times of isolation, reach out to someone, reach out to a helpline, and smash your shadows with the light!
If you want to see how Hannah Carmichael is looking at smashing CGT into the light, check out the link below:
https://atomic-temporary-148610121.wpcomstaging.com/2020/03/10/gunstoacquire-hcc67/

I hope you’re all doing okay, and staying safe.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

Spies Are Coming

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Spies Are Coming

 

Keep checking back for what this means… Can you guess? Feel free in the comments

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

The End…?

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The Hannah Carmichael Chronicles is at 70 instalments this month – 70!!!! Which is the END to a large PART ONE of her adventures.

When I reached this ‘ending’ it made me feel accomplished, but also a little sad – because it really is like the end. So, what happens now? Do I keep writing something that has brought me so much joy, or put it away and come back to it a little ways down the road?

It did also make me think about other endings. Like endings of a season of life (like being a teenager, being single, or finally retiring), and the end of a chapter (in a book, but also maybe dating somebody and either breaking up, or getting married, or maybe the chapter of mental health issues is closing?).

What chapter or season of life are you closing the book on? And what are you stepping into next? I’d love to know as I step into a new chapter of the Hannah Carmichael Chronicles.

Yes, there are more Hannah Carmichael that I have in store, and that I’m excited to continue writing and releasing, but it feels like the end of an era in a way!

Let me know YOUR transitional time in the Comments or on the CGSP Facebook page!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace 

Categories
Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

Who is Hannah Carmichael?

Hannah Carmichael (Super spy working with the CGT agency)
Daughter of Evelyn and James Carmichael (Criminal & Believed to be Dead, Respectively)
Wife of Zeke Anderson (Secretly Working for the Government)
Best friend of Stephanie Winchester (Fellow CGT Agent)

If you’ve been following my adventures for a while now, you know who Hannah Carmichael is – but 70 instalments later, maybe you’ve forgotten how we came to where we did with Hannah and the Conspiracy of the CGT spy agency!

Hannah Carmichael’s husband Zeke Anderson (No, they don’t have the same last name, and Yes, that is a thing that people do these days) went missing. Along her way to finding him, Hannah discovers that her mother Evelyn (a criminal on the run), knew where he was.

As she finds him, she realises that not only is he okay, he’s also a part of her world – the spy world. He tells her the beginning of the conspiracy – that her agency CGT is actually working for their own profit, not the good of the country.
Hannah agrees to go back in, but undercover this time, and stop them from the inside.

While trying to expose CGT, Stephanie and her friend (and former boyfriend) jump on the bandwagon, with a shot taking down Ian forever (spoilers).

This is where we leave the FREE download of the Updated, Edited and Re-Designed eBook for PART ONE of The Hannah Carmichael Chronicles. Once we move forward, the conspiracy on CGT and how far it goes deepens, we see family and friends coming and going – death and resurrection continue as Hannah goes deeper into the world of spies, double agents, faked deaths and good vs evil.

I’ve loved finding this character along the last year and a half. She is someone very dear to my heart, which is why, the full 70 instalment eBook is going to be available for you too!

The first 30 instalments are FREE at the link below, but keep your ears perked and hands over your mouse/keyboard for the announcement very soon, of when you can download your Hannah Carmichael Chronicles eBook!
I can’t wait for you to fall in love (or rediscover your love) with Hannah Carmichael – just like me.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Fiction Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

INSTINCT | Hannah Carmichael Chronicles (SEVENTY)

Your Briefing:

Hannah Carmichael is a Super Spy, who was trying to take down CGT – the evil spy agency, which she used to be a part of. Her husband Zeke, was secretly working to take them down, and roped Hannah (and her fellow agent and best friend, Stephanie) into the fight.
Hannah’s mother Evelyn was a CGT and Global enemy, but now, she seems to have been on the same side all along. Her Father James, was believed to be dead, and missing for over a decade, but revealed himself from the fight in the shadows to help take them down once and for all.
With Hannah’s memories sketchy after a CGT Kidnapping, she went with Zeke to a Peace Talks conference, where the Cataclysm domino’s were to start falling – but things went unexpectedly. Shots were fired into the crowd, at the leaders on the podium, and Zeke confirmed the shooter was his Boss – supposedly a ‘good guy’. What will this mean for the team, and for Cataclysm – is it still on? What will CGT do to strike back?

 

SEVENTY

Hannah Carmichael grabbed onto the railing of the roof and jerked upwards with the force.
She remembered everything as she stared up at the man who had once been her mentor and Father figure. Anthony smiled, pointing her own weapon down at her, “You just don’t seem to die Hannah Carmichael. Maybe this time this will finally do the trick.”
Hannah glanced frantically for a possible escape.
“No!” Stephanie’s voice rang out above her, and a shot echoed, sending a chill through Hannah’s body.
She looked up at Anthony’s face, now twisted in confusion, then pain.
A large circle of blood starting to grow larger in the middle of his chest and he dropped the gun.
Hannah pushed her body up against the brick building as her former boss fell to the ground with a thud.

Stephanie’s face appeared over the edge of the building and Hannah smiled, “Took your time Steph!”
Her best friend smiled wide and reached down, helping Hannah up and over the ledge.
“You remembered didn’t you?” Stephanie asked as they sat, breathing heavily and smiling at each other.
“I did,” Hannah said.
The door to the roof opened again and both agents reached for their guns. Zeke Anderson came through the door and Hannah smiled wide, jumping up and slamming into him, her arms wrapping around his neck.
“Zeke,” she said softly as he returned her embrace.
“You remember don’t you?” He asked, as they pulled apart. She nodded and kissed him until Stephanie cleared her throat behind them.
“Hate to break up this love fest, but we have a problem. Mainly the dead guy down there.”
Zeke frowned and Hannah shrugged, “Steph shot him.”
“Hey, he was about to kill you!”
“Never mind all that. James has the papers from Anthony’s briefcase. He’s moving the SUV to a more discreet location. We have to go,” Zeke pulled Hannah’s arm and started moving towards the door.
She pulled it away and shook her head, “But we didn’t get Anthony. We have no way to find out how high CGT goes, how deep the hooks are.”
“What about the ‘going to the media’ plan?” Stephanie asked.
Hannah shook her head, “That isn’t a good idea. We can’t predict the response. We need to take down CGT from the shadows. Piece by piece, brick by brick.”

Before another word could be spoken, the loud whirring of helicopter blades picked the wind up. Out of instinct, they ducked down and checked the skies.
A black helicopter landed in the middle of the roof, and they cautiously watched as it touched down, waiting with weapons at the ready.
The door slid open, and Hannah caught her breath as a familiar face held her own weapon, aimed at the three former government agents.
“Get in,” she said. Hannah shook her head but holstered her gun.
It was Cara Stone.

Author’s Note:

Thanks for reading the latest instalment of the Hannah Carmichael Chronicles!
HANNAH has reached the end of PART ONE of her story!
If you want to go back to the beginning, you can download the Updated, Edited and Re-Designed FREE Download at the link below!
https://mailchi.mp/0e17c565a6fa/cgspfreedownload 
I can’t wait to continue to share stories with you,
See You in The Adventures!
Christy Grace