2017 was a pretty busy year, as I worked towards scheduling stories twelve months in advance of their release dates. These are the stand-alone titles and collections of short stories and poems I released as C.M. Simpson in 2017.
January 2017
6th
When
Melange feels the pull of utter dread emanating from a road train parked at a
rest stop near her home, she investigates. She had no intention of being
trapped in the cab on the driver’s unexpected return, nor of being stuck in the
truck when he is murdered during the first delivery. But she can’t stay there.
She’s discovered the prisoners that were the source of the dread, and the
trolls are coming to take them away. With time running short, she must find a
way to avoid capture, and summon help, and that means getting past the troll
and humans standing guard.
20th
It
was meant to be a surprise for Allan’s farewell, but the only person who got
surprised was me. And the only farewell I was lookin’ at was my own, which just
shows it’s never a good idea to look too closely at your heroes—even when
you’re asked to, because now I’m gonna need a little help. and I don’t know if
it’ll come in time.
February
3rd
I
grew up with the White Pinnacle always on my horizon. It was the first thing I
saw in the morning and the last thing I saw at night. Was it connected to me
not being allowed to go to sea like the rest of my siblings, and why my father
refused to tell me why? The night my sister’s ship capsized, was a night of
revelations, but the price… my sister… Was it something I was strong enough to
bear?
17th
I
hate camp. Every year yada yada yada. The only bright point is Luka, the Wild
Man of Camp Mellinjo, an orphan and a stray grown up. When he bolts out of camp
with the ook on his tail, I take off to see if I can save him, yet again—and
that’s when I discover Camp Mellinjo isn’t what it seems, and neither is Luka.
But seriously, guys, would my parents really sell me out?
March
3rd
When
the battlespike Oliver is flying is hit as he seeks shelter in the warp, life
as he knows it ends. On the other side of the warp waits a new world, a new
life, and whole new set of dangers, and Oliver is going to have to pick things
up fast, if he is to survive. Will the lady from the caves be his salvation, or
will she finish what the crash began?
17th
I don’t remember how I got in the alley, at least, not
when I first wake up—and I don’t remember the names of these friendly faces
making sure I’m okay, but it’s coming back. I just wish it would come back
faster, because one of these faces is all kinds of wrong underneath the
friendly veneer, with an agenda all their own, and they don’t mind putting my
team in danger. If I don’t remember the whos and whats and whys real soon, one,
or all, of us is going to end up dead, and who’s going to save the pixies then?
31st
Hani is surprised when his wife joins him on the
journey to barter for spider silk, moreso when she brings their children.
Nothing, however, prepares him for what the children do when they meet the
spider queen.
April
7th
When Jervis’s son has a melt-down at school, and
takes on partial wolf form, it’s just a normal family crisis, but when the
nurse warns that anti-Lupine activists have the family’s name on a hit-list,
Jervis needs to get them off the moon—and fast. The only question is how—and
the only way to find an answer is to find a helpful spacer in the best pizza
bar on Lunar One… and then hope there’s a ship with room for three.
21st
Sandfire is a dragon, a guardian of the
mountains, and a servant of the Gatekeepers. It is her duty to collect those
the Gatekeepers designate seekers and bring them to her masters. The only
problem is that the latest seeker doesn’t want to go. Vestera doesn’t care what
the dragon wants; as far as she’s concerned she’s not about to become a
dragon’s pet—but now she has to choose: go with the dragon, or face the royal
guard. If only she knew which was worse...
May
5th
When the plane carrying P.O.S. Officer Schaeffer goes
down, it’s no accident. She and her partner lose the prisoner they’re escorting
to trial, and the local elves nearly lose their lives protecting the unicorns
and a grove of dryads. With the aircraft and its passengers on the ground,
Schaeffer has to secure her prisoner before the woman can create any more
mischief—and with dusk closing, the local unicorns seeking vengeance, and the
trolls beginning to stir it’s not going to be easy.
A Matter of Justice is set in a world where magic has returned,
pixie dust is the new drug of choice, and humans live side by side with
creatures of legend. With new crimes forming around new resources and new
markets, the Paranormal Operations Squad, walks the edge of two worlds, trying
to bring justice to both.
19th
I’d always considered myself one of the lucky
ones, lucky that the slavers had taken me and left my family, lucky to have
found a master as kind as the one I had, just… lucky, so, when my master asked
me to ride one of the many-legged spurline on an early morning errand, I
considered myself lucky to have the honour. I never thought what it might be
like when my luck ran out, and my master wasn’t around to intervene…
June
2nd
When the stars told me my father would not
return, my life changed—and my mother was not amused.
16th
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.
30th
July
14th
Someone had to go to the old ship—not because
the colony was sick, but because the colony was dying, and the reason why was
locked inside the transport’s hulk. Someone had to go out to where the ship had
crashed, out into the dark, and past the plaguers. I just wished that someone
didn’t have to be me.
August
18th
 |
| Print on demand cover for Short Work 2014-Fantasy |
A collection of flash fiction, short stories, poems and essays where the
genres of fantasy and urban fantasy explore depression, fear, facing the
unexpected, and working through difficult situations. It is of adapting to a
changing world, to dealing with fear, and about exploring a world where trolls,
pixies, unicorns and fairies might be real. This collection is about the myths
of the world, the fairytale world, the never was, and might have been.
25th
 |
| Print cover for Short Work 2015-2016 |
Seventh sons and space colonies, bird flu and
poetry from the stars, flying ships, early Australia and fairy, pixies and
elves in modern urbania, all can be found in this collection of poems and
tales.
September
8th
Knocking over those crates of beer was a death
sentence. I did it on purpose, in front of everyone, and then I did the only
thing I could—I ran. I think I saved the starman. Now, the only way I’ll know,
is if the supply ship comes in time to drive the raiders away—and I get back
out of Blacklegs’ Forest alive. Wish me luck, okay? I’m gonna need it.
October
6th
On Canon V, the colonists live underground—those
that can, anyway. Those that are born unable, I help guide to the surface, and
then I try to warn them of the creatures that come from beyond the rifts. Some
listen. Most run away screaming. With the creatures coming more often, now, the
last thing any of us expected was for corporate intervention. Now, we just have
to work out if they’re offering a deal worth taking, or if we’d be better off
in the caves.
November
3rd
So, we’ve done this job, and I’m checking our
tails are clear, and I find they’re not—and then I find the only way to kick
clear is to find the Cloud Door. Only trouble is the Cloud Door’s a legend, and
Mack? Well, he’s not too fond of chasing legends. Fortunately, this one’s a no-brainer:
we want to live, and that’s got to be enough to make anyone chase a legend,
right?
December
1st
Mankind has legends of intelligent serpents,
dragons and vampires in almost every culture, and now mankind is out amongst
the stars. When an emergent psi of lizardine-human descent dreams of a
many-legged threat and serpents walking the skies, mankind might just have a
chance to discover those legends made real.
29th
 |
| Print-on-demand cover for 366 Days of Flash Fiction |
 |
| Ebook cover for 366 Days of Flash Fiction |
Inside these covers is a short story for every
day of the leap year, some of which tell of the fantastic, others which take us
to the stars and a myriad of other world, and still others that horrify with
creeping tales of the undead. Every story is an exploration of something that
might have been and never was, or something that might yet be. Take a break
from the world that is, and explore other possibilities.
Comments
Post a Comment