CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

So, last night I was up late, uploading most of the C.M. Simpson Publishing catalogue to DriveThruFiction, and that all started because of the release of a collection of all the short stories and poems I wrote and released in 2012. All up, it took me around 16 hours. Crazy, hey? So, in addition to checking out the publisher page on DriveThruFiction, feel free to head on over to Smashwords and take a look at the new release. It's priced so that you get the four anthologies and extra material for less than if you purchased them separately. This is a collection of all the short stories C.M. Simpson published and wrote in 2012. Many of these pieces can be found in earlier anthologies or on C.M. Simpson’s blog, but some have not previously been published. Genres range from paranormal urban fantasy to dark fantasy to space opera and comedic science fiction and magic realism. With tales ranging from her earliest years of writing to more recent times, this collection showcases one ...

Screams for the Dying is the fifth and final short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story. Screams for the Dying is a short science fiction story that blends myth, fantasy and science fiction. In the time in which this short story is set, banshees and star ships are real, and so are a lot of other things. Screams for the Dying is available as part of An Anthology of Worlds , and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords , Kobo , Kindle , iTunes , and Nook. First Page: Screams for the Dying   I had lived here from childhood to my thirtieth year but, in spite of the wattle dancing on the breeze and the eucalyptus-scented air that brushed across my skin, I knew I no longer belonged. My nostrils remembered the faint fizz of Kelfa blossoms from the sun-drenched planet of Bolan, and my eyes recalled the darkness of subterranean living on the asteroid of Quorbet. Now, as I stood, again, beneath the gold-fleck...

Nettlefold Princess is the fourth short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story. All is not well in Nettlefold Hollow. Amity claims she see things in the shadows and refuses to go out at night. Her classmates laugh at her until she goes missing on the way home from school. When her best friend, Samantha, looks in Amity's locker and finds her diary, she learns that Amity was being haunted by a fairy prince. Who can she rely on to help her with a problem like that? Nettlefold Princess is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds , and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords , Kobo , Kindle , iTunes , and Nook. First Page : Nettlefold Princess 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 blackberrie...

Finders Keepers is the second short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story. A single gold coin shines on the pavement, but no one except me seems to have noticed it. I watch it, hoping someone will take it and claim it as their own. Needing someone to take it. Please take it. Finders Keepers is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds , and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords , Kobo , Kindle , iTunes , and Nook. First Page: Finders -Keepers The two-dollar coin lay on the pavement, shining. Its golden surface gleamed beneath the sun, casting a knife-edged wedge of shadow where it touched the concrete. I sat on a bench at the bus stop and watched the coin shine. I watched the different shoes walking past it and hoped someone would take it. No one had, yet. A mother wheeling a pram paused, the front of the pram casting enough shadow to block the sun from the coin. I wondered if anyone else saw how...

Palmyra Ridge is the third short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story. Chani dreams of the ritual of Severance, which allows her to leave her people's homeland, but when the company she works for moves to take her people's lands, she is exactly where she needs to be. All she has to do is convince Security Officer Asleyan that her visits to Palmyra Ridge are essential, and maybe gain his assistance in defending those she holds most dear. But the security officer has a heritage and fears of his own. Can two people from two very different cultures work together to save nation, while retaining their own sense of self and sanity? Palmyra Ridge is a short science fiction story exploring issues of belonging, bloodlines and heritage in a changing world. It is available as part of An Anthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords , Kobo , Kindle , iTunes , and Nook. First Page: Palm yra Ridge...

On a Ship called Mythicus is the sixth short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds . It is also available as a stand-alone short story. The Mythicus is crewed by creatures of myth and legend, fairytale and urban lore. In this short episode, it and its crew pursue a space pirate until a small team must continue the pursuit on planet. With its firestarter captain and a defense system that takes its nomenclature too literally, this ship is one of a kind, a fact the rest of human space should be grateful for. On a Ship called Mythicus is available as part of An Anthology of Worlds , and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords , Kobo , Kindle , iTunes , and Nook. First Page: On a Ship called Mythicus “Stop drooling, Cristo!” growled Wolf. Cristo wiped his chin with the back of his hand and then wiped his hand on the white silk of his sail-sized handkerchief. Another drop of moisture oozed from his lips. “Cristo!” Wolf’s growl was deeper now and Cristo w...

Screams for the Dying is a short story exploring the place of mythical creatures in science fiction. How does one immortal kill another? What interest could a banshee have in a single mortal child and why would they defend them? And why does a banshee scream? I had lived here from childhood to my thirtieth year but, in spite of the wattle dancing on the breeze and the eucalyptus-scented air that brushed across my skin, I knew I no longer belonged. My nostrils remembered the faint fizz of Kelfa blossoms from the sun-drenched planet of Bolan, and my eyes recalled the darkness of subterranean living on the asteroid of Quorbet. Screams for the Dying is the last short story in the fourth Simpson Anthology- An Anthology of Worlds .   can be found in An Anthology of Worlds was released mid-September 2012. It is available from Amazon , Smashwords and DriveThruFiction.  .