CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

This week’s short story takes us from the science-fiction setting of love and family set against a back-drop of a hard-fought war to this Australian-set urban fantasy tale of discovery, danger and paleontology gone wrong. Welcome to Just a Dinosaur . The legends hinted at some kind of dinosaur. Oliver hoped it was a new species, and he had Nate believing him. Together, they hope to circumvent the prohibitions of intruding on a sacred site, to prove the creature existed—and all without their boss, and Nate’s lover, finding out. What exactly lies behind the legends—and, more importantly, will they be able to reveal it to the world? Just a Dinosaur is available as a stand-alone short story at the following links: books2read.com/u/mBeqvk . You can also find Kristine Kathryn Rusch's latest free short story over on her blog: kriswrites.com . Why don't you go and check it out?

My latest short story, Just a Dinosaur, has just been released on all my usual platforms. It's a bit of a mix between science fiction, horror, and urban fantasy in an Australian, (mostly) bush setting. The legends hinted at some kind of dinosaur. Oliver hoped it was a new species, and he had Nate believing him. Together, they hope to circumvent the prohibitions of intruding on a sacred site, to prove the creature existed—and all without their boss, and Nate’s lover, finding out. What exactly lies behind the legends—and, more importantly, will they be able to reveal it to the world?

The cover for, Just a Dinosaur, my third release in June has been approved. I'm a little bit excited and a little bit nervous about this, all at the same time. I've written something contemporary that feels a little bit like horror, and a little bit like urban fantasy, and a little bit like an archaeological adventure story. It's also set in a bush-setting as opposed to an urban environment and, editing it, I thought it touched on some of the stereotypes we see in Australian culture, hopefully both acknowledging and challenging them. It's not what I set out to do on purpose, but something that came through as the story came into being. This tale is due out on June 30.