CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Today, we meet Nathan Mutch one of the 20 contributors the latest Expanding Universe anthology , and author of The Unity Empire series. Please welcome him to the blog.   ---------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO DESTROY A SMALL CITY (AND HOW TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE) The makers of disaster movies and comic book movies can’t resist the spectacle of a city destroyed by malignant fate, clashing titans, or the clockwork inevitably of an uncaring universe. Cities are easy marks. They are the ultimate innocent bystander. Historical and cultural landmarks, architectural and national monuments, and Paris are the usual suspects when considering your lineup of cities to destroy by earthquakes, meteors, or any other countless acts of god/alien invasions/superhero fights. But what do you do when Paris doesn’t fit the bill? How do you choose when Hollywood has razed, crushed, and blasted every major monument the world over? I knew from the outset that...

There are 20 short stories in the latest volume of Craig Martelle’s The Expanding Universe anthologies. Today, with Craig's permission, we are taking a sneak peek at the start of Nathan Mutch’s story, ‘The Spike’ . Here’s how it begins: ---------------------------------------------------------------- When John McCormack emerges from the alien wreckage, only he knows what he leaves behind—and what he has brought with him. This part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement, and the only trap door appears to be Medicine Hat. –Rudyard Kipling “We were born to die.” John McCormack knew a thing or two about death. He also knew a thing or two about when to keep his mouth shut. We were born to die—those were the words he spoke aloud just after closing the door to his last session with the military-appointed psychologist. John recalled what the psychologist had said during their first session—that survivor’s guilt was a natural consequence, e...