CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

The Expanding Universe Volume 11 , is now available. Edited by Craig Martelle, this collection of military science fiction explores the question posed by Arthur C. Clarke: " “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” Inspired by the question, the authors in The Expanding Universe Volume 11, let their imaginations run wild, speculating on the futures that might be, and exploring some of the following: Aliens can be peaceful or not. Who will emerge as the superior strain of intelligence? Humanity may be new to the game, but they aren’t new to conflict. Fantastic races vying for dominance. A microcosm of the greater good. Battles fought for higher ideals. Battles fought just to survive. War doesn’t care about human or alien. The soldiers fight, and they fight hard, as if their lives depend on it. Because they do. This volume contains more than 210,000 words of never-a-dull-moment Sci-Fi entertainment! Join new ...

Some colony start-ups are rougher than others. Some start with a crashed ship and an unplanned destination...for some, as Peony discovers. Calliope's Challenge is the story of how a single mind - even if it is just an artificial one - can thwart the power of an interstellar corporation bent on underhanded business dealings...and the hostile acquisition of another company's colony. And how her resistance grows stronger...with the help of a friend...or three. You can find links to this newly released, stand-alone, science-fiction, urban fantasy short story on this Books2Read page : https://books2read.com/u/3RPEyG    

I've decided to celebrate each release with a series of extracts that run for the month it's released in. This month saw the second edition of 366 Days of Flash Fiction released. Links to the collection can be found at Books2Read at: https://books2read.com/u/b6MrN0   Holly and the Monsters Started on March 10, 2016, and completed on April 8, 2016, for the March 28 entry of 366 Days of Flash Fiction , this piece takes another look at the dangers facing a new colony. Holly peered out from behind the wall. The statue had been pulled off its pedestal and let topple to the ground. Well, that explained the crash. Holly pushed herself back in around the corner and squeezed her eyes tight shut—not that she was ever going to be able to unsee the monsters she had seen. Spindly, dark, large-eyed, and multi-limbed and jointed, they had materialized in pools of light, skittering away from their landing sites with sudden alacrity. Holly had caught the flash of one arriving, and...