CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

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    

This month's second short story title is now available on pre-order. More a novella than a short story this one takes us to the stars...and to a ship and her crew grounded beneath them. What's it About? Calliope's Challenge is a science-fiction short story that explores the possibility of sentient AIs, the morals of raising and keeping them, and the somewhat curly problems of mega-corporations taking their unscrupulous business practices to the stars. It involves a downed ship, an AI sentience in jeopardy, and a hostile take-over in action. When Peony sneaks out to make sure the crashed ship’s AI is okay, she has no idea of what she, and her charge, are going up against. Can they survive the coming confrontation?And will they be forgiven for the measures they have to take? You can find links to where it is available on this Books2Read page : https://books2read.com/u/3RPEyG , and subscribers to my ReamStories page at the Perimeter Surveillance level and higher can begin re...

  January was a month for science fiction and fantasy, as I released my first three, stand-alone short stories: Jalaya: a science-fiction short story, updated from the version you can read in A Collection of Battle and Its Aftermath. Jalaya blends: a yearly tradition, a dance not forgotten, a planet torn by a long-running war, and a family separated by battle and time.Hunted by an implacable foe, and driven into the ruins of a town he once called home, Mark Leader, Michael, must try to save his people against savage odds...and try, too, to save the woman he loves. Will the secrets of their past save or doom their future? You can find links to it on this Books2Read pag e: https://books2read.com/u/3JGvge The Lost Kings: is a fantasy short story, tweaked the tiniest bit since its appearance in A Collection of Shifters. It is the story of: a city under siege, a dragon under cover, five kings lost to time, and two orphans running for their lives. Hunted by invaders, Valan races t...

The stand-alone edition of the novelette, Jalaya , released on January 7, 2024, and is now available for purchase. It can be found individually at any of the platforms on this Books2Read link , and it can be found as one of the stories in: A Collection of Battle and its Aftermath. For those of you wondering what it's all about. Well... The Short Version: It's about family, duty, love and war, and the perils of past secrets. The Longer Version: It's about: A yearly tradition. A dance not forgotten. A planet torn by a long-running war. Hunted by an implacable foe, and driven into the ruins of a town he once called home, Mark Leader, Michael, must try to save his people against savage odds. And try, too, to save the woman he loves. Will the secrets of their past save or doom their future? How It Begins: Michael looked down at the town in the sand. Red, flat roofs of clay interspersed by the elegant, wooden gables of buildings from northern climes, still stood in ...