CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

This week’s verse moves from  a futuristic urban fantasy horror verse to a sci-fantasy verse about a new colony awaiting its fate. It is taken from 366 Days of Poetry , a collection of mixed-genre poetry released in 2016. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------   Waiting for Judgement Here we stand, the land sweeps away, falls from the mountains, becomes the plains. The ragged plumes rise of the forested hills that descend to the beach front, where the waves never still. We wait for the judgement. It’s not ours to say if the planet can be home to us, or if we’re to be sent away. That decision lies with the creatures here before, the dragons who came to our aid, who answered when we called. So we wait for their judgment, while the pirate ship’s hot corpse smokes, and slowly blackens, a memorial of sorts to the first piece of teamwork...

This week’s short story takes us from an Australian-set urban-fantasy tale of dinosaurs and discovery to the science-fiction tale of a starship's pilot and crew crashing into another dimension. Welcome to Lord of the Vortex, which remains one of my favourite tales from all the tales I've told.   Vortex travel—you don’t ask, and I won’t screw up the explanation; closest thing I can get to it is that I pilot a transdimensional skipping stone through the edge of a vortex from one point in space to another, and it gets you where you want to be. Well, most of the time. Just not this time. This time, we’re crashing, and I don’t know where we are. Lord of the Vortex is available as a stand-alone short story at the following links: books2read.com/u/m2Xrv7 . 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?

LAST WEEK, Simone revealed she had found new allies in the form of a group called Odyssey. This week, Tiger reveals he's safe, but grounded on a planet. Chapter 5 Excerpt – Hunted Dear Simone Got your letter. Can’t tell you where I am, or where I’m going to be, but that’s because I just don’t know. FedExplore tried to nail me down once they knew I’d gotten off Deskeden on the shuttle, but then they got too busy to move me. I got myself out of the holding cell, and into the orbital before they even knew I was gone. Those things down on the surface? They haven’t made it up here, yet. I’m not even sure they know how. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The complete series is available as short, individual ebooks, and will become available as an omnibus, later this year. In the meantime, you can find them on this blog, until one week after the last chapter in the last book of the series has been...

This week’s verse moves from a fantasy poem of heroism and self-sacrifice to a horror poem that could either be classified as urban fantasy or sci-fantasy. It is taken from the upcoming collection Another 365 Days of Poetry , a collection of mixed-genre poetry yet to be released. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Deathly Lullaby I lived upon a lullaby listened to the music sliding by thought to lift my head and wonder why so many wished for us to sleep that they played this tu ne in every street in every house in every land at every bus stop, shopping centre and news stand and down we lay just as they’d hoped sound asleep our futures stopped until one day I realised how long it was since closed I my eyes and thought to lift my head and wonder why I could hear a lullaby and then I saw them come to feed knew that I would s...

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?

LAST WEEK, Tiger revealed what had happened to his parents. This week, Simone tells Tiger she's found help in the form of a group called Odyssey. Chapter 4 Excerpt – New Allies Dear Tiger I don’t know if you’ll get this, but I’m sending it anyway. I know you’re out there. Somewhere. I know you’ll answer if you can. You’ll be glad to know I made it. I got right out of the FedExplore complex, and onto this cruise liner. Thing is, I wasn’t supposed to be there. I know, right? Like that was a surprise. I found an empty cabin and managed to hide out for about three days. I even hooked into the computer so it made the cabin invisible. Odyssey weren’t real happy about that. When they found me, they were going to hand me over to GalPol—and then I told them who I was. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The complete series is available as short, individual ebooks, and will become available...