Carlie Simonsen

Carlie Simonsen is a fiction byline used by Australian writer C. M. Simpson for younger adventure stories featuring wheelchair users as active problem solvers. Wheelchair Mermaid is the fourth volume in the Wheelchair Adventures series. Published in 2017, it follows Stacey, who wants a quiet morning beside the sea and still dreams of surfing. A strange movement beneath a jetty and the arrival of suspicious visitors turn that wish into an unexpected coastal adventure. Simonsen places Stacey's choices at the center of the action, treating her wheelchair as part of her practical circumstances rather than as the limit of her character. The book appeared in a CreateSpace paperback edition of ninety eight pages, while C. M. Simpson Publishing entered it in the 2017 Aurealis Awards under the Carlie Simonsen name. That edition and series position distinguish the work from similarly titled mermaid stories. Its concise format combines beach setting, speculative elements, independence, and quick decision making for younger readers.