Eric "Cruel" Cline bestowed his nickname upon himself to distinguish him from various other authors named Eric Cline (including an archeologist and a Canadian politician. And Eric "Cruel" Cline is neither an archeologist nor a Canadian nor a politician).His first professional sale was "Two Dwarves and Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs," published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in June 2011. A podcast of the author reading the story can be found on the magazine's web site.His work has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Stupefying Stories, James Gunn's Ad Astra, Every Day Fiction, Cosmos: the Science of Everything (Australian), and NewMyths.com. His stories have appeared in the original anthologies Writers of the Future Volume 29 and Flush Fiction: 88 Short-Short Stories You Can Read in a Single Sitting.He is a native of Missouri.