Showing results by author "Wesley Smith" in All Categories

A vicious serial killer named Cletus Kasady has had his body chemistry altered by an alien creature. Now, Kasady can transform into Carnage, who, along with his lethal living costume, lives for chaos and random acts of senseless, brutal murder! Carnage has been returned to New York in chains, the subject of a daring attempt to reverse the effects of his metamorphosis. When the interference of a deranged scientist causes the experiment to go horribly wrong, Carnage is set loose upon the city once again!

Ultron's hatred for humanity reaches its peak when he creates a doomsday weapon that will wipe out all living creatures across the Earth! When some of his teammates are injured by Ultron's robot warriors, it's up to Iron Man to save the planet before it's too late. Alone and outmatched, Iron Man must fight the robotic madman and his steel henchmen, as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance!

In a series of blog posts, Smith chronicled his process toward ghost writing a 70,000-word novel for a traditional publisher in just 10 days. He wrote about his progress, his feelings about the writing, and how he approached and overcame obstacles. This book takes readers on a journey that demonstrates that writing fast, and writing well, comes from motivation and practice.

Urban fantasy offers a diverse playground for some extremely powerful stories. Professional writer and editor Kerrie L. Hughes pulled some fantastic tales out of 14 top writers for this fifth installment of Fiction River. Set in urban lands from modern Portland, to a future Detroit, to a wild Washington, D.C., and ending the tour in London, these top writers take the idea of "Hex" and stretch and twist it into stories with a magickal grip on the imagination.

Retired Detective Bayard Lott hosts the weekly poker games at his home. The group calls themselves the Cold Poker Gang. And they succeed at closing old cases. Lott's very first homicide case as a brand-new detective had gone cold more than 20 years earlier. But retired Reno detective Julia Rogers, new to the Cold Poker Gang, suggests they look at that case again for personal reasons.

How to Save the World brings together 11 of today's brightest authors, presenting their answers to solve a pressing problem facing the human race. From the growing energy crisis to women's rights to overpopulation to the survival of humanity in the future, the stories in this anthology examine the issues facing our planet today - and offer hope for our survival tomorrow.

A science fiction tale of love and survival of two modern professors dealing with the past they both love and study. Offered a free trip into a remote Idaho wilderness that she loves and studies, Professor Dawn Edwards can't refuse. On the trip she meets Professor Madison Rogers, and they fall for each other before they even reach their destination. But living in the Old West proves to be a brutal task at times. Somehow, Dawn must survive to rescue herself, her friends, and the man she loves. A science fiction novel of the old west and true love

Fiction River is an original fiction anthology series. Modeled on successful anthology series of the past, from Orbit to Universe to Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine, the goal of Fiction River is to provide a forum for "original ground-breaking fiction of all genres". Each Fiction River volume will have electronic and trade paperback issues published by WMG Publishing, and will feature some of the best new and established fiction writers in publishing.

As indie publishing flourishes, many, many myths form around this new booming area of publishing. USA Today best-selling author and major indie blogger Dean Wesley Smith takes a cut at killing some of the myths before they can take root. From the myth that indie writers can't get books into bookstores (they can) to the idea that indie publishing must be easy (it is and it isn't), Dean knocks 10 myths down one after another and might just save you years of wasted time.

From fairy tales fractured into unrecognizability to Russian mobsters hanging out with zombies, from New World slavery to modern Alaskan cruise ships, the stories in Fantasy Adrift sail across the genre. Two writers make their fiction debuts next to best sellers Steve Perry and Dean Wesley Smith to take listeners on a journey of the imagination - as only Fiction River can do.

The publishing world continues to evolve, but myths about who can make a living as a fiction writer maintain a life of their own. Whether you pursue traditional or indie publishing success, you need to know the pitfalls and traps that undermine many writers' careers. In this WMG Writer's Guide, USA Today best-selling author and former publisher Dean Wesley Smith addresses the ten most damaging myths that writers believe in modern publishing.

When retired detective Bayard Lott offers to help Julia Rogers search for her lost friend near a remote Idaho lake, they find clues that might lead them directly to the most dangerous serial killer in Las Vegas history. Set in the rugged mountains of Idaho, this twisted mystery pits the Cold Poker Gang against a master criminal.

Poker: a high-stakes, deadly serious professional sport. Doc Hill knows all too well the risks involved. Or so he thinks. But when one of the greatest poker players of all time dies, the stakes rise even higher. Doc must solve an increasingly frightening series of murders - and win the biggest tournament of his career - before he finds himself forced to fold his cards for good.

Covert Ops: Gemini delves into the world of international espionage and looks at the men and women who make up the deadliest team of spies ever. Led by Steven Graves, roguish and calculating agent, and overseen by the mysterious Officer James, members of Covert Ops: Gemini live regular lives, hold down normal jobs, build families and careers, until they are needed. Then they step away from their desks, their aprons, their very existences and put skills outside of their normal persona into use as they were trained to.

Paleontologist Callie Sheridan spent a few days deep in the Oregon Caves on a dig with three students from the University of Oregon. When they emerged, they found almost everyone in the world dead. Survival became her only thought. Mathematician and galactic explorer Vardis Fisher dropped into orbit over a planet where almost all of the human life had been recently killed for no obvious reason. Suddenly, hundreds of other ships, all human, appear in orbit and start working to save the planet's remaining population.

Bonnie and Duster Kendal, two of the world's great mathematicians, hire historical interior designer April Buckley and architect Ryan Knott to design and furnish a huge lodge to the year 1900 standards. Only problem: The lodge can't be built. It can't exist. Yet, somehow it does because they've built it before. And fell in love in the process.

Belle returns to her old hometown, looking for clues as to what happened to her great-great-grandmother 100 years in the past. Zane, on a secret mission into the past, never expects to meet the woman of his dreams. A complex time travel novel that explores alternate realities, a future no one wants to face, and sets the Thunder Mountain universe going into the future.

We all look up at the moon and wonder. And maybe dream. For centuries, the moon filled our imaginations. Eleven professional writers took those dreams and set original stories on moons scattered all over the galaxy. Yet, as the dreams of centuries, every story holds a human touch. From a mythical man fulfilling a childhood wish to a fantastic addition to Kristine Kathryn Rusch's best-selling Retrieval Artist series, this volume of Fiction River allows you to travel to 11 different moons without leaving the comfort of home.

For a vampire, saying goodbye to your mortal lover can be the hardest thing you ever have to do.

Sometimes a lost gold mine offers up more than just gold. And sometimes a secret should remain a secret. A generational science fiction story from USA Today best-selling writer Dean Wesley Smith. A version of this story by Dean Wesley Smith first appeared in The Secret Prophecies of Nostradamus edited by Cynthia Sternau and Martin H. Greenberg.