I’ll never forget my first adult fantasy novel. Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon. I was more of a Little Women and Jane Eyre reader up to that point, and The Eyes of the Dragon was a totally different kind of fiction for me (and for King, at the time, but that’s another story you should look up).

I was a freshman in high school when the book came out in mass market paperback. I didn’t connect at the time (or for years afterward) that it was by Stephen King. It’s a good thing, too, because if I’d known it was written by that Stephen King, I wouldn’t have read it. His horror was (and still is) too much for me.

But that first foray into fantasy fiction paved the way for my enjoyment of so many other fantasy works.

Including the many incredible short stories of Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith.

And now we’re collecting their fantasy stories together into special volumes for this year’s Make 100 Kickstarter, just like we did with Crimes Collide last year for the mystery stories and Colliding Worlds the year before for their science fiction.

Kris and Dean have been writing professional fantasy short stories for four decades that have won awards and sold millions of copies, plus they have been acclaimed and enjoyed by fans over the entire world.

Now, for the first time, Kris and Dean are collecting 100 of their fantasy short stories together into a five-volume set called Fantasies Collide. Fifty stories from each author in the series; ten stories from each author in every volume.

In addition to such fantastic rewards as the five Fantasies Collide volumes in ebook, trade paperback and signed/limited hardcover, we have some amazing rewards for writers, and a special workshop series for writers is included in the stretch goals.

Check out the Kickstarter here, and be sure to watch Kris and Dean’s fun video about the project.

What a fantastic way to kick off the new year!

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.