Nutball Season

Browse more Books Search for: The WMG Newsletter Get advanced notice of new releases, bonus content, and so much more. Subscribe Now Fantasy Holiday Stories Romance Available in: ebook, $2.99 Buy Now! Nutball Season Kristine Kathryn Rusch According to Officer Nick...

Nutball Season

WHILE THE REST OF US ARE BUSY with lists and the 7,843 things that absolutely must be accomplished during the holidays, for police officers it’s Nutball Season.

Nutball Season ebook cover webAccording to Officer Nick Mantino, the weeks of insanity run from Halloween to Christmas, and this year, his “Nutball Season,” written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, is our story podcast for the week.

Happy Holidays from everyone at WMG Publishing.

 

 

 

This podcast is no longer available. You can listen to the current podcast here.

“Nutball Season” is included in the collection, Silent Night, available in ebook and trade paperback, and can also be found as a stand alone story in ebook format at your favorite retailer.

Season’s Reading from WMG

This has been a hard year for me, personally, and I’m not as full of Christmas spirit as usual, but I’m working on getting cheerful.

Because Christmas is almost here! My daughter can’t wait, and her excitement is infectious.

Plus, we have a holiday StoryBundle and a new holiday issue of Pulphouse to celebrate! And we’ve even added Thumper stockings and ornaments to the Pulphouse online store!

First, the 2023 Good Cheer StoryBundle, curated by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and featuring 10 story collections perfect for the holiday season.

Here’s a quick overview about the bundle:

Make time for great fiction during the holidays: Read a holiday short story or two. Or three. Or a hundred. The Good Cheer StoryBundle gives you dozens and dozens of holiday stories, all to suit your mood. From mystery to science fiction, from Solstice stories to the traditional Christmas fare, the Good Cheer bundle has something for everyone—even people who only have a few minutes to read.

This bundle features three WMG titles (Jingle My Bells, Winter Holidays, and Stories for the Cold of Winter) as well as three StoryBundle exclusives (Uncommon Holidays, Unexpected Santas, and Holiday Hope).

Read more about the bundle in Kris’ blog, here

Speaking of great holiday short stories, for Pulphouse Fiction Magazine #24, editor Dean Wesley Smith gathered some of the best Pulphouse writers and their best fun and unexpected holiday season stories.

This issue also includes a special original holiday story by Annie Reed.

Here’s a look at the table of contents:

“First Chair” by Annie Reed

“Scrooge and Marley” by David H. Hendrickson

“Krampus and His Theoretical Heart” by Rob Vagle

“Santa Sata-ni-fied” by Stephannie Tallent

“Desperate Housewitches” by Dayle A. Dermatis

“The Pain” by O’Neil De Noux

“What Fits” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

“Harsh Expectations” by R.W. Wallace

“It’s a Wonderful Death” by Robert Jeschonek

“Up On the Rooftop” by Kristine Grayson

“Minions at Work” by J. Steven York

Click here to buy this issue of Pulphouse. And click here to check out the holiday Pulphouse merchandise.

Happy reading, and from all of us here at WMG, we wish you a very merry and happy week full of fun and festivities, no matter what you happen to celebrate!

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

Publisher’s Note: Travel without Traveling this Holiday Season


I don’t travel for the holidays anymore. At least, not if I can help it. Between the brain surgery and the pandemic, I have a really hard time with crowds now.

And traveling at the holidays is a guaranteed way to find crowds.

So, I’ve found ways to travel without traveling. We have family Zooms with my parents and sister back East. We take walks together while we’re on the phone. We Facetime on Christmas morning.

There are so many ways to travel. You just have to get creative.

Like fiction. That’s the original form of creative traveling.

And right now, Dean Wesley Smith offers the perfect solution to travel without traveling with the latest StoryBundle he has curated: the Time Travel Fun Bundle. Here’s what Dean had to say about it:

Time travel fits in any genre and almost every type of story. Everyone seems to have their favorite kind of time travel. I know I sure do, and all the writers in this great bundle do as well.

As a genre distinction, time travel is considered science fiction, but actually it fits in fantasy much better. Diana Gabaldon characters rub a rock and magically travel into the past. Stephen King has his characters go into a closet. All fantasy.

Also, romance writers use time travel as a romantic element in their story, often to bring two characters together. So even though time travel, as a plot device, is considered science fiction, I thought it would be great fun in this Time Travel StoryBundle to show how really diverse time travel stories can actually be.

And it’s everywhere.

Read more about the 10 books in the bundle, which includes The Chase: A Diving Novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Tombstone Canyon: A Thunder Mountain Novel by Dean, and Colliding Worlds, Vol. 3 (featuring 20 stories by Kris and Dean) here. But hurry. Like any trip, this bundle will be over before you know it.

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

Publisher’s Note: Gift-Giving Season is in Full Swing


My daughter’s seventh-grade year is in full swing. She just wrapped up her volleyball season. And we’ve just completed the fall parent/teacher conferences (all six of them).

During our conference with her Advanced English Language Arts teacher, we got to read a poem she wrote in class, which was inspired by the jazz poetry of Langston Hughes, whom they studied. The students had to choose five random words from one of his poems and create a whole new piece.

I have to say, I was stunned at her result. I guess I shouldn’t have been, but I was. Her natural gifts never cease to amaze me.

Looks like I’ll have one more writer to work with in the future.

But for now, my attention is focused on the writers of our annual Holiday Spectacular.

Much like my daughter’s school year, the WMG Holiday Spectacular 2022 Calendar of Stories, which gives readers 39 days of something to look forward to, is also in full swing.

We funded within an hour, hit our first stretch goal in a day and have since hit more stretch goals and been named a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter.

Edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and featuring stories by more than thirty professional writers, the Calendar of Stories makes a great gift all by itself.

But you can get so much more with this Kickstarter!

For readers, we have gift packs of this year’s holiday calendar, bundles of holiday collections, and variety packs of holiday books. Plus, we have all of the past anthologies, calendar compilations, and the upcoming anthologies available for purchase.

For writers, we have two special Kickstarter-exclusive workshops (How to Write a Hardboiled Holiday Story and How to Write a Secrets Holiday Story) as well as discounts on workshop bundles and even lifetime discounts.

The Calendar of Stories comes with every reward, so no matter what you choose, you have 39 days of holiday short stories to look forward to: for yourself or as a gift.

Click here to learn more.

Holiday shopping managed!

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

A Weird Holiday Season: A Holiday Anthology

Holiday Anthology Series Available in:ebook, $5.99trade paperback, $14.99 Get the book! Get the ebook direct from WMG! A Weird Holiday Season: A Holiday Anthology Edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Forget run-of-the-mill holiday stories. In this cleverly creative WMG...

Publisher’s Note: Tempting Treats for the Holiday Season


Last week, I talked about the Month of Short Fiction. And I talked about how gifted Kristine Kathryn Rusch is as a short fiction writer.

This week, I need to tell you that Kris doesn’t just love writing short fiction. She loves reading it, too. And she loves the holidays.

So, holiday projects that offer great short fiction—sign her up!

But she couldn’t sign up. Because what she wanted was a way to sign up to receive a holiday short story every day throughout the holiday season. Like an advent calendar, but for readers.

So, WMG created one. And Kris edits it. It’s called the WMG Holiday Spectacular Calendar of Stories, and we’ve just launched our third year—and our third Kickstarter—for the project.

With the WMG Holiday Spectacular 2021 Calendar of Stories, you’ve got 38 days of something to look forward to. And that’s just for starters.

Backers of this project at the $25 level will get an original holiday story delivered to their inbox every day from November 25, 2021, through January 1, 2022, plus an ebook compilation of all the stories and introductions, in order, when it’s released in July 2022.

These stories, which range from sweet romance to dark crime, will also be released in anthology form in the fall of 2022 in three books: Mistletoe Moments, Cold-Blooded Christmas, and A Weird Holiday Season, all edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

Plus, all backers at the $25 level and higher will receive all of the stretch goals we unlock to get extra ebook and pop-up workshops for writers.

Speaking of writers, we’ve added two new Kickstarter-exclusive workshops to the rewards this year: Write a Story for the 2022 Spectacular and Writing Off-Beat Holiday Stories.

We also have rewards that help you catch up on your holiday reading if you’ve missed the past years’ projects.

To read all about the Kickstarter, watch the fun video Kris narrated about this year’s project, and see all of the available rewards and stretch goals, click here.

And if you can’t wait for the winter holidays, you can start reading a spookier edition of the Calendar of Stories today with the Halloween Spectacular 2021 Calendar of Short Stories.

Starting today and running through Nov. 2, you can get a daily dose of spooky fun in your inbox.

To learn more about this project or to sign up, click here.

Whatever your poison, I wish you a happy Season’s Reading!

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

Publisher’s Note: Kicking Off the Holiday Season


Whoa, Nelly, has 2020 been an adventure. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the holiday season to start this year. I really need some of that holiday spirit right now.

And to get us all started, I’m happy to announce the publication of three holiday anthologies to get you started. These books contain stories that first appeared in our WMG Holiday Spectacular 2019 calendar and later in The Holiday Spectacular #1, which contained all 35 stories from that project in one ebook.

Now, for the first time, you can get these stories in anthology form, which includes ebook and paperback editions.

Here are the anthologies and their synopses:

Bloody Christmas

Take stories detailing all the nastiest parts of human behavior, from theft to murder to mayhem, throw in some of the “lesser” darkness that humans can provide during the holidays, and assemble them into one volume—welcome to Bloody Christmas.

These stories, dark and vicious, form the perfect antidote to the holiday season’s sugary sweetness. So, consider this the savory part of the holidays for those whose reading tastes get darker in the darkest part of the year.

As Alfred Hitchcock used to say, read these stories with the lights on—and the doors locked, curtains drawn, and protective gear at hand. One never knows what lurks in the darkness.

Includes:
“Asking For It” by C.H. Hung
“Some Folks Just Need Killin’” by Lauren Christopher
“A Crafty Affair” by Bonnie Elizabeth
“A Hidden Gift” by Meyari McFarland
“The Perfect Gift” by Robert Cutchin
“Why Don’t You Make Gingerbread?” by Dayle A. Dermatis
“A Killer Party” by Annie Reed
“Wild Nights and New Roads” by Lisa Silverthorne
“Sister Silence Night” by Michael Warren Lucas
“Bobo” by Ron Collins
“Christmas Dessert” by Juliet Nordeen

Joyous Christmas

Joy abounds during the Christmas season. A sense of magic threads through everything, and the spirit of make-believe becomes almost commonplace.

The authors in this anthology capture that joy with stories marked by fun, goofiness, touching sentiment, and even some sweet romance.

This light-hearted holiday book brings smiles and even a giggle or two and ushers in a very joyous holiday season.

Includes:
“The Magic Cat of the Hidden Springs Inn and Spa” by Kari Kilgore
“A New Home for Christmas” by Annie Reed
“Reindeer Christmas” by Lisa Silverthorne
“The Gift” by Brenda Carr
“The Sugimori Sisters and the Santa Experiment” by Brigid Collins
“Caribou Road” by Joe Cron
“Christmas Newsletters from the Edge” by Robert Jeschonek
“A Grave Kind of Love” by Robert J. McCarter
“Turn The Page” by Michael D. Britton
“Green Girl” by Brenda Carr
“Christmas Eve at Claredon Hall” by Dayle A. Dermatis

Winter Holidays

Winter holidays mean lights, decorations, and delicious food. They bring about a sense of joy and a giving spirit that seems more abundant than at other times of the year.

This anthology holds a Hanukkah story, two stories about the solstice and two about some lesser-known holidays. Two authors made up their own holidays, and three looked at what people who don’t celebrate do during the holiday season.

With so many creative ways to celebrate, this volume will surely lift the spirits.

Includes:
“Star Shower” by CJ Erick
“Winter Pariah” by Michèle Laframboise
“The Real Housewitches of Calafia County” by Dayle A. Dermatis
“The Year That Went into Extra Innings” by Brigid Collins & Ron Collins
“Christmas, Translated” by C.H. Hung
“A True Family Holiday” by Jason Adams
“The Miracle of the Lights” by Leah R. Cutter
“Everflame Gifts” by Ezekiel James Boston
“The Ten Days of Newtonmas” by Ron Collins
“Operation AngelCam” by Kate Pavelle
“Virginia’s Last Old Christmas Eve” by Kari Kilgore

For links to buy these books starting tomorrow, click here for Bloody Christmas, here for Joyous Christmas, and here for Winter Holidays.

To buy the WMG Holiday Spectacular 2020 calendar, click here.

Or, if you want to get in on the many extras we include for our Kickstarter supporters, wait a few days for the launch of our WMG Holiday Spectacular 2020 Kickstarter to launch. More details on that in next week’s blog.

So much holiday goodness. What are you waiting for?

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

Publisher’s Note: Let the Holiday Shopping Season Begin


Today is Cyber Monday, and I have new releases and a new Storybundle to tell you about so you can factor those into your holiday shopping plans.

First off is a festive new novel by Kristine Grayson called Tidings of Comfort and Joy. It’s part of her Santa Series (the first three in the series are the novellas Up on the Rooftop, Visions of Sugar Plums, and Dressed in Holiday Style).

Here’s the synopsis:

Dallas Demaris unites magic with technology. She specializes in computers. But when her company orders her to go to the North Pole to help Claus & Company fix their outmoded computer system, she goes grudgingly.

Dallas hates how Santa runs his business, and she tells everyone, including Lothario Johanssen, the handsome man who invented the machine that runs the North Pole.

Lothario dedicates his long life to the machine. He knows the system better than anyone—including Dallas.

But what if Dallas discovers something that Lothario missed? Can they find a way to work together to fix the critical machine before December, before its malfunction ruins Christmas for millions of children?

Kristine Grayson once again brings romance and fantasy together as only she can do.

Supporters of the WMG Holiday Spectacular 2019 Kickstarter received the ebook edition as a reward. (Note: Even though the Holiday Spectacular is under way, you can still join in on the joy. Just click here to learn more.)

Tidings of Comfort and Joy is on sale in ebook and trade paperback if you haven’t already received your copy. Click here to learn more.

Now, if you like your fantasy a bit darker and less Christmassy, the first three books in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Fey series are included in the Realm of Faerie Storybundle, curated by Jamie Ferguson.

Here’s a bit from Jamie on that bundle:

Enter the Realm of Faerie, a world of beauty, danger, and enchantment. But remember the legends if you want to make it back home again…

The tales in this bundle are set in worlds like Tír na nÓg, Annwn, the Otherworld, Elfame, as well as in our own—for there are places where the boundaries between worlds grow thin, and one can pass over as easily as stepping across the threshold of a door. There are queens, mermaids, and monsters. Bargains are made, and secrets kept. Duels are fought, curses laid, and wishes sometimes come true.

You can get all 13 books (really 15, with the three Fey novels) in this bundle for the magical price of $15. Click here to learn more.

And if you like straight-up dark mysteries, we have a new release in Dean Wesley Smith’s bestselling Cold Poker Gang series.

Here’s the synopsis for Heads Up:

Retired Las Vegas Detectives Benson Cavanaugh and Bonnie State always worked alone before retiring. But joining the Cold Poker Gang task force push them to work together. Not something they easily want to do.

Searching for clues on a long cold missing person’s case, they explore a shuttered old hotel and casino and find far more than anyone expected.

And that discovery takes them on a twisted journey through the past.

Another very, very twisted Cold Poker Gang mystery novel.

Click here to learn more.

I wish you lots of productive shopping and great deals this holiday season!

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: A Plethora of Pulphouse Stories


I spent the weekend grateful for the fact that I live in Oregon and enjoying the natural splendor of the Oregon Coast. It was unseasonably warm (for the coast) at 80 degrees and sunny. There was a light breeze blowing instead of the usual cold wind from the 50-degree ocean water. It was truly lovely.

We’ve had a long, long winter here (like, it seems like it just ended a few days ago…), so this taste of summer was glorious.

I spent a good bit of time at my favorite overlook (on a cliff about 100 feet above the beach) enjoying the weather and the view and the sound of the ocean. And I was reminded of how much I used to enjoy reading a book on the beach when I used to live on the East coast.

The ocean and beaches are different there. You can read physical books because the winds are calm. And you can go in the water because it’s warm.

But as I sat in the rocking chair that one of the locals has placed at my favorite overlook, I realized I can read on the beach here, too. I just need to use my e-reader instead.

And no matter what type of fun summer activity you have planned, be it a visit to the beach or the pool or a mountain river or even the desert, we’ve got plenty of reading material for you to enjoy.

This week, we have a Pulphouse double feature: one magazine and one book.

Up first is our Christmas in July special (okay, Christmas in June), the newest Pulphouse book Jingle My Bells.

Here’s the synopsis:

Love the holiday seasons?

Of course you do. Full bellies and the joyful promise of a new year make for good stories and fun reading.

Add some twists and weirdness, Pulphouse-style, from some of the greatest fiction writers working today, and you have Jingle My Bells, the best weird holiday stories from Pulphouse Fiction Magazine.

Enjoy reading this collection any time of the year, but especially during the holidays!

Includes:
“Dreaming of a Carboniferous Christmas” by Robert Jeschonek
“Spells for the Holidays” by Ray Vukcevich
“A Menagerie of Messed Up Shorts” by Mark Leslie
“An Ideal Husband” by Jerry and Kathy Oltion
“Fatal Plot Device” by Kelly Washington
“Severed Ties” by R. W. Wallace
“A Blood-Soaked Christmas Wish” by David Stier
“Virtching Merry” by Kent Patterson
“Naughty Children” by Mary McKenna
“Nutball Season” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Click here to order.

And on Thursday, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine #18 publishes. Here’s the synopsis of that one:

A three-time Hugo Award nominated magazine, this issue of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine offers up twenty-one fantastic stories by some of the best writers working in modern short fiction.

No genre limitations, no topic limitations, just great stories. Attitude, feel, and high-quality fiction equals Pulphouse.

Includes:
“The Problematic Navigation of the Vessel Clayton Booker” by J. Steven York
“The Forgiving Execution” by Rob Vagle
“How Fred the Opossum Mobilized the Microbes and Saved the Universe” by Mary Jo Rabe
“Cards on the Table” by Adam-Troy Castro
“Big Green Man” by Don Webb
“The Wall” by Lisa Silverthorne
“He Who Howls” by O’Neil De Noux
“The Train in the Ladies’ Room” by Kent Patterson
“The Secret of Catnip” by Stefon Mears
“Ashes to Ashes” by Jerry Oltion
“The Short Life and Horny Times of a Teenage Mantis” by David H. Hendrickson
“The Pillow of Disappointment and What Was Found Beneath It” by Scott Edelman
“Love the Way She Saw It” by C.H. Hung
“Erwin or Ralph” by Ray Vukcevich
“Gossamer Ghosts” by Robert J. McCarter
“Far From Home” by R.W. Wallace
“The Devil Went Down to the Sunset Strip” by Dayle A. Dermatis
“Like a Hole in the Head” by Jason A. Adams
“Shadows on the Moon” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
“The Last Julian” by Annie Reed
“Voyage of the Dog-Propelled Starship” by Robert Jeschonek

Click here to order or here to learn more about subscribing to be sure you never miss an issue.

You just can’t go wrong with Pulphouse. It’s guaranteed to distract you from whatever you need distracting from these days.

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

Jingle My Bells

Pulphouse BooksPulphouse Fiction MagazineAnthology Available in:ebook, $3.99trade paperback, $9.99 Get the book! Get the ebook from the WMG store! Jingle My Bells Edited by Dean Wesley Smith Love the holiday seasons? Of course you do. Full bellies and the joyful...

Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue #15

Pulphouse Fiction MagazineAnthology Available in:ebook, $6.99Trade paperback, $12.99 Add to cart Get the book today! Get the ebook from the WMG store! Subscriptions also available! Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue #15 Edited by Dean Wesley Smith The Cutting Edge of...