Dead Mens Letters
From the WMG Research Library
I gazed into the black muzzle of the forty-four “Squint” Dugan was holding to my face, and secretly gave him credit for being much more clever than I had anticipated.
Opening line from “Come and Get It” by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Deadlines are serious business
If there’s one thing you learn as a journalist (or you’d better learn, anyway), it’s that deadlines are fixed. The word “dead” didn’t get in there by accident. As in, “cross this line, and you’re dead.”
Deadlines don’t move for anything, and they don’t take a holiday. Or a day off.
In fact, in the newspaper biz, vacation says are not-so-jokingly referred to as “job-deferment days.”
My reporters understood this mentality, if they didn’t always embrace it. Miss a deadline too many times, and you found yourself looking for another place to procrastinate. Occasionally, I’d find myself looming over a reporter’s desk threatening to pull the story out of their hands (or more apropos, off the server) finished or not. I don’t miss my deadlines.
Ask anyone I’ve ever worked with—hell, ask my teachers, all the way back to grade school—and they’ll affirm that statement. Part of my rigid adherence to deadlines is my rule-following nature (thanks, Dad!), but even more so it’s my desire not to thoughtlessly inconvenience someone else. Because deadlines are like dominoes. Bump one, and they (more…)
Publisher’s Note: What a Mystery!
Did you know that we have several first-in-series ebooks available for free? One of those is Kill Game, the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith’s Cold Poker Gang series.
If you love puzzle mystery novels, complicated cold cases, and detectives tackling the most twisted crimes, you’ll want to take this opportunity to introduce yourself to USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith’s Cold Poker Gang. Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a series focused around a group of retired Las Vegas detectives playing poker and solving cold cases.
Here’s the synopsis:
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 twenty years earlier. But retired Reno detective Julia Rogers, new to the Cold Poker Gang, suggests they look at that case again for personal reasons.
From that simple suggestion spins one of the strangest and most complicated murder mystery puzzles the gang has ever seen.
Click here to get the ebook now.
And watch this blog for more news on free first-in-series ebooks. I’ll highlight another one next month.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.
Podcast: The Case of the Pleasant Hills Murder by Dean Wesley Smith
USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith mentioned the Cold Poker Gang in his acclaimed thriller Dead Money.
Now he introduces us for the first time to Retired-Detective Lott and the rest of the retired Las Vegas detectives who play poker, solve cold cases, and call themselves the Cold Poker Gang.
They solve cases every week, but this case becomes very personal for Retired-Detective Lott. More so than any cold case he and the Gang ever tackled before. And as with most cold cases, solutions do not come easy.
And answers tend not to be what anyone hoped.
We’ve got “The Case of the Pleasant Hills Murder” cued, and it’s read for you by the author.
This podcast is no longer available. To listen to the current podcast, please click here.
You can read “The Case of the Pleasant Hills Murder, ” a Cold Poker Gang story in Smith’s Monthly #3 , which is available in ebook and trade paperback at your favorite retailer.
Publisher’s Note: A Mysterious New Kickstarter
It’s no secret that Dean Wesley Smith has a unique voice. He is known for it, along with a penchant for coming up with outside the box ideas for new series.
And although his Cold Poker Gang Mysteries is perhaps his most mainstream series, he still finds a way to put his own unique twist on it.
Enter his group of poker-playing retired detectives who take on the coldest of cases.
Here’s the series synopsis:
If you love puzzle mystery novels, complicated cold cases, and detectives tackling the most twisted crimes, take this opportunity to introduce yourself to USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith’s Cold Poker Gang. Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a series focused around a group of retired Las Vegas detectives playing poker and solving cold cases. Retired Detective Bayard Lott hosts the weekly poker games at his home. The group calls themselves the Cold Poker Gang. And they have proven very successful in solving cases they take out of the deep freeze.
And if you’ve been waiting for this super-popular mystery series to be available in hardcover, now’s your chance to help make that happen and receive a lot of exclusive rewards along the way.
We launched a new Kickstarter last week aimed at producing hardcover editions of the books in this series, including the upcoming new release, Bottom Pair, and we’ve already hit two stretch goals!
The Kickstarter offers lots of great rewards including an exclusive workshop on writing mystery series, as well as some really fun stuff like a set of Cold Poker Gang poker chips and playing cards to match. And because we’ve hit those two stretch goals, everyone who supports the Kickstarter at the $5 level and up also gets Luck Be Ladies: A Poker Boy Collection and Fiction River: Risk Takers as well as a choice of any WMG Publishing Lecture on Teachable.
The Cold Poker Gang novels have been described as fast reads and twisted mysteries that leave the reader guessing about where they will end up. The novels are all set in Las Vegas and every book uses something about the city that is unique to Las Vegas in one way or another.
In fact, reading these books makes you feel like you’re in Vegas, so what better way to make a virtual trip to the city right now than through these books?
Check out the Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter here.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.
Free for All
Free books.
Ok, now that I have your attention, I want to reassure you that my blog opening was not a marketing trick to keep you reading. I really mean it.
We’ve made the first ebook in four of Dean Wesley Smith’s series free:
Thunder Mountain (Thunder Mountain Series)
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. Somehow, Dawn must survive to rescue herself, her friends, and the man she loves.
A science fiction novel of new times in the old west.
Kill Game (Cold Poker Gang Mysteries)
USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a brand new series focused around a group of retired Las Vegas Police detectives playing poker and solving cold cases.
Retired Detective Bayard Lott hosts the weekly poker games at his home. The group calls themselves the Cold Poker Gang. And they have proven very successful in closing old cases.
Lott’s very first homicide case as a brand-new detective had gone cold more than twenty years earlier. But retired Reno detective Julia Rogers, new to the Cold Poker Gang, suggests they look at that case again for personal reasons.
From that simple suggestion spins one of the strangest and most complicated murder mystery puzzles the gang has ever seen.
The Poker Chip (Ghost of a Chance Series)
Starting into a brand new series, USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith asks a simple question: What happens if ghosts can fight crime and bad guys?
Just fifteen minutes after Dr. Jewel Kelly meets Deputy Sheriff Tommy Ralston, they both die. They simply become ghosts, hanging around their own death scene in the mountains of Montana, waiting for something to happen. But even as ghosts they find each other really attractive.
In life, they both worked to help people. It seems that in the afterlife, their job continues.
The strangest crime-fighting ghost duo ever. And the sexiest.
Against Time (Seeders Universe)
USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith introduces his galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe with a new novel.
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.
Together, Callie and Fisher work to discover the secrets of a galaxy that has been hidden in plain sight, even from the powerful humans who rescued millions. And in the process, they just might change everything.
You can find out more information about each book and series by clicking on the links above.
So, if you haven’t tried these series, now is the time. You literally have nothing to lose.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.
Publisher’s Note: Conquering Cold Cases
There’s something very compelling about cold case mysteries. As a journalist, I must seek answers to any question, but a question that has gone unanswered for years (or decades)? Those are the most intriguing.
In fact, the longer the answer has eluded society, the stronger the need for an answer. Who was Jack the Ripper, what happened to Amelia Earhart, who really killed JFK…you get the picture.
Those, of course, are real-life cold cases. But the fictional kind are no less compelling. And if, like me, you can’t resist a good cold-case mystery, you need to check out the Cold Poker Gang mystery series by Dean Wesley Smith.
To give you a feel for the series, here’s the synopsis to the first novel in that series, Kill Game:
USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a new series about a group of retired Las Vegas Police detectives playing poker and solving cold cases.
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 twenty years earlier. But retired Reno detective Julia Rogers, new to the Cold Poker Gang, suggests they look at that case again for personal reasons.
From that simple suggestion spins one of the strangest and most complicated murder mystery puzzles the gang has ever seen.
And check out this fantastic video associate publisher Gwyneth Gibby put together for us:
If you haven’t read this series yet, the series starter bundle is your best value. For $7.99, you can get the first three ebooks in the series: Kill Game, Cold Call, and Calling Dead. But be warned: Once you start, you might not be able to stop. Good thing Dean’s already working on the ninth book <grin>.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.
The Cold Poker Gang Starter Bundle
Browse more Books Search for: The WMG Newsletter Get advanced notice of new releases, bonus content, and so much more. Subscribe Now Cold Poker Gang WMG Bundles Mystery Available in: ebook, $5.99 Buy it now! The Cold Poker Gang Starter Bundle Dean Wesley Smith The...Ace High
Cold Poker GangMystery Available in:ebook, $5.99Trade paperback, $9.99ISBN 978-1561467808 Get the ebook! Get the ebook direct from WMG! Get the trade paperback! Get the hardcover! Ace High:A Cold Poker Gang Mystery Dean Wesley Smith The famous Las Vegas hotel The...Freezeout
Cold Poker GangMystery Available in:ebook, $5.99Trade paperback, $9.99Hardcover, $29.99ISBN 978-1-56146-773-0 Get the ebook! Get the ebook direct from WMG! Get the trade paperback! Get the hardcover! Freezeout:A Cold Poker Gang Mystery Dean Wesley Smith Sandy Hunter...Publisher’s Note: Fiction Worthy of the Presidency
Today is President’s Day, which got me thinking about all the stories we have that feature presidents, both actual and fictional. So, if you’re looking for some presidential reading to complete your day, here are a few suggestions:
The Enemy Within (Winner of the 2014 Sidewise Award for Best Long Form Alternate History) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:
February, 1964: Two men die in a squalid alley in a bad neighborhood. New York Homicide Detective Seamus O’Reilly receives the shock of his life when he looks at the men’s identification: J. Edgar Hoover, the famous, tyrannical director of the FBI, and his number one assistant, Clyde Tolson.
O’Reilly teams up with FBI agent Frank Bryce to solve the second high-level assassination in only three months. Because in November of the previous year, someone assassinated President John F. Kennedy. The cop and the FBI agent must determine if the same shadowy organization committed all three murders. To do so, they must act quickly before some of the nation’s most powerful men—from Kennedy’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, to the President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson—do something rash to keep Hoover’s secrets from ever becoming public.
In our world, Hoover kept his secrets until long after his death. In Seamus O’Reilly’s world, Hoover’s secrets get him killed. The Enemy Within offers alternate history so plausible that only Kristine Kathryn Rusch could have written it.
Dead Money by Dean Wesley Smith:
Poker: a high-stakes, deadly serious professional sport. Doc Hill knows all too well the risks involved with the sport. 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.
A fast-paced thriller that delves deep into the enticing world of high-stakes poker, Dead Money raises the risk of the political thriller to create an exciting new genre—political poker thriller.
“When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:
When Living History Professor Kimber Lawson’s least favorite student brings her a report of Mary Todd Lincoln conducting séances in the White House, Kimber brushes it off. But then more reports come to her attention—of historical figures hearing voices, seeing ghosts and holding séances that had never before been reported—she knows she must investigate. And what she finds might change everything she thought she knew about time travel.
“Jackie-O” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:
Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis—former first lady, editor, mother, grandmother—lives a life of mystery. But she wants to solve a mystery of her own: who changed the world on November 22, 1963? Oswald? A group of conspirators? Originally written for a mystery anthology titled The First Lady Murders, “Jackie-O” explores the murder at the center of the former first lady’s existence, the murder of her husband, Jack.
“Twenty Years Later, By Separation Peak” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:
From early on, Devin Culhane navigates the political world like a pro. When President Milan handpicks Devin as an intern, he comes to idolize Milan as a sort of demigod. Until Devin finds himself confronted with Milan’s past. Devin’s response to that information will change the course of history—but sometimes change brings consequences too harsh to bear.
“Well-Chosen Words” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (free this week on Kris’ website):
Legend has it that Abraham Lincoln scrawled the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope as he traveled to the battlefield to dedicate a cemetery. But the legend belies Lincoln’s struggle to carefully choose the right words. Words that must soothe a fractured nation, inspire change and chart the course for the nation’s future. Because his speech in Gettysburg will change history, but not necessarily in the way he hopes.
That should be plenty of reading to keep you busy for the day (or week or what have you). In the meantime, happy Presidents’ Day.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.