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Publisher’s Note: An Abundance of Arts
My daughter has a busy week involving two different kinds of artistic endeavors.
First up is her school district’s centennial concert celebration. Nola plays several instruments: alto sax, tenor sax, euphonium and tuba. For this performance, she’ll be complementing the low brass section on the euphonium.
She loves playing her instruments, and she takes very good care of them. She’s even brought her euphonium and tuba home for baths (these are school instruments, but no one has maintained them; don’t even ask what we found inside the tuba once we got it apart…).
I played tuba in high school, but I’d never given one a bath before. It’s an adventure.
Needless to say, she’s one of her band teacher’s favorite students.
And two nights after the concert are her final two performances as Queen Aggravain in Once Upon a Mattress. She’s in good company in that role. Carol Burnett played the role in the 2005 Disney 2005 TV remake of Once Upon a Mattress. (Fun fact, Carol Burnett played the role of Winnifred, the princess, when the show opened on Broadway in 1959. You can read more fun facts about the Broadway production here.)
Once Upon a Mattress was inspired by a book, of course: “The Princess and the Pea” fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Don’t all good things come from books?
We obviously think so here at WMG. In fact, I’m in Las Vegas this week for the Romantic Suspense Craft Workshop, which is taught in-person by the amazing Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The study along version, writers do from the comfort of their own homes (or wherever they park their computer), is taught by the also amazing Dean Wesley Smith.
And while it’s too late to sign up for this particular workshop, it’s not too late to sign up for the other study along workshop options we have this year. Just click here to see all that’s on offer.
And don’t forget all the other workshops we have available on our Teachable platform.
Who knows where that next story will take you!
The Year of the Rabbit hasn’t even started yet, but WMG is already hopping!
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 Me Be Direct
I’ve long been told I’m direct. I consider that a compliment. I’m not one to waste people’s time trying to guess what I’m thinking or what I’m feeling. I’ll tell you. Especially if we know each other well, and I know you can handle it.
Some people can’t. I get it. Our society isn’t really built that way.
Take the way we shop, for example. We’ve been trained on the superstore model of shopping. Everything in one convenient place. Not the best of anything, or anything made by that store itself (store brands notwithstanding). But a lot of things.
That can be true. And I certainly do stop by that kind of store from time to time and for specific reasons.
But shopping that way has never been my jam.
When I was a teenager, my parents would take me to department stores to buy clothes. I hated every minute of it. I found them overwhelming: messy, crowded, packed to the gills with merchandise. I had no idea where to even start looking for what I’d like, let alone find multiple things.
Then, I found specialty retail stores. These were organized and focused. I either liked the style of clothes they had or I didn’t. It was easy to see from the window. That I could handle.
Even now that I do almost all of my shopping on my phone, I still shop that way. If I need jeans, I go to the app for the specific retailer whose jeans I prefer. If I need shoes, same thing. I do not buy clothes from the big online super-retailers. Not my jam.
For a lot of readers, big online super-retailers are not their jam, either. But if that’s the only way to buy the book, well, that’s what they’ll do.
For a long time, the only economically feasible way for writers and publishers to sell books was through those big retailers. But thanks to technology that’s advancing at warp speed, that’s no longer the case.
Selling direct is not only doable now, it’s preferable.
Which is how the WMG Publishing Bookstore came about. Powered by Shopify, the site features more and more product weekly. We now have about a third of our ebook inventory available on the site, and we will be adding paper books in the future.
If you want to start taking a look around, may I suggest starting with Dean Wesley Smith’s Bryant Street stories. They’re delightfully twisted.
You can find Bryant Street (as well as all the other series we’ve uploaded so far) on the bookstore’s series page here or jump straight to it here.
And since we’re talking about being direct (both in spirit and in selling), here’s a code for 30 percent off all Bryant Street stories available in our store.
BRYANT30
Just add whatever stories you want to read to your cart and apply the code at checkout. The code is good for the rest of the month.
See, direct is the only way to go!
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: The Choice is Easy
Kristine Kathryn Rusch has a lot of awards. But the ones that matter most to her are the Readers’ Choice Awards. Her readers, you see, are who matter most.
And now, she’s won another. “Serving Process” was chosen as one of the top ten mystery stories of the year by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
If you missed reading it there, WMG published the story in February.
Here’s the synopsis:
Julia serves process in Corvallis, Oregon. One of the lawyers in her office warns her of the dangers her job poses, but she just needs two more years of interning to qualify for law school.
But her last subpoena of the day offers more than she bargains for—and holds more lives than just hers in the balance.
With its heart wrenching twists, “Serving Process” proves Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s mastery of crime fiction.
Find out what all the buzz is about. Click here to buy the story.
Cats like buzz, too. But more in the “ooh, let me catch that bug” kind of way. Cats prove endlessly entertaining with such antics. They’re real characters.
And they make great characters in fiction, too.
So, as a reminder, you still have time to grab the Cattitude StoryBundle, curated by Kris, of course. For $20, you’ll get ten books of cat fiction, including three exclusive to this bundle, plus a chance to donate to an important charity.
You can read more about the bundle here.
So be it a reader’s favorite or a cat’s favorite, choosing what to read next is easy.
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: The Whole Kitten Caboodle
As longtime readers of this blog know, I lost my three beloved cats within nine months of each other the past two years. They were all elderly, but it was still heartbreaking and brutal. I was NOT ready to love a cat again. Not yet.
But, as many cat-lovers know, you don’t choose the cat(s). They choose you. Or, in my case, they choose my husband.
In the middle of my year of goodbyes, a feral kitten (maybe three or four months old) showed up under our porch. We had no idea whether she was male or female until she became pregnant shortly after finding us. I had no capacity for kittens at that time, so even the one time we could have intervened, I couldn’t do it. I was broken.
But lo and behold, the kittens found us anyway. And my husband spent the summer socializing them. Our house literally had an open-door policy when it came to cats.
And now, the two kittens we were able to socialize are our new beloved cats.
I wasn’t ready. But they needed us. And I must admit…every home needs a cat. At least, every home I want to live in.
Cats just make everything better.
That goes for fiction, too. Just ask Kristine Kathryn Rusch. She’s the curator for the latest Cattitude StoryBundle. Here’s what she has to say about the subject:
Cozy mysteries, serious witches, not-so-serious witches, musicians, dead musicians, pirates, pirates in space, space opera, fantasy, and romance. What do these things have in common? Cats, of course. Delightful cats. Dozens of cats. More cats than most clowders usually have.
This Storybundle has all of these cats and these stories, plus maybe a dozen more. From short stories to novels, novellas to anthologies, you’ll find it all in this bundle, so long as the fiction contains a cat. For $20, you’ll get all the books, including three exclusive to this bundle, and a chance to donate to an important charity.
You can read more about the bundle here.
You know who else likes to feature cats in his fiction? That’s right: Dean Wesley Smith. A group of kittens even play a prominent role in one of his Cold Poker Gang mysteries: Ring Game.
And there’s still time to support the Case Card Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter, featuring the newest novel and collection in the series.
We’ve hit three regular stretch goals and a special stretch goal so far, which means all supporters at the $5 level and above also get the following:
Books:
“The Road Back: A Doc Hill Story”
WEIRD CRIME: A Collection of Six Really, Really, Really Whacked Out Crime Stories
TWIST OF A KNIFE: Mystery Stories from the Pages of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine
THE CASE OF PILGRIM HUGH: Five Strange Detective Stories
Workshops:
HOW TO WRITE THE PERFECT CRIME THROUGH THE AGES. The Year: 1700
HOW TO WRITE THE PERFECT CRIME THROUGH THE AGES. The Year: 1750
HOW TO WRITE THE PERFECT CRIME THROUGH THE AGES. The Year: 1800
Click here to check out all the amazing rewards!
So much great fiction, so many deals, and so many cats! But you’ll want to act fast. Both of these fantastic projects are ending soon, so don’t delay!
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: Kickstarting a Mystery
There’s something about cold cases that really pulls at you. We humans don’t like unsolved mysteries. And the longer they remain unsolved, the more frustrating they get.
I think that’s why we so love cold-case mystery novels. The cases get solved.
And one of the best writers at cold-case mysteries is Dean Wesley Smith. Just ask the many fans of his bestselling Cold Poker Gang Mystery series.
We haven’t had a new mystery from Dean in a bit, but that’s all about to change thanks to our latest Kickstarter featuring not only a new novel but also a new collection!
And not only can you get Case Card, the new novel, and Action, the new collection, in ebook and trade paperback but we are also offering limited hardcovers signed by Dean in Las Vegas, and they can be personalized if you’d like.
Talk about feeling like you’re right there where the action takes place!
And if you’re a writer and you really want to get in on the action, we have two incredible special Kickstarter-exclusive workshops on writing mysteries.
In Murder Most Cold, writers will learn the techniques that go into creating and writing cold case mysteries. And in Murder Most Modern, writers will learn not only how to write and create mystery plots using the modern techniques of crime labs, but also how and why and when detectives use those techniques.
We’ve already hit two stretch goals and are well on our way to the third, so be sure to check out all the free reading and learning you can get in addition to whatever reward you choose.
There’s no mystery about what you need to do next.
Click here to go to the Kickstarter and learn all about 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: Give Peeps a Chance
The Easter Bunny came to our house yesterday. Well, not the actual Easter Bunny, of course. Me, as Easter Bunny. But my daughter still likes to believe in the idea of the Easter Bunny, so who am I to argue?
I think she’s reluctant to admit there is no Easter Bunny for two reasons: one, that’s one more domino to fall before she has to face the Santa issue; and two, Easter baskets are fun. Hers is filled with small gifts as well as eggs filled with candy and chocolate bunnies and Peeps (I love Peeps!), so I can see why she wouldn’t want to give it up.
Besides, I make a living promoting fiction, so why not?
And because I’m in an Easter Bunny-like giving mood, I thought you might enjoy a little Easter gift from me. It’s got a bunny on the cover—well, it’s an alien with bunny ears, but it’s the closest I could get <grin>.
It’s a Pulphouse book called Snot-Nosed Aliens, edited by Dean Wesley Smith.
Here’s the synopsis:
When you ask a bunch of professional writers to send in stories to a Pulphouse Fiction Magazine anthology called Snot-Nosed Aliens, you get a bunch of really, really strange stories. Perfect.
Known for high-quality fiction and off-the-wall stories, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine’s first fully original anthology delivers both. Head-shaking laughter, biting themes, and more out-of-this-world aliens than should be allowed.
Thirteen professional writers. Thirteen wonderful stories. An original anthology impossible to put down.
Includes:
“The Problematic Navigation of the Vessel Clayton Booker” by J. Steven York
“Blue-Eyed Bombshell” by Annie Reed
“Pepper Pretorious Saves the Day” by Dayle A. Dermatis
“Hero of Fire Life” by Michael Warren Lucas
“Bushtits Gone Wild” by Stephanie Writt
“Dog People” by Robert J. McCarter
“Magnitude and Insignificance” by Rob Vagle
“Let the Families Be Joined” by Joe Cron
“Knock Knock Power” by Johanna Rothman
“Ilene’s Box” by Alexandra Brandt
“The Goddess Particle” by Daemon Crowe
“Two-Minute Drill” by David H. Hendrickson
“Power Chords” by Brigid Collins
You can download your free ebook copy here.
Besides, free ebooks are just as delightful but way healthier for you than Peeps. So, give this ebook a chance, too.
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: Still Time for Learning
It feels like winter will never end this year.
First, there was the foot or so of snow that dumped on Lincoln County, Oregon, on Feb. 23, the biggest snowstorm to hit the area in decades. (It wasn’t the record, though; that was 34 years ago, on Feb 2, 1989, when the county received 15 inches of snow over 24 hours.)
Since then, we’ve had almost weekly winter storm warnings. Including last weekend.
I love snow, but it’s weird here. And we’re not built for it. Rain, yeah. We can handle inches of that in a day. But a little snow…no way.
And the trees and flowers are so confused, we are having the worst allergy season in years. I swear, they’ve all decided these are the end times, so better throw everything you’ve got out there in the hopes that something survives.
Let’s just say I’m really ready for spring.
And since I can’t get energized by spring weather yet, I’m getting energized instead by the desire to learn new things. If you feel the same, we’ve got tons of great new learning opportunities in store for April.
For starters, our master of workshops, Dean Wesley Smith, has announced the list of April regular workshops, which begin on Tuesday, April 4. Signups are available now.
Here is the list:
Class #32… April 4th … Heinlein’s Rules
Class #34… April 4th … Writing into the Dark
Class #35… April 4th … Teams in Fiction
Class #36…April 5th … Depth in Writing
Class #37…April 5th … Applied Depth
Class #39…April 5th …Advanced Depth
Class #40… April 5th …Killing Critical Voice
Heinlein’s Rules is this month’s RESURRECTED CLASSIC WORKSHOP. It will only be available as a regular workshop for this one month, don’t miss your chance to take it if you missed it. After April, it will return to Classic Workshop status.
And even better, you still have a tiny bit of time left to get all of these, and anything else on Teachable, for half off as part of that limited-time sale I mentioned last week.
Here’s how:
Just hit purchase on anything on WMG Teachable and then on the next page put SURPRISE in the code field and hit apply to get it half off.
Here are some great things to think about during this half-price sale to get the best value:
Full Year of Collections Workshops… Every year has six collection classes and they will repeat going into the future. So lots of time to take them. We are in the third year of them now.
Full Year of Bite-Sized Copyright… This is four videos every Monday morning without assignments, just lots of information about copyright, how to look at it, how to use it. First quarter is done, but three more quarters to go. Get the full year and it would be easy to catch up.
Full Year of the Decade Ahead… This is four videos every Monday morning without assignments, just lots of information about how to think about and plan for the decade ahead. First quarter is done, but three more quarters to go. Get the full year and it would be easy to catch up.
Any of the Lifetime Subscriptions… At half price, all are great values.
Virtually Attend the 2023 Licensing Expo with Dean… This is a virtual way to accompany Dean through the whole Licensing Expo process. Every week starting the first week of April, Dean will be posting videos on Teachable, from signing up and getting ready, to attending the Expo June 13-15, to debriefing afterward. Each day of the conference, Dean will take a ton of photos and videos to load up on Teachable about what he saw, ideas for licensing, people he talked to, and so much more. If you want to know why the Licensing Expo is worth attending for every indie publisher of all levels, this is the workshop for you.
As a reminder, all available workshops are listed at wmgworkshops.com for convenient searching. And you can always read the latest on Dean’s blog.
But the sale ends Wednesday, April 5, so you’d better hurry.
There’s no time to learn like the present!
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: A Great Way to Get Started!
Dean Wesley Smith loves to write in series. That’s obvious if you follow his writing at all.
His series run the genre gamut. Mystery, thriller, romance, science fiction, urban fantasy, Twilight Zone, a combination of them—the man does it all.
And he’s prolific. In fact, he’s considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction.
So, how does one navigate this plethora of fiction?
Easy! With the Dean Wesley Smith Starter Kit. It features the first book in ten of Dean’s most popular series, all in one huge ebook bundle. And you can pick it up for a limited time (it ends Thursday) in our latest Kickstarter.
Here’s what’s in the Starter Kit:
— The Cold Poker Gang … Kill Game (novel)
— The Thunder Mountain Series … Thunder Mountain (novel)
— The Seeders Universe … Against Time (novel)
— The Poker Boy Series … The Slots of Saturn (novel)
— The Bryant Street Series … “Bryant Street” (short story)
— A Ghost of a Chance Series … The Poker Chip (novel)
— The Pakhet Jones Series … Big Eyes (novel)
— The Marble Grant Series … The First Year (novel)
— The Mary Jo Assassin Series … Death Takes a Partner (novel)
— The Earth Protection League … Life of a Dream (novel)
That’s a $50 value, but in this Kickstarter, you can get it for only $25. And the Starter Kit comes with every other reward we’re offering.
The list of rewards includes the ebooks of every book in each series included in the Starter Kit, two special Kickstarter-exclusive writing workshops, half-price discounts on lifetime workshop subscriptions, and even a bundle of all 133 ebooks in these ten series!
Click here to read Dean’s story and watch his video, which does a way better job than I can of telling you about his adventures writing these series.
But hurry! The Kickstarter ends Thursday, March 30!
And speaking of starter kits, our Teachable workshops are a great way to refine all the tools you need to develop in your writing career. Dean announced on his blog last night a special limited-time sale on all of our Teachable workshops. This sale is meant to help writers overcome all sorts of hurdles, from financial barriers to the Time of Great Forgetting.
Click here to learn more.
Whether it’s reading or writing you’re after (or both), Dean’s got you covered!
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: Meet the Finalists!
Did you know that Kristine Kathryn Rusch had not one but two stories from 2022 chosen as Asimov’s Readers Choice Award finalists? (Well, actually, it was technically three, but more on that in a minute.)
“Rocket Girls,” which was published in the May/June 2022 issue of Asimov’s, is a finalist for the Best Novelette category. And we can totally see why. It’s one of our favorites, as well. (And, truth be told, one of Kris’ favorites—shhh, don’t tell her other stories.)
WMG published “Rocket Girls” as a standalone ebook in December 2022. Here’s the synopsis:
Angie achieved fame as a spacer. But when some fresh-faced interviewer asks Angie to tell the origin story of the Space Bimbos, the interviewer gets more than she bargained for.
Instead, Angie tells the tale of a group of ambitious and talented girls who, inspired by an old pulp magazine called Rocket Girls, cobbled together a rocket and tried to blast off into space—and then, made history.
With “Rocket Girls,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch puts her own genius female-empowered twist on the build-a-spaceship-in-your-backyard trope from the pulps.
You can read the story for free right now on the Asimov’s site or buy it here.
The second (and third) stories nominated are in the category of Best Novella. It’s for The Court-Martial of the Renegat Renegades, which was originally published in two parts as novellas: the first in the September/October 2022 issue and the second in the November/December issue. Both novellas are finalists.
You can read the separate novellas for free right now on the Asimov’s site.
WMG will be releasing the full novel, which marries the novellas together into one complete story, in June.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Renegat Renegades finally learn their fate in New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s The Court-Martial of the Renegat Renegades, the gripping new novel in her award-winning Diving series and an Asimov’s Readers’ Choice Award finalist.
As the surviving crew of the Renegat face court-martial for mutiny—100 years in their future—the case makes everyone nervous. Prosecutors worry the survivors will prove too sympathetic to convict. The defense worries about the reliability of the defendants. But the survivors worry about what might happen should the truth—the whole truth—finally come to light. Set in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s expansive Diving Universe, The Court-Martial of the Renegat Renegades adds rich new background to this powerfully written series.
With shocking secrets, a deepening mystery, and a surprise witness, this spellbinding sf mystery mixes the best of legal fiction and space opera and proves Rusch’s place as a master of science fiction.
You can preorder the novel here.
So, read them for free now or buy them for later (or both). And read some of the other finalists, as well. Five of those feature authors WMG has published stories from in the past—Jane Yolen in Fiction River, Rick Wilbur in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, and Geoffrey A. Landis in The Year of the Cat, so maybe we’re a bit biased.
What can I say? We love our authors!
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: Hunting for Leprechauns
Growing up, I had a strong sense of my Irish heritage. I also knew I was Spanish, but didn’t have a strong sense of what that meant. Not then. So, the Irish side drove much of my connection to my family’s heritage as a child. My mother’s maiden name starts with the familiar O’, so it would have been hard to avoid, anyway.
Like many Irish Americans, my family emigrated out of Ireland during the potato famine. They weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms. My mother still has a sign hanging in her house as a reminder of those times: “Irish Need Not Apply.”
The Irish spent years working to change those attitudes. And they eventually did. You can read all about the history of the Irish in America here.
Unsurprisingly, St. Patrick’s Day has long been a big day in my family. And like any good Irish family, we celebrate with food: Irish soda bread and Irish stew, specifically. (Although now that I live on the West coast with a husband who is not fond of lamb, it’s more beef stew with a Guinness on the side.)
The soda bread is my favorite. But my daughter’s favorite part of St. Patrick’s Day is not the food. It’s the leprechauns.
Ever since Nola’s first-grade teacher had her class make leprechaun traps, she’s determined to catch one. We even have shamrocks in the house year-round to make the house inviting.
But the leprechauns have proven elusive. Maybe that’s because they’re busy doing other things.
Just like the one in Kristine Grayson’s “Cosmic Balances Inc.” So, as my St. Patrick’s Day gift to you, I’m giving you the ebook free this week. (No, gift-giving isn’t normally a thing for St. Patrick’s day, but I like any excuse to give our readers free stuff.)
Click here to get the story and find out why poor Grint’s St. Patrick’s Day just took a turn for the worse.
So, enjoy the story, wear some green, enjoy some Irish food or drink, and have a very happy St. Patrick’s Day this Friday!
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.