Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only €10,99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Smith's Monthly #26: Smith's Monthly, #26
    Smith's Monthly #26: Smith's Monthly, #26
    Smith's Monthly #26: Smith's Monthly, #26
    Ebook298 pages3 hours

    Smith's Monthly #26: Smith's Monthly, #26

    By Dean Wesley Smith

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Over sixty-five thousand words of original fiction from USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith.

    In this twenty-sixth monthly volume the full novel Star Rain: A Seeders Universe Novel, plus five short stories, and half of a non-fiction writing book.

    Short Stories

    Not Saleable for Sale: A Poker Boy Story

    The Life and Death of Fortune Cookie Tyrant

    A Time to Dream: A Captain Bryan Saber Story

    Tumbling Down the Nighttime

    In Search of the Perfect Orgasm or How Doing It with a Giant Lizard Can Be Fun

    Full Novel

    Star Rain: A Seeders Universe Novel

    Serial Nonfiction

    Writing into the Dark (Part 1 of 2)

    Nonfiction

    Introduction: A Writing Book

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWMG Publishing
    Release dateFeb 16, 2016
    ISBN9781524270803
    Smith's Monthly #26: Smith's Monthly, #26
    Author

    Dean Wesley Smith

    USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith published more than a hundred novels in thirty years and hundreds and hundreds of short stories across many genres. He wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, they wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown. He now writes his own original fiction under just the one name, Dean Wesley Smith. In addition to his upcoming novel releases, his monthly magazine called Smith's Monthly premiered October 1, 2013, filled entirely with his original novels and stories. Dean also worked as an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books. He now plays a role as an executive editor for the original anthology series Fiction River. For more information go to www.deanwesleysmith.com, www.smithsmonthly.com or www.fictionriver.com.

    Read more from Dean Wesley Smith

    Related to Smith's Monthly #26

    Titles in the series (66)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Watch Your Step

      Nov 19, 2020

      Watch Your Step
      5 min read

    • Article

      Otterly Wonderful

      May 25, 2022

      Otterly Wonderful
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Kind Of Magic

      Apr 1, 2024

      A Kind Of Magic
      7 min read

    • Article

      Righteous

      Jan 22, 2019

      Righteous
      8 min read

    • Article

      It Happened to Me…

      Aug 8, 2024

      It Happened to Me…
      12 min read

    • Article

      Love, Lust, and More

      Feb 12, 2020

      Fleetwood Mac was singing She is dancing away from you now, and I squirmed in my seat. Kabir was rubbing my thigh as he drove, a gesture I once thought was reserved for me. Bah! I also used to think he only took naked selfies in bed with me, but then

      11 min read

    • Article

      Not That Story

      Oct 28, 2017

      Not That Story
      7 min read

    • Article

      My Lucky Safari In Tanzania

      Jun 1, 2017

      My Lucky Safari In Tanzania
      11 min read

    • Article

      HUNTING With The Ellements…

      Sep 13, 2021

      HUNTING With The Ellements…
      19 min read

    • Article

      The Quiet Dark

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Quiet Dark
      7 min read

    • Article

      Foggy Morning Fallow

      Dec 10, 2024

      I DIDN’T feel like it. Getting out of bed, I mean. I knew today would likely be my last chance during the rut. If I didn’t get up I’d miss out. I had three coffees before I felt awake and functional enough to check my kit and the clock. It read 4am.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Draw Me

      Jul 5, 2023

      Draw Me
      2 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2022

      First prize 10 and under Tang Li, age 9 Palmetto Bay, FL My name is Anisa. I was in Hawaii on vacation. I enjoyed sipping refreshing drinks, overlooking the turquoise ocean, and dancing with others, before I overheard that the priceless Fire Ring wa

      10 min read

    • Article

      Above Santa Cruz

      Jul 2, 2019

      Above Santa Cruz
      5 min read

    • Article

      Life In The past Lane

      Aug 27, 2021

      Life In The past Lane
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Price of Moving On

      Aug 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Mild Violence, Supernatural Themes The river had a proper name at one point, but that name moved on, perhaps over the Ferry toward the supposedly greener pastures of its opposite banks, just like everyone else in this damned unrea

      18 min read

    • Article

      AN EXCERPT FROM The First Line of Dante’s ‘Inferno’

      Dec 1, 2020

      Early forties, tall, self-possessed. Hiking in the woods in search of her missing sister. A young park ranger, late twenties. Pretty. Slim. Strong. The play is formatted like prose; however, it is intended for performance. If actors simply perform th

      15 min read

    • Article

      Year Of The Rat

      Nov 24, 2020

      Year Of The Rat
      11 min read

    • Article

      Endurance

      Jul 22, 2022

      Endurance
      6 min read

    • Article

      Why Do My Eyes Look Like Nipples?

      Aug 25, 2021

      Jem Clarke is in his very, very early fifties, is five foot zero inches tall and has never left the family home in Cleethorpes, which he still shares with his parents... ‘It’s a shame there’s not a nicer word for nipples,’ my Great-Aunt Jessie once t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Shame Is Ever-Present When You’re Sitting in a Cell

      Oct 23, 2020

      Between a strained relationship with my family and the death of a good friend, I’ve struggled to feel like I’m worth something.

      5 min read

    • Article

      THE DUKE OF Edinbrough Hotel

      Nov 13, 2019

      THE DUKE OF Edinbrough Hotel
      6 min read

    • Article

      St Vincent: ‘At A Certain Point, We Are All Culpable. Just Don’t Be A S***ty Person’

      May 12, 2021

      I’m good,” says St Vincent brightly. “I’m better than last time when I was a royal dick. So apologies for that, again.” “Royal dick” is pushing it, but my last encounter with Annie Clark was definitely frosty. In 2017, off the back of no sleep, too m

      10 min read

    • Article

      ‘Cygnet’: Featured Fiction from Season Butler

      Jun 25, 2019

      A excerpt from Butler's debut coming-of-age novel, set in an appealingly rich world with quirky, flawed characters and a dramatic oceanfront landscape. The post ‘Cygnet’: Featured Fiction from Season Butler appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Good Guysfinish Last

      Oct 6, 2020

      Good Guysfinish Last
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Temporary Arrangement

      Oct 2, 2023

      A Temporary Arrangement
      19 min read

    • Article

      Clandestine

      Jan 10, 2022

      It was 1980 and I was nineteen, barely into what my mother quaintly referred to as the Prime of My Life. From what I’d learned up to that questionable apogee, there will never be enough time before bony-fingered Decrepitude sinks her yellowed nails i

      12 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Smith's Monthly #26

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Smith's Monthly #26 - Dean Wesley Smith

      Introduction

      A WRITING BOOK

      Something kind of different and fun in this issue.

      Instead of serializing a novel, I’m going to serialize a nonfiction book, sort of how I did the golf book earlier in this magazine. But this is a writing book and will only be in this issue and the next.

      The writing book is called Writing into the Dark.

      My blog, for those of you who follow it, tends to be mostly about writing in various ways, although I do post collection pictures at times and cat pictures as well.

      But mostly my blog talks about the life of a professional writer.

      A few years back I did a lecture and a series of blogs on how to write a novel without an outline. That’s basically what writing into the dark means.

      Writing into the Dark has sold well and has gotten a lot of positive responses. So figured it would be fun to have it here just for two issues.

      Then in issue #28, a novel serial will start. Finally, after thirty years, I am bringing my first published novel back into print and serializing it here.

      So stay tuned for that.

      In this issue I also have three special short stories out of the past.

      All three were published in anthologies and I have had them for sale in electronic standalone for a few years now. But thought this issue would be a good one to put them together.

      Two are set in nursing homes. One is the origin story, the very first Captain Brian Saber story I ever wrote. Another is a story that sort of predated my Nebula Award-nominated story In the Shade of the Slowboat Man. This story is called Tumbling Down the Nighttime.

      The third fun story is called In Search of the Perfect Orgasm or How Doing it with a Big Lizard Can Be Fun. Yes, that’s the title, almost longer than the story.

      I do a full introduction to the short story about some various things that happened with that story. The story behind the story, so-to-speak.

      The novel in this issue is Star Rain: A Seeders Universe Novel.

      Star Rain followed right where Star Mist left off last issue. The Seeders Universe just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

      Plus this issue leads off with a Poker Boy story, as normal.

      So I hope you enjoy the five stories and the novel and the first half of one of my writing books.

      —Dean Wesley Smith

      November 23rd, 2015

      Lenny the Leprechaun’s wife went missing and now he wants Poker Boy to find her. Not known for finding people, Poker Boy only rescues people and dogs and the world in the process.

      Mrs. Lenny’s vanishing act seems to have no connection to Poker Boy. Until Poker Boy looks deeper.

      Then Poker Boy knows he might be able to save her, if she still lives. Which he doubts.

      NOT SALEABLE FOR SALE

      A Poker Boy Story

      ONE

      Seeing a leprechaun appear in a small casino in the mountains of Oregon can make even a professional poker player like me lose my train of thought.

      I flipped my A-10 off-suit into the muck and turned to my right as the leprechaun waved at me.

      He had on the standard, leprechaun-green top hat that didn’t cover his pointed ears but sort of rode on them like they were training wheels for the big hat. He had a green jacket, brown pants, and a long-stemmed pipe in his mouth that didn’t seem to be lit. It stuck out of his scraggly red beard like a weed out of a ragged lawn.

      He wasn’t any taller than the back of a poker chair, and was as skinny as a flagpole. Somehow he climbed onto a chair, on top of an empty poker table, and then sat down, his big brown shoes with gold buckles dangling over the edge of the table like he was a kid sitting in a huge chair.

      I glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed the new visitor.

      No one had, even though there were three tables of eight going at the moment. Spirit Winds Casino in the Oregon mountains didn’t have many people in the poker room at midnight on a Wednesday.

      I was here because I was just waiting for my girlfriend to get off work at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, and I figured the plucking of tourists would be easier here tonight than in Vegas. And since, as Poker Boy, I could jump back and forth instantly with my Jump Anywhere Power, it didn’t matter where I played.

      Besides, this was my old home casino; I knew everyone here, and it was comfortable. There was a lot to be said about comfort.

      Now a stupid leprechaun had interrupted my nice evening.

      I had only seen leprechauns in Vegas at the Okey-Doke Casino out on the old highway. It was one of those places hidden with magic, so that no one knew it was there unless you were taken there. I had helped solve a big problem there a while back, so maybe this guy was just coming to say hi and thank me again.

      I doubted it. I had learned that no one could ever trust a leprechaun. And I had no plan on trusting this one, either.

      I pushed away from the table and tossed the dealer a ten-dollar chip. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, rack them and hold them for me, would you?

      The dealer nodded and rapped the chip on the felt in acknowledgement.

      I adjusted my black leather coat and zipped it up, then made sure my black fedora-like hat was on solid before turning away from the table.

      Already the little skinny guy had cost me money. My hunch was it was only going to go downhill from here.

      Where’d you leave the pot of gold? I asked as I walked past him.

      Funny, he said, his voice deep and raspy and not fitting his thin, small body at all. Very damn funny.

      Leprechauns hated being teased about their pots of gold. They had lost all of it, every damn pot, a couple of centuries before in a bad bet with a few aliens who happened to be visiting Earth at the time. It was still a touchy subject.

      I just kept walking, letting him jump down from the table and follow me. I had no intention of carrying on a conversation with an invisible man while on casino security cameras. That wouldn’t do my reputation any good at all.

      Besides, I needed a break and some fresh air.

      At a fast walk, I weaved my way through the slot machines, cutting through all the smoke and older people plugging the machines like the world was about to end and they wanted to get rid of every dollar before it did.

      As we neared the front door of the casino, the little guy finally caught up with me, his pipe in one hand, his other hand holding his hat onto his head as he ran. He was panting and swearing lightly under his breath.

      Shouldn’t smoke so much, I said as I pushed open the door and hesitated to let him go through ahead of me.

      You shouldn’t be such a jerk, the little guy said in his deep voice. He sounded more like a country-western singer and he didn’t have any accent at all.

      You’re the one who is bothering me, I said, heading out toward the parking lot to where I knew there was a small dead spot in the security cameras. The fall night air felt great after wading through the smoke around those slot machines. Clean and pure.

      I glanced at my watch. Still over two hours before I had to pick up Patty at the MGM Grand.

      Patty was also called Front Desk Girl, and she was a superhero in the hospitality part of the gambling universe. We fit together perfectly and made a great team. She had long brown hair and wonderful brown eyes I loved getting lost in. She was only a few inches shorter than I was, but when she wore heels we seemed to be the same size.

      I just came to ask for help from the great Poker Boy, the leprechaun said.

      Sarcasm just won’t get me doing anything, I said. So what’s your name?

      He glared at me. I knew that knowing any magical creature’s name gave me power over them. And he knew I knew it. He had no intention of giving me that kind of power.

      So what do I call you? I asked.

      Lenny, he said. He clearly must have already figured that’s the name he would use with me.

      Lenny the Leprechaun, I said, shaking my head as I reached the dead area in the security cameras and stopped, sitting down on the edge of a planter to be more at his level. Got it.

      I’m an elf, he said, getting red in the face and spreading his thin legs into a fighting stance in front of me. Old elves who wore green and smoked pipes for some reason never liked to be called leprechauns. No one had explained that to me yet. Someday I would ask Stan, the God of Poker, why that was.

      Sorry, I said. So what can I do for you?

      Lenny took the pipe out of his mouth and stuck it in his belt, then adjusted his tall hat and then his green vest. Then he went to pacing in front of me, two steps, turn, two steps. With his short legs he didn’t go far in either direction.

      He clearly didn’t want to tell me why he had come to find me.

      I clicked on my Trust Me super power," added a little Calming Power and aimed it at him.

      He suddenly stopped pacing and faced me.

      Nice magic, he said, taking a deep breath and clearly relaxing. Thanks, I feel better.

      I had never thought of my powers as magic before, but I suppose they were. And I had never tried them on a magical creature before now. Learn something every day, even from a Leprechaun.

      You’re welcome, I said, switching off my power. Now, what’s happening?

      Mrs. Lenny, my wife, is missing.

      TWO

      Now, of all the things a leprechaun might come to me for help with, I sure would have never thought it would be to find his wife. I didn’t even know where leprechauns lived. I had heard that the ones around Vegas lived in magically hidden forests and glens in valleys up by Lake Mead. But I would have to ask someone above me in the ranks if even that was right.

      And besides, I was a superhero in the world of gambling, specializing in poker, thus the name, Poker Boy. I wasn’t Missing-Persons-Boy, although I wouldn’t be surprised that a superhero with that name actually existed. Gods and superheroes seemed to exist for just about everything on the planet.

      So he had to have a special reason for coming to me.

      I’m sorry to hear about your wife, I said, actually being sincere. But not sure what you think I can do to help.

      I was told you would be the best person to help me, he said, looking very worried.

      Who told you that? More than likely this was just a joke being played on me, and so far I had fallen for it and taken the little guy a little too seriously.

      The general manager of the Okey-Doke Casino checked around and found out you were the best. He asked your boss if it would be all right if I contacted you, and he said sure.

      My boss? I asked, now stunned. Who do you think my boss is?

      The little guy sort of shrugged. Some guy named Stan I think.

      That was enough. I looked up into the air and shouted Stan!

      An instant later Stan, the God of Poker, appeared beside me in the parking lot. He had on his normal brown slacks, short-sleeved business shirt that matched his slacks and loafers. He had nothing at all distinctive about his face and his brown hair was cut short, but not too short. Perfect camouflage for a poker player. He could walk down the street and no one would notice him.

      Stan glanced around and nodded. Dead camera area, huh?

      And fresh air, I said.

      A little chilly, he said and a brown sweater appeared on him.

      You know Lenny here, I said, indicating the leprechaun.

      Stan nodded. Never met, but heard of the problem. Sorry to hear about your wife. If anyone can help you, it’s Poker Boy.

      Okay, so now I was convinced that Stan was in on this joke as well. Gods were well known for pulling pranks and practical jokes. And Stan had done his share over the years.

      I stood, adjusting my leather coat. Okay, so tell me the punch line so I can get back to my game.

      Lenny the Leprechaun looked pained and Stan just looked puzzled. After a moment Stan seemed to catch on to what I was saying, and he shook his head and looked at Lenny.

      You haven’t told him your problem yet?

      I told him my wife was missing, he said, defensively.

      But you didn’t tell him where, did you? Stan asked, staring down at the little elf.

      Lenny looked almost insulted. Where else would my wife go missing that I couldn’t find her?

      I shook my head and started away from the dead area of the casino parking lot. I’ve got a game to finish.

      Silicon Suckers, Stan said.

      The two words stopped me cold and I turned around and went back.

      Silicon Suckers are a very, very old race of beings that have been on Earth far longer than humans. They are often mistaken for the Grays by alien-watchers. The Silicon Suckers live in what they call castles under desert areas. They have huge, city-sized caverns and hundreds of miles of tunnels under the desert outside of Vegas on the north side of town. The Silicon Suckers control a large amount of desert all around Las Vegas. I have done numbers of favors for them over the years, so I am an honored guest in their cities.

      They also killed an old girlfriend of mine when she wouldn’t return some sacred silicon a doctor had put into her breasts. I had warned her many times that the Silicon Suckers would get their silicon back one way or another. And they did.

      I ignored Lenny and looked at Stan. I thought the fairy world and the Silicon Suckers were not on speaking terms.

      They aren’t, Stan said, clearly disgusted. But Mrs. Lenny thought she might be able to negotiate with them for a small piece of property near the lake.

      Did she ask anyone why that property would never be for sale? I asked, stunned. The only property the Silicon Suckers controlled near Lake Mead was a cliff face that represented some of their deepest beliefs and history. I was told that the cliff was the last remaining wall of their most ancient city.

      I doubt it, Stan said. Otherwise she wouldn’t be missing.

      We thought it would be a good addition to a charming pool under the wall, Lenny said. Make some slides on it, diving platforms, you know the drill.

      I just shook my head in disgust. Stan just smiled. His poker face was better than mine.

      If Lenny’s wife had tried to even make an offer on that cliff face, she was long since dead. Just the offer would be so insulting to the Silicon Suckers that Lenny’s wife would be moisture for their underground gardens.

      I was about to tell Lenny that, when it dawned on me that I knew exactly where Lenny’s wife was, and that she hadn’t even gotten to insulting the Silicon Suckers by telling them her people wanted to make a recreational area out of a scared place.

      I started laughing and both Stan and Lenny looked at me like I had gone crazy.

      Where did she try to go in? I asked Lenny between laughs.

      At the large Downtown Vegas billboard off the highway on the north, Lenny said, staring at me. And what’s so damned funny about my wife being missing?

      She’s not dead, that’s what, I said. She is a magical being, right?

      Of course, Lenny said, clearly angry, his little frame shaking.

      Then Stan started laughing as well. He understood enough about the Silicon Suckers to know that they must know a person’s true name before they will be allowed inside of their castles. And magical people won’t give out their real names unless really pressed, thus she would never be allowed into any Silicon Sucker city.

      I’ll go get her, I said to Stan. Take Lenny here back to Vegas and wait for my shout.

      THREE

      Stan nodded and I jumped to a small café on a side street in downtown Vegas. The Diner was my team’s favorite hangout, and it had the best hamburgers and milkshakes in town. It was decorated like one of the old 1960s diners, and was run by Madge, a superhero in the food service world.

      When I appeared, Madge was behind the counter and there were no other customers in the place. Madge had her hair up like normal in a tight bun, and her brown waitress dress was two sizes too small as was always normal as well.

      She turned around and smiled. I was expecting you, Poker Boy, she said. I heard that little leprechaun fellow was going to ask you to help rescue his wife from the Silicon Suckers.

      Word travels fast, I said, smiling as she placed three thermoses of hot chocolate on the counter in front of me.

      She knew that hot chocolate was the drug of choice for Silicon Suckers. It was more precious to them than gold was to humans. I had watched one Silicon Sucker take just a drop of hot chocolate and go into orgasmic shudders.

      Three thermoses full would give me some real bargaining power for Mrs. Lenny.

      Thanks, Madge, I said, dropping a hundred dollar bill on the counter. Does that cover everything?

      She smiled and picked up the bill. More than enough.

      Now I was down a hundred and ten for this adventure.

      See you soon, I said.

      I put one thermos into each pocket of my leather coat and then held the other

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1