as a window seat,
I gaze quietly through scratched glass
down the distance of the bar at her lost stare.
My thoughts move to comfort her
but my feet refuse to carry me
from my doomed flight.
Another Bloody Mary appears.
We taxi apart
without touching.
JUKEBOX MEMORIES
My past whirlpools
on a disc of notes
composed in a faraway time.
Smells...
from sounds...
from Speakers...
her memory.
I stare as my memory moves
across the room
and retreats
BACK...
Back...
back...
into the past.
I hope they don’t punch that key again.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Information
Contents
Introduction
[Skiing the Graveyard of Souls cover]
I used to waterski early in the morning when the surface of the lake seemed like a mirror. Looking down into the water as the boat pulled me across the calm waters, all I could see was a reflection of myself flashing over the surface.
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
[Eyes On My Cards cover]
Way back in 2005 I wrote a thriller with the name Dead Money. It starred Doc Hill, a professional poker player. I had every intention when I wrote the thriller to continue to write more Doc Hill stories, but because of the strangeness of publishing at the time, I put the novel in a drawer and pretty much forgot about it.
Two
Three
[Buffalo Jimmy cover]
What Came Before…
The Life and Times of Buffalo Jimmy
PART TWENTY-NINE
PART THIRTY
[Bryant Street cover]
I fear Bryant Street more than anything on the planet. Honestly, when in a standard subdivision, I always get lost, turned around, and slightly panicked. Not kidding.
Two
Three
[The Adventures of Hawk cover]
What came before in…
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
[Captain Bob cover]
Challenged by another writer to do a story about piranha poodles, Captain Joe-Jim Bob appeared from the depths of my fevered mind, to fight for what seems right against all odds.
April Issue
May Issue
June Issue
July Issue
[The Songs of Memory cover]
I put this story in here because it is the start of the link between my jukebox stories and my Thunder Mountain series of books and stories with Bonnie and Duster Kendal. I haven’t written the story yet with Bonnie and Duster and Stout, but I will.
Two
Three
[Heaven Painted as a Poker Chip cover]
Starting into a brand new series, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith asks a simple question: What happens if ghosts can fight crime and bad guys?
For Kris
Section One
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Section Two
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Thirty-three
Thirty-four
Thirty-five
Thirty-six
Thirty-seven
Thirty-eight
Thirty-nine
Forty
Forty-one
Forty-two
Forty-three
Forty-four
PLANE CRASH LOVER
JUKEBOX MEMORIES
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About the Author