Showing results by author "Kristine Kathryn Rusch" in All Categories

Urban fantasy offers a diverse playground for some extremely powerful stories. Professional writer and editor Kerrie L. Hughes pulled some fantastic tales out of 14 top writers for this fifth installment of Fiction River. Set in urban lands from modern Portland, to a future Detroit, to a wild Washington, D.C., and ending the tour in London, these top writers take the idea of "Hex" and stretch and twist it into stories with a magickal grip on the imagination.

Fifty years after a stormy sea swallowed Spencer Chadwick at the treacherous Devil's Churn, his old sweetheart, Addy, finds herself face-to-face with a past she hoped to forget. She fled Dory Cove after that fateful day and stayed away until now-until her mother's death draws her back. And now, in her mother's yard, she finds young Spence's lookalike. Soon, the people of Dory Cove discover the impossible-Spence has returned. But what happened all those years ago, and what brought Spence back, will threaten to uncover long buried secrets.

Thomas fell in love with the Oregon Coast while filming his signature role as Anthony Short. Then his estranged daughter, Heather, died there, and Thomas fled. He's returned now, not to solve his daughter's murder, but to see if he can live with himself and his past. Only someone leaves mysterious notes, signed Your Daughter, and birds die on his porch. Strangers report a man in a cloak who looks just like Thomas, but the fans who follow him everywhere don't see anyone.

Davy Moss died fifteen years ago, but his fans keep him alive. They “see” him everywhere. They hold reunions, listen to his music over and over again. They encourage him to haunt them. But Davy Moss already haunts one man. Josh Candless, the man Davy Moss became after that accident. Contractor, loner, a man who makes music in the quiet of his apartment. Until one fateful day when he gives an impromptu performance in a bar.

The teenage girl wrapped in a sheet calls herself Casper (as in "The Friendly Ghost") but Secret Master of Fandom and private detective Spade doesn't find her friendly and she's definitely not a ghost. However, Paladin demands that Spade babysit Casper, and Spade never says no to Paladin. Even when it comes to babysitting on Halloween weekend, while Spade runs the second most important convention of the year. Because Paladin doesn't ask favors; she solves crimes. And apparently, she (and Casper) need help only Spade can provide.

Finally, Kristine Kathryn Rusch's graphic tale of a world overrun by vampires gets a new life of its own. When she was a little girl, Cammie drove a wooden stake through her father's heart to save her brother Ben's life. Separated by the system, Cammie lost track of Ben. Now Cammie works as an eradicator, a vampire slayer for a privately funded organization. But she can't forget her brother. She leaves her job and her home to discover what happened to Ben. Instead, she discovers what price she paid for her own survival. She learns about her family, and its legacy. She learns what it really means to have sins of the blood. A memorable cult classic of vampirism, Sins of the Blood is the most shocking book Rusch has ever written.

Secret Master of Fandom and Private Detective Spade faces an impossible mission: He must save Celebcon Five from itself. The convention that's trying to out Comic-con. Comic-con has decided to make Dmitri Karnikov its guest of honor. Spade doesn't want the mega-celebrity anywhere near a science fiction convention. When a celebrity of Karnikov's wattage agrees to attend, something's wrong.

For Amelia's second marriage, Gram gives her a visit to a wedding counselor. Not a marriage counselor, but someone who will advise how to achieve a perfect marriage through the perfect ceremony. Superstitious nonsense, Amelia thinks, but she doesn't want to offend Gram. But as the meeting progresses, Amelia realizes what the perfect wedding means - and why Gram wants her to have one.

Two different best of the year collections, including the prestigious Best American Mystery Stories, chose G-Men as one of the best stories of 2008. Part police procedural, part political thriller, this clever tale features real life characters interacting with fictional ones.

In this WMG Writer's Guide, international best-selling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch discusses the destructive ways peer workshops and the quest for perfection derail many writers' careers. Listening to critics and academics - amateur and professional - often strips out the joy of writing. And a failure to recognize writing as a business furthers the potential damage. But Rusch offers hope for writers who have suffered at the hands of critique - external and internal - and outlines a path to healing.

Mae, chief linguist on the Ivoire, heads adiplomatic mission to Ukhanda. Her handling of relations with the Quurzod lead to a battle that causes the Ivoire's anacapa drive to malfunction, stranding the ship in foldspace. Mae can't remember what she did wrong on the mission: all she knows is that she's one of the few survivors. If she doesn't recall it, she won't be able to prevent another disaster when the Ivoire escapes foldspace. If the Ivoire escapes foldspace.

Everyone says they want to be their own boss, but very few people know how. This book will help you learn how to think properly about owning a business. It gives you guidelines for setting up your office (in or out of the house), setting your schedule, and establishing your priorities. Getting started properly will put your business on the road to success.

The answers Captain Jonathan "Coop" Cooper and the crew of the Ivoire seek lie in the Boneyards. But an encounter from Coop's recent past shows up to haunt him, an encounter he never told Boss about, an encounter that could threaten her future, his life, and the fragile peace between the Alliance and the Empire.

Networking sounds hard - and it is, if you're trying to do it "right." Instead, do it your way. International bestseller Kristine Kathryn Rusch offers her tips on networking in person. She solicited the help of great online networkers like bestsellers Neil Gaiman and Michael A. Stackpole to give online networking tips. This short book teaches you everything you need to know about networking - and more!

Being your own boss means setting your own schedule. Sounds easy, right? Instead, it's one of the toughest parts of freelancing. In this short book, international bestselling writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch shows you how to create a schedule, meet deadlines, take time for vacation, and cope with illness. The perfect guide for freelancers who can't find enough time in the day.

Assassin Halina Layla Orlinskaya no longer kills for her country. She has fled to a space station in the Nether Realm. And now a space yacht has arrived, a space yacht filled with corpses, including her husband's. Only her twelve-year-old son Misha has survived. And he has a message for her.

Strange things have always happened in Seavy County, the most rugged stretch of Oregon's coastline. Violent storms spring up like magic, even when the rest of the state enjoys sunshine; unearthly beings are sometimes glimpsed in the twilight; and those who live there understand that a rare enchantment still lives in the world, although they seldom speak of it. For Seavy County is home to not just animal life, but to fantasy life as well: mythical creatures long vanished from the rest of the planet.

From a funeral procession in Asia, to an ancestral estate deep in the heart of a vaguely Victorian forest, to a carriage accident in the vast universe of The Runelords, Unnatural Worlds takes listeners on a journey to the far side of the imagination. Funny, heartbreaking, frightening, but most importantly, memorable, the original stories in this anthology go places few writers dare reach. Unnatural Worlds marks the perfect start to the brand-new Fiction River anthology series.

Everyone has dreams, but most people don't know how to achieve them. Goals help people achieve their dreams, but how do you know if you've set the right goals? In this book-length excerpt from the massive Freelancer's Survival Guide, international best-selling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch will help you set the right goals to achieve your dreams. She also has tips for staying positive and remaining patient while you're on the road to success.

Setbacks happen to everyone. Surviving them is hard. Surviving failure is even harder. But every successful person has had at least three failures before finding that success. So how do you turn failure to success? The answers lie in this book-length excerpt from the massive Freelancer's Survival Guide by international bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch, who will show you how to turn those inevitable setbacks into opportunity.