Dean Wesley Smith (born November 10, 1950) is an American writer of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy. Smith has published nearly 200 novels and hundreds of short stories.
Smith has also written novels for various media franchises including Star Trek, Spider-Man, X-Men, Men in Black, and many other gaming, television, and movie properties.
Smith's novel Laying the Music to Rest was nominated for the 1990 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His short story In the Shade of the Slowboat Man was nominated for the 1997 Nebula Award for Best Short Story.
He is married to fellow writer and editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch and they have collaborated on several works. Smith and Rusch operated Pulphouse Publishing for many years and edited the original (hardback) incarnation of Pulphouse Magazine; they won a World Fantasy Award in 1989.
Smith attributes his prolific output to a self-developed writing method he calls "cycling", where he does minor edits and revisions as he goes along with a manuscript.This method is outlined in detail in several of Smith's instructional books, including Writing into the Dark: How to Write a Novel without an Outline (2015) The goal is to finish a sellable novel within a few weeks or a month, without needing a substantial second draft, due to his belief that over-writing or endlessly editing a novel tends to diminish its quality.
Bibliography
Shadow Warrior
For Dead Eyes Only, Pocket, October 1997
The Tenth Planet with Kristine Kathryn Rusch The Tenth Planet, Del Rey, 1999 Oblivion, Del Rey, 2000 The Final Assault, Del Rey, 2000
Pilgrim Hugh Incident The Case of the Intrusive Furniture, WMG Publishing, 2011 Miss Smallwood's Goodies, WMG Publishing, 2011 The Case of the Dead Lady Blues, WMG Publishing, 2016 The Case of the Lost Treasure, WMG Publishing, 2016 The Case of the Simple Passage, WMG Publishing, 2016
Doc Thriller Dead Money, WMG Publishing, 2013
Marble Grant Whistle for Help: A Marble Grant Story, WMG Publishing, 9 May 2021 The First Year: A Marble Grant Novel, WMG Publishing, 20 July 2021
Cold Poker Gang
Kill Game, WMG Publishing, May, 2014 Cold Call, WMG Publishing, February, 2015 Calling Dead, WMG Publishing, May, 2015 Bad Beat, WMG Publishing, January, 2016 Dead Hand, WMG Publishing, June, 2016 Freezeout, WMG Publishing, October, 2016 Ace High, WMG Publishing, February, 2017 Burn Card, WMG Publishing, December, 2017 Heads Up, WMG Publishing, November, 2019 Ring Game, WMG Publishing, April 2020 Bottom Pair, WMG Publishing, June 2021 The Remarkable Way She Died, WMG Publishing, March 2021 Under Glass, WMG Publishing, March 2021
Thunder Mountain
Thunder Mountain, WMG Publishing, January, 2014 Monumental Summit, WMG Publishing, March, 2014 Avalanche Creek, WMG Publishing, November, 2014 The Edwards Mansion, WMG Publishing, January, 2015 Lake Roosevelt, WMG Publishing, March, 2015 Warm Springs, WMG Publishing, April, 2015 Melody Ridge, WMG Publishing, December, 2015 Grapevine Springs, WMG Publishing, April, 2016 The Idanha Hotel, WMG Publishing, July, 2016 The Taft Ranch, WMG Publishing, September, 2016 Tombstone Canyon, WMG Publishing, December, 2017 Dry Creek Crossing, WMG Publishing, December, 2017
Non-fiction
Writing a Novel in Seven Days Heinlein's Rules How to Write Fiction Sales Copy Stages of a Fiction Writer Writing into the Dark Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing How to Write a Novel in Ten Days Think Like a Publisher The First Tee Panic
Smith's Monthly
Smith's Monthly #1, WMG Publishing, October, 2013 Smith's Monthly #2, WMG Publishing, November, 2013 Smith's Monthly #3, WMG Publishing, December, 2013 Smith's Monthly #4, WMG Publishing, January, 2014 Smith's Monthly #5, WMG Publishing, February, 2014 Smith's Monthly #6, WMG Publishing, March, 2014 Smith's Monthly #7, WMG Publishing, April, 2014 Smith's Monthly #8, WMG Publishing, May, 2014 Smith's Monthly #9, WMG Publishing, June, 2014 Smith's Monthly #10, WMG Publishing, July, 2014 Smith's Monthly #11, WMG Publishing, August, 2014 Smith's Monthly #12, WMG Publishing, September, 2014 Smith's Monthly #13, WMG Publishing, October, 2014 Smith's Monthly #14, WMG Publishing, November, 2014 Smith's Monthly #15, WMG Publishing, December, 2014 Smith's Monthly #16, WMG Publishing, January, 2015 Smith's Monthly #17, WMG Publishing, February, 2015 Smith's Monthly #18, WMG Publishing, March, 2015 Smith's Monthly #19, WMG Publishing, April, 2015 Smith's Monthly #20, WMG Publishing, May, 2015 Smith's Monthly #21, WMG Publishing, June, 2015 Smith's Monthly #22, WMG Publishing, July, 2015 Smith's Monthly #23, WMG Publishing, August, 2015 Smith's Monthly #24, WMG Publishing, September, 2015 Smith's Monthly #25, WMG Publishing, October, 2015 Smith's Monthly #26, WMG Publishing, November, 2015 Smith's Monthly #27, WMG Publishing, December, 2015 Smith's Monthly #28, WMG Publishing, January, 2016 Smith's Monthly #29, WMG Publishing, February, 2016 Smith's Monthly #30, WMG Publishing, March, 2016 Smith's Monthly #31, WMG Publishing, April, 2016 Smith's Monthly #32, WMG Publishing, May, 2016 Smith's Monthly #33, WMG Publishing, June, 2016 Smith's Monthly #34, WMG Publishing, July, 2016 Smith's Monthly #35, WMG Publishing, August, 2016 Smith's Monthly #36, WMG Publishing, September, 2016 Smith's Monthly #37, WMG Publishing, October, 2016 Smith's Monthly #38, WMG Publishing, November, 2016 Smith's Monthly #39, WMG Publishing, December. 2016 Smith's Monthly #40, WMG Publishing, January, 2017 Smith's Monthly #41, WMG Publishing, February, 2017 Smith's Monthly #42, WMG Publishing, March, 2017 Smith's Monthly #43, WMG Publishing, April, 2017 Smith's Monthly #44, WMG Publishing, May, 2017 Smith's Monthly #45, WMG Publishing, January, 2021 Smith's Monthly #46, WMG Publishing, February, 2021 Smith's Monthly #47, WMG Publishing, March, 2021 Smith's Monthly #48, WMG Publishing, April, 2021 Smith's Monthly #49, WMG Publishing, May, 2021 Smith's Monthly #50, WMG Publishing, June, 2021 Smith's Monthly #51, WMG Publishing, July, 2021 Smith's Monthly #52, WMG Publishing, August, 2021 Smith's Monthly #53, WMG Publishing, September, 2021 Smith's Monthly #54, WMG Publishing, October, 2021
Seeder's Universe Shadow in the City, WMG Publishing, September, 2010 Dust and Kisses, WMG Publishing, January, 2014 Against Time, WMG Publishing, February, 2014 Sector Justice, WMG Publishing, April, 2014 Morning Song, WMG Publishing, August, 2014 The High Edge, WMG Publishing, October, 2014 Star Mist, WMG Publishing, February, 2016 Star Rain,WMG Publishing, March, 2016 Star Fall,WMG Publishing, November, 2016 A Bad Patch of Humanity, WMG Publishing, March, 2016 Dreaming Large, WMG Publishing, March, 2016 A Matter for a Future Year, WMG Publishing, March, 2016 Starburst, WMG Publishing, January, 2017 A Billion Earths, WMG Publishing, March, 2021
Poker Boy The Slot's of Saturn, WMG Publishing, 2014 The Old Girlfriend of Doom, WMG Publishing, 2010 Dead Even, WMG Publishing, 2010 Gods Aren't Funny, WMG Publishing, 2016 Gambling Hell, WMG Publishing, 2013 Luck Be a Lady, WMG Publishing, 2010 Sighed the Snake, WMG Publishing, 2012 The Smoke That Doesn't Bark, WMG Publishing, 2012 The War of Poker, WMG Publishing, 2013 Daddy is an Undertaker, WMG Publishing, 2012 Nonexistent No MOre, WMG Publishing, 2013 Fighting the Fuzzy-Wuzzy, WMG Publishing, 2012 Pink Shoes and Hot Chocolate, WMG Publishing, 2012 Shootout in the Okey-Doke Casino, WMG Publishing, 2012 Dried Up, WMG Publishing, 2012 The Empty Mummy Murders, WMG Publishing, 2012 Living Time, WMG Publishing, 2013 Not Saleable For Sale, WMG Publishing, 2013 Just Shoot Me Now, WMG Publishing, 2013 For the Balance of a Heart, WMG Publishing, 2012 A Night With a Forgotten God, WMG Publishing, 2016 They're Back, WMG Publishing, 2016 Gods Have History, WMG Publishing, 2016 Leaking Away a Life, WMG Publishing, 2016 The Rude Improbable Presumptive, WMG Publishing, 2016 The Women of the Felt, WMG Publishing, 2011 Poker Boy vs The Silicon Suckers, WMG Publishing, 2012 Luck Be Ladies, WMG Publishing, 2019 Playing a Hunch, WMG Publishing, 2020 Mystery Cat, WMG Publishing, 2021 The Portal of Wrong Love, WMG Publishing, 2021
The Tenth Planet series, on which he collaborated with his wife, author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Smith's film novelizations include Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, The Rundown, Steel, The Core, and X-Men. an Other properties include Aliens, Roswell, Smallville, and Quantum Leap.
His Star Trek novels include original books in series adapted from five of the live action television series: the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. He has also written books in the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series, and has edited the contest anthology series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Smith's stories can also be found in almost 20 different anthologies, such as Journeys to the Twilight Zone (1992), The Book of Kings (1995), and Past Lives, Present Tense. He also wrote 4 books with his wife under the name Sandy Schofield.
In 1992, Smith was the founding publisher of Tomorrow Speculative Fiction before selling the magazine to editor Algis Budrys's UniFont.
Collections A Poker Boy Christmas: A Poker Boy Collection, WMG Publishing, 9 November 2021. The End Might Be Interesting After All: Six Really, Really Whacked Out End-of-Things Stories, WMG Publishing, 9 November 2021. Too Strange for the Name: Six Really, Really, Really Whacked Out Stories with Sex, WMG Publishing, 9 November 2021 A Case for Aliens: Six Really, Really, Really Whacked Out Alien Stories, WMG Publishing, 26 October 2021 Fantasy Love: Six Really, Really, Really Whacked Out Love Stories, WMG Publishing, 26 October 2021 Weird Crime: Six Really, Really, Really Whacked Out Crime Stories, WMG Publishing, 26 October 2021 Time for Cool Madness: Six Really, Really, Really Strange Marble Grant Stories, WMG Publishing, 26 October 2021 Holiday Insanity: Six Really, Really, Really, Whacked Out Holiday Stories, WMG Publishing, 26 October 2021 A Billion Earths: A Seeders Universe Collection, WMG Publishing, 21 March 2021 Luck Be Ladies: A Poker Boy Collection, WMG Publishing, 17 August 2019 Alien Vibrations: Five Strange Science Fiction Short Stories, WMG Publishing, 29 December 2017 The Case of Pilgrim Hugh: Five STrange Detective Stories, WMG Publishing, 18 April 2017
Short stories Black Betsy • [Jukebox] (1994) (collected in Mike Resnick's alternate history anthology Alternate Outlaws)
Awards Smith's novel Laying the Music to Rest, was nominated for the 1990 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. Smith's short story, In the Shade of the Slowboat Man, was nominated for the 1997 Nebula Award for Best Short Story.
References
External links Dean Wesley Smith's Official Homepage Fantastic Fiction’s Page for Dean Wesley Smith LibraryThing author profile