A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
A year or so ago, I began tracking down the estates of mystery writers whose work I admired, but who had somehow become “lost” in the shuffle of publishing. Robert Holding. Fletcher Flora. Talmage Powell. Rufus King. Jack Iams. And especially Richard Deming.
Deming (1915-1983) wrote prolifically for magazines (more than 200 short stories) as well as for major book publishers (more than two dozen novels, ranging from original crime novels to media tie-ins (Dragnet and The Mod Squad) to even a pseudonymous nautical series involving submarines. He was a meticulous professional who never disappointed readers.
After much bibliographic, copyright, and genealogical internet research, I managed to track down his granddaughter, Stacy Ford. Stacy was well aware of her grandfather’s writing talents, as she had been raised by Deming and his wife, Ruth, as if she were their own daughter. Stacy and I found we had a lot in common (including college-age kids) and really hit it off. I offered to manage the estate on her behalf, and she accepted.
And almost immediately I discovered skulduggery worthy of a Richard Deming novel! A literary agent Stacy had never heard of had been licensing work by Richard Deming for years (mostly in ebook form) and keeping it “in escrow” until the estate turned up. I quickly extricated Deming from said agent’s grasp, and we haven’t looked back.
We have already released a pair of standalone Deming novels—Dragnet: The Case of the Courteous Killer and This Is My Night—and begun to release the Periscope series. And there are lots more on the way.
Enjoy!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE SERIES
Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.