Dean Wesley Smith

Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, New York Times and USA Today bestselling writer, Dean Wesley Smith published over two hundred novels and over seven hundred books, and hundreds and hundreds of short stories. He has over thirty million copies of his books in print.

At the moment he produces novels in four major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the cold case mystery series, Cold Poker Gang series, and the superhero series starring Poker Boy.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Kristine Kathryn Rusch sold more than 35 million books worldwide. She publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance.

Her novels made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction appeared in more than twenty best-of-the-year collections. She won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov's Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.

The Year of the Cat - Book Four - A Cat of Strange Lands edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith

Cats roam everywhere on the planet. Everywhere. Their breed names often betray their place of origin—or their strange origin story in some now-lost land.

This collection honors that feline diversity in odd ways as much as possible. And the strange lands that cats not only originate from, but find themselves in.

These cats prowl in a witch's hut, an enchanted shop, post-apocalyptic cities such as Las Vegas and Seattle, as well as across an ancient land where they once ruled as gods.

Come settle in for a journey through the kitty-cat cosmos.

Includes:
"Cat Web" by Meyari McFarland
"Burning Bright" by Leigh Saunders
"The Poop Thief" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
"Cat in a Different Place" by Dean Wesley Smith
"A Silly Question" by E. Nesbit
"The Witch's Cat" by Manly Wade Wellman
"Life, with Cats" by Annie Reed
"Night of the Hogtied Alien" by Stefon Mears
"Fur Tsunami" by Kent Patterson

CURATOR'S NOTE

In 2020, Dean Wesley Smith and I did a cat-oriented Kickstarter. We thought it would be great fun to publish one book per month for twelve months. A Cat of Strange Lands features cats from and in strange places. And I don't mean cats that forced themselves to the back of a cupboard. I mean post-apocalyptic cities or enchanted worlds. This anthology features some classic writers, like E. Nesbitt and Manley Wade Wellman, as well as stories by Stefon Mears and Dean Wesley Smith. If you like this Year of the Ccat book, go to https://www.wmgpublishinginc.com/project/the-year-of-the-cat/ and pick up the volumes you've missed. – Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

Cats are everywhere on the planet. Everywhere: and their breed names often tell of the place they originated from in general. Or their strange origin story in some now-lost land.

For example, right now Kris and I have a cat named Cheeps. He is white with orange coloring, which makes him a red-point for his breed, which is Birman.

Birmans are rumored to have originated in Burma as temple cats, but their true history started in France in 1919. He is our second Birman and it is amazing how a breed's traits hold from cat to cat, even while their personalities are different.

So, with this collection, we wanted to honor that diversity of cats in odd ways as much as possible. And the diversity of locations that cats not only originate from, but find themselves in.

Here are titles of the twelve volumes of cat stories we are putting together.

-— Book One
A CAT OF A DIFFERENT COLOR
-— Book Two
A CAT OF PERFECT TASTE
-— Book Three
A CAT OF DISDAINFUL LOOKS
-— Book Four
A CAT OF STRANGE LANDS
-— Book Five
A CAT OF COZY SITUATIONS
-— Book Six
A CAT OF SPACE AND TIME
-— Book Seven
A CAT OF HEROIC HEART
-— Book Eight
A CAT OF ROVING NATURE
-— Book Nine
A CAT OF ARTISTIC SENSIBILITIES
-— Book Ten
A CAT OF FANTASTIC WHIMS
-— Book Eleven
A CAT OF FERAL INSTINCTS
-— Book Twelve
A CAT OF ROMANTIC SOUL

As with the previous volumes, it was not difficult to find stories to fit this title, especially since cats are strange just in general. In fact, the really hard job was to cut down the number of stories to nine.

We hope you'll enjoy the ones we did decide to go with.

Enjoy the ride.

Dean Wesley Smith
Las Vegas, Nevada