Smith's Monthly #27 Read online

  He had thought this valley beautiful when he found it uninhabited. But now he found it even more beautiful.

  It seemed the mystery of Grapevine Springs has been solved.

  He liked that.

  He had hated the idea that history could be cheated by simply being planted for the sake of money. That had bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

  To him, history was everything.

  He loved history, he loved supporting the research into history. He loved the researchers who worked to get history correct, no matter how politically wrong or inconvenient that might be.

  And more than anything, he loved living in the history.

  He loved the people and the way of life and everything about it.

  Even after thousands of years of living in the past, it just never got old.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith published far more than a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres.

  At the moment he produces novels in five major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, a superhero series starring Poker Boy, and a mystery series featuring the retired detectives of the Cold Poker Gang.

  His monthly magazine, Smith’s Monthly, which consists of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and offers readers more than 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month.

  During his career, Dean also 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, he 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 almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.

  Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing, where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as series editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series.

  For more information about Dean’s books and ongoing projects, please go to www.deanwesleysmith.com, www.smithsmonthly.com or www.fictionriver.com.

  Thank You!!

  I would like to thank the following wonderful people who support my blog and my work through Patreon. Your support is very important to me. Thanks!

  Betsy Wilcox

  Irette Y. Patterson

  Kathryn Rooney

  Wendy Lee Maddox

  Jamie Curierre

  Chris Cousino

  Jane Lawson

  Shantnu Tiwari

  Miguel Angel Alonso Pulido

  Nancy Hendrickson

  Ryan M. Williams

  Jacob Proffitt

  Marian Goldeen

  Gary Speer

  Megan Bryce

  Michelle Tatam

  Ann Tucker

  Kari Wolfe

  Albert Lemke

  Stacey Larson

  Diane Darcy-

  Krystle Jones

  Kari Gallagher

  T. Thorn Coyle

  Tasha Turner Lennhoff

  Erick Lindman

  Christopher Ridge

  Terry Mixon

  James Husun

  Sherman Cox

  Chong Go

  Maria Grace

  Grondpom

  Fen

  Robin Brande

  J.R. Murdock

  Kathleen McClure

  Gunnar Gunderson

  F.I. Goldhaber

  Mary Jo Rabe

  John Kilgallon

  Dave Hendrickson

  Jabberwocky

  Eric Goebelbecker

  Marsha Kessler

  Scott Gordon

  Martyn Folkes

  John

  Cj Lehi

  Brenda Smith

  Copyright Information

  Smith’s Monthly Issue #27

  All Contents copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith

  Published by WMG Publishing

  Cover and interior design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing

  Cover art copyright © by Adrenalinapura/Dreamstime.com

  “Introduction: Another Thunder Mountain Novel” copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith

  “The Smoke that Doesn’t Bark” copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith, cover design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing.

  “The Call of the Track Ahead” copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith, cover design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing.

  Writing into the Dark copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith, cover design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing.

  “Growing Pains of the Dead” copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith, cover design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing.

  “The Case of the Dead Lady Blues” copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith, cover design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing.

  Grapevine Springs: A Thunder Mountain Novel copyright © 2015 Dean Wesley Smith, cover design copyright © 2015 WMG Publishing.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in the fiction in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  The Smoke That Doesn’t Bark

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  The Call of the Track Ahead

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  Writing into the Dark

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  Growing Pains of the Dead

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  The Case of the Dead Lady Blues

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  Grapevine Springs

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  PART ONE

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  PART TWO

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  PART THREE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  PART FOUR

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  PART FIVE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  THIRTY-TWO

  THIRTY-THREE

  THIRTY-FOUR

  THIRTY-FIVE

  THIRTY-SIX

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  THIRTY-NINE

  FORTY

  EPILOGUE

  Subscription Information

  About the Author />
  Acknowledgements

  Copyright Information