Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series
THE ART OF DEDUCTION
THE CLOCK IS CUCKOO
SAY IT WITH FLOWERS
STOLEN GOODS
MR. OLEM’S SECRET
CHEERS
HE’LL KILL YOU
A GIRL MUST BE PRACTICAL
ACTING JOB
BLACK BELT
A PUTTING AWAY OF TOYS
DAN AND THE DEATH-CELL BLUFF
HOUSEBOAT
NICE GUY
A GOOD FRIEND
THIS IS MY NIGHT (Novel Sample)
DRAGNET: THE CASE OF THE COURTEOUS KILLER (Novel Sample)
PACIFIC STANDOFF (Novel Sample)
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Richard Deming Mystery MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2015 by Stacy Ford. All rights reserved. Cover art © Fotolia.
* * * *
The MEGAPACK™ and MINIPACK™ ebook series names are trademarks of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.
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“The Art of Deduction” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, June 1973. Copyright © 1973 by Richard Deming.
“The Clock Is Cuckoo” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May 1969. Copyright © 1969 by Richard Deming.
“Say It with Flowers” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July 1974. Copyright © 1974 by Richard Deming.
“Stolen Goods” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November 1979. Copyright © 1979 by Richard Deming.
“Mr. Olem’s Secret” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, August 1971. Copyright © 1971 by Richard Deming.
“Cheers” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, February 1968. Copyright © 1968 by Richard Deming.
“He’ll Kill You” was originally published in Detective Tales, November 1950. Copyright © 1950, renewed 1958 by Richard Deming (renewal #RE0000005385).
“A Girl Must Be Practical” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 1963. Copyright © 1963, renewed 1991 by Ruth Deming (renewal #RE0000579214).
“Acting Job” was originally published in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, January 1961.
“Black Belt” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November 1972. Copyright © 1972 by Richard Deming.
“A Putting Away of Toys” was originally published Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, April 1974. Copyright © 1974 by Richard Deming.
“Dan and the Death-Cell Bluff” was originally published in New Detective Magazine, October 1952. Copyright © 1952, renewed 1990 by Ruth Deming (renewal #RE0000050445).
“Houseboat” was originally published in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine, April 1966. Copyright © 1966 by Richard Deming.
“Nice Guy” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November 1969. Copyright © 1969 by Richard Deming.
“A Good Friend” was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Aug 1965. Copyright © 1965 by Richard Deming.
Sample chapters from Pacific Standoff are copyright © 1983 by Richard Deming.
Sample chapters from Dragnet: The Case of the Courteous Killer are copyright © 1958; copyright renewed in 1986 by Ruth L. Deming.
Sample chapters from This Is My Night are copyright © 1961, copyright renewed in 1989 by Ruth L. Deming. All rights reserved.
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 [email protected] or use the message boards above.
The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series
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THE GOLDEN AGE OF PULP FICTION
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THE GOLDEN AGE OF WEIRD FICTION
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The Richard Deming Mystery Megapack Page 1