Our own Dean Wesley Smith had a birthday last week. And it was full of surprises. (Well, not for me…I know more about that man than he’s probably comfortable with <evil grin>).

First, Dean doesn’t usually talk about or celebrate his birthday. So, that alone is monumental.

Second, he decided to celebrate his birthday by launching into a writing challenge that few (if any) writers could accomplish.

Which basically means same Dean, different age.

The challenge, you see, is to write his age. That’s 67 books by the time he’s 68. And yes, I’m aware that means we’ll be publishing at least one book a week for Dean next year. It’s okay. I don’t sleep now <grin>.

First up is Death Takes a Diamond: A Mary Jo Assassin Novel. Those of you who read this blog regularly might remember that this is the book about which I detailed the steps for how I manipulated the art for the cover. Dean hadn’t written that book yet, and he used my cover as inspirations for some of the details in the book.

Here’s the synopsis:

When a contract comes in on another assassin, Mary Jo must discover why. Assassins don’t kill assassins.

With four ancient-order assassins working together, anything becomes possible.

Sex, murder, and diamonds. And pretty much in that order.

Only Mary Jo Assassin can deliver all three with a smile and a vodka orange juice drink in her hand.

So, there you go. One down, 66 to go.

And if you want to read more about Dean’s challenge, click here.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.