Douglas Smith

A "biography of Rasputin, spiritual guide to the Romanovs and source of great political intrigue, based on many new documents"--

Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs

Rasputin

Examines the fate of two Russian aristocratic families in a detailed account of the Bolshevik Revolution's effect on the upper class, discussing the relentless lootings, harrowing escapes, humbling exile and imprisonment, and summary executions that tookplace during this violent time of transition.

The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy

Former People

Konstantin Paustovsky

Story of a Life

A chimerascope is an instrument for viewing fantasies. In Smith's hands, it certainly delivers.

Chimerascope

An award-winning historian reveals the harrowing, little-known story of an American effort to save the newly formed Soviet Union from disaster After decades of the Cold War and renewed tensions, in the wake of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, cooperation between the United States and Russia seems impossible to imagine—and yet, as Douglas Smith reveals, it has a forgotten but astonishing historical precedent. In 1921, facing one of the worst famines in history, the new Soviet government under Vladimir Lenin invited the American Relief Administration, Herbert Hoover’s brainchild, to save communist Russia from ruin. For two years, a small, daring band of Americans fed more than ten million men, women, and children across a million square miles of territory. It was the largest humanitarian operation in history—preventing the loss of countless lives, social unrest on a massive scale, and, quite possibly, the collapse of the communist state. Now, almost a hundred years later, few in either America or Russia have heard of the ARA. The Soviet government quickly began to erase the memory of American charity. In America, fanatical anti-communism would eclipse this historic cooperation with the Soviet Union. Smith resurrects the American relief mission from obscurity, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey from the heights of human altruism to the depths of human depravity. The story of the ARA is filled with political intrigue, espionage, the clash of ideologies, violence, adventure, and romance, and features some of the great historical figures of the twentieth century. In a time of cynicism and despair about the world’s ability to confront international crises, The Russian Job is a riveting account of a cooperative effort unmatched before or since.

The Forgotten Story of How America Saved the Soviet Union from Ruin

The Russian Job

The Thrilling Conclusion to the Multi-Award-Winning Trilogy Will is the Dream Rider, the superhero who walks in our dreams but never in the streets of his own city. Case is his girlfriend, a survivor of those streets who hears voices warning her of danger. Fader, her brother, is very good at disappearing. In The Hollow Boys, they defeated a body swapper and a witch to save the world. In The Crystal Key, they battled warring cults to protect an ancient artifact tied to Will's affliction. The Chakana. The Crystal Key. But the key to what? To finding answers, they hope, to the questions that rule their lives. What caused their strange powers? And Will's crippling agoraphobia? Can he be cured? Why did their parents travel to the jungles of Peru eight years ago? Are they still alive? Behind every question is the Chakana. What is the mysterious relic? Why will people kill to possess it? What hold does it have on Will? As creatures from Inca myths haunt the three friends, another attack on the Chakana threatens Will's life. To save him and solve the mystery of the lost expedition, only one choice remains. Return to Peru. With the Chakana. There, they find friends and foes, both old and new. And behind it all, an unseen enemy moving them like pieces on a chessboard. To win this deadly game, Will, Case, and Fader must master new powers to defeat the most dangerous adversary they've ever faced—a god. At stake this time? Every life, every world, every universe. Everything. ~~~ Indiana Jones meets Teen Titans in The Dream Rider Saga, a fast-paced urban fantasy trilogy from “one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction” (Library Journal). “Smith powers to an explosive conclusion in the finale of his Dream Rider series, a lavishly concocted ride brimming with magic, mystery, and mayhem… [and] bursting with dark magic, beastly protectors, and a slew of extraordinary fantasy characters … Smith skillfully probes deeper messages behind all the fun, as the main players face the consequences of humankind’s disregard for the Earth—and each other. … Takeaway: Explosive conclusion to this spectacular fantasy joyride.” — BookLife (Editor's Pick) Praise for The Hollow Boys (The Dream Rider Saga, #1) 2023 Aurora Award Winner for Best Young Adult Novel 2023 IAP Award Winner for Best Young Adult Novel “This arresting series kickoff grips from the start as it introduces its inventive milieu, its flawed but fantastically powered hero, its playful worldbuilding, and a host of tantalizing mysteries. … [A] vigorously imaginative scenario. ... Takeaway: Thrilling YA fantasy” —BookLife (Editor’s Pick) “An assured, confident novel... A must-read story for YA fantasy fans.” —Blueink Review (Starred review) “Inventive, engaging, and boundless fun.” —The Ottawa Review of Books “A fun supernatural tale with well-developed characters and a touch of romance.” —Kirkus Reviews Praise for The Crystal Key (The Dream Rider Saga, #2) “The richly inventive Dream Rider adventure continues in this second appealing entry…of Smith’s epic YA series. … An exciting plot…always enlivened by the Smith hallmarks of crack dialogue, fun sleuthing and puzzle-solving, a strong through-line of emotion, a swift pace…and a principled refusal to settle for the familiar. … This thrilling superpowered urban fantasy series continues to grip.” —BookLife (Editor’s Pick) “Smith continues to demonstrate an ability to expertly weave multiple complex fantasy elements into a cohesive whole. … This fast-paced story delivers in a big way—and Smith has all his ducks lined up for an explosive conclusion that readers won’t want to miss.” —Blueink Review (Starred review) “Smith’s take on superheroes and serials is both modern and original … High adventure leavened with romance and mystery. … The Crystal Key has everything that made The Hollow Boys work and turns it up a few notches. I can’t wait for the conclusion in The Lost Expedition.” —Ottawa Review of Books “A fun and engrossing superhero sequel.” —Kirkus Reviews

The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3

The Lost Expedition

The Dream Rider Saga, Book 2 "Give me the Crystal Key!" Will Dreycott is the Dream Rider, the agoraphobic teenage superhero who can walk in our dreams but never in the streets of his city. Case is his girlfriend, a survivor of those streets who hears voices that warn her of danger. Fader is her brother, who is very good at disappearing. Together, they defeated a body swapper and a witch to save the world (The Hollow Boys). Now, Case battles guilt over living sheltered in Will's tower home while her street friends still struggle. Blaming his affliction for Case's sadness, Will searches for a way to live a normal life with the girl he loves—a way to go outside. But his efforts draw the attention of dark forces. Sinister figures hunt Will in Dream. Intruders scour the vast warehouse of antiquities "acquired" by Will's missing parents. And a masked swordswoman attacks Will, demanding "the Crystal Key" before disappearing into thin air. Are they all searching for the same thing? Something from Will's parents' shady past? For the swordswoman leaves behind a flowery scent, Will's only memory from the lost expedition eight years ago that gave him powers in Dream but cost him his parents and his freedom. A trail of dark secrets leads Will, Case, and Fader to a mysterious world. Trapped between warring cults willing to kill for the Crystal Key, the three friends must master strange new powers that grow stronger and wilder the closer they draw to the truth. This time it's not just the fate of the world at stake…but the multiverse. Indiana Jones meets Teen Titans in The Dream Rider Saga, a fast-paced urban fantasy trilogy from "one of Canada's most original writers of speculative fiction" (Library Journal). "The man is Sturgeon good. Zelazny good. I don't give those up easy." —Spider Robinson, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner "A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice." —Charles de Lint, World Fantasy Award winner "His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think." —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner "Stories you can't forget, even years later." —Julie Czerneda, multi-award-winning author and editor

The Dream Rider Saga, Book 2

The Crystal Key

Sunburst Award Finalist | Aurora Award Finalist | CBC Bookies Award Finalist Chimerascope [ki-meer-uh-skohp] — a story of many parts... A young artist hungers to draw you. A dinner conversation takes three lifetimes to finish. A geologist faces a planet-sized, eons-old puzzle to save her crew. The hero of the Fall of Earth must choose between love and revenge. A mysterious dancer leads a businessman to a most exclusive nightclub. A man is born each day into a new life — only to die each night. A sentient aurora threatens the last of humanity. A Norse god’s bar in Toronto hosts an unplanned family reunion. A woman descends into insanity — or is it the end of the world? A house as big as the world. Chimerascope is the first full collection of short fiction from the multi-award winning Douglas Smith, containing sixteen of his best stories, including an award winner, a Best New Horror selection, and eight award finalists. Sixteen stories of fantasy and science fiction that take you from love in fourteenth-century Japan to humanity’s last stand, from virtual reality to the end of reality, from alien drug addictions to a dinner where a man loses everything.

Take your first step to becoming a professional short fiction writer—Buy this book! In an engaging and conversational style, award-winning author Douglas Smith teaches you how to market and sell short stories—and much, much more. Even experienced writers will find value here as Smith takes you from your first sale to using your stories to build a writing career. CONTENTS: The Fundamentals: The different types of writers. The benefits of short fiction. Rights and licensing. Selling Your Stories: Knowing when it's ready. Choosing markets. Submitting stories. Avoiding mistakes. How editors select stories. Dealing with rejections. When to give up on a story. After a Sale: Contracts. Working with editors. What your first sale means. Dealing with reviews. A Writer's Magic Bakery: Selling reprints. Foreign markets. Audio markets. Selling a collection. The indie option. Becoming Established: Leveraging your stories. Discoverability and promotion. Career progression in short fiction. With an introduction by multi-award winning writer and editor, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. "We short story writers have needed a book like this for decades. ... It’s spectacular." —Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Award-winning Author & Editor “If you are the least bit interested in having a career as a fiction writer then I can tell you what to read: Douglas Smith’s Playing the Short Game: How to Market & Sell Short Fiction. From now on this is my go-to book for all things related to starting and maintaining my fiction writing career.” —Filip Wiltgren, The Guide to a Professional Writing Career

Playing the Short Game: How to Market and Sell Short Fiction

Of all of history's great romances, few can compare with that of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin. Their turbulent and complicated relationship shocked their contemporaries and continues to intrigue observers of Russia centuries later. Lovers, companions, and, most likely, husband and wife, Catherine and Potemkin were also close political partners, and for a time Potemkin served as Catherine's de facto co-ruler of the Russian Empire. Their letters offer an intimate glimpse into the lovers' unguarded moments, revealing both ecstatic expressions of love and candid insights on eighteenth-century politics. In February 1774, the Russian empress took Grigory Potemkin for her lover and, it is now believed, secretly married him a few months later. Particularly in the first two years of their relationship, Catherine was consumed by her passion for Potemkin. The hundreds of letters and notes she dashed off to him between assignations in the Winter Palace during this time attest to the giddy exuberance of the new love that so fully embraced her. Love and Conquest contains the most historically significant and personally revealing of these letters, only a few of which have ever before been translated into English. Beginning with Potemkin's letter to Catherine written while off fighting the Turks in 1769 and concluding with his farewell note scribbled the day before his death in 1791, the correspondence spans most of Catherine's reign. The letters are at once personal and political, private and public. Many of Catherine's love letters to Potemkin written during their stormy affair reveal the empress's passionate personality. Potemkin's letters provide rare insight into his arrogant and mercurial character, while serving to dispel the myth of Potemkin as little more than a corrupt sycophant. Love and Conquest reveals the complexity of Catherine and Potemkin's personal relationship in light of dramatic changes in matters of state, foreign relations, and military engagements. After their love cooled, Catherine and Potemkin continued to discuss and debate a wide range of state affairs in their letters, including the annexation of the Crimea, court politics, wars against the Ottoman Empire and Sweden, and the colonization of southern Russia. Together they carried out the most dramatic territorial expansion in the history of imperial Russia, transforming Catherine into a powerful world leader and creating a bond of affection that would never fully fade. Readers will find in the letters new insights on Russia's most famous empress, her passions, and her world.

Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin

Love & Conquest

Maurice Eggen

Richard St. Andre

Successfully addressing the frustration many students feel as they make the transition from beginning calculus to a more rigorous level of mathematics, A Transition to Advanced Mathematics provides a firm foundation in the major ideas needed for continued work in the discipline. The authors guide students to think and to express themselves mathematically--to analyze a situation, extract pertinent facts, and draw appropriate conclusions. With their proven approach, Smith, Eggen, and St. Andre introduce students to rigorous thinking about sets, relations, optional functions and cardinality, and present introductions to modern algebra and analysis with sufficient depth to capture some of their spirit and characteristics. Addressing the needs of different students, A Transition to Advanced Mathematics includes exercises of varying difficulty for each section and provides worked-out answers to selected problems. With its straightforward style, logical topic sequence, exceptionally clear writing, well-chosen examples, illustrations, and historical notes, this unparalleled text will improve mathematical fashion, thereby giving your students a solid understanding of the material most useful for advanced courses.

A Transition to Advanced Mathematics

Maroch, ex-CIA, reluctantly agrees to coach a beautiful young woman “remote viewer” in a scheme to locate lost paintings. But the woman, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead wife, has her own secrets. Together, they set off a chain of events that may alter the past and destroy both their lives. “The pièce de résistance of the collection and one of the best and most moving novellas I have read in a while. Haunting and evocative... Just astounding. ...” —Fantasy Book Critic “This is one of those heady and ambitious stories that throw so many different elements into the narrative mix that one wonders whether the author is going to be able to pull it off. In fact, Smith does so very skillfully, so that the plot arc, character development, and denouement come off feeling effortless and elegant, and quite satisfying.” —Dead Reckonings review magazine “...a beautiful and haunting tale of love, loss and remote viewing. “ —Hellnotes

Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh

Lecturer in French Studies Douglas Smith

Take your first step to selling more stories and building a career as a short fiction writer-buy this book! In an engaging and conversational style, award-winning author Douglas Smith teaches how to market and sell short fiction-and much, much more. Even experienced writers will find value in these pages as Smith takes us on a journey that begins with making your first sale and ends with learning to use short stories to build a foundation for a career in fiction. The book covers the following: "The Fundamentals: " The different types of writers. The benefits of short fiction. Rights and licensing for short fiction. "Selling Your Stories: " Knowing when it's ready. Choosing the right market. Submitting stories. Mistakes to avoid. How editors select stories (and why). Dealing with rejections. When to give up on a story. "After a Sale: " Short fiction contracts. Working with an editor. What your first sale means. Dealing with reviews. "A Writer's Magic Bakery: " Selling reprints. Selling in foreign languages. Selling audio rights. Selling a collection. The indie option. "As You Become Established: " How to leverage your short fiction. Discoverability tools and promotion. Career progression in short fiction. With an introduction by the multi-award winning author and editor, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: "We short story writers have needed a book like this for decades. I'm glad Doug decided to write it. Read and reread this volume. Because you'll learn something each time you do. And take Doug's advice. It's spectacular. Don't take my word for it. Turn the page and dive in. By the time you're done, I'll wager you'll be recommending this book to your writer friends-just like I have." "-Kristine Kathryn Rusch"

Twin brothers-a sorcerer and a warrior-are each tortured for their opposing convictions. Will magick be restored or extinguished? Magick had once ruled The Three Kingdoms, but it is now banished and condemnable. Twin brothers, Jaromir and Talmage have been imprisoned, but for different convictions. Jaromir wakes up chained to a table filled with dread, while Talmage is thrown into an underground labyrinth. Jaromir has devoted his life to mastering weapons as the Empress' Guard and forming a secret order to rid the world of magick. His lifetime devotion is useless when his limbs are chained. Unless he divulges the order's plans. Jaromir is tortured and his body pushed to breaking but he refuses to betray the order--until his wife is dragged into the room. Jaromir is forced to make a choice between his honor and his beloved wife. Which will he choose? Meanwhile, Talmage is thrown into an underground labyrinth. Since his parent's death, he had practiced the art of magick in secret from his brother's order. Magick had been his savor and his security through his troubled life. No matter what Talmage tried, the ghosts of his past haunt him--especially in the dark passages. At first, he thought he was alone, for one last trial, until familiar voices echo from the shadows. Both brothers must escape from their wicked fate, identify their outgrown relationship, and swallow their pride, before it's too late. If one of them fails; they both suffer.

A Three Kingdoms Novella

Shadow Of The Wicked

A shapeshifter hero battles ancient spirits, a covert government agency, and his own dark past in a race to solve a murder that could mean the end of the world. Cree and Ojibwe legends mix with current day environmental conflict in this fast-paced urban fantasy that keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to its explosive conclusion. With an introduction by Charles de Lint. The Heroka walk among us. Unseen, unknown. Shapeshifters. Human in appearance but with power over their animal totems. Gwyn Blaidd is a Heroka of the wolf totem. Once he led his people in a deadly war against the Tainchel, the shadowy agency that hunts his kind. Now he lives alone in his wilderness home, wolves his only companions. But when an Ojibwe girl is brutally killed in Gwyn’s old hometown, suspicion falls on his former lover. To save her, Gwyn must return, to battle not only the Tainchel, but even darker forces: ancient spirits fighting to enter our world... And rule it. “An immersive and enjoyable reading experience. Readers will delight in learning more about Native American mythology, which is skillfully woven throughout the story. Smith’s novel is both well paced and deftly plotted—leaving readers curious about what comes next for the Heroka in the modern world.” — Publishers Weekly “What makes THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD such an engrossing read are the characters and Doug’s wonderful prose, a perfect blend between matter-of-fact and lyricism. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that spoke to me, so eloquently, and so deeply, on so many levels. ... I’ll be rereading it in the future because it’s that sort of book. Richly layered and deeply resonant. An old friend, from the first time you read it.” — Charles de Lint, World Fantasy Award winner

The Wolf at the End of the World

On the centenary of the death of Rasputin comes a definitive biography that will dramatically change our understanding of this fascinating figure A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the personification of evil. Numerous biographies, novels, and films recount his mysterious rise to power as Nicholas and Alexandra's confidant and the guardian of the sickly heir to the Russian throne. His debauchery and sinister political influence are the stuff of legend, and the downfall of the Romanov dynasty was laid at his feet. But as the prizewinning historian Douglas Smith shows, the true story of Rasputin's life and death has remained shrouded in myth. A major new work that combines probing scholarship and powerful storytelling, Rasputin separates fact from fiction to reveal the real life of one of history's most alluring figures. Drawing on a wealth of forgotten documents from archives in seven countries, Smith presents Rasputin in all his complexity--man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard. Rasputin is not just a definitive biography of an extraordinary and legendary man but a fascinating portrait of the twilight of imperial Russia as it lurched toward catastrophe.

There are thousands of mortgage loan originators in business today. Have you ever wondered why some are so much more successful than others? Why do some loan officers consistently produce high results, while others struggle just to get by? Climbing the Ladder of Success shares 19 valuable lessons that top performers have learned about achieving great results in mortgage loan originations. You'll discover new approaches for managing your time, controlling your operations, building stronger referral sources and making more money than ever before. Written by a 20-year industry professional, Climbing the Ladder of Success is straightforward and real world, providing tangible ideas to make your job easier and your results even more successful.

Climbing the Ladder of Success

The gripping human story of how American volunteers fought famine in Bolshevik Russia, saving Lenin’s revolutionary government from chaos and millions of people from starvation. 'Brilliant, disturbing . . . an important story that needed to be told. A fast-moving and most compelling read.' - Helen Rappaport, author of The Race to Save the Romanovs In 1921, after six years of unrelenting war and revolution, Russia was in ruins. The economy had collapsed, the country was ravaged by disease and starvation claimed the lives of millions. People were so desperate for food that there were reports of cannibalism, reports that were revealed to be horribly accurate. Remarkably, it was a young American aid worker who uncovered the truth and, even more remarkably, it was the US-backed charity that had sent him to Russia that would save Lenin’s fledgling government by feeding his people. In The Russian Job, acclaimed historian Douglas Smith tells the gripping story of how an American charity fought the Russian famine. Backed by $20 million from the US government, and founded by Herbert Hoover, US Secretary of Commerce, the American Relief Administration recruited more than three hundred young Americans, many of them war veterans. They would oversee the distribution of food, clothing and medical supplies to people throughout Russia’s vast landmass, saving millions of lives. Vividly written, with a rich cast of characters and a deep understanding of the period, The Russian Job shines a bright light on this strange and shadowy moment in history.

The Forgotten Story of How America Saved the Soviet Union from Famine

Antonio Ramirez

Designed for the two-year college or high-school tech prep student, Technical Drawing 101 with AutoCAD, Second Edition, offers a complete field-tested curriculum for the first semester of technical drawing. Its unique approach blends technical drawing and intro to AutoCAD, resulting in a book that emphasizes the fundamental concepts, knowledge, and skill needed for second-level courses. Both mechanical and architectural projects are introduced to capture the interest of more students and to offer a broader appeal. Instructor check prints and PowerPoint slides are provided to guide each lecture, and the complete curriculum is designed to improve student retention and recruitment.

A Multidisciplinary Curriculum for the First Semester

Technical Drawing 101

Set against the backdrop of imperial Russia, this tale of forbidden romance is the stuff of a great historical novel. It presents the account of the love between Count Nicholas Sheremetev, Russia's richest aristocrat, and Praskovia Kovalyova, his serf and the greatest opera diva of her time.

Douglas Smith

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