Search Worlds Without End

From the Hugo Award-winning hosts of the Writing Excuses writing advice show comes a collection of all-new stories of the fantastic, with beautiful illustrations and a behind-the-scenes look at each story's creation.

Brandon Sanderson's "Sixth of the Dusk," set in his Cosmere universe shared by the Mistborn books and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, showcases a society on the brink of technological change. On the deadly island of Patji, where predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a lone trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him.

Mary Robinette Kowal's "A Fire in the Heavens" is a powerful tale of a refugee seeking to the near-mythical homeland her oppressed people left centuries ago. When Katin discovers the role the "eternal moon" occupies in the Center Kingdom, and the nature of the society under its constant light, she may find enemies and friends in unexpected places.

Dan Wells's "I.E.Demon" features an Afghanistan field test of a piece of technology that is supposed to handle improvised explosive devices. Or so the engineers have told the EOD team that will be testing it; exactly what it does and how it does it are need-to-know, and the grunts don't need to know. Until suddenly the need arises.

Howard Tayler's "An Honest Death" stars the security team for the CEO of a biotech firm about to release the cure for old age. When an intruder appears and then vanishes from the CEO's office, the bodyguards must discover why he is lying to them about his reason for pressing the panic button.

For years the hosts of Writing Excuses have been offering tips on brainstorming, drafting, workshopping, and revision, and now they offer an exhaustive look at the entire process. Not only does Shadows Beneath have four beautifully illustrated fantastic works of fiction, but it also includes transcripts of brainstorming and workshopping sessions, early drafts of the stories, essays about the stories' creation, and details of all the edits made between the first and final drafts.

Come for the stories by award-winning authors; stay for the peek behind the creative curtain.

Table of Contents:

• Welcome to the Writing Excuses Anthology - essay by Brandon Sanderson
• A Fire in the Heavens - interior artwork by Rhiannon Rasmussen-Silverstein
• A Fire in the Heavens - novelette by Mary Robinette Kowal
• I.E.Demon - interior artwork by Kathryn Layno
• I.E.Demon - shortstory by Dan Wells
• An Honest Death - interior artwork by Ben McSweeney
• An Honest Death - shortstory by Howard Tayler
• Sixth of the Dusk - interior artwork by Kekai Kotaki
• Sixth of the Dusk - novelette by Brandon Sanderson
• Writing Excuses 7.51: Brainstorming with Mary - essay by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal and Dan Wells and Howard Tayler
• First Draft: A Fire in the Heavens - novelette by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Writing Excuses 9.30: Workshopping A Fire in the Heavens - essay by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal and Howard Tayler and Dan Wells
• Edits: A Fire in the Heavens - novelette by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Writing Excuses 7.35: Brainstorming with Dan - essay by Dan Wells and Howard Tayler and Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal
• Writing I.E.Demon - essay by Dan Wells
• First Draft: I.E.Demon - shortstory by Dan Wells
• Second Draft: I.E.Demon - shortstory by Dan Wells
• Edits: I.E.Demon - shortstory by Dan Wells
• Writing Excuses 8.9: Brainstorming with Howard - essay by Howard Tayler and Mary Robinette Kowal and Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells
• First Draft: An Honest Death - shortstory by Howard Tayler
• Second Draft: An Honest Death - shortstory by Howard Tayler
• Writing Excuses 9.31: Workshopping An Honest Death - essay by Brandon Sanderson and Eric James Stone and Howard Tayler and Mary Robinette Kowal
• Edits: An Honest Death - shortstory by Howard Tayler
• Writing An Honest Death - essay by Howard Tayler
• Writing An Honest Death - interior artwork by Howard Tayler
• Writing Excuses 9.31: Brainstorming with Brandon - essay by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal and Dan Wells and Howard Tayler
• First Draft: Sixth of the Dusk - novelette by Brandon Sanderson
• Writing Excuses 9.28 and 9.29: Workshopping Sixth of the Dusk - essay by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal and Dan Wells and Howard Tayler
• Edits: Sixth of the Dusk - novelette by Brandon Sanderson
• When Your Story's Climax Isn't an Ending: Fixing Sixth of the Dusk - essay by Brandon Sanderson