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  About the Writer

  Brian S. Wheeler calls Hillsboro, Illinois home, a town of roughly 6,000 in the middle of the flatland. He grew up in Carlyle, Illinois, a community less than an hour away from Hillsboro, where he spent a good amount of his childhood playing wiffle ball and tinkering on his computer. The rural Midwest inspires much of Brian's work, and he hopes any connections readers might make between his fiction and the places and people he has had the pleasure to know are positive.

  Brian earned a degree in English from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. He has taught high school English and courses in composition and creative writing. Imagination has been one of Brian's steadfast companions since childhood, and he dreams of creating worlds filled with inspiration and characters touched by magic.

  When not writing, Brian does his best to keep organized, to get a little exercise, or to try to train good German Shepherd dogs. He remains an avid reader. More information regarding Brian S. Wheeler, his novels, and his short stories can be found by visiting his website at www.flatlandfiction.com.

  Take a brave, first step onto the flatland!

  The wind whispers more tales of starlight, magic and terror. Download these other great tales by Brian S. Wheeler available online and discover fantasy unrestrained by formula.

  SCIENCE FICTION

  Niles Cavendish Chooses a Valentine

  Time turns Niles Cavendish sad. He has wasted his youth in kindness, and he recognizes too late how good manners masked his cowardice. Niles swallows his desires until Dr. Valentine vows to give Niles the power to realize his dreams. Only, Dr. Valentine has a vision of his own, and he’s not afraid to trespass on another man’s dream to achieve it.

  Firedrop Garnish

  The crimson blossoms of the alien firedrop flower pull mankind into the stars. Though the firedrop offers no taste nor nutritional value, there is little humanity would not sacrifice to serve the firedrop upon a household's finest china. Space knows a thousand ways to kill those who dare float amid the stars, and yet the simple pulse and glow of an alien weed make all the dangers worthwhile.

  The Sirens’ Last Lament

  Mankind shows no mercy to those of the Black Sun Temple. For those cultists who warn those alien sirens are mankind's doom jeopardize the melodies those creatures share with humankind. But that zeal for justice blinds mankind's empathy, until the executioners attending to their duty upon Ganymede push too far and ruin any chance to some day sing alongside those incredible sirens mesmerizing man.

  So That a Marigold Might Live Free

  The orange blight threatens to consume the planet of Geralt. Dr. Rhodes races through the planet's golden grassland on a mission to vaccinate the children against the deadly blight, but his mission is nearly impossible. For the patriots of Zeb Griffin, bound to accept the law of no man but their own, resist Dr. Rhodes' efforts at the peril of their families and their planet.

  Harpies of Planet Sutherland

  Mankind can only guess how long the alien water baskets have stood upon the planet of Sutherland. No clues have been found of the alien race who constructed such delicate mechanisms so long ago to harvest water from the arid planet's atmosphere. Those of the United Systems simply recognize the water's value, and so they refuse to allow the settlers of Zeb to jeopardize such ancient artifacts

  Jimmy Jack and the Smartman

  Each week, Jimmy Jack visits the bubble that protects Yogi. Yogi is the community smartman, and he is obliged to honestly answer Jimmy Jack's questions. Yet when Yogi discovers an intelligence amid the stars, the natural order between a community and its smartman becomes jeopardized, and Jimmy Jack and Yogi must reevaluate their friendship before the first saucer lands.

  Starlight, Starbright

  The archivist Un'Yhe has honored the strangers throughout his long lifetime. The strangers have smiled at every relic of the broods' homeworld Un'Yhe has brought before them. Un'Yhe's care continues to expand the museum built upon the strangers' crashed ark, until one day the strangers unfold the homeworld's bright sky to reveal a sparkling treasure more glorious than even Un'Yhe's museum houses.

  Patriots of Griffin XIII

  The followers of Griffin have built their thirteenth colony in record time. The United Systems rewards the effort by placing the governance of Griffin XIII into the hands of the colonists. For the thirteenth time, the followers of Zeb may live in true freedom. Only none of the twelve previous colonies named Griffin remain, and the ultimate danger resides in the colonists themselves.

  Empty Urns Launched Into Stars

  Paul Seton and Marshall Lincoln are unique dealers in the Singularity. With a little wealth and a lot of faith, clients in Paul and Marshall's office may circumvent death by painlessly uploading their souls into the machine. Paul and Marshall's freedom and sanity are thrown into jeopardy when a tycoon's ambition to ride the Singularity to the stars threatens to expose the Singularity's secrets.

  Butcher, Baker and Replicant Maker

  Nigel Hightower cannot sleep in a world built upon dreams. The machine has shunned Mr. Hightower, refusing to give him digital manifestations of his dreams. So Mr. Hightower finds solace in crafting replicas of the lost world's wildlife for children too young for the computer, until a series of updates threatens Mr. Hightower's audience so that none remain to call him “replicant maker.”

  Mr. Moon’s Daredevil Messiahs

  Famous memory-maker and artist Mr. Moon shatters the natural hierarchy separating human and synthetic when a clone of the Company’s Gus line explodes into flame in an attempt to jump a motorcycle across a wide divide. A new church rises, one that views clones of that Gus line as divine. The world holds its breath as a new order forms after tasting a divine memory harvested by a simple clone.

  Meek in the Fields

  Patch devotes his life working the countryside's fields. As a clone farmer, his life is an isolated one. Yet Patch never felt lonely until a three-legged dog arrived upon his country lane. Patch and the animal form a bond that the clone must one day defend. Thus, the natural order of creation is jeopardized, and the growing of the crop hinges upon a clone's affection for a simple, shaggy friend.

  Mudder Stew

  The world has evolved into a thing Hank Goode hardly recognizes. Witnessing the mudders march in the streets, banging their drums and singing their songs, only increases his sense of alienation. Hank sees that his beloved city is about to leave him behind, but he fails to suspect how ill fortune will force Hank to call the mudders his brothers so that he can accept a bowl of warm, mudder stew.

  Plastic Tulips

  The town of Portis doesn't fault Sophie Carter for gunning down Samantha Tosh in the local grocery store. Knowing that a copy of a younger, more beautiful you walked the streets around your home would drive anyone to murder. Nor was Samantha a person. She was only a synthetic, and Franklin Tosh should've known better than to think a clone could substitute for a human wife.

  FANTASY

  Polish, Dust and Sparkle

  The men in the tight suits and narrow ties grow wealthy by cultivating the worth of their towers’ sparkle. Yet their economy depends upon the toil of the polishers, who work to keep so much glass clean. A magic dancer jeopardizes the fragile skyline when her steps summon a thundering herd, turning the polishers into hunters, and threatening to shatter all the foundations made of fragile glass.

  Kennel, Kingdom and Cro
wn

  Gareth harbors no desire to wear the heavy Stonebrook crown. But a brother's murder wrenches Gareth from his cherished dog field and sets him upon the keep's throne. Gareth has spent his years in the training of war dogs, and he knows little about ruling a kingdom. Somehow, Gareth's loyal dogs will have to be enough as he faces the monsters a necromancer cloaks in the fog.

  Shadow Weapons of Doom

  The Khy'Meir tribes posses few weapons with which to combat the Alhambran Empire. The tribes cannot match the empire's swords, nor do they have the stones with which to build walls. The tribes' only weapon is fear, wielded by their shadows infiltrating the enemy's homeland. But the tribes underestimate how deeply their fear cuts and realize too late the doom their shadows help summon.

  Glorious Gardens of Teetering Rust

  Brandon Tuggle slumbers and toils upon the world's sharpest acres. During the day, he mans the salvage crane and stacks refuse into teetering piles. During the night, he traces maps in his dreams. His skin is scarred by the salvage yard's sharp corners, and lonely Brandon wonders where all his uncles have gone. It takes a surprise visit from Mercy before Brandon can see a color other than rust.

  Legacy of the Chain

  John Johnson tires of his family and name, and so his dreams