Books published by publisher Wire Rim Books

Jeff Kale thought his home town of Amarillo Texas was as ordinary and unspectacular as the table-top flatness of its terrain, but his life changed forever when his buddy’s car was smashed into the overpass—leaving him with permanent brain damage and questions he was unable to express. Who ran them off the road, and why? And how was he going to be able to regain his speech abilities, and reclaim his life? Karen Applegate wasn’t his high school girlfriend—she’d made that clear up front, but as an aspiring reporter, she was happy to help him dig for the facts. Soon, that led to parts of Amarillo’s past that they’d never imagined and into dark secrets that they’d rather not know. Henry Melton has been writing science fiction adventures that have featured interesting locations in his Small Towns, Big Ideas series, but he had neglected his own home town of Amarillo until he realized that events of his youth and parts of Amarillo’s history that seemed ordinary at the time formed the core of an intriguing mystery. Come share the secrets that lie just below the surface.

This is a sampler of four science fiction short stories by award winning author Henry Melton. Litterbug -- The slightest mistake can turn the course of history, and change a father's mind.Echoes -- Can the echoes of un-done histories make a difference to the future.Far Exile -- Even in a far utopia, there's a need for Sam.Making It Fit -- Deadlines and destiny. Can history be changed? If will and determination could force the issue, he would do anything to save her.Henry Melton, author of award winning young adult science fiction novels, and many shorter stories in Analog and other magazines, offers these very different views of the most thought provoking ideas of all times.

Jenny Quinn's life was on course for her advanced physics degree until a lab experiment in vacuum decay turned her life upside down. With career hopes destroyed and her professor dead in an unexplained fall, she is forced to cope with a strange change in her own body. With nothing but her own resources, a childhood infatuation with old comic books may be her only guide to help solve the twin mysteries of cutting edge physics and the murder of her professor, before one or the other puzzle gets her killed.Henry Melton, award winning author of the YA adventures Emperor Dad and Lighter Than Air, takes us on an adventure with a slightly older heroine, even if she is just four foot ten and everyone calls her Tinkerbell.

Jerry had the greatest study aid ever -- a copper room where time could be adjusted faster or slower, which he had helped his inventor uncle build. But being able to cram a fifteen hour study marathon into five minutes paled to the notion of spending some quality time with his new girlfriend Lil. So he contrived to steal her away from her overly protective parents for just a moment -- long enough to spend a whole day with her. It worked perfectly, until they stumbled against the other set of controls and opened the door to the far future, with no way back!

Mars was terraformed, and the biotech engineers could walk on Luna without breathing gear. Earth had three moons and hundreds of orbiting habitats in the Clusters. The great Terraforming Project was hitting its stride, but there were conflicts over which nations would get favored colonization sites on Luna and the antitechnology Three Sins cult was demanding that it all stop.But what disturbed Dr. Bet Nomad, circuit doctor for many of the minor habitats in the Clusters was a simple cough that seemed to be found every place she visited. The more she learned, using banned genetic technology, the tighter her own limitations restricted what she could do—she was banned genetic tech herself, living in the shadows lifetime after lifetime. But she was certain something was wrong­—something evil.Humanicide is the final chapter of the Earth Branch of the Project Saga.

Samuel Bolls’ plan was simple—go to California and parlay his camera and editing skills and the connection with his famous uncle into an entertainment industry career—but fate had other ideas. Rachael Nue, aspiring actress, with enough genetic enhancements to make her perfect saw Samuel as her way to stardom. And the giant living blimps flying overhead had their own fiery date with destiny. A hundred years after the supernova flare had set everything back, the world had been on two conflicting paths to recovery—industrial vs. genetic engineering. Samuel and Rachael’s opportunity to document history was soon going to put them in the cross hairs of a war that would steer the world in one direction, or the other.Henry Melton’s Project Saga stretches from the current day into a far future where we remake the solar system and discover humanity’s place in the universe. It’s a history not just of new technologies, but of personal choices.

Rule 1: We'll always be Brother and Sister...A mysterious metal cylinder falling out of the sky was the perfect excuse to take a vacation when sixteen year old Seth Parmer and Biz, his older sister and sometimes 'parent' found their Fresno lives upended by her unexpected layoff. With Seth's twitter buddies following along on his phone, a GPS tracking signal leads them from California across the continent toward a hidden project in the desolate lands in the middle of Labrador. The electric secret they find there will not only forge a new global destiny for the unique town that they discover, but set a new course for their relationship with each other.Pack your ice chest, charge your cell phone and bring your maps, as Henry Melton, award winning author of Emperor Dad and Lighter Than Air, takes you on a trek to a place in the far north where a high school science club is reaching for the sky.

It could be the best prank in the history of Munising High School's unofficial Prank Day. Working for a next door neighbor inventor had left Jon Kish with unlimited quantities of lighter-than-air foam, perfect for building...say, a full-sized flying saucer! High school honor demanded it. Plus with the family stress of his mother's surgery, he needed something to keep his mind occupied. But little sister Cherry had her own schemes in play, and events more serious than high school pranks or Mother's cancer were about to focus the world's attention on this little northern town. Small Towns, Big Ideas is a collection of stand alone YA titles where high school aged heroes of the here and now are confronted with classic science fiction themes. Targeted to ages 12 and up, these titles are receiving high ratings from all ages and have proved popular even with people who “don’t read that science fiction stuff”.Henry Melton, author of the Darrell Award-winning Emperor Dad, is frequently on the road, taking inspiration from the small towns and scenic vistas he finds everywhere. Having written short science fiction for the magazines and anthologies for years, and making an impact with classics such has his gaming story Catacomb, he is now concentrating on YA science fiction novels.

Jeff Kale thought his home town of Amarillo Texas was as ordinary and unspectacular as the table-top flatness of its terrain, but his life changed forever when his buddy's car was smashed into the overpass-leaving him with permanent brain damage and questions he was unable to express. Who ran them off the road, and why? And how was he going to be able to regain his speech abilities, and reclaim his life? Karen Applegate wasn't his high school girlfriend-she'd made that clear up front, but as an aspiring reporter, she was happy to help him dig for the facts. Soon, that led to parts of Amarillo's past that they'd never imagined and into dark secrets that they'd rather not know. Henry Melton has been writing science fiction adventures that have featured interesting locations in his Small Towns, Big Ideas series, but he had neglected his own home town of Amarillo until he realized that events of his youth and parts of Amarillo's history that seemed ordinary at the time formed the core of an intriging mystery. Come share the secrets that lie just below the surface.

Samuel Bolls' plan was simple-go to California and parlay his camera and editing skills and the connection with his famous uncle into an entertainment industry career-but fate had other ideas. Rachael Nue, aspiring actress, with enough genetic enhancements to make her perfect saw Samuel as her way to stardom. And the giant living blimps flying overhead had their own fiery date with destiny. A hundred years after the supernova flare had set everything back, the world had been on two conflicting paths to recovery-industrial vs. genetic engineering. Samuel and Rachael's opportunity to document history was soon going to put them in the cross hairs of a war that would steer the world in one direction, or the other. Henry Melton's Project Saga stretches from the current day into a far future where we remake the solar system and discover humanity's place in the universe. It's a history not just of new technologies, but of personal choices.

It could be the best prank in the history of Munising High School's unofficial Prank Day. Working for a next door neighbor inventor had left Jon Kish with unlimited quantities of lighter-than-air foam, perfect for building...say a full-sized flying saucer! High school honor demanded it. Plus with the family stress of his mother's surgery, he needed something to keep his mind occupied. But little sister Cherry had her own schemes in play, and events more serious than high school pranks or mother's cancer were about to focus the world's attention on this little northern town. One of the Small Towns, Big Ideas series of Young Adult science fiction adventures by Henry Melton.

Mars was terraformed, and the biotech engineers could walk on Luna without breathing gear. Earth had three moons and hundreds of orbiting habitats in the Clusters. The great Terraforming Project was hitting its stride, but there were conflicts over which nations would get favored colonization sites on Luna and the antitechnology Three Sins cult was demanding that it all stop. But what disturbed Dr. Bet Nomad, circuit doctor for many of the minor habitats in the Clusters was a simple cough that seemed to be found every place she visited. The more she learned, using banned genetic technology, the tighter her own limitations restricted what she could do-she was banned genetic tech herself, living in the shadows lifetime after lifetime. But she was certain something was wrong­-something evil. Humanicide is the final chapter of the Earth Branch of the Project Saga.