Rick Wilber

"An original, engaging, wonderfully complex alien world. Very highly recommended."--Julie E. Czerneda, author of the Web Shifter's Library series Set on a near-future Earth and on the alien homeworld of S'hudon, Rick Wilber's Alien Day explores murderous sibling rivalries, old-school mercantile colonialism, ambition, greed, and the saving strength that can emerge from reluctant heroes called to do the right thing despite the odds. Will Peter Holman rescue his sister Kait, or will she be the one to rescue him? Will Chloe Cary revive her acting career with the help of the princeling Treble, or will the insurgents take both their lives? Will Whistle or Twoclicks wind up in charge of Earth, and how will the Mother, who runs all of S'hudon, choose between them? And the most important question of all: who are the Old Ones that left all that technology behind for the S'hudonni . . . and what if they come back? "His Intricate and ingenious storytelling will pull you in, and then the humanity and vulnerability of his characters will break your heart." --Alan Smale, Sidewise award-winning author of the Clash of Eagles trilogy

A Romp Through Time, Space, and Ancient RomeTwo award-winning writers take us on an alternate-history adventure-a 1940s barnstorming baseball team, led by retired baseball player and spy Moe Berg, is transported from rural Illinois to Ancient Rome, just after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus. The Romans-who actually played a game called "small ball"-put the captured team to work teaching baseball to the gladiators for a major Colosseum event...that turns into an over-the-top, life or death finale. Baseball hijinks, a wild ride through Rome in a careening team bus, a hint of romance, and some viciously good hitting and fielding. Will the Wandering Warriors make it home? Will the widowed empress escape the fate her evil son has in mind for her? Will the rattletrap team bus make it way through time and space (and Roman roads) back to Illinois? Will Chicago White Sox owner Grace Comiskey show up to make an unlikely offer to the team's best player? "Wilber and Smale (are) two literary tricksters who present for your reading pleasure a fantastical romp featuring two cultures nobody but Rick and Alan had ever thought to let clash: barnstorming baseball players and Imperial Romans. You will believe in doubleheaders in the Coliseum. You will marvel at gladiators flailing at curve balls. And you will be tickled by the historical celebrities who take part in America's ... um ... Rome's Pastime. Fun is hereby decreed."-James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards

A Romp Through Time, Space, and Ancient RomeTwo award-winning writers take us on an alternate-history adventure-a 1940s barnstorming baseball team, led by retired baseball player and spy Moe Berg, is transported from rural Illinois to Ancient Rome, just after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus. The Romans-who actually played a game called "small ball"-put the captured team to work teaching baseball to the gladiators for a major Colosseum event...that turns into an over-the-top, life or death finale. Baseball hijinks, a wild ride through Rome in a careening team bus, a hint of romance, and some viciously good hitting and fielding. Will the Wandering Warriors make it home? Will the widowed empress escape the fate her evil son has in mind for her? Will the rattletrap team bus make it way through time and space (and Roman roads) back to Illinois? Will Chicago White Sox owner Grace Comiskey show up to make an unlikely offer to the team's best player? "Wilber and Smale (are) two literary tricksters who present for your reading pleasure a fantastical romp featuring two cultures nobody but Rick and Alan had ever thought to let clash: barnstorming baseball players and Imperial Romans. You will believe in doubleheaders in the Coliseum. You will marvel at gladiators flailing at curve balls. And you will be tickled by the historical celebrities who take part in America's ... um ... Rome's Pastime. Fun is hereby decreed."-James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards

In these nine stories of determination, seemingly ordinary people find themselves in extraordinary circumstances as they confront their fears and embrace their challenges on a near-future Earth or an alternate-history past or even on a far distant alien world. - A single parent with a Down-syndrome daughter considers what his life and career might have been as a parent and a pro football player in some alternate reality. - A young girl on an isolated Florida island discovers that her quirky grandparents are even stranger than she thought. - A high-school basketball player confronts the ghosts of her past. - A young woman struggles to make peace with the horrors of her forgotten childhood. - An elderly woman slides into dementia even as she finds some essential truths that were lost in the hazy mists of her memory. - A baseball player becomes a spy during an alternate-history version of World War II, where he plays a pivotal role in stopping the Nazi war machine. A powerful and poignant collection of memorable stories from an award-winning storyteller, Rambunctious Nine Tales of Determination is charming, action-packed, frightening, and thoughtful by turn.

n these nine stories of determination, seemingly ordinary people find themselves in extraordinary circumstances as they confront their fears and embrace their challenges on a near-future Earth or an alternate-history past or even on a far distant alien world. - A single parent with a Down-syndrome daughter considers what his life and career might have been as a parent and a pro football player in some alternate reality. - A young girl on an isolated Florida island discovers that her quirky grandparents are even stranger than she thought. - A high-school basketball player confronts the ghosts of her past. - A young woman struggles to make peace with the horrors of her forgotten childhood. - An elderly woman slides into dementia even as she finds some essential truths that were lost in the hazy mists of her memory. - A baseball player becomes a spy during an alternate-history version of World War II, where he plays a pivotal role in stopping the Nazi war machine. A powerful and poignant collection of memorable stories from an award-winning storyteller, Rambunctious: Nine Tales of Determination is charming, action-packed, frightening, and thoughtful by turn.

"Rick Wilber has written the best "first contact" story I've seen in decades: deeply human, eerily alien, and altogether an exciting, moving and thought-provoking novel." --Ben BovaThe fate of two civilizations depends on one troubled family in Rick Wilber's science-fiction adventure Alien Morning. Peter Holman is a freelance sweeper. The year 2030 sees a new era in social media with sweepcasting, a multisensory interface that can convey every thought, touch, smell, sight, and sound, immersing the audience in another person's experience. By fate, chance, or some darker design, Peter is perfectly positioned to be the one human to document the arrival of the aliens, the S'hudonni. The S'hudonni offer advanced science in exchange for various trade goods from Earth. But nothing is as simple as it seems. Peter finds himself falling for, Heather Newsome a scientist chosen by the S'hudonni to act as their liaison. Engaged to his brilliant marine biologist brother, Tom, Heather is not what she seems. But Peter has bigger problems. While he and his brother fight over long-standing family troubles, another issue looms: a secret war among the aliens, who are neither as benevolent nor as unified as they first seemed. Peter slowly learns secrets he was never meant to know, about the S'hudonni, and about his own family. Realizing that he has been used, he can only try to turn his situation around, to save what he can of his life and of the future of Earth.

"Rick Wilber has written the best "first contact" story I've seen in decades: deeply human, eerily alien, and altogether an exciting, moving and thought-provoking novel." --Ben Bova The fate of two civilizations depends on one troubled family in Rick Wilber's science-fiction adventure Alien Morning. Peter Holman is a freelance sweeper. The year 2030 sees a new era in social media with sweepcasting, a multisensory interface that can convey every thought, touch, smell, sight, and sound, immersing the audience in another person's experience. By fate, chance, or some darker design, Peter is perfectly positioned to be the one human to document the arrival of the aliens, the S'hudonni. The S'hudonni offer advanced science in exchange for various trade goods from Earth. But nothing is as simple as it seems. Peter finds himself falling for, Heather Newsome a scientist chosen by the S'hudonni to act as their liaison. Engaged to his brilliant marine biologist brother, Tom, Heather is not what she seems. But Peter has bigger problems. While he and his brother fight over long-standing family troubles, another issue looms: a secret war among the aliens, who are neither as benevolent nor as unified as they first seemed. Peter slowly learns secrets he was never meant to know, about the S'hudonni, and about his own family. Realizing that he has been used, he can only try to turn his situation around, to save what he can of his life and of the future of Earth.

Set on the gulf coast of Florida and the Cayman Islands, this novel provides a unique blend of modern mystery thriller and baseball narrative. It tells the story of Felicity Lindsay, a small-town police officer who finds a battered murder victim on the beach. Her curiosity about the crime eventually leads Felicity and her father, the alcoholic manager of the local major-league baseball team, into a deadly confrontation with a drug cartel.

During his long baseball career, Del Wilber caught for the Red Sox, Cardinals and Phillies; managed 6 minor league teams; scouted for 4 major league clubs; and served as third base coach for the Senators. Written by his son, Rick, this elegant memoir recalls Wilber's life from the unique perspective of a son who grew up in major league dugouts, experienced the joys and hardships that go along with having a big-league dad, and served as his father's caregiver after he became terminally ill. The book is a moving account of the major leaguer's life and the emotionally exasperating ordeal of caring for a dying parent.