Middle Grade Fiction
W.S. Reed
W. S. (Bill) Reed is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and is retired from a career in Engineering at Baxter Healthcare. He has had a lifelong interest in illustration and cartooning and had a business for a time in the 1990s making animations. Bill’s interest in children’s literature took root while reading nightly to his four children.
Bill lives in Grayslake, IL with his wife Kathy. He is a member of the Grayslake Arts Alliance and SCBWI. To date, he has completed two middle-grade novels and has four published short stories. Bill is also an illustrator with two published books to his credit.
WAG 2816 Alien Robot Dog
WAG 2816 is an alien cyberdog, or simbot —a near-perfect robotic replica of an actual Earth dog. He is the lesser member of a robotic research team from Kitalpha B3 that will travel to Earth. Wag's artificial intelligence, however, is badly screwed up. A sleepy, three-eyed alien programmer named INKY accidentally downloads a mix of canine and human artificial intelligence into Wag and then sends him on the mission.
Zack's family accepts Wag into their home. Wag is happy to spend his days playing with Zack and Sammy, but soon discovers that a Kitalphan battle fleet is on its way to destroy Earth. He needs the kids' help to send a message back to Inky, urging him to stop the Kitalphans from annihilating Earth. Zack's parents, however, brought Wag's QEM transmitter to the resale shop. When they go to reclaim it, Wag gets captured by the FBI agents. Can Wag escape, and can the kids retrieve the QEM transmitter in time?
WAG 2816 Alien Robot Dog is an exciting and surprisingly funny science fiction adventure. It explores issues of artificial intelligence, space travel, responsibility, and the complexities of growing up. It is written for young readers aged 8 to 14 years but also has a humorous appeal to an adult audience.
Other books by W.S. Reed
The Reindeer Conundrum
Written by Mark Zubro and Illustrated by W.S. Reed.
Published by MLR Press.
Currently out of print.
A Cradle Song
Written by Mark Zubro and Illustrated by W.S. Reed.
Published by MLR Press.
Currently out of print.