WHEELER, Thomas

PERSONAL:

Married; wife's name, Christina; children: Luca.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER:

Screenwriter and novelist. Executive producer of the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) miniseries Empire.

WRITINGS:

The Arcanum (novel), Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Author of numerous screenplays, including The Prometheus Project, purchased by Twentieth Century Fox; The Mission; and the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) miniseries Empire.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A sequel to The Arcanum and a novel about mind-control titled Simeon's Code.

SIDELIGHTS:

Thomas Wheeler sold his first screenplay at the age of twenty-two and has had continued success in writing for Hollywood films. His first novel, an historical thriller titled The Arcanum, is the story of a secret society of the title name whose members include writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H. P. Lovecraft, magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, and the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. The group has been involved in a battle with evil involving the occult. When another member of the group, Konstantin Duvall, is killed in a car accident, witnesses recount that his last words were "He's in my mind." The group gathers together to search for a lost book of the Bible called the Book of Enoch, which could possibly bestow occult powers on evil doers, and which Duvall supposedly had in his possession. In the process of their hunt, the diverse group of luminaries delves into the mystery of a tribe of lost angels stranded on Earth and a series of murders in New York. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book "a mostly incomprehensible debut." A reviewer writing in Publishers Weekly noted, "Each vividly written chapter is so obviously a film scene that credit should be given for art direction." Laurel Bliss commented in the Library Journal that "Wheeler's fast-paced style is enhanced by the complex relationships he builds among his historical characters." Bliss went on to note that The Arcanum is a book that "fans of period thrillers will enjoy."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2004, review of The Arcanum, p. 204.

Library Journal, April 1, 2004, Laurel Bliss, review of The Arcanum, p. 125.

Publishers Weekly, March 22, 2004, review of The Arcanum, p. 63.

ONLINE

Allscifi.com,http://allscifi.com/ (February 11, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Arcanum.

Arizona Reporter,http://www.azreporter.com/ (December 8, 2003), "ABC Announces 'Empire' Ancient Rome MiniSeries."*