Showing results by narrator "Ryan Burke" in All Categories

What separates great novels from mediocre ones? Story. Authors that master this vital skill keep their readers and listeners up at night, and suffer the deluge of 'when is the next book coming out' emails. Whether you are a first-time novelist, or a seasoned author, Plot Gardening will teach you the fundamentals of storytelling, delivered in a practical way. Through exercises at the end of each chapter you will build your own outline, and you'll do it without sacrificing the creativity that is so vital to telling great stories.

When a salvage job on an old battlefield goes awry, Kril's left with no crew, no food, a suspiciously absent client, and far too many enemies. Fortunately, it's a big universe, and he's got a fast ship and the best pilot in twenty light-years to watch his back. His journey to keep 'er flying and get a crew back together will take him from rescue operations in collapsing freighters to fighting dinosaurs in the sewage canals of pirate paradises and to points beyond. The odds are stacked against him, but Kril keeps it simple.

Vexx White is a down on his luck apprentice mage, recently expelled from Fallanden Magical Academy for experimenting with necromancy. With nothing to lose, he becomes a dungeoneer for hire — taking odd jobs in his home town of Cloudbury for pocket change. Nine out of 10 dungeoneers die in their first 10 quests, and to survive Vexx finds himself teaming up with a clumsy elf and a crazed succubus. When they’re not busy trying to kill each other, the dungeoneers drum up all the work they can get, from raiding dungeons to hunting down thieves.

We expected Mars to be an escape, not a trap. A crimson, blasted, frigid trap. Maybe humans were lucky to leave Earth as cowards...or maybe they should have died trying to save it from the aliens. Because what's now arrived on this red rock may be worse than death. Aliens destroyed humanity and seized Earth. Now they have sent a terrible, unstoppable disease to the last human outposts on Mars. The doomsday clock is ticking and only criminal archaeologist Ozzy Mack can decipher the clues buried in the ancient Martian ruins...clues to the cure and the salvation of humankind.

I write software at a San Francisco startup. I have my dream job, but I also have a secret. We are not alone. The last time I was taken I was 14. Three weeks ago I celebrated my 21st birthday, and I know that the grey men will soon come again. I devoted my life to technology so I'd be ready when they returned. Others have prepared too, and I will find them. Together we will harness the abilities they have given us. We are Project Solaris. It's time to fight back.

When World War III erupts on American soil, the chaos ripples across the globe. This anthology explores the untold stories unfolding as civilization's lights go out—from the home front to distant battlefields where the fate of nations hangs in the balance. Across America, ordinary people face extraordinary terror. A government driver on his final day before retirement finds himself protecting the Transportation Secretary in a Christmas Eve ambush. Executive Protection agents in Detroit discover that when the power grid fails, predators emerge from the shadows.

Now a New Yorker, the Pharaoh’s cat—the ancient Egyptian feline with human powers—travels back in time to free Egypt’s legendary Queen Nefertiti from a horrific curse, discovering firsthand why her mummy has never been found and her famous bust is missing one eye.

Hawke Moonsnow is a brilliant alchemist. He's a prodigy of his time. He knows it. Everyone else knows it. There's just one problem… He has the common sense of a golden retriever. After an accident leaves his old shop in smoking ruins, Hawke takes a loan from the Adventurers' Guild to open a new location in the town square. Now, he has to work to pay back that loan despite charging lower prices to guild members, inventing new cures, and trying to catch the attention of the fetching waitress at the tavern—all while continuing forbidden research into a dangerous plague.

Suddenly talking and walking upright, a stray tomcat in ancient Egypt becomes the young Pharaoh’s intimate and, when accused of his murder, time travels to New York City and learns how to raise him from the dead.

Preparations for the tournament between the Heroes of the "Earth" release are in full swing. The Great Clans are busy protecting their representatives and arranging unpleasant surprises for their rivals, hoping to come out on top in this unprecedented event. There are three Release Heroes, three Great Clans, and Michael, who stands apart from the rest. Unfortunately, there are also demons and dragons to consider, and neither of them are simply going to stand aside and watch the Elves enjoy the new turn of events.

Bruce Jamison presents Book 3 in the Dead Again series.

The Borwyn remain undeterred as they gather hardware and rally their allies. It’s best not to fight from within a vacuum, unless that vacuum is space, and the fight is between starships. The crew of Chrysalis are challenged afresh when their goal is changed in light of new revelations. Jaq, Crip, Max, and the rest continue their fight against the Malibor in this fast-paced continuation of the Starship series.

Forced to flee from the Confederation, Captain Viar of the Bastian Navy is on the run. Fearing that he is marked a traitor to his people, and facing the same fate which befell his father, he seeks a way to redeem himself to Supreme Commander Freist when a prime target approaches. War is inevitable, and he is in position to execute. On a mission to find Steven Chancey, the prime from which his clone, Garret Cushing derived, Ambassador Spar deploys on a new ship with a member of the Litar Guard.

When the Solus Hegemony’s profit margins are threatened, expendable soldiers are called in to foot the bill—one bloody conquest at a time. Noah Rivers is one such soldier. Raised from birth with a single objective—obtain eternal glory through death in service to the galaxy’s most notorious corporate empire.

On a distant planet outside the reach of the Confederation, Garret Cushing finds himself in dire straits. Struggling with a guilty conscience and his life in the balance, he decides to do the unthinkable: turn himself over to the Confederation in exchange for protection.

The activation of the runes has the Osuna fleet mobilizing. They’re closing in, and thanks to a new class acquisition, the timeline to Judgment Day has sped up. After thousands of years in hiding, Governor Cullen refuses to believe the Cipher chose him just to watch his people lose everything. He races the clock to find and destroy the portal with the greatest loot. Problem is, every portal he opens cuts down his time to prepare. With his people’s future on the line, Cullen’s up against a war on two fronts—from the streets to the mystical beyond.

Historians Cameron Thorne and Amanda Gunn stumble upon a mysterious spiral necklace and a 12,000-year-old human skull, sparking their search for Atlantis and its true legacy. But are modern-day Knights Templar and a cabal of goddess worshipers conspiring against them? Only after a whirlwind of international travel and a violent encounter with a shadowy paramilitary group do the mysteries of Atlantis finally reveal themselves.

This guide covers my adventures in everything from storing water to purchasing solar generators. At the end of each chapter, you'll complete practical exercises that will get you, and your family, prepared for the scenarios you are most concerned with. And I'll even throw in some humor!

The Cipher has rewarded Cullen with XP to distribute across areas of Resurrection City, from military to defense, economy and more, but he'll need so much more than that to protect his people. And he must do it while negotiating treaties with invaluable allies and fighting off sorcerers, mobs, and the dungeon core growing up out of their backyard.

Pappy and his team join a large military coalition that will travel to Regime space to finally take the fight to the enemy. They have no idea what awaits them, and Pappy’s concerns multiply the closer they get to the Regime's Homeworld. Speaks-The-Truth feels lost and unbalanced. All of her traumas have led to growing feelings of disillusionment and doubt. She must find a way to regain what she’s lost, and has a pivotal role to play in the Resistance movement of her people.