H. L. Burke

In Gelia City, magic is music: a constant ever-changing melody known as the Strains. Hereditary ability to use the Strains divides the city into two classes: the wealthy Highmost, who can access the full potential of the Strains, and the Common tradesmen, who are limited to mundane spells, known as beggar magic.With the help of the Strains, Common teen Leilani rescues and befriends a gifted Highmost girl, Zebedy. The girls' friendship opens Leilani's eyes to the world of the Highmost. She's intrigued by Zeb's close relationship with the Strains, and longs to know them as she does. Zeb, in turn, comes to depend on Leilani's strength and intelligence, making them an inseparable team, ready to take on anything with the Strains at their back. As their unlikely friendship strengthens and endures, Zeb draws Leilani further into the Highmosts' intrigues. Beneath the polished, academic facade of the Highmost manors lurks a threat to the Strains. An unknown force consumes their music, leaving only heart-rending silence behind. Leilani and Zeb will do anything to save their beloved Strains, but as the silence grows, they face danger their previously sheltered lives could never prepare them for. Whoever is behind the death of the Strains is willing to kill to keep their secret safe. To preserve the Strains, the girls may have to sacrifice their friendship, or even their lives.Second Place in the CIAN Book of the Year: Fiction Category

Beggar Magic

Nyssa Glass is a reformed cat burglar turned electrician's apprentice, settled into a life repairing videophones and radio-sets. However, when her past comes calling, she finds herself framed for murder and forced into one last job. No one has entered Professor Dalhart's secluded mansion in almost a decade, at least not that returned to tell the tale. If Nyssa wants to ensure her freedom, she'll brave the booby-trapped halls and mechanized maids. Nyssa has skills, but this house has more than its share of secrets. As she steps into the cobwebbed halls lined with dusty mirrors, she has to wonder. Is the House of Mirrors really abandoned?

Nyssa Glass and the House of Mirrors

Bull-Dancer Alancia befriends the clever inventor of the Labyrinth. When their relationship catches the eye of the jealous king, a date with the Minotaur is in her future. A Mythological Fantasy set in the world of Coiled by award winning author H. L. Burke.

A Short Story

Alancia's Dance

Jennifer White

On her first assignment out of the Academy, young healer and scholar, Shannon Macaulay is summoned to the struggling kingdom of Regone to see to the wounds of a young but crippled king. When the unwanted attentions of an aggressive knight and the sudden appearance of a hated dragon turn her world upside down, she decides to take matters into her own hands even if doing so proves dangerous. Finding herself strangely drawn to the company of the dragon, Gnaw, Shannon must force herself out of her safe world of books and botany to come to the aid of her unexpected ally in a strange kingdom, cursed by a fateful encounter with a dragon and the loss of a beloved prince. Can she learn to put aside her fears, and perhaps sacrifice her deepest desires, to help a friend and restore a family?

Dragon's Curse

Heart of the Curiosity

Available for the first time in a single volume, all five Nyssa Glass Adventures. Nyssa Glass is a reformed cat burglar turned electrician's apprentice, settled into a life repairing videophones and radio-sets. However, when her past comes calling, she finds herself on the run for a murder she did not commit. As her quiet life goes up in sparks, she must face killer robots, menacing villains, and sarcastic computers in a race for survival. Nyssa has her hands full just trying to stay one step ahead of the police, but she still has time for adventure, humor, and even a taste of romance.

The Complete Series

Ultimate Nyssa Glass

Supervillains are NOT boyfriend material... right? The youngest daughter of an established superhero family, Juliet Park is determined to prove her worth and become the heroine her last name promises she will be. Getting captured by supervillains was NOT part of the plan. Having one of them step up as her protector? Now that's just confusing. When a mission goes south, Juliet finds herself a captive of the Black Fox Supervillain Syndicate, a dastardly assembly of the nation's worst villains. Juliet's anticipated un-alivening, however, is put on hold when one of their number, the taciturn but watchful Sandstorm, comes to her defense. While grateful to still be breathing, Juliet knows better than to trust a villain. Even one who looks super good in form-fitting t-shirts. After Juliet uncovers the Black Fox's plan to hold cities hostage with doomsday devices in return for a king's ransom, escape becomes even more essential. However, with Sandstorm continuing to stand between her and his villainous associates, she wonders what motives this villain has. Could he be an ally in her cause or is he running his own, even deadlier game?

Captured by a Supervillain

He doesn't want to get married, but he wants to be a frog even less.Knight errant, Devin, takes a shortcut through the woods, only to be captured by fairy forces. The fairy queen has run out of breathing males to fight for her hand, and Devin, while not ideal fairy stock, is breathing--for now. Telling a vain fairy queen you'd rather not be her one true love is a ticket to life on a lilypad, so the knight agrees to face three challenges to win Queen Agalea's hand. When a clever servant girl offers to help him navigate the trials in order to stop the constant bloodshed of the courtship ritual, Devin jumps at the chance. However, as he balances "flirting" with his "beloved" and overcoming tasks specifically designed to kill him, he finds his heart drawn to his new partner in survival.

To Court a Queen

Stealer of warmth, bringer of death. What if Cinderella had a secret that kept her locked away? Unable to make her own body heat, foundling Lizbete survives in the tavern kitchen, drawing warmth from the fires, the sun-and sometimes, other living beings. Her days are spent cooking alongside the tavern owner and avoiding the suspicious gazes of the villagers in her small northern town. While she quietly longs for the handsome Brynar, she knows she has no chance with the mayor's son, even if he invites her to the First Frost festival. When sudden earthquakes strike Brumehome, blame falls upon Lizbete, and not even her friendship with Brynar can protect her. She finds shelter in the dangerous caverns of nearby Ash Mountain. There she discovers mysterious people with her same ability to draw heat-and a fiery doom in the mountain that slowly awakens with every quake. Now the festival Lizbete thought to avoid is her only chance to warn the villagers. Yet even with Brynar at her side, can the strange girl dubbed the Ash Lizard hope to save the town that fears her? A rugged YA Cinderella retelling set in a fantasy world with light steampunk elements.

Ashen

Bryce and Kitrin defied kings and magic to be together. On the eve of happiness, an act of dark magic creates a barrier between them. One too strong even for love to overcome. A sprung trap separates Bryce from his friends and beloved Kit. Assumed dead by his allies in the flora magi rebellion, he finds himself at the mercy of his closest relative--and greatest enemy--Fire King Langstyn. With foul powers, the heartless king turns Bryce into a weapon against Kit. Pregnant, alone, and believing her beloved lost forever, vengeance burns within Kit's heart. Langstyn stole the only man she'll ever love. Kit won't rest until he's paid for his crimes.When the truth of Bryce's captivity reaches her, Kit's torn between standing with the rebel army and sacrificing everything to save her beloved. The flora magi need her as their leader. Her unborn child needs her care. But Bryce is her heart.What good is victory if it means heartbreak?

The Green Princess Trilogy: Flourish

Dragon Prince Ewan has promised his beloved, Shannon, that he will become a man again or die in the attempt. Now he will do anything to make good on that promise.With the aid of his scholarly friend, Martin, Ewan consults the great Dragon Queen Harviss, who offers him a unique solution: return to the past to find Ewan's Fey ancestor and beg for her help. Leaving Shannon behind, Ewan and Martin travel to a dangerous past and fall into the clutches of a powerful Fey queen.Meanwhile, Shannon finds herself alone and with child. Unable to sit still with her husband absent, she joins with Ryan of Westshire in the prince's desperate search for his young son. King Riley, however, will see Ryan dead before allowing him to find the lost child.Can Shannon find a way to unite Ryan with his son? Or will the attempt cost her not only her life but the life of her unborn baby?Will Martin and Ewan ever find the cure they seek or will they remain trapped in the past and Ewan separated from his bride forever?

Dragon's Bride

To save her life, he must forfeit his own. Prince Kajik of Frorheim has known all his life that he was a mistake. The second, unwanted son of a cold and calculating king, Kay's birth was accompanied by a dire prophecy, that he would bring about the return of the dreaded sorcerer Athan and therefore cause his kingdom's destruction. When Kay falls in love with the intended bride of his beloved brother, Olyn, his father finally has cause to be rid of him. Banishing Kay from their home upon pain of death, the king proclaims that the Princess Arynne will marry Olyn and unite the kingdom against Athan.Kay is determined to accept his lonely fate to protect those he loves from Athan's dark magic. However, when he learns that Arynne is in danger, everything within him yearns to save her ... even if such an action will cost his life.

H. L. Burke

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