Résultats de "William Bernhardt" dans Toutes les catégories

All fiction is character-driven, according to William Bernhardt, despite what you might have heard elsewhere. If your characters don’t interest readers, even the most exciting plots will fail. “Action is character,” Aristotle wrote, but what does that mean, and how can you use that fundamental principle to create dynamic fiction that will captivate readers? This audiobook explains the relationship between character and plot, and how the perfect melding of the two produces a mesmerizing story.

Kenzi Rivera is furious. Passed over for promotion at her own father’s firm, the talented divorce lawyer is tired of fighting chauvinism every single day. When a desperate scientist begs for help getting her daughter back, Kenzi can’t resist…even though this client is involved in Hexitel, a group she calls her religion but others call a cult. Kenzi uncovers evidence of disturbing practices at Hexitel involving large sums of money, servitude, and sex. She also learns her client’s lab has been plagued by death threats and cutthroat competition.

Even the most unique characters will not engage audiences if their journey - the plot - fails. In this book, best-selling author William Bernhardt reveals the secrets that will keep readers and listeners riveted. He explains the importance of matching character to plot and the key distinction between coincidence and surprise. Bernhardt discusses how to enrich your story by layering three levels of conflict and, in the final chapter, analyzes the primary plot structures that have delighted audiences since the first story was told.

Why are the churches closed on Christmas Eve in Florence’s San Frediano district? This mystery perplexes an acclaimed American poet who journeys to the fabled city seeking inspiration. The proprietor of his hotel, raconteur Alberto Giannotti, reveals that it has nothing to do with the holiday—and everything to do with poetry.

Dylan Taggart channels his demons through the keyboard. Knocked around by a father who believed weakness was failure, the best-selling suspense author grabs a measure of peace in his gorgeous girlfriend’s arms. But he sees fiction come horrifyingly to life when masked fanatics break in demanding he put his brilliant mind to work and help them steal a secret military super-weapon.

In this story, William Bernhardt sends his crusading attorney Kenzi Rivera (Splitsville) to solve the mystery of a missing family heirloom—with several lives hanging in the balance.

When her shocking new case hits too close to home, can Kenzi prevent a miscarriage of justice? Kenzi Rivera wants her day in the sun. Now the highest-earning name at her father’s firm, the spitfire attorney is furious her brother was chosen to manage the practice. But she steps up anyway to handle her dad’s messy divorce...only to see his wife charged with his mistress’s murder. Facing a smug prosecution team that has compiled a mountain of incriminating evidence, Kenzi once again calls on her tight-knit group of unique female friends to dig up the facts.

When a scandalous divorce trial interferes with a ruthless killer, can one tough lawyer find the truth before she becomes the next victim? Kenzi Rivera is classy, compassionate, and ready to buck the status quo. Sick of being patronized by judges and undervalued by her own firm, the no-nonsense Hispanic attorney boldly takes on a high-profile divorce for a tech-world “throuple”. But, the case turns toxic when leaked nudes of her client go viral and ruin her reputation.

Defense lawyer Daniel Pike believes he’s closer than ever to proving his late father was no murderer. But with key witnesses snuffed out and his archnemesis pulling all the strings to ensure no one talks, his frustration is about to boil over. His only remaining option is a high-stakes gamble to force the arrogant powerbroker onto the witness stand.

Attorney Ben Kincaid is back with the most controversial case of his career. Ben’s former friend, Oscar Kirby, an Iraq war vet subjected by the CIA to "enhanced interrogation techniques", is the primary suspect when his "interrogator" is murdered. A dramatic trial unfolds in the courtroom - loaded with pitfalls, surprises, and a breathtaking betrayal. Something else, something very dangerous lurks on the perimeter of this case, and Ben must pull every trick he knows to uncover the truth - before it's too late.

How do you create a fictional world that audiences will want to visit? How do you paint a picture that springs to life? William Bernhardt explains how to use description and setting to enhance your story without slowing the pace. Bernhardt discusses showing without telling, providing descriptive details that inform character, and integrating visuals and action with "stealth description". In his direct, no-nonsense style, Bernhardt explains how to use all five senses to create a fully realized portrait.

While in Vegas for the American Poker Grand Slam, BB Thomas - the Game Master - is suddenly arrested by the FBI and taken to a top-secret laboratory. A scientist has been murdered in a bizarre manner, and BB's daughter has been kidnapped. Reluctantly joining forces with his ex-wife, BB plunges into a labyrinthine mystery incorporating the world's oldest and best-known games and taking them to Paris, Dubai, Pyongyang, and Alexandria.

In this short story, Mike Morrelli, Ben's friend, former brother-in-law, and homicide detective, investigates a horrible murder involving twisted relationships, mistaken identities, and the tangled webs of love. When the investigation hits a dead end, Mike is forced to try a desperate gambit that might solve the mystery--and untie some knots in his personal life as well.

The law said America kept the black and white races separate but equal. Growing up in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Ada Sipuel learned that separate was never equal. Once she asked her father why the world was divided by race. He said it shouldn't be. "There's only one Constitution, only one Bible." He also taught her not to be afraid to challenge injustice. Years later, Ada hoped to fight for equality by becoming a lawyer. But Oklahoma's law school would not admit her because of the color of her skin.

In this short story, Ben Kincaid solves a Christmas mystery with his legal assistant, Christina McCall. Relations with Clyde Burris, the owner of the pawnshop next to Ben's law office, have always been frosty, but that doesn't stop Burris from asking Ben to investigate a Christmas Eve theft that turns out to have life-or-death ramifications. Ben soon realizes that solving the mystery is the least part of what needs to be done to set things right during the season of miracles.

Too often aspiring writers are frustrated by rejection, not realizing that the problem is not the story but the way they are telling it. In this audiobook, best-selling author William Bernhardt brings his down-to-earth approach to the subject of style, revealing everything you need to know to write with the art and craft of a seasoned professional. Bernhardt goes beyond memorizing rules to a fresh approach, a philosophy of writing that will transform your work and take it to a higher level.

In the near future, a few young women manifest extraordinary abilities called "Shine"; each girl's ability is different. Some develop extraordinary mental abilities. Some become physically strong. Others have powers that defy description. But the world does not embrace these Shines. It fears them - especially after the destruction of Seattle is blamed on one Shine named Aura.

Bobby Beresford and Mark Szasz, the self-appointed "Knights Templar of the Code of Buddyhood," are undergraduates at the University of Oklahoma in 1979. There couldn't be a more unlikely pair of best friends. Bobby's cautious, social ineptitude and romantic fumblings offset Mark's flamboyant, devil-may-care attitude, his irrepressible pranks, and his prowess with shapely coeds.

William Bernhardt's second poetry collection explores the complex tapestry of family and the subtle interconnections that bind us to our past and forms the ballast to identity. Popular culture merges with classical allusions, weaving the colorful threads of a fabric composed of moments lived and still to be lived. These poems remind us that we are part of a collective history and that we are never alone.

In this short story, Ben Kincaid handles a personal injury trial for Tess Corrigan, a fashion model whose face has been horribly disfigured in a tragic accident. All Ben wants is justice, but a wealthy doctor and his powerful legal army conspire to block Ben's every move. When the legal system seems unable to deliver justice, Ben is forced to search for more creative ways to give Tess a brighter future.