Getting his client off death row could save his career… or make him the next victim.Daniel Pike would rather fight for justice than follow the rules. His unique ability to "connect the dots," to observe what others do not, has made him the most notorious criminal lawyer in St. Petersburg. But when his courtroom career goes up in smoke, he fears his lifelong purpose is a lost cause. A mysterious job offer from a secretive boss gives him a second chance but lands him...

"Writing is structure," William Goldman said, but too often aspiring writers plunge into their work without grasping this fundamental principle. Story structure is one of the most important concepts for a writer to understand—and ironically, one of the least frequently taught. In this book, New York Times-bestselling author William Bernhardt explains the elements that make stories work, using examples spanning from Gilgamesh to The Hunger Games. In each chapter, he introduces essential con...

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. But the cardinal rule of the Code--"A buddy does not move in on another buddy's girl"--requires Bobby to watch qu...

A billion-dollar inheritance. A suspicious reappearance. Can Dan dig up the secrets of the past before he's buried six feet under?Attorney Daniel Pike's flashy courtroom antics have earned him plenty of enemies—but also freed many innocent people. When he learns that the same crooked cop who got his father locked up for life is testifying in a contested-identity suit, Dan takes the case. But it won't be easy to prove his client is the long-lost heir to an immense e...

The court of public opinion found her guilty. But one attorney resolved to change the verdict…Attorney Daniel Pike knows the dire consequences of crossing the government. So when rising political star Camila Perez faces charges in a gruesome quadruple homicide, his instincts sense a frame by powerful rivals. But Dan and the Last Chance Lawyers may have a hopeless case when the police discover damning evidence scrawled at the crime scene in blood...Sorting through incriminat...

He has one chance to find the facts he's searched for his entire life. All he has to do is prove his Number One enemy is not a killer…Daniel Pike has devoted his legal career to ensuring no innocent person dies in prison like his father did. But he's still no closer to uncovering his painful family secrets. And after a terrible twist of fate, he's hired to defend his arch-nemesis who's been charged with a gruesome murder…With a string of grisly clues placin...

A struggling lawyer. A bitter custody battle. A deadly fire. This case could cost Kenzi her career—and her life.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.Kenz...

If he loses this case, the consequence is death…Ever since his father's wrongful incarceration, defense lawyer Daniel Pike has defended the innocent at any cost. But he's stunned when his archrival DA is found shot dead and brutally crucified. And after Pike himself lands in jail for the crime, he smells a terrifying setup.Fearing he'll suffer the same fate as his parent, the determined attorney uncovers evidence that the DA was involved with a sinister sex...

This is a collection of three short stories involving lawyer Ben Kincaid and his friends and colleagues.YULETIDE JUSTICEIn 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 reali...

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 book explains the relationship between character and plot, and how the perfect melding of the two produces a mesmerizing story. U...

Getting his client off death row could save his career… or make him the next victim.After his courtroom career goes up in smoke, Daniel Pike receives a mysterious job offer from a secretive boss offering him a lifeline—a one-time opportunity to join The Last Chance Lawyers, a group with mysterious origins and funding. He's offered a generous salary with the condition that he accepts the cases assigned to him. He's told all the cases will be for deserving clients, p...

This time, Dan's putting everything on the line. Will his dangerous scheme reveal a killer…or cause a fatal injustice?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....