Books with author Dave Thompson

Bryson Miller is a sixteen-year-old high school student who has already dealt with his mother's death and his father's subsequent alcoholism. When that happened, he adapted. He became the core of the family, making sure that groceries were bought and his sisters stayed out of trouble all while maintaining perfect grades with matching ambitions. Balancing his dysfunctional family life with a shining image became routine. He doesn't view himself as special or even especially unlucky. After all, there are plenty of people in his small town who are worse off. What is supposed to be just another normal Friday night, attending his friend Gary's party and keeping Gary out of trouble, becomes a nightmare when Bryson is attacked. In the days that follow, he does what he always does and attempts to adjust... to being a vampire. However, his sire won't leave him or his family alone. What she wants isn't something Bryson is willing to give, and when her threats to his girlfriend get Bryson killed, his soul ends up in the Underworld, ruled by the creator of vampires, the God of Temptation. Now Bryson is being asked to work for the god responsible not only for ruining his life but actually ending it. Although given a choice, the consequences for his refusal are far more complicated and far reaching than they seem. When he learns he won't be the one paying the price, how can he say no? Gods Don't Sleep is the first book in a planned trilogy. It serves as an origin story for the young protagonist and sets up the action to come.

“In the darkest of days, a mistress will come, then mortal and fairy shall flow as one.” Elflink portrays the story of Faryn, the young crossbreed who discovers she alone holds the key to saving a magical garden and its mystical inhabitants from a treasonous thread weaving its way through the frayed fabric of the clan. Armed only with her newly acquired powers as Mistress, Faryn confronts the multigenerational conflict between this evil faction and her beleaguered mortal family. The enchanting tale begins millennia ago in a land much like our own. From tangled forests of ancient oaks and misty swamps, came pagan hordes to debate their uncertain future … a future threatened by the “others.” Having lost a decisive battle in Ireland, the elders placed surviving members of the clan in orbs fashioned of amber, to sleep until Eleanor; the archeologist’s young botanist wife inadvertently awakens them. Incensed at being “kidnapped” from their ancestral home, the clan commences a debilitating feud, which continues unabated until Faryn arrives with the resolve to reestablish a lasting peace within the mound. Main characters: Faryn: Endowed with supernatural powers, Faryn confronts the treasonous faction bent on overthrowing the fairy queen. "I wasn't trying to steal the orb . . . besides; it's none of your business what I was doing." Aelfwin: Determined to save her clan, Aelfwin joins with Faryn to confront the Aire. "You must remember, Mistress, never let go of my hand or my baby will surely die." Aire: Continuously plotting to subjugate the clan, this rather pompous tyrant imprisons Faryn. "The legend must be wrong; this mere child can't be the mistress." Lexie: Courageously protecting her daughter Faryn, Lexie struggles against deadly odds to secure her family’s future. “Mom, I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to leave things to me … it’s my time.” Mara: Helps the family deal with Faryn’s perilous otherworldly quest. “You’ve got an orb … where in the world did you find it?”

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark delves into the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world - artists, dealers, auction houses, and wealthy collectors. If it's true - as so often said - that 85 percent of new contemporary art is bad, why were record prices achieved at auction for works by 131 contemporary artists in 2006 alone, with astonishing new heights reached in 2007? The $12 Million Stuffed Shark explores money, lust, and the self-aggrandizement of possession in an attempt to determine what makes a particular work of art valuable while others are ignored. In the style of the bestselling Freakonomics, Thompson uses economic concepts to explain the unique practices employed, to great success, in the international contemporary art market. He discusses branding and marketing and how various strategies are tailored to a wealthy clientele, driving a "must-have" culture. Drawing on exclusive interviews with both past and present executives of auction houses and art dealerships, artists, and the buyers who move the market, Thompson launches the reader on a surprising journey of discovery.