Books with author Mrs. L. Burke

There's no such thing as a Pacific Tree Octopus, and gullible is not in the dictionary. Eight-year-old Liesel has compiled a list of wildlife to see during her family's vacation in Olympic National Park. When her know-it-all big brother discovers one of her "most wanted" creatures is a Pacific Tree Octopus, Liesel finds herself humiliated. Liesel is not one to back down. She knows there's such a thing as the Pacific Tree Octopus, and she's going to set the perfect trap to prove it.

Orphaned cat burglar Nyssa Glass intends to outwit her rotten fate. “Adopted” by her incarcerated uncle's gang of thieves, she breaks into homes and picks pockets to repay her family debt and one day buy her freedom from their dark enterprise. Mechanically adept and determined, Nyssa longs to attend Miss Pratchett's School for Mechanically Minded Maids and make an honest life she can take pride in.She wasn't made to steal things. She was made to create and fix them.However, before she can make her escape, the head of the gang taps her for a new assignment, one her conscience cannot bear. Nyssa is faced with a heartrending decision: sacrifice everything or become the very thing she's desperate to escape.A Prequel Short for the Nyssa Glass Steampunk Series.

Stuck in a humiliating position as the Royal Kennel Guard, Sir Percy sees little hope for anything other than an obscure fate. After all, in the Kingdom of Ithelia, you need a fairy to guide you to greatness, and fairies just don't bother with knights like him.However, when Percy catches the eyes of the sheltered Princess Matilda, his world expands in new and frightening ways. A victim of an ill-planned Christening, Matty has spent her life in a locked tower, hiding from pixie attacks. Now she'll do anything to escape. And if that means dragging Percy along for a cross country search for Prince Charming, so be it.But not all Prince Charmings are what they seem, and as Matty's plight grows more desperate, Percy finds himself losing his heart. Does a lowly knight have what it takes to uncurse a princess?

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.

The secret lies with the Heart. Born with a magical knack for manipulating emotions, Leodora's only dream is to ensure her talented little sister dances on the biggest, brightest stage in the Republic: The Curiosity, a grand old theater of tradition and innovation. After escaping a cruel carnival, Leo secures her sister a place in the Curiosity’s chorus line, and herself a job as a professional audience member, swaying the crowd's mood with her magic. The girls have a home for the first time in their lives. Then a tragic accident darkens the theater. A greedy businessman begins blackmailing Leo, and financial woes threaten to close the show forever. The Curiosity's sole hope lies in a mythical power source hidden beneath the maze-like passages and trapdoors of the theater—the Heart. And Leo’s only friend Paxton, nephew of the theater's stagemistress, is the key to finding it. While Leo and Paxton hunt for the Heart, the blackmailer’s threats loom larger. Mysterious figures, cryptic clues, and deadly traps hinder the search at every turn. If the friends cannot recover the Heart in time, Leo and her sister will be cast out of the only home they’ve ever known, and the final curtain will fall on The Curiosity. Enter a world reminiscent of The Greatest Showman, with a puzzle worthy of Sherlock Holmes and National Treasure, in this new Steampunk Fantasy from H. L. Burke.

Book 1 in the Nyssa Glass Steampunk SeriesNyssa 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 forced into one last job. No one has entered Professor Dalhart's secluded mansion in almost a decade, at least not and 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?A Novella

The Realm Award Winner for Young Adult Fiction, 2016"With the combination of action, humor, suspense, romance and even a bit of horror, the Nyssa Glass series is a page-turner that has something for everyone and not just for its YA readers. "Lit Amri for Readers' FavoriteAvailable 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.

A healing touch. A hideous face. A looming curse.As the ugly twin to a perfect sister, Princess Laidra lives her life in the shadows—until her parents offer her as bait for a giant serpent.Her escape attempt leaves her shipwrecked on a secluded island with only one inhabitant: Prince Calen, who lives under a curse. If anyone looks upon him, he turns into a giant serpent. Speaking to him in the darkness, Laidra sees past the monster to Calen’s lonely soul, and she determines to free him from the magic’s hold. But if Laidra can’t break the curse in time, Calen will become a mindless creature of scales and fangs forever.A YA mythology/romance that retells the myth of Eros and Psyche with adventure, magic, and true love.

When dragons are factory-farmed, one gutsy girl is willing to take on a ruthless corporation to save the creatures she loves.Twelve-year-old Cora's life obsession is dragons. In her world, dragon eggs are sold like common trading cards by the Dragon Emporium—a ruthless company that holds the monopoly on the creatures. Despite always getting short-lived mayflies dragons, her love for them compels her to purchase egg packs in the hopes of hatching a new, rare pet.Her luck takes a drastic turn when she finds an egg that hatches a dragon Cora has never seen before—a special one with the ability to influence other eggs. With her dragon and her best friend by her side, she takes on the Dragon Emporium and the Dragon Regulatory Agency.However, even with their help, Cora may be in over her head.

Book Four in the Nyssa Glass Series: A Christmas Novelette Reformed cat burglar and orphan Nyssa Glass doesn't have many fond memories of Christmas. Her boyfriend, Ellis, however, is determined to make their first holiday together a celebration of a lifetime. Nyssa can't let him down.Overwhelmed by decorations and shopping, Nyssa sets out to find the perfect present for Ellis. However, when a charming dance instructor decides Nyssa is what he wants for Christmas, Ellis's only gift might be a dose of holiday heartbreak.

Book Three in the Nyssa Glass Steampunk SeriesLike clockwork, the past always comes back around.When larceny is the family business, it's hard to make a clean break. Reformed cat-burglar Nyssa Glass has finally gotten her life back together. She has her own electrical repair shop, a boyfriend who adores her, and for once, no one is trying to have her arrested. When the shop door rings, though, a man she hoped to never see again threatens to ruin everything. Uncle Albert forced her into a life of crime and now he's convinced she owes him for her success. Nyssa would rather die than give her uncle a penny. But with her reputation on the line and a thieving orphan in the mix she finds herself stuck between the gears. Will Nyssa free herself from the clutches of the past or is everything she’s worked for going up in smoke?