New Releases by Tom Leveen

STORIES FROM ACROSS THE UNIVERSE… Comprising hundreds of solar systems and thousands of planets, the Inner Sphere is a vast realm of human exploration, achievement…and conflict. Among those achievements, of course, is the pinnacle of 30th century military technology, the BattleMech. Tales of the Inner Sphere is a collection of BattleTech stories that were published on the Catalyst Game Labs website in 2025, with each story only appearing for a single month. Collected here for the first time, now you can read stories by established BattleTech authors as well as more recent recruits to the corps any time you wish… Featuring stories by: Bryn Bills Jennifer Brozek Loren L. Coleman Tom Leveen James D. Long Craig A. Reed, Jr. Jason Schmetzer Bryan Young Russell Zimmerman

FOR THE GOOD OF THE STATE… Danai Centrella-Liao rose to prominence on the gladiator world of Solaris VII before being sent to McCarron’s Armored Cavalry, where her victories on innumerable battlefields garnered her the position of shàng-xiào of the Second MAC. Her brother, Capellan Chancellor Daoshen Liao, now uses Danai as a powerful chess piece in his relentless quest to conquer Terra—despite her opposition to his ruthless tactics. On the remote world of Sheratan, a violent resistance has formed, threatening Daoshen’s march toward Terra. Assuming command of the Liao forces there, Danai discovers that diplomacy is sometimes a dead-end. But achieving peace may cost more than she is willing to pay… As Daoshen’s ambitions grow ever more expansive and his tactics ever more destructive, Danai is promoted to jiāng-jūn of the MAC to keep her out of Daoshen’s way. Robbed of any real power, Danai is forced to reckon with the Celestial Wisdom’s overreach and its cost to the Confederation in treasury, faith, and blood. There are eyes on Daoshen’s crown. Rumors of a mad king. And a plot to have Danai ascend to the Capellan throne… In the end, blood will rise… For the good of the state…

TODD McFARLANE unleashed his signature creation, SPAWN , in 1992. In doing so, he created the most successful independent comic book in history. Join Spawn in SPAWN COMPENDIUM, VOL. 6 as he discovers the true meaning of becoming a Hellspawn and settles on a path of bloody revenge in search of a way back to his humanity! Collects SPAWN RESURRECTION and SPAWN #251-300, collected for the first time in FULL COLOR and featuring some never-before-collected issues

Includes SPAWN RESURRECTION, and SPAWN #251-300, collected for the first time in FULL COLOR and featuring some never-before-collected issues! TODD McFARLANE unleashed his signature creation, SPAWN, in 1992. In doing so, he created the most successful independent comic book in history. Join Spawn in SPAWN COMPENDIUM, VOL. 6 as he discovers the true meaning of becoming a Hellspawn and settles on a path of bloody revenge in search of a way back to his humanity!

In Band 21 der SPAWN ORIGINS COLLECTION steigt Al Simmons alias Spawn in die Hölle hinab, um seine große Liebe Wanda zu retten. Doch wer dem Teufel den Krieg erklärt, muss es nicht nur mit zahlreichen widerwärtigen Kreaturen aufnehmen, sondern auch den zweischneidigen Angeboten Satans widerstehen können ... Und das ist nur der Anfang dieses großartigen Sammelbandes!

Sent to a private religious school? Oh, hell . . . When hopelessly ADHD smart-ass Jon Matthew -- who wants nothing more than a good laugh and to needle anyone older than 16 -- is sent to a private religious high school after getting in a little trouble, he must toe the line for the first time in his life, or else end up "in one of those bad-kid camps in the desert where they make you dig for treasure.” To make it to graduation, he enlists the help of Bill, a big dork who is loyal to a fault; Molly, the dark-souled skater who carries a heartbreaking secret; and Lauren, a dangerously asthmatic girl who Jon’s crushing on but who tries way too hard to be one of the cool kids. Against overwhelming odds (a.k.a. "teachers"), Jon powers through his education while his mouth puts him on a daily razor's edge of getting booted out. Just when it looks like he's pulled off a miracle and won't be sent away, a tragedy knocks Jon’s world on its axis. Suddenly all his jokes and sarcasm aren’t as helpful as he used to think. He'll have only those new friends to keep from losing his mind, his school, or his heart.

Rejection e-mails from agents and editors clogging your inbox? Getting the same rejection slips over and over again? It could be pacing, plot, narrative engine . . . or maybe what your characters say just isn't getting the job done. Outstanding dialogue is often the difference between a good book and a great book. How does yours stack up? With nine books published with imprints of Random House, Abrams, and Simon & Schuster, and more than twenty years of experience as an actor and director, author, writing teacher, and Bram Stoker Award Finalist Tom Leveen guides you through everything you need to improve your writing, make your dialogue shine, and get your book noticed and talked about by readers, agents, and editors alike! Learn how to start with a great plot and conflict to form the foundation of awesome dialogue Discover actors’ techniques to give your characters strength and purpose Improve on setting scenes and building relationships between characters and more! What people are saying about Tom Leveen’s dialogue, voice, and character: Party “I must say that I’m absolutely in awe of Leveen’s ability to build such distinct and totally believable voice for eleven characters [protagonists] in one novel.” ~ fortheloveofya.com Zero “Well written, with a distinct and fantastically done voice, Zero is an unflinching must read.” ~ agoodaddiction.blogspot.com “[H]is voice is fresh and strong and consistent.” ~ scratchingcat.wordpress.com “Part of what makes the book, and the voice, believable is Leveen’s ability to channel a teenage girl and make her real. It’s all there—the insecurity, the bravado, the conflicting feelings about sex, the sense that your whole life is in front of you, which is both exhilarating and paralyzing.” ~ The Phoenix New Times manicpixiedreamgirl “[I]t’s the relationships between the novel’s teenage characters that are the real standouts. Tyler’s crass banter with his buddies, his snarky but supportive relationship with his sister, and his botched dealings with both Becky and Sydney are entirely realistic.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly “Tom Leveen has a unique voice and writes interesting male characters, so I was intrigued to check out his latest book manicpixiedreamgirl. Leveen’s characters are usually creative types and not the typical leading men you see in YA. . . . I thought the male voice in manicpixiedreamgirl was very strong and unique.” ~ thereadingdate.com Random “Author Tom Leveen presents a powerful story with a plot so real, readers will be gripped from the very first page.” ~ readingjunky.blogspot.com Sick “[Leveen] really nails the ‘guy’ dialogue as well—it is gross, colorful, and at times, downright funny.” ~ VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) “In an exciting take on the zombie novel, Leveen … shifts to horror while maintaining his trademark complex relationships and character-driven storytelling.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly “Tom Leveen’s voice is truly one of the best elements…” ~ blog.homoeoteleuton.com Shackled “The prose is tight and the dialogue lends emotion to the character’s mental state, properly complementing this plot-driven setup.” ~ School Library Journal “…impeccably written with true-to-life dialogue and characters I can relate to…” ~ literologie.com

Danny’s parents yanked him from the art school that let him wear a kilt and listen to bands that no one’s heard of. Now he’s starting sophomore year at the public high school—the one with the gymnasium at the heart of the building and the glorified athletes who rule it all. The smart thing would be to blend in, but Danny has always been about making statements. Brady just wants to get out. Go to college, play football, maybe reach the NFL. He definitely wants to stop waiting for his deadbeat mother to come home, sleeping on park benches, and going to bed hungry. But first he has to lead the team to the championships. It all adds up to a lot of stress. So who can really blame him when he and the football team turn their aggressions on the new freak? Even the quarterback needs to blow off steam sometimes. Coach turns a blind eye to his players’ crimes—because this year, they’re going to State. But maybe if Coach had paid more attention they could’ve caught it before it all happened. Maybe it could’ve been avoided. Maybe. With quick cuts between a large cast of unforgettable characters, and razor-sharp plotting, Tom Leveen takes readers on a countdown to an inevitable, horrifying act. This gripping novel offers an intense, smart perspective on the tragic, toxic mindsets behind the celebrated American sport and the monsters it creates.

Even though the doors to Heaven and Hell are locked, there's enough evil on Earth to keep Spawn busy. But without his full powers, Spawn will have to find a way to fight his enemies without getting himself killed again. With art by fellow Image founder, ERIK LARSEN (issues #263-266) and veteran SPAWN artist, SZYMON KUDRANSKI (issues #267-275), this 12-issue trade paperback ushers SPAWN into a bold new era.

Hoping to get her life back on track, seventeen-year-old Abby plans to find out what happened when her mother, a co-host of a ghost hunting reality show, who disappeared five years ago in a "haunted" cave in Arizona.

As Spawn's costume begins to form, it comes with new powers. But will Al be able to handle those powers?

"[T]he scariest book about hope and love that I've ever read." Amazon reviewer Braden's parents should have been imprisoned for the abuses they perpetrated on him as a child. But that's the past, and Braden's moved on. Wife, kid, nominal success as a novelist-and no contact with his parents for years. The two of them have moved out of state, and Braden is secure with his own family in a new home. Several years of therapy have helped, too. Pushing forty, life is at last treating Braden well. Then a box of his books is accidentally-and mysteriously-delivered to his childhood home. Ignoring his own best judgment, Braden swings by the old place with his three-year-old, Josiah, to pick up the box. In and out, super fast, no big deal. The house has other ideas. Apparently infected somehow by the traumas his parents put him through, the house traps Braden and Josiah with its lone occupant. It begins turning Braden's long buried memories into corporeal horrors that threaten not only his fragile, still-recovering psyche, but the childhood of his only son. As Josiah begins to age before his father's eyes and inanimate objects take on lives of their own, Braden struggles to uncover what exactly the house wants from him. Or if it is, in fact, the house that's haunted.

In a one-of-a-kind collaboration, seventeen of the most recognizable YA writers—including Shaun David Hutchinson, Neal and Brendan Shusterman, and Beth Revis—come together to share the viewpoints of a group of students affected by a school shooting. It took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto the school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others. But this isn’t a story about the shooting itself. This isn’t about recounting that one unforgettable day. This is about one boy—who had friends, enjoyed reading, playing saxophone in the band, and had never been in trouble before—became a monster capable of entering his school with a loaded gun and firing bullets at his classmates. Each chapter is told from a different victim’s viewpoint, giving insight into who Kirby was and who he’d become. Some are sweet, some are dark; some are seemingly unrelated, about fights or first kisses or late-night parties. This is a book told from multiple perspectives—with one character and one event drawing them all together—by some of YA’s most recognizable names.

"When Pelly sees her best friend, who disappeared six years ago, in a coffee shop with a strange man, she's determined to discover the truth of her friend's disappearance and rescue her from her current captor"--

The night before going on trial in a sensational felony case that has ruined her life, sixteen-year-old Tori Hershberger receives a random phone call from a stranger contemplating suicide and she begins a race against time to save him.

Seventeen-year-old Tyler Darcy looks back on his first three years of high school and considers the significant events involving Becky, his elusive "dream girl" who may be more troubled than he is willing to acknolwedge.

For aspiring artist Amanda Walsh, who only half-jokingly goes by the nickname Zero, the summer before college was supposed to be fun—plain and simple. Hanging out with her best friend Jenn, going to clubs, painting, and counting down the days until her escape. But when must-have scholarship money doesn't materialize, and she has a falling out with Jenn that can only be described as majorly awkward, and Zero's parents relationship goes from tense to relentless fighting, her prospects start looking as bleak and surreal as a painting by her idol Salvador Dali. Will life truly imitate art? Will her new, unexpected relationship with a punk skater boy who seems too good to be real and support from the unlikeliest of sources show Zero that she's so much more than a name.

As eleven different high school students recount, in their own voices, events before, during, and after the same end-of-year party, the stories intersect and combine in unexpected ways.

Now you see him... Jim never thought of himself as the hero type. When his girlfriend and her daughter are targeted by a disfigured assailant who's been popping the eyes out of his victims, Jim becomes the only person with a chance to save them. The first victim is Jim's best friend Travis, who is attacked and blinded in his home and overpowered by the grisly intruder. Travis's elderly father is assaulted next, then his mother. That leaves Travis's only living relatives: his daughter Darla, and his ex-wife, who police assume are targeted as the next victims. Jim quickly agrees to protect them as best he can, neglecting to tell his buddy that he and Travis's ex- already have a relationship on the side, and that Jim is beginning to love Darla like his own kid. As police race to find and stop the assailant, Jim discovers it's far too late: someone's lying in wait, and what he -- or they -- want is the last thing Jim could ever have expected . . . ...now you don't.

WIN OR FALL… For Douglas, Jade Falcon Elemental cadet, there is no choice—he must succeed in becoming a warrior or die trying. Unfortunately, he is perilously close to falling—right out of his sibko. Consistently at the bottom of his class, everyone around him—from his trainers to his fellow sibkin—believes he will not survive his Trial of Position, and should quit before he is killed. But Douglas knows he is destined to be a Jade Falcon warrior. And when he meets a man with a checkered past who promises to show him the true ways of the warrior, Douglas embarks on a dangerous path that might bring him the victory he craves…or utterly destroy him in a brutal trial where sudden death is everywhere…