Most Popular Books by Todd Mitchell

An edge-of-your-seat thriller asks: Is it possible to fix a tragic future by changing the past — while experiencing life backwards? At the moment Dan’s life ends, the Rider’s begins. Unwillingly tied to Dan, who seems to be shuffling through life, the Rider finds himself moving backwards in time, each day revealing more of the series of events that led to Dan’s suicide. As the Rider struggles to figure out what he’s meant to do, he revels in the life Dan ignores. Beyond the simple pleasures of a hot shower and the sun on his face, the Rider also notices the people around Dan: his little sister, always disappointed by her big brother’s rejection, and his overwhelmed mom, who can never rely on Dan for help. Most of all, the Rider notices Cat with her purple hair, artistic talent, and misfit beauty. But Cat doesn’t want anything to do with Dan, paying attention instead to popular football player Finn. As the days move in reverse and Halloween looms, Cat becomes the center of the Rider’s world — until the Rider finds out the shocking reason why Cat is so angry with Dan. Can the Rider make things right before it’s too late?

"An eleven-year-old girl discovers a family of panthers that were thought to be extinct. But when others find out they are alive, too, she must risk everything to save the species"--

When ten-year-old Darren and his family show up at their family reunion and find their Uncle Will missing, Darren and his sister go in search of clues to discover what happened.

A teenage boy's self-reinvention gets out of control in a sharp, funny, poignant, and compulsively readable novel that gives a familiar theme a surprising twist. James was the guy no one noticed -- just another fifteen-year-old in a small town. So when he gets into an academy for gifted students, he decides to leave his boring past behind. In a boarding school full of nerds and geeks, being cool is easy. All it takes is a few harmless pranks to invent a new James: fighter, rebel, punk. Everyone’s impressed, except for the beautiful "Ice Queen" Ellie Frost and the mysterious ghost44, an IM presence who sees through his new identity. But James is riding high, playing pranks and hooking up with luscious Jessica Keen. There’s just one thing awry: he’s starting to have vivid dreams of being a demon-hunting warrior, a thrill that is spilling over into dangerous and self-destructive acts while he’s awake. As he’s drawn deeper into his real-life lies and his dream-world conquests, James begins to wonder: What’s the price for being the coolest guy around?

“A dangerous town carved out of unforgiving forest, a young girl who can name spirits and tame monsters, a race against time to save the natural world: The Namer of Spirits is what readers want and the world needs.” –Eliot Schrefer, New York Times bestselling author In the frontier village of Last Hope, people dismiss twelve-year-old Ash Narro as a flighty child who claims to hear the true names of things. But when enraged forest spirits attack, Ash shows that the names she hears have power. After taming a destructive forest spirit, Ash teams up with Fen, a wild forest boy, and embarks on an unusual journey to save her village. In this steampunk eco-fantasy, the perils of deforestation and the power of friendship are explored through a fantastical adventure involving giant mistcats, tempestuous forest spirits, a supernatural puppy, and a girl with a special gift for shaping what things become.

"An Immensely valuable book! There are plenty of books out there on creativity, but none like this... an essential read for anyone who is seeking inspiration about the creative life." —Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction, author of Stars Go Blue Break free of toxic success myths. Transcend the suffering artist paradigm. Actualize your immense creative potential. If you've ever struggled with doubt, fear, procrastination, or disappointment while trying to create, this book is for you. Breakthrough goes where no other books on creativity dare to tread—exposing the toxic success myths that hold people back and revealing radical, perspective-shifting solutions. Through concise, friendly chapters that weave together personal experiences with guidance from research and nondual philosophical traditions, readers are given pragmatic ways to turn potential breakdowns into life-changing breakthroughs.

The sampler includes chapters from Ursula Dubosarsky’s The Golden Day, Patrick Ness’s More Than This, and Todd Mitchell’s Backwards. The Golden Day When their teacher goes missing during an outing, eleven girls grapple with the aftermath in this haunting, exquisitely told psychological mystery. More Than This From two-time Carnegie Medal winner Patrick Ness comes an enthralling and provocative new novel chronicling the life — or perhaps afterlife — of a teen trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world. Backwards An edge-of-your-seat thriller asks: Is it possible to fix a tragic future by changing the past — while experiencing life backwards?

The Small Business Owner's Cybersecurity Guide Hackers know the truth: small businesses are the easiest targets. Whether you're a solopreneur, entrepreneur, coach, consultant, or run a healthcare or financial practice, your business holds valuable client data-and cybercriminals want it. In The Small Business Owner's Cybersecurity Guide, Navy veteran and cybersecurity consultant Todd Mitchell delivers a simple, step-by-step plan to protect your business, safeguard your clients' information, and stay compliant with today's toughest regulations. Written in plain English (no IT degree required), this guide makes small business cybersecurity approachable, affordable, and effective. Inside, you'll discover how to: ����Protect client data with the Core 4 cybersecurity principles every business must use daily ����Recognize and stop phishing attacks, ransomware, and social engineering scams before they damage your business ����Build a cyber-safe culture with practical tools, policies, and checklists designed for solopreneurs and small teams ����Implement the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF 2.0) to identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover from threats ����Simplify compliance with HIPAA, GLBA, PCI-DSS, and CMMC 2.0 regulations If you've ever thought "I'm too small to be hacked," think again. Cybersecurity for small business is no longer optional-it's essential to protecting your reputation, your income, and your clients' trust.

Enter the world of video game development in this collection of discussions with noteworthy game creators ranging from solo hobbyists to major triple-A veterans. Todd Mitchell--an industry writer, indie developer, and host of the popular development podcast, GameDev Breakdown--speaks to experts about their projects, their experiences, and how they broke into the game industry to do some of the coolest jobs in history. Interviewees include: Michael Hicks of MichaelArts, David Fox of Electric Eggplant (formerly of LucasArts, Rocket Science Games, and more), Paul Nicholas of Liquidream, Richard Rouse III of Paranoid Productions (formerly of Surreal Software, Midway, Microsoft, and more), Ryan Engle of Golf Scope, Jordan Mychal Lemos formerly of Ubisoft, Sucker Punch Productions, Hardsuit Labs, and more, Say Mistage and Michael Silverman of Silverware Games, Joshua Davidson and Ash Lyons of Gearbox Software, Rob Hewson of Huey Games (formerly of TT Games, Dark Energy Digital, and Blade Interactive), and Thomas Kildren of Fletcher Studios Games discussed include: Pillar, The Path of Motus, Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, Thimbleweed Park, The Suffering (series), The Church in the Darkness, Topgolf with Pro Putt, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, MatchyGotchy Z, Saints Row (series), Borderlands (series), Battleborn, Lego games, Booper, Get Home! and more.