In No Turning Back, Dan Burns shares an eclectic mix of stories that push the boundaries of genre and imagination. Told with realistic and thought-provoking prose, each of the stories shine light on characters who, as a result of a particular experience, realize that they can't go back in time or to the way life use to be. Moving forward is the only option, and what comes next is anyone’s guess. In Come Out, Wherever You Are, a man retreats to his home in the woods to live out the rest of his life in solitude. He hopes to evade the public eye but instead finds himself both a victim and beneficiary of circumstance. At the End of the Day is a story of forbidden and improbable love. After working together for more than five years, a man and woman begin a relationship they never dreamed was possible. In the title story, No Turning Back, a young paratrooper on a flight into enemy territory gets to think about and face his ultimate fears. The author accompanies each story with his personal notes regarding the thoughts and ideas that inspired him to write the story, adding a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of the writing process.

No Turning Back: Stories

Literature & Fiction

Dan Burns

Short Stories & Anthologies

Chicago Arts Press

In No Turning Back, author Dan Burns shares an eclectic mix of stories that expand the boundaries of genre and imagination. Told with realistic and thought-provoking prose, each of the stories shine light on characters who, as a result of a particular experience, realize that they can't go back—in time or to the way life used to be. Moving forward is the only option, and what comes next is anyone’s guess.
Published by Chicago Arts Press, this beautifully crafted hardcover edition includes story illustrations by Chicago artist Kelly Maryanski and an original cover design by world-renowned graphic artist Hugh Syme (album cover designer for the rock band Rush). Additionally, the author accompanies each story with his personal notes regarding the thoughts and ideas that inspired him to write the story, adding a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of the writing process.

Burns, Dan

When a struggling author with a secret government past is hired by a wealthy philanthropist to investigate a cold murder case, he has no choice but to expose the dark and buried secrets of a powerful political family in Chicago.
Sebastian Drake is a novelist working out of a dilapidated apartment in the city who’s trying to come up with his next story idea. But he’s stuck.
Drake receives an unexpected visit from a man interested in hiring him for a project and who thinks he has just the solution to Drake’s writing challenges. He also thinks that Drake’s past and secret life with a shadow government organization is a valuable asset. His proposition to Drake is simple: become a hired agent to investigate a cold murder case involving one of Chicago’s most powerful political families. The job comes with a decent paycheck, all the support he might need, and the types of real life experiences that can form the basis for great fiction stories.
This is a story about a man with a new lease on life, who leads a dual existence. Behind his desk, he is an aspiring author. On the streets, he is a rogue undercover and unknown vigilante.
His biggest challenge is keeping intact the fine line between reality and fiction.

A Fine Line (A Sebastian Drake Novel)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

“We’re all flawed and confronted daily with sometimes slight but often apparently insurmountable challenges. But if we dig deep, what we unearth from the depths of our souls, if we’re lucky, can allow us to overcome and carry on to live another day with an untortured heart.”
This is the sentiment Dan Burns explores in his exciting new collection. Five stories and a novella highlight Burns’s range as a storyteller and his ability to see life and all its emotions through a unique lens. This collection features his most personal and insightful stories to date.
Redemption—In a quiet Montana town, an aging writer and his nephew are forced to weave the past and the present into a future of more significant meaning.
The Plight of Maximus Octavius Reinhold—In the new story featuring private investigator Sebastian Drake (from the novel A Fine Line), the local patrons of a rural Wisconsin town test Drake’s resolve as he stares into the barrel of a .44 Magnum revolver.
Hardwired—A dying man contemplates the end of his life while hoping to pass along a secret legacy to his family.
Adrift at Sea—To fuel his creative desires, a seabound journeyman leaves behind the anchor of distraction in pursuit of a natural world.
The Final Countdown—In the year 2110, the Earth struggles to survive, ravaged by overpopulation and greed. Food is scarce, and the youth-run government has no choice but to implement a plan devised decades earlier: deport the elderly population to a remote outpost—on the moon.
Grace: A Novella—A story of impaired love, betrayal, and redemption as realized by characters who experience life through the perception of liquor-bottle glasses. Life is never what it seems. Everyone has secrets. The question is whether the skeleton key of alcohol will open the closet door and let out the hidden truths.
The collection includes notes about the thoughts, ideas, and inspiration behind the stories, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes perspective of the author’s writing process, along with twenty-six illustrations by artist Kelly Maryanski.

Grace: Stories and a Novella

“We’re all flawed and confronted daily with sometimes slight but often apparently insurmountable challenges. But if we dig deep, what we unearth from the depths of our souls, if we’re lucky, can allow us to overcome and carry on to live another day with an untortured heart.”
This is the sentiment Dan Burns explores in his exciting new collection. Five stories and a novella highlight Burns’s range as a storyteller and his ability to see life and all its emotions through a unique lens. This collection features his most personal and insightful stories to date.
Redemption—In a quiet Montana town, an aging writer and his nephew are forced to weave the past and the present into a future of more significant meaning.
The Plight of Maximus Octavius Reinhold—In the new story featuring private investigator Sebastian Drake (from the novel A Fine Line), the local patrons of a rural Wisconsin town test Drake’s resolve as he stares into the barrel of a .44 Magnum revolver.
Hardwired—A dying man contemplates the end of his life while hoping to pass along a secret legacy to his family.
Adrift at Sea—To fuel his creative desires, a seabound journeyman leaves behind the anchor of distraction in pursuit of a natural world.
The Final Countdown—In the year 2110, the Earth struggles to survive, ravaged by overpopulation and greed. Food is scarce, and the youth-run government has no choice but to implement a plan devised decades earlier: deport the elderly population to a remote outpost—on the moon.
Grace: A Novella—A story of impaired love, betrayal, and redemption as realized by characters who experience life through the perception of liquor-bottle glasses. Life is never what it seems. Everyone has secrets. The question is whether the skeleton key of alcohol will open the closet door and let out the hidden truths.
The collection includes notes about the thoughts, ideas, and inspiration behind the stories, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes perspective of the author’s writing process, along with twenty-six illustrations by artist Kelly Maryanski.

A Necessary Explosion: Collected Poems

Poetry

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Books by Chicago Arts Press

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Chicago Arts Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

No Turning Back: Stories

No Turning Back: Stories

A Fine Line (A Sebastian Drake Novel)

A Fine Line (A Sebastian Drake Novel)

Grace: Stories and a Novella

Grace: Stories and a Novella

A Necessary Explosion: Collected Poems

A Necessary Explosion: Collected Poems