Perception is everything Content Warning: Language

Sydney wanted a fake boyfriend. He showed up with murder on the agenda. So... not exactly a meet-cute. Sydney's got problems. Her ex won't stop texting, her nerves are shot, and she's pretty sure her cat is judging her life choices. In a moment of slightly sleep-deprived desperation, she posts an anonymous ad looking for a fake boyfriend-just someone tall, grumpy, and mildly terrifying to help her send a message. Enter Callum. Tall? Check. Grumpy? Double check. Terrifying? Oh, absolutely. But he's under the impression he's been hired to kill someone. Now Sydney has a brooding stranger in her kitchen, a wildly misunderstood contract, and a sudden urge to maybe never date again. Except... Callum isn't just deadly-he's kind of sweet. In a quiet, "would-definitely-bury-a-body-for-you" sort of way. It's a rom-com meet-awkward with a body count waiting in the wings-and if Sydney's not careful, she might just lose her heart... or her life.

[ONC 2025 SHORTLIST] The Endless Brew lazes in the 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏. Its residents dedicate their afterlife to helping ghosts tie up loose ends. But when a cry for help echoes from the town of Wisteria, the tea house is thrown into uncharted territory. This time, their charge isn't a ghost-it's Nina, a living, breathing human with no apparent wishes to fulfill. Stumped and stranded, The Endless Brew's residents must unravel why she's crossed into their spectral world. As they take her under their wing, Nina finds herself drawn to Kai, a brooding, enigmatic ghost with a past as mysterious as his piercing gaze. Their electric connection might defy the boundaries of life and death, but it doesn't change the fact they're from different worlds, and their parting is inevitable. 🌸 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏, 𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 🌸 𝐎𝐍𝐂 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭: 15. 𝑨 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓: 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕?

Four years ago, June Ashcroft's sister vanished without a trace. Now, armed with her family's fortune, June sets out on her twentieth birthday with five of her closest friends. They pay a local man to take them across the black waters of Eden Lake to a place long forgotten: Ashpine Island. Once a luxurious getaway for the wealthy, the island is now the site of an unsolved mystery. Her sister's disappearance, along with three others, led to the island's closure. Since then, the authorities have swept through, and it has been left untouched-until now. They say the island is abandoned. They say the disappearances were accidents. They say talk of a phantom stalking the island is just that-talk. June is about to learn that lies can be deadly.

Alyana Klah is an investigator and prosecutor for the Department of Justice. Her focus is missing indigenous women and children. The stakes are high when she meets Chayton Adakai during a long term assignment just outside the Navajo reserve in Nevada. As they discover they are both after the same objective, can they survive the trauma of the case they are wroking to buld something they can both hang on to? Will love be strong enough to heal them or will work tear them apart? My fabulous cover is by @introvertvert on Inkitt. Thank you so much.

This story was written about nine years ago, and resurrected now because I've hit a wall with another story I was currently writing. It follows a wannabe detective through a maze of characters and bizarre situations involving a family trust. It came from a previous book called The Mistake which had a bevy of characters I grew quite fond of, and on occasion, are referred to in this story.

[sʜᴏʀᴛʟɪsᴛᴇᴅ] Emily Walton is a 25-year-old young woman who has had a difficult life ever since she was a child. She never received love from her mother or her boyfriend, which made her feel miserable. As she nears the end of her life, Emily desperately begs for another chance. She yearns for a life filled with happiness in her next existence. After she passes away, she awakens in a motel. The motel feels strangely familiar to Emily as if she had heard about it before. Suddenly, a quote from her favourite book's description pops into her mind. Three strangers. Two secrets. One key. ONC2025

ᗩᑎ IᗰᑭᗴᖇᖴᗴᑕT ᗪᗴTᗴᑕTIᐯᗴ: Underestimating someone may not be the best option for anyone. Specially not for detectives. But David Fransmann refuses to believe in that. He rarely doubts himself and always makes imperfect judgements about everything. He is full of weaknesses which makes it difficult for him to solve cases. When he tries to solve a complicated murder case, will his weaknesses get in the way or will they help him solve it? TᗯO ᗰᑌᖇᗪᗴᖇՏ: There has not been one murder but TWO! But did the murderer make a mistake commiting the second murder? What if the two murders are not even related to begin with? Not to mention the suspects are unwilling to help him solve the case. ᗩ ՏᑌIᑕIᗪᗴ: Why did the kind hearted Detective Scott commit suicide? Does it have to do anything with the case? ____________________________ " ᴀ ᴍᴜʀᴅᴇʀ ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ᴏғ ʜᴜᴍᴏᴜʀ."

"No one believes you. But you're the only one who can solve this mystery-for all of them." I only told a story. An eerie story that felt unsettlingly real. My wife's face went pale, her eyes filled with terror. That night, she locked herself in the bathroom and called the police. I tried to explain, but it was useless. Hours later, sirens pierced the night, and I was taken away. But the story... was it really just a story?