"Hope, children, and never once let in. For it is written that a single candle can withstand the darkness, even now, in our most desperate hour." "Though the end days have come at last, and the sun falls for the last time beyond the dim horizon, we must still have hope, being that the unlikeliest of heroes and the greatest and most difficult of adventures can emerge from the darkest of days." ~*~ The gods are silent, and the people's desperate prayers of healing and aid go mysteriously unanswered. Rumors and talk of monstrous, horrific dragons killing anything in sight are whispered in taverns and pubs, with the added murmurs of draconic creatures that stand on two feet like a man followed close behind. When the elven capital of Lyrenbel is destroyed and half its population slaughtered, a chain of events suddenly brings together a disgraced knight, an old dwarf, a mage that hides his insecurities behind a mask of arrogance, a traumatized Sylvari and an orphaned Sylvanaar, and sets them forth on a path that none of them ever wanted to be on. They are expected to be saviors, heroes that come from a child's bedtime story. But they are not fighting against a normal dragon, or other mythical creature. They are fighting against an all powerful god. They carry the weight of the world on their shoulders as they begin walking down their long and winding road, yet they will fight until the very end, despite the tension that grows between them with each passing day. Their chances of success are slim, and if they do succeed, they will not return as the same person. If they return at all. ***book 1 of three*** ***this book is related to my other book, Heart of the Winter King, as it takes place in the same universe, but it can be read without it***

Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda? ***** Found as a young child washed up on the beach, 17-year-old Ari Callahan has never uttered a word out loud to anyone -- not even her adoptive family. Psychologists have diagnosed her with a condition called selective mutism, but Ari can't help identifying with her namesake character, Ariel, the little mermaid in the fairytale whose voice was stolen by a sea witch. Mermaid-obsession aside, Ari's silence makes socializing tough. She's never had a boyfriend or been asked out on a date. Not until Zac, the confident new arrival in town, asks for her number. But Zac has his own reasons for texting with Ari. He's part of a movement to sabotage the artificial music app called SirenSong, threatening to render human singing obsolete. Zac's collaborators have scoured the globe in search of a singing voice perfect enough to break the SirenSong spell, and their search has led them straight to Ari's beachside town. Will her relationship with Zac help Ari find her voice and unlock the secrets of her origins? Or will he use her and leave her high and dry? Title: Ari and Zac (formerly The Mermaid Hypothesis) Content Warning: This story contains references to selective mutism, suicidal thoughts, and early childhood trauma.

*WATTPAD FEATURED STORY* Seventeen-year-old Rhea is fast, deadly, and on the run, her ability to evade capture determining the future of the kingdom of Etria. The once-exiled Witch King has usurped the throne, and Rhea posesses a desperate plan to raise the armies of the southern kingdom against him and restore the rightful queen. But it doesn't take long for her plans to sour when she finds herself hunted by dark forces she hardly understands. After a deadly accident, she becomes stuck with a mysterious stranger wearing odd silver cuffs, and while uncovering his secrets, her own past begins to unravel. She has the power to save the kingdom--unless the demons of her past bring her down first.

For decades, Ara's kingdom has suffered from a bloody invasion. Generations of gifted men and women have been murdered by assassins in order to cripple their armies. One life, one village at a time, her kingdom is losing. Their only hope lies in an ancient prophecy of a priestess who will rise up and drive out the invaders. When the assassins come to believe that priestess is Ara, her only hope of surviving lies the hands of a man with a mysterious past and a dubious gift of his own. Ara has much to learn, and fast. Because unless she can stay ahead of the Assassins, she may not live long enough to develop into the priestess fate is forcing her to be. www.amberargyle.com

BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS BOOK #1 RATED M 18+ {completed} _ You don't become the fiancé of one of the most powerful crime lords in the city without understanding exactly how gritty and depraved the world truly is... and how to thrive in the inferno. After five years spent under his controlling thumb, Daniela knows her position with a man like Vincent Stacatto is precarious, but as long as she plays by the rules of his "game", she's safe... Until she's taken by the devil. Kidnapped by a rival boss, Daniela becomes a pawn between two powerful forces, and just another casualty in a bloody game of chess. But to get to the top-and stay at the top-you have to fight dirty and hold nothing back, because the most dangerous piece on the board isn't the King. It's the Queen. {draft}

More than anything, Grae Winters wants to live an average, boring life. No surprises, no magic, and definitely no vampires. Unfortunately for Grae, she's anything but normal. Cursed with a power she doesn't understand, pretending to be ordinary is difficult when living in a city of the bizarre and supernatural. Grae's life only gets weirder when vampires start disappearing off Roccia Nera's streets, and she's coerced into searching for a master vampire's missing daughter. If Grae fails to find her, she'll have to take the woman's place in the master's cadre...for eternity. In a city where normalcy is overrated, Grae's life is about to get much stranger. [Series Discontinued]

Do you write or read gripping science fiction, fantasy that gives readers chills or steam punk that blows us out of the water? Then this is the Book Club for you! By limiting the book club to just one set of genres we can get and give more pointed feedback and attract help from readers and writers within our own genre so that you don't get feedback that begins with, "This isn't something I would usually read..." or "I don't get why it has to be in space." Open to all sub-genres. Originally started by sarahklwilson, continued by yours truly. :)

Elizabeth Sinclair lives in a world run by airships, steam, and magic. She was once princess of the Crown, now the young lady is captain of an airship whose voyages occasionally involve skirting the edge between legal and illegal. From small time smuggling to supporting local pirates, Elizabeth and the crew of the Crusader do it all. Elizabeth's wish that her life never change comes to a crashing halt when the new Emperor of the Crown begins to enforce his rule. Military patrols, increased taxes, and harsher laws begin to ferment a deadly brew of rebellion that blows up when the Crusader finds itself fighting toe to toe against the entire Empire.

An intimate fantasy tale, told in the stylings of an epic Asian drama, inspired by sweeping Chinese tragic story-telling, and dressed in a fictional fusion of Far Eastern mysticism and elements of steam culture. Turn the silk veil on a world forbidden from common eyes where children sail airships across the sky, a young emperor faces the tattered remains of his empire, a warlord stands on the brink of total conquest, and a gifted young boy embarks on a remarkable odyssey of triumph and sacrifice. Terr hardly knew the incredible future that awaited him when, for the first time, he laid his eyes upon the ether, a mysterious force visible only to a special group of children who are endowed with the divine ability to levitate airships and change the very will of the sky itself. Like all those who shared in his supernatural talents, he would be thrust into a secret world steeped in oriental traditions, be revered by monks and priests, sold by eager merchants, and abused by a rebellious military, lead by an ambitious warlord that would seek to unite all under heaven. In his sadly fallible, yet all-too-human journey, he would face the corruption of the Imperial Courts, be thrown into banishment as the servant of an exiled son of the Imperial Family, and eventually suffer the terrible horrors of a world war, which threatens to end all he holds dear. But as Terr and his dying country careen into the depths of a world torn by vengeance and prejudice, he would come to discover that even a humble child of the sky can still change the course of fate. SKY OF PAPER is also available for kindle and other mobile devices in its original chapter format on Amazon Kindle via the following link: http://goo.gl/B0Sp14