|| WINNER AMBYS 2022 VAMPIRES CATEGORY || || FEATURED: FOODKART || When single mother and baker Autumn Milford is hired to cater a high-end party in the Berkshires, she discovers the "special ingredient" she is required to use isn't just the quirk of an eccentric millionaire ... ------------ Autumn Milford has been determined to rely on no one but herself after her parents kicked her out at seventeen. With the money she's due to earn from catering a high-end party in the Berkshires, she'll finally have enough to open up her own storefront bakery. But her employer is not just another eccentric millionaire and his guests aren't your average denizens of high society. Autumn is about to discover that creatures of the night are real ... and they're eating her cinnamon rolls. Corbin Westbrook would rather cut off his own head than host the once-a-decade gathering of the New England Knowing. There have been sightings of a Fallen in the area and it is Corbin's duty to ensure that the creature is disposed of. But to decline such an "honor" is ill-advised. Left with no choice but to throw the party, Corbin stays as far away from the event planning as possible ... until he meets the baker. Hold onto your cinnamon rolls, it's going to be a sweet ride! ------------ ONC 2022 Prompt 20. You manage a catering company. The latest request has a few ... interesting menu items. [Status: Complete] [Word Count: 28,000] [Content warning: PG-13 for mild swearing, violence, sensuality, and fade-to-black intimacy.] [ [ Highest rankings ] ] [#1 in Baking 2/26/22] [#1 in Singleparent 4/1/22] [#1 in Paranormalromance 4/14/22] [#8 in Paranormal 4/11/22] [#10 in ONC2022 4/14/22] [#11 in Supernatural 5/3/22] [#16 in Vampireromance 4/20/22] [#20 in Romance 4/11/22] Cover by @chessaandersen

After uncovering a sinister ritual in an abandoned factory, Jay and his friends are the only hope to save their small town from the supernatural forces brewing there. Season 1 of Mezzanine ***** When Jay moves to Sycamore Falls at the beginning of his senior year of high school, the last thing he expects is suddenly developing the ability to read minds. As if knowing everyone's darkest thoughts isn't bad enough, things get worse when Jay finds a group of cloaked figures-seemingly brainwashed-taking part in a strange ritual within an abandoned factory at the edge of town. Along with Carter, his only friend, and Lola, the mysterious girl he can't help but be drawn to, Jay investigates. As the group unravels the secrets of the factory and their town, they find themselves in danger from the sinister supernatural forces that might have been best left undisturbed forever. WARNING: This story contains depictions of violence, strong language, bullying, reference to drug and alcohol use, and content that may be shocking to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

❝ Things are only as beautiful as you make them, Charlie. Including murder. ❞ It's the opening night of Burton Abbey's production of Romeo and Juliet and all is going smoothly - that is until the climactic death scene. Romeo takes a big gulp of the poison to be with his lover, except it really is poison and Elijah, who plays Romeo, is now dead. Charlie Monet, in charge of props, is the first suspect but soon the suspicion around her turns to worry as it seems she's the next target. Khaleel Rahim, an aspiring writer, is dying for a mystery to solve at his new school. When he sees Charlie sneaking around at night he thinks he's finally found something worth writing about. After discovering Charlie's ability to see visions of the past, Khaleel decides that they're the perfect pair to solve the mystery. With threatening notes, a quiet library and poison disguised as props; somebody in the school is blurring the lines between theatre and reality and the fast friends are about to discover that there's more to boarding school than just silly rumours. [2022 Watty's Shortlist]

A genderqueer hillbilly and a haunted woman must break a generational curse that has entwined their lives in the abandoned coal-stripped mountains of the Pennsylvania Wilds. *** Desperate to flee a dark past, Finley drives off a cliff and prays to the ancient hemlocks below to catch her fall. But in the abandoned hollows of the Pennsylvania Wilds, everything comes at a price. Tasked by an undead Not-Deer, Finley must find the three talismans that mark the mountain's boundaries in order to break a century old curse, one that has not only haunted the women in her family for generations, but has also bound the supernatural beings to the mountain, including the dead. Fortunately, the handsome genderqueer hillbilly up the road, River Hawthorne, is just as eager [maybe too eager] to break the curse. Together, they navigate the woods where hungry trees walk and other demonic haunts roam, growing closer every moment. But breaking the curse also comes at a price and Finley must decide what freedom is worth when her past comes crawling back through the woods to haunt her. HEARTWOOD blends gothic folk horror with cabincore sapphic romance. Rated Mature for violence, gore, sex, language Content Warnings: body horror, alcohol/drug use, transphobic attack, animal death/hunting, DV/abusive relationships, generational trauma, mentions of suicide & infant death Rankings: 1 in #appalachia 1 in #folkhorror 1 in #transmasc 5 in #gothicromance 8 in #sapphic

The house is safe. The hills outside are not. The basement is out of the question. Joel has been trapped in the house for what has felt like an eternity; all hope of escaping lost after the first few years. Without the company of the eight strangers who arrived with him, he would have gone mad long ago. But while living in the decrepit building is taxing, nothing could be worse than the thing downstairs. Everyone is content to just live in the six rooms that they know are safe until Joel learns that there may be something below. Something other than the creature that torments them. The house goes deeper, further down into the darkness. And while travelling through the unknown halls may be dangerous, and the thing downstairs is always following close behind, Joel is determined to find a way out of the nightmare he's found himself in; for his own sake, but more importantly, the sake of the people he loves. Watty 2022 shortlister Gloria Regali Awards 2023 winner

WATTYS 2022 AWARD WINNER ☾ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ • ☽ "You had an idea?" She laughed lightly when I reminded her. Her laugh was easily contagious, I couldn't help but not laugh with her, even if it was just a small nostril-flare kind of thing. "Yeah, I do." She turned to me slightly, and straightened her posture. "You've seen John Tucker Must Die, right?" She asked, and I summoned the most 'no, duh' expression I possibly could give her. "Perfect. Let's John Tucker the hell out of that motherfucker." ☾ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ • ☽ Abby Reynolds is your average high school senior who's just trying to ace her AP exams to get into her top schools, be a good daughter to her parents, and a loving girlfriend to her boyfriend. When Abby's perfect relationship is ripped to shreds, she fetches a plan to get revenge - with the girl she should hate most. Abby's about to get more than she bargained for, and learn more about herself than any college entry essay could ever teach her, and it's about to come in the form of Tessa Oliver.

Ray is low on time, luck, and hope; his only chance is an artifact that may not even exist. But upon meeting Landon, Ray is beginning to believe he might find all four. ***** Cambions are doomed to tragedy. They are weak, sickly creatures that rarely live to see their twentieth year. Ray refuses to resign himself to that fate. Upon learning of the Crimson Sheath-an artifact capable of preserving his life-Ray is prepared to fight, steal, and kill to get his hands on it. He is not prepared for Landon. Landon is an orphan with no memories of his parents, the only inheritance left to him a dagger, sleeping in a crimson sheath. Though he has no love of bloodshed and no use for a dagger, Landon isn't about to let Ray take his only link to his forgotten history, even if that means following the cambion past the edge of the world and into the shadow beyond. Content Warnings: Violence, semi-graphic gore, character deaths, profanity, mild drug and alcohol usage, abuse discussed but not shown, and morally-questionable people doing morally-questionable things.

THIS STORY IS NOW FREE! When a newlywed princess discovers her Prince Charming is married to six other royals, she brings the outraged spouses together to plot revenge. But will their story have a fairy tale ending? ***** Marrying Prince Charming was supposed to be the key to Princess Ashley's happily ever after. Instead, the princess finds herself abandoned for months at a time while Charming slays dragons and fights ogres in distant lands. Frustrated and lonely, she invites six neighboring royals -- five princesses and one prince -- to her kingdom for a week-long gala, hoping to ask for marriage advice. But after a few glasses of chardonnay, the truth comes out: there's only one Prince Charming, and they're all married to him. Obviously, Prince Charming must die. But as the royals set out on a dangerous quest for revenge, they must face foul-smelling armies, dark magic, evil stepsisters, and a troubling shortage of face cream. Soon they uncover an even more dastardly plot, and to save the Seven Kingdoms, the royals must risk everything to rewrite their Happily Ever After.

Ava has been dancing since she was three. It was her escape from reality. At her school dance is considered "Easy" And "Not a sport" Ava and her friends constantly get picked on. And their biggest rivals are the football team. Especially William Sanders. He's been picking on the dancers for forever. So what happens when the dancers are forced to welcome the football players for three weeks into the studio?

❤️ WATTYS 2018 WINNER ❤️ WATTPAD FEATURED ❤️ When sixteen-year-old Janie Myers' grades hit an all-time low, she is pulled from her blow-off class with her best friend and placed into a course the guidance counselor says will boost her confidence: theater. There, she meets a group of theater "misfits" who accept her into their troupe. Armed with a full troupe of actors, the misfit theater company takes on a one act that will not only challenge Janie's shyness, but also her feelings for fellow misfit Thatcher. Cover photo credit to Anthony Ginsbrook. Found on Unsplash.com and edited using Canva.