|| 2021 WATTYS SHORTLIST ||Elliot Mitchell is stuck on autopilot--until she meets Ben Harrison, who begins to bring her back to life. Elliot is counting down the days until she can leave the town that narrates her past. After tragically losing her mom, she is now dealing with an absent father, never-ending nightmares, and friends that she no longer relates to. Never mind that she used to be a track prodigy. One more semester and she's gone. But Elliot was counting on meeting Ben Harrison. Ben is different--his cerebral palsy is just the tip of the iceberg. When Ben joins the track team and they are assigned to work together on a project, emotions start to stir, and Elliot must either face her past or lose the closest connection to someone she has ever felt. Tags: romance, new adult, college, loss, love story

Nolan, an unapproachable guy who ignores the existence of all his schoolmates, sleeps in all of his classes. Normally, this wouldn't be Chelsea Arnold's problem-she does her best to pay attention in class and attends gym like a good, normal student. Unfortunately, she just so happens to be his assigned desk partner in many classes. She's frequently forced to wake him in English class and ends up earning the unofficial title of Nolan's Wake-up Alarm-a title that nobody in the entire school covets. The last thing she wants is to interact with him more than she absolutely has to. One day, their gym teacher sends her to bring him back to class, which he always skips for some reason. When she accidentally shines her flashlight in his sleeping face, it triggers a chain of events that gradually intertwines their lives together. It's hard to be a normal student when you start befriending the school oddball. It doesn't help that he has more secrets than the Big Ben has stairs. ----- Complete. (first person, past tense, slowburn) ----- 1st place in Humor Category of Psychological Novel Reads Contest 2020 (29 Sep 2020) ----- Started: April 28, 2020 Completed: July 23, 2021 Word Count: 160K+ ----- The sequel, The Tortoise and His Sunrise, is up on my profile now!

When Em Matte stepped into The Eye, she connected the waking world with the mortal ones. Her death led to Union Day, a day in which all the galaxy was suddenly, and sometimes tragically united. Now everyone must struggle to survive and rebuild in a galaxy without borders. **** Trigger warnings: mentions of child abuse, violence, sex, alcohol and substance abuse

Delia receives the death dates of every person she meets. There has only ever been one exception: George Warner, the guy she hoped to never see again. *** Cordelia Wright has an uncanny ability: she receives the death dates of every person she meets. Things take an even stranger turn when she receives her own death date, a date that is only months in the future. Delia's life is arranged in routine - it's predictable, comfortable and she likes it that way. But her death date seems to surface everything she carefully buried. Her mom's mental health is teetering, her best friend is moving forward in life, and she is realizing her boyfriend may not know her at all. Everything is sent overboard when Warner, the guy from her past she hoped to never seen again, returns, and with him, the painful reminder that he is unlike anyone she's ever met: he doesn't have a death date. Will Delia let the fear of death stop her from living? *** tags: enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, new adult, young adult, military

Now together at university, Elliot and Ben have the freedom (and privacy) to focus on and enjoy their relationship. But with that newfound freedom comes expectations, and living up to those expectations is proving to be overwhelming for Ben. Elliot overcame a lot in the last year: she started running again, she dealt with her mom's death, and she faced her doubt. Much in thanks to Ben, who slowly helped her open up and find herself. Now away at university, Elliot and Ben have the freedom to enjoy their relationship, but Ben's feeling the pressure of being the person he knows he's not. He's feeling the pressure to be someone he thinks Elliot deserves. He has his own doubt to tackle--and a decision to make: to choose Elliot or to choose a life without her. Sequel to Starting Position. Warning: contains themes of sexuality and brief language. Tags: slow burn romance, new adult, second chance

Two sworn enemies, one despairing secret. It's not a secret that Margaret Ren and James O'Brian hate each other. They've been sworn enemies since they first met, and for good reason. With a city divided into two halves, Margaret hails from the east side, the disadvantaged side, while James is settled into his manor atop the west side hilltop. He's arrogant, egotistical, and conceited - a true Westlaker. Margaret and James are both participants in the high school media club, and when they are forced to work together on a seemingly innocent interview, their personalities are not the only things that clash. Through a series of twists and turns, they are led down a road towards uncovering their city's most despairing secret. Will they be able to put aside their differences and solve the mystery plaguing their city, or will the injustice surrounding them succeed in in stopping them altogether? xxx Tags: enemies to lovers, mystery, young adult, inequality

Alanis Howell has a lot to live up to considering she was named after the talented and influential Alanis Morissette, whose constant shadow she's been living in since she was born. With the arrival of her last semester of high school, she'd just like to get through it unscathed; however, this proves challenging after a chance encounter involving a group chat fiasco with her crush, Dane, and learning she is to join Drama and Theater last minute and will be forced to spend sixth period with the obnoxious Theo. Suffice to say, her last semester isn't going as planned. Things take another turn when ordinary Alanis gets cast in a rendition of the musical based on Alanis Morissette's best selling album of the same name, Jagged Little Pill. Ironic, isn't it? xxx Open Novella Contest 2021 Entry #ONC21

"I'm a terrible dancer," I whisper. "And I guess the cowboy is much better than the city girl." My sarcasm is purely intended, and when he smiles heat courses through me. "The minute you start thinking is when you step on your partner's foot, Ms. Jones. Allow me to guide you, and show you what cowboys can do to city girls," he tells me softly, taking my hand about his shoulder, holding me securely. And damn, he's hot. __________________ When Kira Jones finally decides to take a six-week summer vacation, her best and only friend, Samantha, drags her to a trip out of California. What awaits on the way is something Kira has never fathomed at all, as her life gets a serious turn upon seeking the answer to her search. She meets a mysterious ranch owner whom her friend already has eyes for, and Kira finds herself drawn near him in a very strange way. Unrestrained attraction and something very intense will take Kira into a different dimension as far as her desire and principles are concerned. But what will win in the end between the power of love and friendship? Will Kira manage to make the right decision in the end in order to save her long life friendship with Samantha? Copyright ©2019 Grace Gervas

"Strip. Now!" I aimed my weapon at him with a glare. Upon a passing light, I was granted a clearer view. Intense green eyes were on me, clenched jaw on a keen guard, and a visible scar at the curve of his left cheek. The idle look aired fearless against my warning, forcing my wary to hyperdrive. The sound of rustling ceased my staring. I watched him moving in largo. "Hurry up!" With a lopsided smirk, he started unbuttoning his coat, eyes boring holes on me. "What are you? An android rapist?" He let out with indifferent. "Shut it!" I yelled, trailing my eyes lower. "The pants too." *** Eve had volunteered for an assignment to meet the future. She was put into cryogenic sleep, expected to witness a greener and wiser world. But when she wake, she found herself at a dump, naked and cold. The air was thick with pollution, and malice at sight. After escaping from danger, she held the next person she met at gunpoint; a mysterious, handsome hybrid. Unbeknownst to Eve, Earth was no longer what she once knew. She soon learnt the truth behind the assignment. Left with no other option, she put her trust on Kael to fulfil her mission. Most impressive rank:- 3 #Cyberpunk 5 #Dystopian #Science-fantasy 8 #Aliens 10 #Future 12 #Terra 15 #Plague 13 #Futuristic *** P/s Visual on cover does not belong to me. So all credit goes to the artist.