For the Slates, demon slaying is the family business. And eighteen-year-old Perrin has fully embraced her chosen profession. But when her sister, fifteen-year-old Ace, declares she's ready to join the cause, Perrin has her reservations. First of all, the case she's picked involves not one, but three demonic foes. A tricky proposition for any new slayer. Second, something eerily familiar lurks at the heart of the infested town. A red-eyed presence that may or may not be the demon who murdered their brother a decade ago. Third, Ace refuses to listen. To reason, to orders, to sense. And in this line of work, one false move can get you killed. Along with their exasperated father and an overeager grocery store clerk, Perrin and Ace set out to raise a little hell and bag a trio of baddies. But demons aren't the only ones to fear. A secret society has discovered their connection to an ancient bet. One involving their very souls. And as enemies close in on all sides, the Slates will need to trust each other and their training to stay one step ahead of the coming storm. Set against the backdrop of 2010 Middle America, Slate Gray is a nostalgic tale of demons, driving and destiny. Will Perrin sacrifice herself to protect her sister? Will Ace make a deal with the devil to bring their brother back? Only time will tell. Featured on: @Fantasy @CelestiaCove @CitifiedFantasy @HalosAndHellfires @JustWriteIt @PrideReads @Project_Athena @QuickFantasy @StoriesUndiscovered **Trigger Warnings for Language, Violence and Gore**

ONC 2024: In college, it was a case of wrong place/wrong time. Eight years later, they have a second chance. But will they take the leap? ___ Prompt 14: "My muse, believe me, waiting for you has been a form of freedom." ___ Excerpt: "Don't look back." Ian stares at me through the screen with his dark, intense gaze. "Don't long for all the things that might have been. Don't chastise yourself for the decisions you've made." For a moment, his words render me silent. "Appreciate all those little indentations that make you who you are," he says with a tender expression. "And remember your superpower." "What superpower?" "Let yourself dream again." A tender smile crosses his features. "Focus that intense drive of yours on the future like you used to do." He's right. For so long, I've been living in survival mode. One foot in front of the other. Stuck in this nightmare, I haven't been able to see any other way forward. Until now. "You're free now," he says, "to make better choices that will make you truly happy." For a moment, I let my mind take me wherever it wants to go. Right now? It wants to be in Boston, beside him. But can I leave everything behind?

| 𝟳𝘅 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 ·|| HUNGER GAMES x CINDER || ONC 2023 Honorable Mention Amidst the escalating unrest between the windborne utopian city of Lighthaven and its seedy, oppressed underbelly Fumedge, the Grand Duke of Lighthaven, Lucius Sextus, comes up with an ingenious solution. To provide much-wanted respite from the brewing conflict, and achieve the apparent-if-temporary unity, he organizes Gaslight Trials - a highly entertaining panem-et-circenses combat event in the Pits. The combatants may use all steam and thaumaturgy powered augmentations at their disposal, and there is only one rule: defeat, or be defeated. The reward for the last one standing? A chance to start their life anew. A brass key to the city of Lighthaven with a luxurious mansion to call their own within, as well as an aeroship to command. When eighteen-year-old Veda Igglesden steps forward to take her timeworn adoptive father's place in the fight, she might as well be signing her death-sentence. With her eyes fully set on the prize, act-first-think-later Veda must harness the power of technology to try and win for her Papa Otto. Decades of breathing in the toxic air of Fumedge did a number on the old inventor's lungs, and being able to live in the air-filtered Lighthaven would sure come in handy right about now. A high-flying adventure full of gadgetry and intrigue; a pleasing blend of steampunk and postapocalyptic. See Veda unravel the mysterious ploy behind the game's organization, and uncover the truth about her secret origins. Can she cope both with the trials of physical and intellectual prowess, as well as with the trials of life itself: those of love, loss and regret? © 2023 EvelynHail Exclusively on Wattpad Based on prompt 49! Which is (I shan't leave ye hanging :P): "Master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can." Michael Scott, "The Sorceress" Get ready for steampunkish tinkering,

let me take you to the place from where you can see children's hands stretching up to the sky from the ferris wheel, let me take you to my daydreams. let me show you the world as orion sees. writing : [2021] feb 18 (2'14 pm) - july 25 (2'30 pm). posting : [2021] apr 17 (12'34 pm) - nov 19 (12'40 pm). mas ; mypoemattic © 2021. #29 in poetry on May 10th, '21. #10 in poem on July 6th,' 21.

|𝟏𝟗𝐱 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃| Here lies the tragedy of 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀. A young woman with a heart of gold and eyes as red as blood. Cursed with the Midas Touch and destined to die beneath the Phrygian sun. She is a monster. An outcast. She is made to endure. But when a foreign goddess arrives swords clash and words are traded. The blue deity shakes the very core of Desdemona's foundation and calls into question her entire upbringing as well as her fate to die on her eighteenth birthday. For the first time in a long time, Desdemona has a choice. Will she play the role her past lives were forced to endure? Or will she shed her heart of purity to take back the life that was stolen from her? 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲, 𝐍𝐀, 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝟎𝟐/𝟐𝟎/𝟐𝟐 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 𝟎𝟒/𝟏𝟕/𝟐𝟐 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏𝟒+ 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: @𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡

|𝟏𝟏𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝| The real monsters hide in plain sight. It's always been Lena Matthews' dream to work for the Agency and kill monsters like her father. When Lena is sent undercover to the gated community of Atalka, she is given a simple mission: blend in. But nothing is as it seems when Atalka's deadly secrets threaten to overturn everything Lena's ever known. Manipulative mothers. New alliances. A mysterious supernatural killer. An invisible war between monsters and men is brewing, and Lena is caught in the middle with an impossible question: who are the real monsters of Atalka? Book 1 of the Forbidden Novels 🏆 FEATURED - Urban Fantasy, New Adult Fantasy, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, New Adult Reads, Friends and Family, Dark Fantasy, Antiheroes Galore, YAMystery, Stories Undiscovered, Teen Fiction 🥇 Rising Phoenix Awards, Enchanting Awards, MMM Awards, Critic's Choice Awards, Meteorite Awards 🥈 Gemstone Awards, Pizza Awards, Fairy Awards, Celestial Awards, R4R Awards, Red Ruby Awards

☆ 2022 ᴡᴀᴛᴛʏꜱ ᴡɪɴɴᴇʀ!! ☆ "Hell is empty and all the devils are here." On the cusp of the 20th century, blue blood heiress Lucy Penn has lost everything: her betrothed, her family and home, and even her ability to walk in the sunlight. As she struggles to acclimate to her new nocturnal existence, she makes the acquaintance of Dr. Thomas Reed: an intelligent and tortured immortal, still haunted by the horrors of his past. As the pair grow closer, Lucy becomes privy to a frightening world far below the surface of polite society, in which beings of ancient and unfathomable power live outside the confines of humanity. Carpe Noctem (or "Seize the Night") follows Lucy on her journey through the shrouded streets, eerie hospitals, and aristocratic parlors of nighttime London. As she seeks to exhume the insidious and terrifying purpose behind her transformation, Lucy finds herself drawn deeper into a dark nocturne world of unimaginable folklore and intrigue, begging the question: can love be found after death? HIGHEST RANKINGS ~ #1 Carpe Noctem #1 Period Fiction #1 Nocturnal #1 Gothic Romance #1 Gothic Horror #3 Dracula #3 Shakespeare #8 Vampire #17 Victorian #46 Historical Fiction

As a little girl I loved Indiana Jones, not Harrison Ford, no, Indy. I dreamed about one day exploring ancient temples just like him. Now, as an adult, many say I am a real life Indiana Jones. I'm an archaeologist with a masters degree in Cultural Heritage who works in museums and goes to excavations. I've seen the temples, held the skulls, encountered the creeps who only want the treasure, and yes, IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM. But I'm not Indy, I'm no hero, no finder of priceless treasures; I'm just one person in a team of amazing experts who's job it is to try and uncover the truth about our past. And these are my stories. 🎖2019 Watty Award winner Non-fiction 🎖#1 in autobiography 11-09-2019