❝ 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 Princess to your kingdom before A Principal to your stage." Mai, Princess Royal and first of twelve daughters has only two priorities. Her family and her dance - and sadly her dance can never come before her family. Because of this, despite her talent, Mai has never had the chance to preform to her fullest. Until the winter celebrations arise and the great artists come to town. Among them is The Black Rabbit, a trickster and enchanter who offers her the chance to take the stage without risking her position. He just has one small request for her in return. She just has to dance for someone. ~~~ Cover Art: Sugarplum fairy costume design from Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker

#47 in Fantasy ~ All Aeralie wants to do is touch the sky. Instead, all she can do is watch the land - watch and feed her fascination with the humans Above. Kazimir is the exact opposite to his best friend. He has no love for the human world. Knowing the dangers, he is desperate to keep Aeralie below the waves. And for years he succeeds... Until a storm and a war of galleons. Tragedy strikes the pair and suddenly Aeralie has a reason - an excuse - to go on land and she knows exactly who will give her the legs to do it. She's doing it for Kazimir. To save him. She just wants to do what's good for him. She'll do anything for this, even sacrifice her greatest power. But once on land, things change. Saving Kazimir does not stay Aeralie's top priority - not when there are princes, princesses and pirates... and something dark that lurks below the surface. And that dark secret - hidden for so many years - is starting to grow. Until a war between land and sea is all but inevitable. ~~~~~ Art by: Chris Wooten (atarashiidesu) Far Far Away Trilogy (Book Order): Dancing on Glass Dancing on Ice TBA

𝙺𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚊-𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙰𝚍𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚎, the girl sexually abused by her brother not once, neither twice nor thrice. Everyone always has a terrible past. And Komisola thinks they are lucky, because it is a past for them. But what about herself...? She has to live this past, over and over again with the terrible truth. 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕 𝙰𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎, the golden boy of his world. The one who has loved life to the extent that the positivity around him has driven him to his limits. But, does he have limits? ~ 𝚆hen these two meet each other in Crestview High, Hanniel being the new transfer that everyone loves and Komisola being the outcast of SSS 2 that everyone repulses. They are two worlds apart; Darkness and Light. And they can never be together. Because only one thing seperates them. That which is of Darkness but not of Light; 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑𝑠 𝓸𝓯 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑦.

"Go ahead," I said, backing up against the pink wall of the shop. "Do something other than glare at me." I waited. One, two, three seconds... and nothing. I raised my chin at him. "You're boring me, mute boy." He stepped closer. Leaned toward me as his gaze burned into mine. Then... ❀ ❀ ❀ After three months in juvenile detention, it's time for Romy Pereira to help out with her family's flower shop. And it's not all bad... until they hire Jack Michel to work beside her. He doesn't speak, communicating with glares and scowls instead of words, and seems to be more interested in literal rocks than other human beings. And with an ex-convict mother, her friends drifting away, and the flower shop falling apart, the last thing Romy wants to deal with is Jack's attitude. She'll forever praise the day he screws up big time and gets himself fired, but until that day comes, it's mostly one cold-hearted girl, her silent (but still infuriating) coworker, and a whole lot flowers. [word count: 100k] [originally written in 2014-2015; re-write completed 2020-2021] ❀ Rankings ❀ #1 in #badgirl #1 in #goodboy #1 in #flowershop #1 in #sociopath

[ WATTYS '18 LONG-LISTED ] ❝ I have slit throats far more beautiful than yours.❞ In which a thousand brides have fallen, and she is the last, so she spins a tale as old as time to live the dawn. | an arabian nights x beauty and the beast crossover | (cover by ES Johnson) trailer (video by @AKfiction): https://youtu.be/2OSjakJrUeo

[BxB] Prince Lucas thought that life would be perfect when he made Snow White his wife-to-be. At least, that was until her twin brother waltzed into his life and obliterated everything he knew. He had her same pale skin, blood red lips and dark, ebony hair, and yet he stirred him up in ways his sister never had. With his wedding fast approaching, Lucas's forbidden attraction to his almost brother-in-law may be the least of his problems, as something far more sinister lurks in the darkness, threatening everything he holds dear. A reimagined telling of the tale of Snow White, and the prince that isn't truly hers. ~~~ #1 in LGBT (29/09/19) #1 in forbidden (28/09/19) #1 in gayfiction (28/09/19) #1 in magic (04/07/20) #8 in boyxboy (02/04/20)

Funke Obatunde has had enough of working under her girlfriend's rival, the Earl of Whitlam, Lucas Roland. She plans to start her own architectural firm and she knows just the right client to help her escape from the tyranny of the millionaire playboy and his harem of jealous conniving lovers all scrambling to become the earl's exception to his commitment-phobia. In a twist so wicked Funke's sure some vengeful aunt in Nigeria is behind it, her dream client turns out to be the Earl's brother-in-law. Now she's forced to collaborate with Lucas Roland on the commission that will launch her solo career. The sizzling dynamics between Funke and the charismatic, commitment-phobic Lucas create a combustible mix of passion and ambition. With a resignation letter ready to be unleashed, and the stakes higher than ever, readers will be drawn into a captivating tale of love, rivalry, and the relentless pursuit of independence. Join Funke and Lucas on a journey filled with high-stakes architectural endeavors and simmering romantic tension. The Earl's Exception is a gripping narrative that will leave you breathless and eagerly turning the pages to discover if love can conquer all in the world of power, ambition, and design.

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.