Deadly assassins Allegra and Ace have been trying in vain to kill each other for years. With a mutual enemy threatening their mafias, they find themselves in an unexpected alliance, and soon discover killing each other isn't the only temptation they need to resist... ****** Allegra Grey is poised to be the next great American mafia leader, and she's more than living up to the name. A skilled assassin, there's only one target who's ever gotten away from her-suave, sinfully handsome Ace De Luca, heir to the Italian mafia and the Greys' biggest rival. When both mafias are faced with a dangerous threat, they're forced to work together to protect their families, and unexpected sparks fly. Allegra definitely isn't one to sleep with the enemy, especially an arrogant womanizer like Ace. But there's an undeniable electricity between them and Allegra's not sure it's all hatred. Ace may be bad news, but Allegra's never been afraid of a little danger. As the fire they're playing with grows to a scorching blaze, one thing is clear: trying to kill each other may have been difficult, but resisting this intense chemistry will be impossible. [[Word count: 100,000 - 150,000]] Cover designed by Regina Dionela Content/trigger warning: Contains mature themes, violence and gore

Nova can't escape the rich town of Riverside, where a tragedy follows her every step, but she can work to uncover who's been lying to her all these years. ***** When seventeen-year-old Nova Nightingale returns to her late mother's hometown the last thing she expects is to be public enemy number one, but the rumors surrounding her mother's sudden disappearance fifteen years earlier follow Nova everywhere she goes. And to top it all off, the local rich boy, Isaac Royal, is adamant about making her life hell. Surrounded by rumors, lies, and a secret keeping the town on edge, Nova has to figure out why she's hated and why the boy hell-bent on making her suffer seems to be the only person she can trust. Content/Triggering Warning: this story contains themes of suicide and violence [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]]

In a ransom deal gone terribly wrong, Florence Blackmore is swept away from her home in the Victorian countryside and made to test her darkest limits. Fighting to maintain her dignity and avoid the harsh punishment of her captors, Florence must barter for her life while her hope for freedom dwindles. Stuck in a different sort of cage is Isabel Coleman, a new bride to an unhappy marriage who is determined to buy her own escape by disguising herself as a maid in the home of a wealthy -- and handsome -- aristocrat. As her secrets threaten to catch up with her, Isabel learns that choosing her own destiny comes with consequences. ~~~ I always thought that I would be resilient in the face of danger, that some instinct inside of me would claw its way to the surface and the fighter within me would reveal itself. But danger doesn't uncover any hidden strength or innate bravery. It strips away the rational parts of you, the things that you always associated with your core being, like courage and pride and kindness. And once all those extraneous pieces are discarded, you are left as a frightened, quivering animal and nothing more. Maybe people who do terrible things are able to do so because they were never under the impression that they were anything more than animals. Maybe he and I aren't so different. Maybe in the moments when he slips beneath my blankets we are reduced to our most basic natures---his, a monster, and mine, a coward. Warning: this story contains sexual and violent content that may be offensive to some readers. Read at your own risk, and check out the trigger warning page for more details. Enjoy :)

A possible future in less than 500 words, if plastic wins. This was my entry for the WattPad/National Geographic #PlanetOrPlastic competition back in late 2018. It reached their Top 10 Submissions which, given that there appeared to be well over 5000 entries, was a very pleasant surprise! The competition itself had a limit of 500 words so, for those who keep asking if I intend continuing the story, the answer (for now!) is no - unless I can find a very good reason for adding any more. Many thanks to everyone reading and voting on this story and getting it to number 1 in the #sciencefiction category in May/June 2020! I did try to thank the voters individually on their pages but Wattpad have a daily limit on the number of times I'm allowed to do that and there are now too many of you (not that I'm complaining)! Here's the top 10 submissions page: https://www.wattpad.com/list/738243473-planetorplastic-top-10-submissions If you want to read the story in Polish please head over to https://www.wattpad.com/story/236405960-m%C4%85dro%C5%9B%C4%87-staro%C5%BCytnych-t%C5%82umaczenie-pl where @juliatlumaczy has done a fine job - thank you, Julia! @juliatlumaczy has now sent me a version of the cover she used for her Polish translation - thanks again, Julia! @alex_sokolova has also translated the story into Russian as well. You can read that here: https://www.wattpad.com/976002417-мудрость-древних - many thanks, Alex! We now have a third translation! @AlfonsoLucassen has kindly translated it into Spanish and you can find it here: https://www.wattpad.com/1063634347-la-sabidur%C3%ADa-de-los-antiguos