Crime and murder podcaster Wren Lozarte is desperate to earn money for her ailing uncle so she accepts a strange but high-paying offer from a mysterious businessman. What started as an unusual marketing scheme becomes a fight for survival when the "serial killer" they created seemingly came to life. *** After returning to her hometown to take care of her uncle who has cancer, Elianna Wren Lozarte realized that the money she earns from podcasting true crime stories isn't enough to support them. So, when a staff from Tramwell Industries offers her a high paying job-become part of a marketing scheme to stir up fear in people into believing that there's a serial killer to make them buy the company's upcoming state of the art security system-Wren accepts. Making a serial killer? That's an easy one. The hard part is when the killings become real, and entangled secrets reveal themselves before her very eyes. Disclaimer: This story is written in Taglish. Cover Design by: Rayne Mariano

Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda? ***** Found as a young child washed up on the beach, 17-year-old Ari Callahan has never uttered a word out loud to anyone -- not even her adoptive family. Psychologists have diagnosed her with a condition called selective mutism, but Ari can't help identifying with her namesake character, Ariel, the little mermaid in the fairytale whose voice was stolen by a sea witch. Mermaid-obsession aside, Ari's silence makes socializing tough. She's never had a boyfriend or been asked out on a date. Not until Zac, the confident new arrival in town, asks for her number. But Zac has his own reasons for texting with Ari. He's part of a movement to sabotage the artificial music app called SirenSong, threatening to render human singing obsolete. Zac's collaborators have scoured the globe in search of a singing voice perfect enough to break the SirenSong spell, and their search has led them straight to Ari's beachside town. Will her relationship with Zac help Ari find her voice and unlock the secrets of her origins? Or will he use her and leave her high and dry? Title: Ari and Zac (formerly The Mermaid Hypothesis) Content Warning: This story contains references to selective mutism, suicidal thoughts, and early childhood trauma.