In the desert, an instant turns life into death and hate into love. In the desert, everything is different. Boundaries break down, and you find yourself doing things that you would never, ever have imagined. Lilly Linton finds this out the hard way: in the shadow of the pyramids, she and her boss, cold, calculating Mr Ambrose, must face death and danger together. Is the desert's heat enough to melt the cold heart of Britain's richest financier? WINNER of the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD in the Wattys 2016 Sequel to Robert Thier's #1 Hit 'Storm and Silence'

I, Lois Mai Reynolds, am all kinds of clumsy. I fall over flat surfaces. I drop expensive vases, and miraculously find ways to trip over thin air. Not a day has passed by when I'm not wearing a Band-Aid for some kind of accident that I've endured, and it's stooped to the level now that my parents call me King Kong and joke about having warning signs and safety tape around my bedroom door. Once upon a time, I used to think of that as a laughing matter, but not anymore. Not since I almost killed my crush's mom. Suddenly, being compared to a giant gorilla of mass destruction doesn't actually seem that crazy. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED #11 Romance

>>> Ava Flowers was a beautiful girl. The type of girl all guys wanted, the type of girl all girls wanted to be, and the type of girl every parent wanted for their son. But Ava Flowers was also crazy, the type of crazy fathers would warn their son away from. The type of crazy that only lead to heartbreak. The type of crazy Evan Mathews just wanted to taste. >>> So there isn't any confusion, it's in a male's perspective; Evans point of view. | A short story | First Love | One of the top ten in 'The Best of Me' writing contest | Short Story #96 / Romance #330 |

When 17 year old November Jones accidentally burns off her left eyebrow in a freak accident, she brushes it off. Nothing a bit of makeup can't fix, right? But when she finds herself shoved into the backseat of her own car as a couple of very big, very bad, and very dangerous-looking men drive off with it, things can't be so easily fixed...especially since it's not just her missing eyebrow that needs to be covered, it's also the fact that one of the most wanted criminal organizations in the country accidentally kidnapped a teenage girl while trying to escape a drug deal gone wrong. Could things get any worse? Well, with a girl like November in the mix, the answer is yes.

Ever had Ramen Noodles for an entire month? Lilly Fenster has and she's tired of it. Which is why she ends up managing the fashion industry's hottest Brazilian model. Lucky her, right? Not really. Lilly can't stand the intolerable Joshua Lachowski . Heck, she can't even pronounce his last name, much less manage his professional life. What happens when the nerd enters the fashion world and meets the biggest jerk imaginable? Mayhem, Ramen Noodles, and love. That's what.

"You'll do anything will you?" Keeley smirks, a mischievous glint lighting up her brown eyes. "I dare you, Jade Elsie Brooke, to break into Trystan Woods house and steal a pair of his boxers without him finding out." Jade Brooke was the dare devil who had never turned down a dare, no matter how bad it was. So when a simple game of truth of dare ends up flipping her life upside down in the form of a dare, she has no one to blame but herself. Trystan Woods was the boy out of reach for most, who stood at the top of the high school food chain. Everyone loves him, and he was the football team captain. Jade had never interacted with him, until the day she was dared to break into his house and steal his underwear. The only flaw in the plan? When he catches her in his room holding his boxers. || Humour #1 || // this story is in major need of editing and sucks quite badly so read at your own risk you have been warned \\

[Now free to read!] Scott Wilson isn't used to being corrected, and he definitely didn't expect to get his biggest dose of criticism by his coach's daughter - Elle Monroe. ***** When Scott Wilson is drafted to try out for the Marlies hockey team, it's easily the best day of his life. He's cocky and for good reason. He's spent his entire life being told that he's a hockey prodigy and he knows that he's on the path to his destiny. Then Elle Monroe shows up, and throws off his entire plan. Elle - the daughter of his coach - is loud, rude, confident, and gets a special kick out of knocking Scott down a peg or two. Scott doesn't want to accept the help she's offering, but eventually he does, and it turns into a lot more than he was expecting. Scott isn't used to a lot of things, but there's one especially that he's never prepared for: a beautiful, loud girl stealing his jersey every day before their practices. [Winner of the 2015 Watty's 'cover to cover'] [completed]

Pental Pal (noun) - one who exchanges letters to one another as pen pals. But uses the same writing utensil, in this case, a pentel pencil. They never wanted to do this from the start. The thought of writing to a complete stranger. Never seeing whose handwriting is in the letter you're reading. Someone who could be miles, maybe even oceans away from you. And all you get is a picture and a name. To Lizzabeth Teschler, this is extra credit. Even though she doesn't want to do this, she had to. But she's doing this for extra credit so she can still maintain her title of having the highest GPA record. Then she could finish the rest of high school and go off to college. Her whole life is all planned out for her, and she can't do anything to change it. There's a future for her, but not the one she wants. To William Patier, it's cruel torture. He had to do this against his will. This is his last chance before he gets shipped off to military school. Nothing but waking up at dawn, eating disgusting food, and not have a single girl in sight every day. After he graduates from school, who knows where he'll find himself. There's no future for him, not like there's any way to change it. So two complete opposites from different worlds are forced to write each other for a whole year. Add that with some arguments, secrets, two pentel pencils, some cookie butter, a Green Day album, an origami heart, some coffee from Starbucks, two teachers dating, Eddie Anderson, a rival and a cheater. With all that bundled up, who knows what will happen? But at least they don't know each other... right?

Reece Bremer goes through life with a scowl and cold personality. Jessica Andrews goes through life with a glowing smile and positive outlook. Reece looks at life with dull, judgmental eyes that make him hate the world and the people living in it. Jessica, well... She looks at life through a camera. Literally. They're polar opposites, and that's what sparks Reece's immediate hate for Jessica the moment they meet. All he sees is a girl with the best life, put in the category of those who get everything handed to them on a silver platter. But who says Jessica's life is like that? Just like a photograph, there's more to the story than what you see. Stumbling across one of Jessica's hidden portfolio might reveal that her happiness isn't all that true. Behind that smile and each picture she takes, holds a thousand words of a very big secret - one that Reece is determined to find out. And who knows? It just might change everything between them. cover by dysanic || 2015 watty's winner for talk of the town ||