WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST Sarah Kennedy's life has fallen to pieces. Her family is broken, she's growing apart from her only friend, and it's been a while since she's stopped dreaming about anything better. She embarks on a trip to Latin America, joining a retreat she hopes will mend her dwindling friendship and escape her miserable day-to-day life. Bad turns to worse, and her hopes are shattered when she is kidnapped by a cartel. While her life is miraculously spared, she's kept captive by a daunting and narcissistic drug lord, Pablo. As his obsession with her grows, so do his favors and promises. Sarah soon finds herself in a gilded cage, living a life more lavish than anything she's ever imagined. But all that glitters isn't gold, and this luxury has a price. If Sarah wants to escape the violent, treacherous, and cocaine-fueled world of cartels, she'll have to fight the demons that keep her captive, as well as the monsters in her head, armed with nothing but a dry sense of humor and a fragile strength. But as she and Pablo both know- it's a long journey home when you don't have any home to go to. _____________________ DTOD is marked as mature for strong language, drug use, violence (and also dark humor) and the occasional steam/smut. Trigger warnings are included before sensitive or explicit scenes. _____________________ "Drugs, Treasons and Other Demons, a niche erotica for people who like men who keep their socks on." "A book that will make you cry whenever you hear a Pitbull song." "By the time I finished reading this whole book, I could have read the entire Hunger Games saga. But I would have had a lot less fun." "I went to read a few chapters of this book one night, and all of a sudden a whole weekend went by on me."

On New Year's Day, a witch, Jacinta, wakes up...to realize that her New Year's spell has gone terribly wrong. She's dead, now a ghost. And only the demon who she's had an one-night-stand with, Raj, can help bring her back to life. *** A darkly comedic short story for the Romance New Year's Fiesta 2023 contest! The prompt was "It's the morning after a wild New Year's Party and there are quite a few regrets." (Might be the start to a novella, but this is a standalone story. Stay posted.) There is nothing explicit here; however, this story does contain vulgarity, mentions of blood (nothing too graphic), and allusions to sexual scenes and intimacy. Reader discretion is advised. *** 1st Place Winner for Short Story in the Ambrosia Awards!

Tomorrow was supposed to bring graduation. Instead, it brought war. On the eve thereof, Oakland Tech's class of 2019 finds itself on the top floor of a San Francisco luxury high rise in an illicit party involving the most unlikely guests: a tech billionaire's son, a police chief's two daughters, a mute renegade, and the class recluse. Then the power goes out. Missiles scorch across the night sky. Downtown San Francisco erupts under an apocalyptic bombardment unlike anything ever seen. In the hours that follow, the shaken classmates must band together to escape a collapsing tower and endure a bloody invasion as they are caught in the crossfire. Those who survive find that it is only the beginning of their harrowing ordeal.

"𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞." Emilia Gillen longs to feel a sense of permanence after a lifetime of moving from one foster home to the next. She prefers to keep her head down and blend in, but when the brooding eyes of her new, mysterious foster brother keep looking her way, she doesn't mind the attention. But Cal Jones isn't the only one who notices her... The leering eyes of their perverse foster father make Emilia's skin crawl. To ensure her safety, Cal convinces her that they need to make a run for it. But soon the pair finds themselves out of options, causing them to accept help from a nefarious group in exchange for Cal's cooperation. While Cal falls deeper into the dangerous lifestyle of crime and the alluring world of drugs, Emilia realizes that the one she has deemed as her hero may be the one who needs saving. Will the love she found be enough to reach through the prison of self-loathing that Cal has caged himself in, or will it be what ruins her? ---------- ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: 18+ This book contains substance abuse, offensive language, violence, sexually explicit content, as well as some physical, verbal, and (not described) sexual abuse. It is all portrayed in a negative light, but it is still there.*** © LEIGH VANN 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED If you are reading this book anywhere other than W A T T P A D or I N K I T T it's been stolen, and you're likely at risk of malware. To read safely, please search the above places for this book, and send me a message to let me know where.

Figure skating is the most alluring and impenetrable of all sports. When the skaters are on the ice, every twitch of a muscle and every slip of a skate blade is palpable to the world. If skaters are perfect, they become world champions. But if they fall, if they fail a triple toe loop or a lutz, the dejection is theirs alone. There is no sport like it, there is no story like theirs. To Samuel Jeon, skating was all that mattered. He didn't need other people; all he needed was a sturdy pair of boots with blades and fresh ice beneath him. After being out of the game for two months due to an injury, Samuel was ready to return to the competitive sports scene in a big way. There was just one little problem: Justin Wong; owner of a gorgeous pair of dark doe eyes and cheeky smiles that managed to thaw even the most stubborn parts of Samuel. Unfortunately, they mixed like oil and water. When hearts got involved, they might have just discovered that gold medals weren't the only thing up for stake. With only a few months to train for the competition of a lifetime, did the two rival prodigies master techniques and their emotions, or did they lose their footing and fall with the heartaches of their pasts? ____________________ **ACHIEVEMENTS** 1. First place in the 'The Pride Awards 2022' (Romance) 2. First place in 'Lyra Awards 2022' (Romance) 3. First place in 'The Sapphire Awards 2023' (YA Romance)

**ONGOING-RANDOM UPDATES** Rebecca Caruso wasn't supposed to meet Marco Montanari. She wasn't supposed to spend the night drinking with him. And she sure as hell wasn't supposed to get tangled in a crime scene before dawn. He told her to forget what they saw. Forget the blood. But some nights refuse to be forgotten. And some acquaintances are impossible to walk away from. Rebecca is forced to choose between the life she's been handed-and the one she's willing to risk everything for. Because in this city, love is a liability. And choice? That's the most dangerous part of it all. ~~~ 💔 Equal parts psychological drama, mafia/crime suspense, and toxic romance. This slow-burning story is filled with crime, secrets, obsession, and impossible choices. For fans of noir undertones, unreliable narrators, redemption arcs, high stakes, emotional heat, and complex power dynamics. 💔 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆: Twisted Lies, The Town, Savage Lover, The Sopranos, Sicario, Vicious, The Maddest Obsession, Peaky Blinders, You, Tell Me Lies, Sinners of Saint, and Mobland. ~~~ 🎶𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕: https://tinyurl.com/ycxs3fum ~~~ 🔥𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔:🔥 This story has elements of romantic suspense but leans into dark romance tropes (possession, obsession, blurred morality). ✘ Mafia Heir x Police Chief's Daughter ✘ Forbidden Romance ✘ Touch Her and Die ✘ Found Family vs Blood Family ✘ Dual POV ~~~ WC: 90,000+ Pages: 375 ~~~ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: RATED MATURE! 18+ This story contains mature themes, including manipulation, emotional abuse, attempted assault (off screen), violence, gore, and trauma recovery. Reader discretion is advised. Full trigger list inside.

💎1st place in THE SAPPHIRE AWARDS 2023 - Historical Fiction With her husband's sudden death, Queen Elizabeth of Hungary knows her life and the Kingdom's future is at stake. Pregnant and with the looming threat of invasion, she must contend with the nobles who see their opportunity to obtain power for their own hands. Spreading fear and false promises, they begin to divide the Kingdom amongst themselves. Yet, little do they know, the Queen has a plan of her own.

Highest Rankings! #1 cosmopolitan #3 european #3 demise #5 sinful #6 eerie #13 immigrant #25 german #25 liars #28 bloodlines #28 intimate #42 asylum #72 elite #77 wealth #112 smalltowns ༺༻༺༻༺༻ 🥇 Gloria Regali Awards-Mystery Genre 🥇 Golden Cobra Awards-Thriller Genre 🥇 Sapphire Awards-Mystery Genre 🥇 The Lovely Valentine Awards-Best Writing Style 🥇 The Lovely Valentine Awards-Best Opening Chapter 🥇 The Lovely Valentine Awards-Best Hook 🥇 Books of 2023 Award-Best Character 🥇 Stellify Awards 2022-Best Dialogue 🥇 Stellify Awards 2022-Best Beginning 🥇 Magical Awards 2023-Best Opening Line 🥇 Magical Awards 2023-Best Blurb 🥇 The Element Awards-Best Blurb 🥇 The Element Awards-Best Prologue

A neglected housecat runs away from his family and is tempted by the alluring world of the ferals, who steal from the human society that cared for him. 🏆AWARDS 1st Place - The Future Banned Writer Awards 2023, Fantasy (Score: 58/60) 1st Place - The Sapphire Awards 2023, Action/Adventure (Score: 96/100) 1st Place - Books of 2023 Awards, Fantasy 1st Place - Readers Choice Awards 2023 (SUAW Book Club), Other 1st Place - Golden Awards, Best Title 2nd Place - The Wonder Awards 2023, Fantasy (Score: 95/100) 2nd Place - The 2023 Flower Awards, Fantasy 3rd Place - Books of 2023 Awards, Best Character (Misha) |Featured on Wattpad's UrbanFantasy reading list: Cities of Wonder| |Featured on Wattpad's Stories Undiscovered reading list: Tales of Adventure| |Featured on NewlyWrittenBooks: Going on an Adventure| ***** 🐈 When his human family brings home an attention-stealing baby from the hospital, Akhi the housecat runs away from his best friend and the only home he's ever known. Upon entering the sewers, he discovers the world of the ferals, where animals rule and danger lurks just beneath the pavement. In order to survive, Akhi joins a group of bandits and finds that the freedom of being a feral has its perks - provided he can overcome the guilt of stealing from the humans that cared for him. 🦴 Meanwhile, Misha, the family's loyal retriever and Akhi's best friend, finds herself forbidden from searching for her missing family member by the mysterious Circle of the Paw. Torn between obeying orders and finding her friend, Misha must overcome mercenaries with sordid pasts, noblebeasts in charge of underground fiefdoms, and divided loyalty in an effort to reunite her family. ⚔️[Trigger Warning for violence and substance (catnip/milk) abuse] Cover art created by Liz Casal