Catalaina Kittridge vanishes without a trace from her home in the dead of night, leaving behind a flurry of unanswered questions and shattered illusions. Her fiancé Ben, desperate and convinced of foul play, struggles to make sense of her disappearance as their wedding looms just months away. Catalaina's parents admit to long-held fears, while her friends whisper that her relationship with Ben may not have been as perfect as it seemed. Detective Brett Porter is assigned to the case, determined to unearth the truth behind Catalaina's disappearance. As he meticulously reconstructs her life, he discovers a web of secrets and hidden struggles---the pristine image of Catalaina's existence begins to unravel with every clue. The months leading up to her vanishing hold critical revelations, exposing the pressures, desires, and disappointments she kept hidden from everyone around her. Told in gripping, alternating voices of both Detective Porter and Catalaina herself, LOVES ME NOT dives into the unseen complexities of a woman's world, exploring how the weight of everyday expectations and forgotten dreams can drive even the happiest lives to break.

A week before their high school graduation, Ellie's boyfriend walked her to her door and kissed her goodnight, just like any other night. But there was nothing ordinary about what followed. Austin disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again... until now. Ellie is now 28. She has a good job, a roof over her head, and her best friend, a cat named Selma. Having fully given up on ever finding out what happened to Austin, imagine her surprise when she runs into him at a work conference out of town-wearing a name tag that says William. He's even more gorgeous now than he was back then. And that the spark between them... yeah, it's still sizzling. But Austin's secretive life leaves many questions unanswered and this time Ellie is not wiling to let go without an explanation. Austin knows one thing for sure; Ellie will keep going until she finds the truth. And in order to keep her safe, he has to stay far, far away from her. But can he?

[Wattys 2022 Winner - Wildcard Category] Mereneith is a junior crystal keeper at the Temple of Ptah, the greatest of the temples located within the capital of Memphis. Bored with the mundane job growing and maintaining the Ak'heka crystals-the kingdom's prized energy source-Mereneith secretly pockets scrap pieces for her own research, her wild imagination conjuring endless possibilities for the Ak'heka crystal technology. When Mereneith's mentor is found dead in a temple well, leaving behind only a cryptic message, she sets out on a mission to uncover the truth behind his death. Accompanied by the fourth prince Kha, son of Pharaoh Sneferu and forerunner to inherit the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mereneith's quest for justice lands her in the middle of a political storm, where one wrong move could spell the end of the empire - and her own life. ======== Heretic of the Nile is Book One of the Sands of Giza Trilogy, a speculative historical fiction series that explores the origin of the Great Pyramid of Giza 19.10.22 - Heretic of the Nile has been shortlisted for The Wattys 2022!

Criminal necromancer & vampire private eye team up to solve the case of the missing barista. *** When a client drops dead in her fortune telling parlor, 'reformed' necromancer Isla has no choice but to illegally resurrect the poor gal. Your girl's got priors, alright? Hiding a corpse will send Isla back to the slammer. The client's just a Tourist, so Isla is certain nobody will notice. But you know what they say: The only things certain in life are death, taxes, and a handsome vampire poking his fangs where they don't belong. Gregor, a vampire private detective, has been hired to find another vamp's misplaced favorite bloodbag-- I mean, barista. Greg knows the fraudulent and distractingly attractive psychic, Isla, is the key to the barista's whereabouts, but he just can't put his fangs on what it is she's hiding from him. If her little whoopsie is discovered, Isla fears both the otherworldly authorities and an ancient vampire will have her throat. So she does what any girl would do in her situation. She hires Greg to find the risen barista for her first so that she can undo the resurrection. Sparks fly and blood splatters as Greg and Isla investigate Philadelphia's secret paranormal society, throw literal bones at the werewolf mafia, commune with the spirits of dead vampire-brides, dodge arrest by the magic fuzz, and occasionally pop off for late night cheesesteaks. The Vampire Always Bites Twice is the Wattys 2022 Grand Prize Winner! The "Bites Twice" Mysteries 1 - The Vampire Always Bites Twice 1.5 - Doubull Indemnity [revised version coming soon) 2 - Shadow of a Curse (Coming Fall 2025) This book contains explicit sexual content, paranormal violence, animal harm, and gore.

WATTYS WINNER 2020 Two interconnected murders, 64 years apart. One woman's search for truth and identity. Readers' comments: 'a masterpiece', 'impeccably written', 'amazing', 'superbly crafted page-turner', 'hauntingly beautiful', 'tremendous plot and character development', 'one of a kind', 'fantastic story telling', 'loved this book', 'a wonderful read", 'absolutely beautiful', 'brought tears to my eyes' and many more Wattys judging panel: 'This is VERY good. We were HOOKED from the beginning, and the writing and plot hold up throughout. This is a very unique, polished, well-written and well-researched piece.' Plot Set partly in rural England, partly on the sun-kissed coast of southerm Italy, The Painted Altar is a murder mystery mixed with romantic and historical elements (World War Two). Given away at two days old, Mary Rice has spent her life in the shadows. When discovering the suspicious circumstances surrounding her biological mother's death, she embarks on a journey which will shine a light not only on the truth but also on her own identity. Brief extract Suddenly, the door had inched open, half a wrinkled face visible behind the tautened chain. "Hello. Who is it?" The words I was going to say had of course been well-rehearsed, repeated over and over in my mind like a mantra, but now that the moment had arrived I found myself struggling to remember them. "Mrs Harvey... I think that you might... well, that you might be..." The door closed, then slowly opened once more, the chain this time unlatched. And there she was before me - half a metre away, within arm's reach. Thin lips gradually crooking upwards at each corner like the slow beatific kindling of a summer's dawn. "Oh yes love, I know who you are." Length: 70,000 words About the author: Originally from England but for the last 16 years I've been living in Italy. I hope therefore that the Italian aspects of the novel will have a certain gloss of authenticity.

Retired octogenarian schoolteacher Myrtle Clover is fit to be tied when her book club votes to change to a supper club. Who wants chips and dip when they can have Dickens and Twain? The first supper club is a progressive dinner...where Myrtle loses interest during the hors d'oeuvres. But when a body is discovered during the main course, the evening quickly gets interesting. Myrtle pits her sleuthing skills against her police chief son's to find the killer....if the killer doesn't find her first.

*Still being written*

When Callie Shawcross's wedding plans fall apart, a friend convinces her that a relaxing break in the sleepy Egyptian town of Fidda Hilal is just what she needs. As she arrives in the former Bedouin fishing village, Callie feels a sense of peace. The sun is shining, the locals seem friendly and the sparkling azure sea is calling out to her. The day she meets a sexy stranger, she finds a welcome distraction from the life she left back home. But as her feelings for him get more serious, events in paradise take a dark turn. After a series of mysterious disappearances, Callie is left hunting for answers, and during her frantic search, she finds out it's not only the town that has secrets. Thanks so much to my readers for taking Trouble in Paradise to #2 on the Mystery/Thriller Hotlist. You rock!

Rania Algafari never asked to be different, and when she escaped the war in Syria and moved to the UK, her only goal was to live her life in peace. Get up, go to work, avoid talking to the dead - that sort of thing. But not everyone dies quietly, and Rania's soon being pestered by one ghost, blackmailed by another, and distracted by a handsome private investigator who's got his own reasons for wanting to solve a particularly gruesome murder. While Will Lawson doesn't mind using unorthodox methods to crack a case, he's never had to contact his witnesses via a seance before. But the clock is ticking, and Will and his unlikely sidekicks need to hunt down a killer before he's dispatched to join the spirit world himself.