[2021 WATTYS Winner] Commoner Giovanna joins a handsome nobleman to save a friend from an arranged marriage, but they discover a plot that may have victims of Venice's Black Death rising from their graves. * * * As a child, Giovanna Visconti learned the arts of bloodletting and elixir brewing from her father with an intent to simply support his work, not take it over. But when he falls ill from the pestilence that's been ravaging Venice for months, she reluctantly dons the beaked mask of the plague doctor. Vowing to protect her father however she can, Giovanna hides him away and sees her first patient--the handsome, but alarmingly feverish Matteo Barozzi. Although she successfully treats this son of a high-ranking official, in a careless moment Giovanna fails to properly conceal her identity. The only reason she isn't tossed into a dank jail cell is thanks to the young man's honor and feelings of indebtedness. The association between the charming aristocrat and the clever commoner should end there, but when Giovanna's dearest friend goes missing right after her betrothal to the Doge's son and amid strange reports of nighttime attacks, violent commotions, and inexplicable behaviors in the community, the only person Giovanna can turn to for help is Matteo. Together, they must carefully navigate Venice's increasingly deadly canals to uncover a sect peddling false cures and a smuggling plot involving the highest levels of government or risk the entire Republic falling victim to something even worse than the plague: the risen dead. Historical Fiction with Fantasy Elements THE BORGIAS X FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH * * * WATTYS 2021 winner for Historical Fiction and special HQ prize for "Catchiest Hook" AMBYS 2022 winner for Best Zombie story Content Warning for adult situations including assault and death.

All Fiona O'Toole ever dreamed of was running her own millinery shop and seeing her creations worn on the general public. Easier said than done, if you're a woman, and Irish! Sick of being turned down in business just because she happens to be both those things, with nowhere else to turn except to perhaps a brothel, Fiona O'Toole does the unthinkable: she agrees to be a mail order bride, and travels out west to meet her intended, with the hope she'll be able to open that shop as well. Unlucky at love and tired of being alone, Edward Townsend sends away for a mail order bride in search of a perfect match without all the fuss and work of courting. But Edward isn't prepared for the woman who answers his ad, or her lofty ambitions, and what happens next is anyone's guess! Will Fiona be too much woman for the narrow-minded, small town banker, or will Edward be able to tame this "Wild Irish Rose," and in the process perhaps learn something about himself before someone else captures her heart?

Due to a traumatic event in the past, Milena has lost the ability to speak. With her family of travelers she follows the Long Road. They stake their wagons for a short period of time and then move on to the next place, following the voice of the wind. It is all the she has ever known. But what happens when she finds herself seperated from her family and the one she loves because of an accident and is thrust into a culture she does not understand? Will she be able to build a new life here and possiby find new love? Or will the wind call her home?

Highest Rank: #2 Historical Fiction- Noah has been a Servant for as long a he could remember. His Mistress Cathliene Manchester just recently remarried to the Lord Louis Montego. This means that her and her twin sons are now members of Society. When the Montego family receives invitations for a Masked Ball celebrating the Alminian Princess's year of eligibility, an order from Noah's Mistress will change his life forever. Witness Noah's struggle as he experiences desire for a woman who is socially superior. After all what is Noah, but a Simple Servant? [[Word count: ~ 101,000]] [[Completed] ]

As Sutherland's new king, Emory Davercher faces countless challenges, but nothing as excruciating and frustrating as his mysterious, eccentric betrothed. *** When King Emory of Sutherland receives news that his betrothed is on her way to Sutherland, he sends her away before even laying eyes on the woman he has no intention of marrying. Months later, after a narrow escape from an assassination, he flees to his childhood home where he discovers a massive problem. Due to an unfortunate mishap, his betrothed has not left Sutherland. She's been in his secret estate all along. Grand Princess Florence Paulet of Gavaria and her cousin, Lucy, thinks her arrival in Sutherland will be easy. She doesn't expect that her betrothed, King Emory of Sutherland, will send her straight to an empty estate on an island where they fend for themselves for months. And when he finally shows up, he has the audacity to fool her by introducing himself as someone else. After having killed dozens of chickens with her bare hands to stay alive, and with lying as her ultimate weapon for survival since she left Gavaria, what else can an annoyed, blithe, and audacious Florence do? Of course, she has to return the favor and make him twice the fool. He thinks he's fooling her, and she finds fun knowing it's the other way around. As the harsh winter traps them in the estate, lies, little accidents, and undeniable attraction draw them together stronger than the snowstorm. But not as much as Florence's true reasons for leaving Gavaria, which are also making their way to Sutherland.

Hunchbacks don't get love. They get ridicule and scorn. That suits Wyrn just fine. As the son of a warlord, he resolves to die earning his father's respect in a tournament instead. The plan backfires and he's forced to marry a princess against his will. She's 18, beautiful, and suspicious. There is no way a king would give away his ONLY child to a random man much less a hunchback. Something must be wrong with her. And so, Wyrn decides to give her back. The only problem? She won't let him.

"They may see you as how you try to be, but what I see is what you try not to be." SHE IS A BASTARD... Maxine Theobald hid from the rest of society to protect her father's name. But as she grows tired of her role-playing games every year during the famous Theobald weekend parties, she starts to question how she has been living her life. She starts to wonder about the other part of her that she was deprived of--her mother and why she left her. A DISGUISE... Having finally found the courage to search for the one thing that she believes can help her understand her true nature, Maxine cuts her hair, puts on her breeches, and runs away from the only home she has ever known. She travels to the affluent town of Wickhurst and found herself employed as the valet of the famous rake Nicholas Everard, a game she will later find to be quite dangerous. SOMETHING DIFFERENT... Maxine set out into an adventure with none but one goal, yet found herself stumbling upon an unlikely find for the search of something else--romance. Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this fifth book in the Everard Family series follows one heroine who has chosen to defy the norm and her own fears in an attempt to understand her own nature, the first step to a discovery of not just about her lineage, but of love so unexpectedly, irritatingly and undeniably powerful. (This story is a standalone title in the Everard Family series.)

Eliza Banes, her ambition for adventure and her penchant for trouble, have often been trying on her poor mama's nerves. All her mother desires is for Eliza to be married and settled, but Eliza has other plans. Seizing an opportunity to stow away on a merchant ship to live out her dreams of seeing the world, Eliza has no idea what she is getting herself into. What she thought would be a harmless adventure sees her experience new challenges, rowdy sailors, evil pirates, and it brings her face to face with the surliest sea captain with a heart of pure gold. Eliza is about to discover the true meaning of, "be careful what you wish for."

James Redwood has always loved women and feared marriage. When his parents force him into an arranged marriage against his will, he finds himself engaged to a woman he cannot stand and powerless to avoid what he fears the most. His only hope lies in prudish Grace Follet, his unwanted fiancee: if she breaks the engagement, he will be free. But how can James make Grace break the engagement when she has everything to gain by marrying him and everything to lose by leaving him?

James Alcott has always had a talent for charming women right into his bed, a talent that he has enjoyed, along with his status of being heir to the Earldom of Ethridge. A chance encounter, however, with a woman who does not see worth in wealth of status will change his life forever. Alice Devereaux has been hiding for three years. She fought and survived the 1832 French Revolution and is hiding in England under a pseudonym. Her family and friends all died as criminals and if she ever returned to her native Paris then she would be slaughtered too. Her family's hatred of aristocracy has been instilled in her and she carries around the burden of both her and her people's failure to create equality. And then, as if God is testing her, she meets a man who holds all the qualities she was born to hate - wealth, status and arrogance. But that man is determined to succeed in winning her. So what is she to do? Succumb to his charms? Or hold true to the beliefs of her French comrades?