Fall semester. 1997. At a strange Southern college, freshman Tim's eerily prescient Student Handbook tells him he's going to fall in love with 6'6" sophomore Joanie. But Joanie has more important things to deal with than a weird crush - like a creepy English professor, a hallucinogenic drug that's chipping away at her sanity, and a war between rival secret societies that could destroy the University before Tim and Joanie find out if their love is real, or just fiction. Recommended if you like: impossible architecture, books that can tell the future, made-up games with overcomplicated rules, portentous graffiti, secret codes, first love, intense hallucinations, 80s and 90s pop culture, a world that's just a couple degrees off from reality, and a coming-of-age story set in a manufactured community that lets you try on different possible futures - aka college. New chapters of The Boy in the Tunnel post every Friday.

Michael Cross has been able to see spirits for as long as he can remember, and he uses this gift to help ghosts move from this world to the next. Sometimes, people don't realize that they're dead, and Michael has always tried to keep his wits about him when dealing with these "cold walkers". But what is he to do when a ghost manages to capture all of his attention? Before he even realizes it, Michael finds himself wrapped up in a dangerous mystery... One that could have HIM joining the ranks of the dead. [2ND PLACE WINNER: PARANORMAL/HORROR, 2018 PEN AND INK AWARDS] [3RD PLACE WINNER: MYSTERY/THRILLER, 2018 UNICORN AWARDS] [2ND PLACE WINNER: PARANORMAL/VAMPIRE/ACTION/HUMOR, 2018 LGBT AWARDS]

A first year student who believes passionately in direct-democracy has to uncover the dark truth about her seemingly perfect world in order to save New Britain from a power-hungry leader. *** Athena wants to get through her first year at the New London University of Politics maintaining a reasonable influence level and taking part in as many votes as possible. Her world runs on voting: from the colour of clothing, to the price of food, everything is determined by the people. What Athena doesn't want is to be asked to spy on a group who believe voters have less choice than they realise. Nor does she expect enigmatic Dyo to get under her skin, causing her to wonder if her society is less perfect than it seems. But Dyo is keeping secrets too, and Athena struggles to work out who to trust and what she should do next. Her society may be broken, but it isn't unfixable - yet. From student to spy, traitor to revolutionary, Athena must work out who she wants to be, and which side she should be fighting for, before New London's citizens have their democracy destroyed forever.

Diagnosed with a terminal illness, Peter Katz hires a hitman to take him out. But when a cure is discovered, Peter's got to outrun the assassin to stay alive! ***** When douchebag lawyer Peter Katz gets diagnosed with terminal cancer, he wants to die painlessly. Still, death seems to elude his every attempt, so he hires an assassin to kill him at a random time and place within the month. Unfortunately for Peter, right after he orders the hit, a treatment is discovered that would add decades to his life. Now Peter Katz has to start running, until the month-long deadline ends. Desperate to survive, he has to deal with tall-dwarves, unionized suicide workers, art terrorism and all the insanity that being alive has to offer. Will he make it to the end of the month? Or will Peter Katz live a life's worth of craziness in however many days he has left? For what is Comedy, but Tragedy + Time? [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

REMOVED April 9, 2024 One notorious gay heartbreaker. One homophobic ex-best friend and his kleptomaniac brother. Mix in a sex tape, commitment issues, and some explosive chemistry. The illusion of Dreyden's perfect life can't survive this disaster. ***** Dreyden is very good at being who others wants him to be. He's an obedient, church-going son, a perfect student, the life of every party. Maintaining the equilibrium means staying in the closet at home, so it's lucky his parents don't suspect a thing when he lies. When others are happy, it's easy to forget that he isn't. After one drunk night gets out of control, Dreyden dumps his loving boyfriend rather than admit to what he did. Adrift and increasingly alienated from his friends, he finds himself sucked into Orion's dysfunctional orbit. Orion has a habit of taking things that don't belong to him, but what's worse is his angry, homophobic brother, who used to be Dreyden's best friend. Bad habits might be harder to escape than the gravity of unwanted feelings, but maybe Dreyden's equilibrium isn't as stable as he pretends. And maybe Orion is about to disrupt it all, whether Dreyden is ready or not. It's just a shame that bad people don't get happy endings. ***** Contains sexual content, profanity, underage substance use, and themes of consent, mental health, homophobia, and coming out. *featured on Wattpad's "Stories to Read OUT Loud" list* Complete at 137k words.

Dark Historical Fantasy | Vampire | Romance | LGBTQ+ Frej was the seer's apprentice. He was supposed to be the link between the gods and his village. But when he was chosen to be sacrificed, he didn't decline. He revelled in being chosen for such an honour; an audience with Freja herself. Except it's not the Norse deity of Love that greets him when he wakes on his sacrificial pyre: it's the Aztec deity of Death; Xipe Totec. After spending a month together in a small cabin, they're in love. Frej is whisked away from Dania to East Anglia, having to leave his Viking ways behind and enter higher society, ruled by politics he's entirely ignorant about. Frej is eager to learn from his lover, but it proves harder than he realised. Having to fight for their relationship, everything is put to the test; Frej's sanity, his humanity, his beliefs and everything he thought he stood for. Giving in to the deity is too easy. Giving in to the night is not, when you're born in fire. ____________ Featured on @WattVampires' March Madness showcase. Featured on @HistoricalFiction's "Historical Fantady/Fairytales" reading list.

Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach. ***** Connor Nichols spends his days alongside several young cadets training to become a future peacekeeper of the underground Refuge facility, but his nights are spent dreaming of his forbidden romantic past with best friend Vince Moore. Risking his quality reputation among Dr. Randolph and the leaders, he pursues a secret relationship with Vince until a sudden toxic breach threatens to poison the occupants of the facility and places Vince in immediate danger. To give him and Vince a fighting chance at a solid future together, Connor puts his life and love on the line to expose the truth about the toxins, the leaders, and the history of the Refuge. ***** CONTENT WARNING: Contains some language, mild violence & mild sexual references. ***** Copyright © 2021 by Leslie Lee Sanders

LGBT/DYSTOPIA: Luke and Aiden escape the small community they helped build years after an apocalyptic event devastated the world, leaving the survivors to endure the wrath of their new leader, Santos. But with Santos and his men tight on their heels, Luke and Aiden hide out in an old, abandoned lighthouse where their trust for each other quickly grows. But can they face their ultimate fears to rescue the remaining survivors and survive another day? A story of building and rebuilding what was lost, with a haunting twist ending. ----- Highest rank: #872 in General Fiction (Thanks, readers, for pushing this story into the top 1000 of its genre!) Copyright © by Leslie Lee Sanders

An unlucky noblewoman precipitates a civil war and falls for a half-demonic beggar with a self-destructive healing talent. Summary: Tien Lyn was born lucky, but her luck ran out fast. Tossed on the currents of politics and magic, she lives in the accursed 'interesting times', during a civil war. Her worst enemy is a song that glorifies her as a rebel leader's lover. Once she helps an unassuming healer, Demure Yu, avoid execution for consorting with demons, her list of powerful enemies grows ever faster. To shelter the man she loves, Tien Lyn has to do what it takes to outrun her own legend. If you see this book on any other site, they'd stolen it. If they're charging you for it, this is the best and free version. Please read it here. First Published: May 29, 2018

"If it were sunny (and I weren't so cold), I might be tempted to bite his lip for him." Two Halloween weeks, one hedgehog, and a whole lot of pumpkins are about to change the lives of two teenagers for the (possibly) better. *** Calvin Bonnar has known Dexter Madan for most of his life. From learning MMA together, to going to school together, they've been present forces for each other, yet are hardly even acquaintances. When Calvin gets a job working directly alongside Dexter at the Madan family's yearly Horror Walk, the two might find themselves to mean much more to each other than just simple acquaintances.