"Y-you," she stuttered, staring at the handsome man sitting on the sleek black throne, "you're..." He rolled his eyes, waving his hand impatiently and said, "Hades. Come on, say it with me. Ha-des." "Hades," Ariel breathed out, still not believing the sight before her. Every picture she had seen of the gods had not depicted Hades' beauty. The god sitting before her was not a crusty old man with a white beard; no, he was a Calvin Klein model. "Yes," Hades clasped his hands together and grimaced, "the God of Death and riches; that's me." Ariel nodded, still refusing to believe but knowing she had to and Hades' grimace turned even bitter, "And you, darling, will be staying with me for quite some time." ~*~ Cover: _nymphomaniac Published: 8/6/14

Aspiring writer Norah Jacobs needs an escape. In the span of two weeks, her corrupt brother has been jailed for murder and his partner has been hovering on her doorstep, threatening to ruin what little peace she has left. Packing her car, Norah flees the city and goes off the grid, finding refuge in the small coastal town of Bellvale. However, Norah's newfound refuge lands her right in the middle of a power struggle between creatures she thought only existed in fairy tales, and she begins to see that no matter how hard you try to run from your troubles, they seem to have a way of catching up with you... Watty 2014 Winner Haven Copyright © Melissa Lucas 2013 All Rights Reserved. No part of this literary work may be reproduced or used without written consent from the author.

This isn’t a love story, it’s a love adventure. First love’s a killer, but so is seventeen-year-old Annabelle Blanc. She was raised to be an assassin and taught to never fall in love. She’s at the top of her game until she meets Gabriel Sanchez. Totally devoted to her profession, she’s never been naive. Except for when it comes to love. Wealthy, spoiled and self-indulgent, Gabriel Sanchez doesn’t think past his next conquest. Until he sets his sights on Annabelle. Expecting the mysterious Anna to be like every other girl, Gabriel finds himself drawn into a world of deception and murder. As two worlds collide, will Annabelle and Gabriel be able to overcome betrayal, revenge and heartbreak to find love?

Family is everything and I plan to keep mine alive. In a world full of violence, it takes a certain type of person to survive. Pain, anguish, death, and fighting to be on top, this is the life Leila Withers is pulled into by Baden Johnson, who she met years ago. Can she push him away and ignore the old sparks trying to rekindle, or will he draw her into the dark side? Leila has spent four years hiding from everyone she knew and creating a new life for herself, one where no one knows what happened to her years ago. Turns out that the city is not as big as she had hoped it was as her past comes crashing back into her life and she struggles to shut it back out. It is now a kill or be killed world; can she survive it?

Amberly, Dougy and Phil have been away for the past eight months, dealing with everything that has happened but now they are back. New alliances are formed and new people pop into their lives but in the world of crime, drugs, gangs and guns with death all around you, who can you really trust in this world? The trio find this out the hard way as they still battle against Paul and his gang, determined to bring him down once and for all.

Do you believe in fate? Kayleigh Brown does. She believes that everything happens for a reason, that our lives are mapped out for us before were even born. She believes in fate so much that when she meets the incredible guy at the bar, she knows it’s not meant to be. This guy can't be meant for her because he's on his stag night. He’s promising himself to another woman, taking himself off the market and committing to someone else. Fate was just messing with her this time; if he was the one she was meant to be with then there would be some signs to show that. He wouldn’t be that easy to cut out of her life. But even when the signs start appearing, Kayleigh chooses to ignore them, going against everything she’s ever believed in her life. Instead, she tells herself that fate is what you make it, fate is about choices, and she chooses not to be with him. But is it really going to be that easy?

My breath came in short pants and my heart took off at a staccato pace. I felt my skin warm and my blood tingle and this was all just from seeing him again. At first he looked shocked, and then his face turned to a mask of longing. I could hardly believe that I was standing here staring into the eyes of Zach, my Zachary. And then just as quickly a wave of anger washed over his face. I was taken aback by the intensity. He winked at me and then he did the unthinkable. He reached for the girl beside him and laid a kiss on her that would make the Madame of a whore house blush. I quickly turned away and ran off in the other direction. How could I have been so stupid to think that Zach would want plain old me after what I did to him three years ago? He was way to gorgeous to sit around and long for me the same way that I craved him. It was nothing more that just a stupid little girls fantasy, but dammit, why did seeing the truth of it have to hurt so much?

"Everybody has a dirty little secret." "Yes, but mine can kill." Courtney Flint has kept her distance from the person she wanted to hate most in the world: Draco Malfoy. She hated the person he had turned into, but when she is paired with him for a school project, she couldn't help but fall for him. He seemed to be falling as well, which made Courtney suspicious of him when he started to play games with her. When his secret is revealed, can she trust him? Can she trust herself not to fall in love with him?

Meet Fay Valentine, a spunky rough necked troublemaker who has watched over her childhood friend since she saved him from a couple of bullies in 3rd grade. Nerdy and bully-magnet Austen McKennzie had never been too far away from her for too long, everyone thought it was impossible! Than all of a sudden her geeky childhood friend decided to fly off to Europe in god knows where, leaving her behind over summer vacation. Than suddenly a hunk-of-burning love shows up, claiming to be geeky Austen..wait what!?

Holly's new, young teacher has a dark past, and a dangerous future. She soon finds herself charmed by his ways, and gets thrown into the chaos. Who knew having an ex-gangster for a teacher could be so troublesome? As Holly and Mr. Heywood grow closer, more questions about his past come upon Holly, as does danger. What is Mr. Heywood keeping from Holly? And why is it so bad? But most importantly, if she falls for him, could their relationship survive? After all... it would be a proscriptive relationship.