[WATTYS 2024 SHORTLIST] Lucan Thurst, an alchemist shackled to his obsessions, seeks the unattainable: immortality. In the heart of Burnell Academy he toils away--pieces of himself lost until the line between human and other is blurred beyond recognition. Meanwhile, long-time friend and scientific rival, River Kim, believes death is not the body's end, and a heart stopped may yet beat again. Nearing the completion of his medical degree, River intends to prove immortality lies not in elixirs but in the resilience of flesh. As their friendship fractures around them, the two men must learn to work together in order to achieve their goal. Both keen on being the first to alter the course of medical science. Both utilizing one another's secrets to their own advantage. But, when those secrets are whispered into the dark, Lucan and River will learn a harrowing truth: it is the dark that always listens. For fans of dark academia: Frankenstein, The Secret History, The Haunting of Bly Manor

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION In 1955, mixed-race Ethan Harper leaves his progressive hometown for a summer in Alabama where he's not welcome, except by resident free spirit, Juniper Jones. ***** After getting himself into a bout of trouble, 16-year-old Ethan Harper's parents send him to Ellison, Alabama, to live with his aunt and uncle for the summer. But the year is 1955, and Alabama is a far cry from his beloved home of Arcadia, Washington. As much as it's hotter in temperature, it's colder in every other way, and Ethan learns the hard way that people see his mere existence as a threat. Amidst all the mayhem, a fiery, free-spirited, oddball walks into Ethan's life. Her name is Juniper Jones. She is the first person in Ellison who seems unfazed by their racial differences, and she promises to give Ethan a summer he will always remember, filled with endless adventure and discovery. With Juniper, Ethan can breathe, he can be, despite the incessant attention and bullying their newly formed friendship attracts. Can the two survive the summer, run in the light and block out the noise of the outside world? [Published version comes out June 16, 2020 with Wattpad Books!] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

An aspiring eighteen-year-old author realizes she is a character in an unwritten horror novel and must use her storytelling knowledge to survive. ***** Eighteen-year-old romance writer, Ima Jean Paige, questions the afterlife following the recent death of her brother, leading her and her friends Zeke Garble, Felicity Weiland, and Atem Tahir to the remote Ayahuasca forests for a private spiritual retreat. Although her search is for the meaning of life and beyond, she discovers an odd story outline in her notebook detailing and predicting the night's unsettling and bizarre happenings. Realizing they are characters in an unwritten horror novel, she must rely on the notebook and her storytelling abilities to not only gain control of her life but somehow steer the narrative toward a happily ever after. For fans of The Cabin in the Woods, Midsommar, and The Babadook! ***** TRIGGER & CONTENT WARNING: For references of suicide, drugs and alcohol, and mild sexual content ***** || Wattys Awards 2022 Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Entertainment Prize Winner (for film and/or television adaptation) || || Wattys Awards 2022 Horror Winner || || Wattys Shortlist 2022 || || AmbyAwards Horror Winner 2022 || || Editor's Pick 2022 || || NaNoWriMo Winner 2021 || - - Copyright © 2021 by L.L. Sanders

After a mysterious vehicle runs them off the road, Alex and his bandmates must fight for their lives to escape a vicious pack of wolves who bear unsettling similarities to the other band they are touring with. ***** Alex is the lead singer of the up-and-coming rock band Make Them Scream. Despite the fact that the insomnia he's fought with since he was a teenager has been worsening, the band have found themselves in the express lane to stardom. But, when a mysterious vehicle knocks their tour bus off the road in the middle of upstate Montana, the bandmates are left stranded with no cell service. When poor decisions lead them toward the dark woods, things go from bad to worse. If the elements don't get them first, their own demons might devour them alive. Some monsters only come out in the dark, and some reality is scarier than nightmares. ***** WATTYS 2021 WINNER WEREWOLF ***** Content Warning: This story contains mature language, violence, gore and reference to alcohol and drug use.