Leaving behind everything she's ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes. The new freedom that comes with being a part of the Famoux is intoxicating, but behind the perfect image lies an ugly truth - being popular is a matter of life or death. ***** Out of the wreckage of environmental collapse, the country of Delicatum emerged. Its most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. In a world still recovering from catastrophe, they provide a 24/7 distraction. Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux - they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. But soon she realizes that fame can be deadly... Content and trigger warning: This story depicts mental health issues and contains scenes of violence. [[word count: 350,000-400,000 words]]

Her hands held the gun steady, the muscles in her arms drawn tight as she stood facing the man she was about to kill. Killing had always been easy for her. It was in her blood after all. But did she really want to be that person? she wondered. However the fact remained that if she wanted a choice to do things differently, killing him was important. This could give her a way out. Either way, he had to die. That didn't bother her. Still, there was something in his eyes...something that made her pause, if only for seconds. "Who are you?" she asked, merely to satisfy her curiosity; the gun ready in her hand. Before he could reply, two calculated shots were fired from behind her, one of which embedded itself into the man's chest. She turned around as the second bullet tore through her left shoulder and felt herself crash to the floor; her mind registering the person who had just walked in over the excruciating pain. Ashley is caught in a conflict between her choice of the past and her conscious. Both could only end one way. The only choice that really exists is between the paths she could choose to reach her grave. Or maybe she is barely strong enough to come out through it alive...?

*Written in 2014* Book One in the Darien Grace Chronicles He was my siren song and all other melodies just seemed to pale in comparison.