He wrote to Grace. I read every word. Somewhere between the ink and the envelope, I fell in love with Warren, a man I'd never met. His letters were meant for her - a woman who once lived in the empty house at the end of my mail route. The war had taken her away, but not him. He was still out there, somewhere, writing words too beautiful to be left unopened. I knew I should have sent them back. Instead, I began to answer. Each letter pulled me deeper - into his memories, his dreams, his hope for a future I wanted to be part of. But when the war ends and Warren comes home, he won't be looking for me... He'll be looking for Grace.

After six years in a progressive French boarding school, eighteen-year-old Lady Alice returns to her family's estate in Surrey, dreading the fate that awaits her-- debutante balls, an arranged marriage, and a life she does not want. She would have preferred to stay in France, teaching and writing love tales rather than living one dictated by others. Once cast aside by her own father and a stepmother, Alice finds their sudden desire for reconciliation hollow. Only her childhood best friend, Michael, Marquess Lovelace, seems like a true comfort. But as she settles back into her former home, something strange begins to happen. A black rabbit, eerily familiar, appears in the shadows-- just like the one that belonged to Edmond, her long-forgotten imaginary friend. And then she meets Count D'Arcy, the enigmatic and elusive neighbour whose presence unsettles her. His eyes, his voice, his very being remind her of Edmond. Could it be him? Or is her mind playing tricks on her? As the social season unfolds, Alice finds herself tangled in a web of mystery, romance, and the supernatural. The past and present blur, forcing her to question what is real, what is illusion, and whether love can exist beyond the bounds of reason. In the haunting halls of her childhood home and under the watchful gaze of Count D'Arcy, Alice must uncover the truth before she loses herself to the unknown. ~~~ My entry for the ONC 2025 based on the prompt 105: Your childhood imaginary friend, who disappeared years ago, suddenly returns - only this time, they're real.

A pair of siblings on a dangerous journey. A vicious spirit quickly drawing near. A bedtime story filled with peril and magic, loss and self discovery, set within a dark, fantastical forest. Growing up with frightening tales of the woods around them, Credence and her younger brother Josiah never imagined they would venture far from home. After a sudden tragedy reveals a dark family secret, the children are forced into the strange and deadly forest alone, with nothing but a map and a book of spells to guide them. While seeking the purple house of their aunt, who will either protect or curse them depending on her mood, the siblings must contend with a host of wild and wicked creatures, from bog women to ghostly jesters, cannibal twins and rude pumpkins. Credence and Josiah must keep their hearts strong and their wits quick, lest they fall to any one of a thousand dangers lurking within the trees, or worst of all, into the clutches of the Collector, a malevolent spirit with a connection to their parents, feared above all in the woods-who's developed an obsession with finding them. 📚 Book One of the "Bedtime Story" Series 📚 ✨WATTYS 2021 FANTASY WINNER✨ Content Warning: This story contains violence and mild language.

Lizzie Hayworth has known very little beyond the walls of her orphanage. After a bad experience with a foster family, she has spent the last eight years of her life hiding from those in search of a daughter and instead, prepares herself for a life of scrubbing fireplaces and sweeping floors. When the mysterious Mr and Mrs Atkinson appear at the doors of the orphanage just a month before the Christmas season in search of a child, Lizzie is shocked to learn that it is her they are interested in. With the Christmas season fast approaching, Lizzie must decide whether to trust her potential new family or follow the path she had been planning for. (c) Spruce_Goose

Grand Favourite Ambys 2024 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔. Elizabeth Reid learned, at seventeen, that she was going to die. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, she's faced with a question that no one should have to answer. How do you leave a mark on a world you're about to leave behind? Desperate to do something meaningful with her life, Elizabeth goes on a journey to create something that will outlive her. One final act to save lives, even as her own ends. But will she run out of time to do it?

Cecily Dencourt has her life mapped out perfectly. Marry Edmund Torrington, save her family from disgrace with his wealth, and publish her music in secret. It's a golden oppurtunity when she's sent to live with the Torringtons. But, when age-old loyalties are shattered and her secrets are threatened, can she untangle herself from a disaster she composed? Anthony Peyton is fleeing his past. Escape appears when he's called to live with his distant relatives, the Torringtons. He's here to work. Not fall in love. And especially not with his cousin's fiancée. But Cecily holds his broken heart in the palm of her hand. Is this his chance at love, or is he utterly doomed? Through the social upheavals of Elizabethan London and the origins of one iconic song, can an earl's daughter and a country parson's son find enough middle ground to form a life together? And will their days be filled with music or dreary silence?

Steampunk light/ Comedy. A terrifying new exhibit on at London Zoo is the talk of the town. Amelia Tooting-Spur couldn't care less...until the creature escapes, throwing the Metropolitan Police into a panic. With the help of some of her eccentric friends from the Mastermind Society-- including undervalued mind-reader Godwin Jones-- Amelia sets out to apprehend the marauder and its master. With explosive results! LGBT+ themes. Short chapters.

Two childhood rivals. One polar bear spirit guide. One journey to change their world forever... Nuna was in training to become her tribe's next shaman, but when her village mysteriously disappears and an everlasting blizzard begins, she and her rival must journey to the land of the gods. They are the only ones who can stop the blizzard and the war tearing their lands apart. Their only ally is Nuna's spirit guide, a great white bear. But the gods are not what they seem - they are humans masquerading as myths. Nuna must find a way to save her tribe herself and unearth the secrets of her shattered world before her family is lost forever. In the Far North, the ice speaks, spirits grant power, and souls are stolen from unmasked faces. Humans play as gods... and monsters play as humans. Book 1 COMPLETE Book 2 COMING SOON -A fantasy inspired by the Inuit. -Never Alone and East of the Sun West of the Moon meet Children of Blood and Bone Copyright © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

Araminta was called a witch. Now she's gone. And the last person who saw her is looking for answers. *** A Good Girl's Guide To Murder x Wednesday *** Two years ago, Araminta Green disappeared. Her neighbor and classmate Jordan Thompson was the last person who saw her, walking through a graveyard in the early morning hours. Jordan was intimidated by Araminta. With her pale-powdered face, black lips, spider-web eyeliner, and her love for tarot reading, it was no wonder that people speculated that Araminta was a witch. But Jordan was also intrigued by her dark aura, sensing that she may be as lonely as him. Maybe if he had reached out to her back then, she wouldn't be missing now. When Jordan is tasked with creating an investigative podcast for a college course, there is no question about which case he wants to delve into. With his cat Kiki as his co-pilot, Jordan sets off to answer the question of what happened to Araminta, even as his recordings constantly get disrupted by a cawing crow in the background. Following the trail of Araminta, Jordan discovers truths both about his missing classmate and himself, because while he hasn't vanished he is definitely lost as well. Will he be able to find both himself and Araminta? *** An ONC novella using prompt #81: The town's witch has gone missing and no one is looking for her but her two familiars - a crow and a black cat, plus the teen who has always been scared of her.

Charlie can't wait to spend Christmas with her kids. But her moribund car and her infuriating ex are wearing her patience thin. And being whisked away on a multidimensional adventure in the middle of her groceries run is definitely not on her agenda. Yipok needs to save his home planet, Badukis, from rising tides by finding the prophesied Jahnjili, the Chosen One who will lead his people to safety. Armed with magic blobs harvested from the ocean, Yipok enters the Nexus - determined to find the Jahnjjili, or die. RAM has their eyes set on Badukis. To their shareholders it's a perfect location for a playground for the rich, but to RAM themself Badukis is an inexhaustible supply of magic blobs. Hunted by Ram's minions, Charlie and Yipok form an uneasy alliance to protect their Nexus guide, a spiky little creature named Puggle. Its capability to travel the Nexus is their only ticket for the trip home. But to get their hands on Puggle, RAM will do anything. Christmas is a time for miracles, and Charlie needs a big one.