(Chapter 1 only) In the winter of 1941-1942, Leningrad is under siege, and Karen Hamilton, a seventeen-year-old American musician, finds herself trapped and struggling to survive. Throughout the city, people are dying of starvation and frostbite, and Karen knows that if she doesn't escape immediately, she will share their fate. If she has any hope of leaving Russia and reuniting with her fiancé, Bobby, in New York, she must do the impossible: cross enemy lines and then stow away. On her harrowing journey, Karen encounters Petr, a young conscripted Russian soldier. She isn't sure she can trust him-he is equally wary of her. But as the two join forces in order to stay alive, an unexpected romance takes root. Now, as Karen gets closer to the reality of escape, she has a choice to make: Will she return to a safe life in America with Bobby, or remain in war-torn Russia with Petr? This is a sample chapter of the book that will be available October 18 from Lake Union Publishing.

Sixteen-year-old Jane wakes up to a desperate text from her best friend¬¬¬-the dead are walking around outside her window. Jane's parents are in New York for the weekend, and Jane is completely alone. After a gruesome personal tragedy, Abby rescues Jane, and the girls flee the town they grew up in, hoping to find a place unaffected by the dead. Abby's family lake house seems like the only choice, but their beacon of hope is three States away, separated by a sea of reanimated death. Reaching it will be anything but easy. Being head cheerleader doesn't exactly prepare you for life during the apocalypse, and it's a dangerous learning curve.

A warning from a nightmare future. Ten years after the UK fragmented, the emergency mandate of the Consensus goverment is coming to an end. At long last a General Election is due. World-weary journalist Richard Davies becomes reluctantly drawn into the aspiring National Renewal Party's campaign. But as long suppressed social tensions erupt on to the streets of a nation so much like - yet so different from - our own, he stumbles across a conspiracy aimed at the very heart of the relaunched democracy. With his options for doing the right thing in a world gone wrong narrowing and time running out, somehow Richard has to survive long enough to expose the greatest scoop of his career. A 151,000 word novel written between 2012-14. The 'future' I imagined has diverged from our current timeline, but many of the book's themes are still sadly only too relevant. For more information and a plot overview I recommend the companion Readers' Guide. https://www.wattpad.com/story/51378045-the-blurt-of-richard-davies-reading-guide This novel contains mature, unsettling, and dark themes. The Blurt was previously voluntarily listed as Mature, but if Wattpad won't play fair by their hiding works so listed from being seen by the general audience, I see no reason to abide by such a ridiculous policy. Just be aware of what it is you are getting into.

It's 21st century Britain. The Rioting was three years ago. Life has never been the same. The crime rate is at a 100% high, with the country being declared the third most dangerous in the world. There are no law enforcement. There are no rules. But for Brian McCormick none of that matters. Stranded, separated from his wife Sara and youngest daughter Ashlene, Brian must fight each day to stay alive and keep his sons Will and Joey safe. With danger lurking around every corner, Brian hopes to cross the border into France and find Sara. But it isn't long before he comes across a face from his past. A face that will change the future for Brian and his sons, forever. *CAUTION* This story contains strong language and depictions of violence. Discretion is advised.