WATTYS 2016 WINNER Untouchable. Stone. Jewel - these are some of the names used for people who are born with a gemstone at the centre of their forehead. This unfortunate phenomenon cannot be detected before birth, it cannot be prevented, if a family has a Jewelled child, there is only one outcome: Before they're sixteen, they will have to leave human society forever and serve "the Zephyr". Among the Jewels there are those who have it worse. Those who sport clear diamonds on their foreheads, the Undefined. The downtrodden, the unlucky - the doomed. Cello Riles and Syianne Locke are both Undefined. On their sixteenth birthday, they each leave their homes and travel across the country to the Zephyr, attempting to go into service. Though aside from the place, or thing, that will take them from human society forever - what IS the Zephyr? There are only questions promised, only shadowy riddles guaranteed. Yet faced with no other choice they must venture forth and plunge into the unknown - the Zephyr. [A big thanks to @stpolishook for being a wonderful friend and helping me figure out how to write a better synopsis] COVER BY Abyss-of-Crazy

Cass has no memories of her parents, only impossible dreams of waves and orcas and, sometimes, her mother's voice. When she and her adopted aunt return to the Pacific Northwest island--where her parents died twelve years before--Cass hopes the place will trigger long-buried memories. Instead, she discovers that the impossible is real, and that history is about to repeat itself. Unless she can stop it. ***Teaser*** The water hit with such a shock of cold that Cass thought she was going to pedal up and out of it again like some cartoon character. Instead, she flailed and splashed and smashed one arm against a piling as salt water poured into her raincoat & filled her shoes. "How do you like it?" Jason yelled. She spun until she could make out his form, black against gray sky. "What?" she sputtered. She dragged one arm from the water long enough to shove wet hair from her face. Jason became clearer: black hair dark above his yellow raincoat, arms crossed over his chest. "What the hell are you talking about?" "I asked how you like it, going for a swim in this water." She was open-mouthed with disbelief. It was a bad idea; a surge lifted her and slapped salt water into her mouth. Bile burned her throat as she coughed and all the while she was still flailing at the water, fighting the drag of shoes and clothes to keep afloat. She should kick them off-that's what you were supposed to do if you fell into the ocean with your clothes on-but she was only a dozen feet from the dock. Besides, it was her only coat. Jason watched her the way she'd watch a barracuda. "I know you're following me." "Following you?" What. The. Hell. She gave a mighty kick and tossed her coat onto the dock. Jason just stood there. "I nearly drowned last week, you know that? Now you show up as if nothing happened." "Last week," Cass said slowly, "I was in Argentina." Whatever he'd seen, it wasn't her.

[COMPLETED!] (Sequel to How to be a Queen) Aerith and Hades already have their fairytale ending. They've also been blessed with twins: Aidon and Aurea. I'm Aurea by the way and this is my story. When I was born, the Fates declared that me and my brother will live a difficult life. And I guess they were right for we were both born with no powers. We were two new immortals who cannot be a god and a goddess for we had no powers. Is this a curse? Nah. Maybe we were just born this way or maybe we were just late bloomers? I sure hope so. Oh, one more thing. When my brother and I turned eighteen, the Three Fates came to our party and allowed us each a question. Being a naive little girl, I asked. "Who will I share eternity with?" They answered with: "You are meant for death." Well what did they mean with that? Am I meant to die? Will I ever get my powers? Will I ever find someone who'll love me? Will I get the fairytale ending my parents have? ***Credits to @DarkLeague for the cover***

Sally Sanborn, who insists she can do almost anything a man can do, stamps down her pride and advertises for full-time help on her chicken farm. Up shows Wilson..."Just Wilson, ma'am." He's a denim-wearing, sexiest butt to wear a pair of jeans, perfect man for the job. But he also comes with a past -- a complicated past. Yet, he works hard, and Sally likes him. As easy as it would be for her to fall in love with him, three things stand in her way: 1) He's younger than her. 2) She's been branded by heartache before and refuses to go through that again. 3) He's out of prison on parole.

A spunky, Deaf girl meets a sexy, heartbroken cowboy...Story # 5 in the Friends and Lovers Series by hmmcghee. (Restricted version available through the author's profile page and by fanning hmmcghee.)

Some opposites attract; some rip each others clothes off. Stormy-Rain and Marcus are polar opposites: she's a free-spirited, Tarot card reading, rainbow-haired hippie; he wears a suit and tie, and over-shines his already too-shiny shoes. She believes in ancient aliens, crystal healing and auras; he's governed by law and logic, and doesn't believe in Fate. But Fate believes in them...So what happens when their worlds collide and disaster strikes? When they're thrown together under strange circumstances and embark on an epic road trip to catch a plane to a wedding a long way from home? The clock is ticking...and they are seriously ticking each other off. But they're about to discover just how thin the line is between love and hate.

After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris, and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called “secondary creation,” the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own. Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago. Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people. By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.

Michael and Emma -- best friends forever... Until the two friends crossed the platonic barrier and became intimate. Fast forward five years, and they are reunited. Add one meddling roommate, one weekend at the lake, and one HUGE misunderstanding to clear up... And you've got the makings for a romance of BFF proportions.

“It wasn’t worth a horse, was it?” she asked. “No” Trey entered the stall and swung the saddle over Hank’s back. Millie walked into the next stall, which was empty, and leaned against the low wall that separated the two. “So then why take the risk? Clayton could have handled Hank, don’t you think?” she said. “I came to see you, in all honesty,” Trey, said glancing at her over Hank’s back. “Hmm” Millie said. She did not know what to do with that response. “I came to ask you to come back with me,” Millie Williams is left destitute after her father's death from a gunshot wound. Her desperation for money causes her to impulsively accept a job at an old plantation half a day's ride out of town caring for a two year old boy while his single father's job takes him abroad. While her first look at the old mansion gives her hope, she still has her doubts when she meets Trey Shannon, her employer. The man is built to have a demanding presence and his cold stare could intimidate the most hardened criminal. Her fear of her employer makes her job difficult as she resolves to find out the secret she feels he is hiding. Trey Shannon has never met a woman quite like the shy, timid, and short Miss Williams. But after several failed attempts at finding a nursemaid for his son, he is desperate and will take anything. Whlie he feels grateful to the young woman, he also feels that she might be hiding something from him. He is determined find out her past. She is determined to find out his present. Can either of them find their future?

Companion story to Emma and Michael. Eve, the precocious roommate of Emma, cares very much for her younger brother, Carey. Against her better judgment, Clint, a doctor with demons in his soul, begins to capture a part of her heart that she doesn't want to share.