The fight to save Oceana has only just begun. Valory, Arden, and the mercenary crew of Windjammer return to the capital to learn that the alliance marching against them is far darker than they had feared. Racing against time to defend Anaphe, the capital's twin-city, from destruction, Valory and Arden head south even as duty drives a wedge between them. Contract-bound, Valory fulfills his late father's wishes and sails for Anaphe to prepare the city for siege. While spies and loyalists slither through his court, an army of twisted creatures advances upon Anaphe's walls, the likes of which haven't been seen for generations. Meanwhile, Arden travels westward in a bid to win an unprecedented alliance that could either save Anaphe from collapse -- or bring Windjammer to ruin. The road back to the city proves to be no easy one, however, for their enemy lies closer to home than they ever could have imagined.

Added to Wattpad NA Reading List, Fantasy: Congratulations! You're the Chosen One! After clawing his way into his rightful place, Ezekiel must now carve a niche for himself. He battles to maintain his footing as his own family members act as his nemesis while still exploring his increasingly confusing emotions. Riddled with questions about his astounding powers and awakening desires, he finds himself in a maze of catastrophic feelings that leave him vulnerable. Unused to the pangs of love, highs and lows of friendship and the sacrifice that comes with forging relationships, he feels trapped by his lineage as a descendant of the Star. The celestial instability that he is destined to face, is advancing at an unprecedented rate, giving him restricted time. Ezekiel must break across the shackles that bind him. Exploring the bewildering desires of his heart as he battles to keep the light in himself alive. He must tame the serpent of darkness that preys on him, ravaging his insides; before it strikes with its fatal blow. © 2020 @booklored All Rights Reserved.

[LGBTQ+ FANTASY NOVELLA] Arumni, a land of peace and prosperity, of happiness and magic, where people of all kinds can live long, successful lives. A land where magic is as abundant as water, flowing through everything in the realm. A land of beauty. This is not the land Eli Fawn is pulled into through the mirror in his bedroom. The Arumni that meets him is one of suffering and death and control. Ruled by an unknown being harnessing the magic of the realm for its own good. There seems to be no hope of ever defeating the almighty evil and turning the land back to the way it was. Except Eli, who most suspect is the one spoken of in an ancient prophecy foretelling the defeat of the evil controlling the realm. Pulled into another realm in order to save himself, Eli must now find a way to save everyone and figure out who he is along the way. Thanks to @chemistric for the cover

A dark foe. A forbidden love. A deadly, high-seas quest. Mercenary sailor Jack's past comes back to haunt him when his crew receives a commission during the height of hurricane season. Charged with returning the all-too-familiar Prince Valory to the capital by way of the isles, Jack and schooner Windjammer battle storms and sea-monsters alike in Oceana's treacherous waters. Jack's new patron, however, is no ordinary nobleman. A hardened soldier and powerful commander, Valory boards Windjammer to scour the isles for signs of the mysterious new threat at Oceana's borders: an evil that burns innocents alive and smashes ships to pieces. Yet Jack isn't without secrets of his own -- secrets that unravel under the growing intensity of a forbidden attraction to his patron. Forced to reclaim his lost title, Jack comes face-to-face with the past he thought he'd outrun. As Windjammer races to defend Oceana from invasion, he and Valory must work together to untangle the threads of the dark alliance threatening their home, crew, and kingdom -- or risk losing everything in the process. [Book One of a Fantasy/LGBT+ Romance series. This is a sample; the full draft is available on Patreon.] ★

Hated by the people she's sworn to protect, dragon rider Neely Lynch searches for her stolen dragon while struggling to control the dark powers inside her. ***** After the Culling of Naughton -- a horrific slaughter that led to the murder of several dragon riders and the destruction of two separate armies -- Neely Lynch is on the warpath. Unbeknownst to most, Neely and her friends survived the Culling and are determined to reunite with their kidnapped dragons at any cost (even if that means leaving a trail of broken and bloody bodies behind them). But finding her dragon soon becomes the least of her problems when Neely discovers her disappearance after the Culling has only added to her reputation as the infamous Vidalin Rider. Hated and scorned by the people she's sworn to protect, Neely must find a way to prove she's not the villain everyone thinks she is before her dark and deadly powers, which are slowly growing beyond her control, transform her into the very thing she's trying not to be. [The Rider's Legend can be read as Book 3 in The Rider series, or as a standalone -- but note that it will spoil Book 1 and 2] [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]]

[✓] [Now on Patreon] When a terrible plague strikes the city of Alkaya, Royal Chef Neveshir must attempt forbidden blood-magic in order to save his home, his people, and the Shah he isn't meant to love. ... Royal Chef Neveshir Sevelin is a Karán: a man born with dangerous magic running through his veins. Like all Maker-touched, he can use fire to transmute, but only Karán have the power to kill with it. Though most Karán spend their careers bound in service on the war-front, Neveshir has sworn off killing. He roams free in Alkaya where he uses his talents to craft culinary masterpieces for his former shieldmate and dearest friend, Shah Melík Saf Kanh, ruler of all Esenia. When a terrible disease breaks out in the city, however, Neveshir is asked to revisit the powerful magic he hasn't used in decades -- a request that has the Maker's Guild up in arms. Neveshir can't blame them. He knows what he is: a poison-blood who was Maker-made to take lives, not save them. Then Melík falls ill. The disease spreads beyond the Guild's ability to control, showing a malevolence that defies medicine and forces Neveshir to consider more extreme measures. In order to discover the source of the disease, transmute a cure, and save the man he's not supposed to love, Neveshir must overcome his fear of his own nature -- before it's too late. ... The Dark Arm of the Maker is a complete Dark Fantasy / Romance novel of 95k words with gay, bi, asexual, and non-binary characters. The romance is between two men. Read on for: found family, friends-to-lovers, forbidden romance, self-acceptance, a snarky MC, and things getting set on fire. ... [Round One Winner: Open Novella Contest. Now revised and expanded.]

Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach. ***** Connor Nichols spends his days alongside several young cadets training to become a future peacekeeper of the underground Refuge facility, but his nights are spent dreaming of his forbidden romantic past with best friend Vince Moore. Risking his quality reputation among Dr. Randolph and the leaders, he pursues a secret relationship with Vince until a sudden toxic breach threatens to poison the occupants of the facility and places Vince in immediate danger. To give him and Vince a fighting chance at a solid future together, Connor puts his life and love on the line to expose the truth about the toxins, the leaders, and the history of the Refuge. ***** CONTENT WARNING: Contains some language, mild violence & mild sexual references. ***** Copyright © 2021 by Leslie Lee Sanders

❖ Interstellar pilot and ex-adventurer Alex Gallegos must keep their team safe on an icy moon as sentient storms threaten to repeat the tragedy that ended their last career. ❖ Everyone in the United Inhabited Solar Systems (for some reason, UIS for short) knows to stay away from Mahaha. The icy moon is notorious for failed probe landings and research missions that end in tragedy: the only people to ever venture to its surface needed rescuing after just two weeks. When a prestigious research group decides they want a turn, they ask Alex Gallegos to lead the team. Perfectly qualified and haunted by their past, Alex accepts, hoping to make up for old mistakes and get just a little further from the earth they've left behind. Two months into the seven-month mission, the team is struggling with discontent, damaged equipment, and blizzards acting less and less like normal weather. As Mahaha moves out of range of help and the storms take on a more malicious character, Alex must face the one foe they could never have prepared for. Mahaha may or may not be alive. ❖❖❖ Complete. Wattys 2021 Shortlister. Standalone sequel (Rocks Can Dance) coming in 2023. Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

Ezekiel Joziah Hunt is the last Descendant of the Stars. As the bastard son of the King of Evimeria, he was shunned by his Grandfather Andreas when he was a small child and forced to rip off his supernatural powers. Seeking sanctuary, Ezekiel moves to a sleepy town as a student at Stonewall, an average all-boys boarding school. He has stayed hidden until the day during his vacations when a near-fatal accident reawakens his power in front of the royal court. His mystical abilities aren't the only revelation. An incomplete prophecy convinces Ezekiel that there is an impending threat within his universe. A celestial instability grows stronger each day, just as his powers do. Now, he must battle against a scheming grandfather who despises him, and the other nobles who crave to learn the secrets of his power and the prophecy without endangering their lives. But Ezekiel's biggest challenge is evading the bitterness and darkness inside him threatening to implode with a force as catastrophic as the stars.

Book Two of the Growing Pains series. If you haven't read the first book and intend to, click away. There are major spoilers from the first chapter! Newly turned adult Will Simmons leaves his fragmented family life behind and moves to Dublin. With a sports scholarship to college, a position on the National Irish Volleyball team, a relationship with his former teacher Gabriel, and two firm friends to accompany him, Will is ready to get on with his life. But the perfect life he's been craving doesn't feel like he thought it would, and Will stubbornly buries his feelings of unease beneath obsessive exercise and even more obsessive calorie management. But his bottled feelings accumulate, pressurize--and he starts to crack.