Being a teenager is tough, and that's before you factor in the boys, jealous exes and developmental issues. -------------------------------------- "Hello? Who is this?" I asked. Silence replied my question. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I was about to hang up but then a quiet whisper came through the other end of the line. "Stay away from him." "What? who? Who is this?" Fear started to creep into my voice. "Just stay away, I don't want to have to do something drastic." Their voice was cold, sending shivers down my spine. "Who is this? Who do you want me to stay away from?" The other end was silent. "Hello?" I heard two consecutive beeps then looked at my phone; the call had disappeared, almost as if it had never happened. -------------------------------------- Mei has wished she was normal all her life. Getting bullied as a kid, mocked for falling over all the time, has left her trying to avoid as much sport as possible. Although, despite being dyspraxic, she still couldn't escape PE lessons, even when she got to Sixth Form. One PE lesson, she falls over in front of her crush and he offers to teach her to kayak. She has mixed feelings about participating in a sport after loathing them so much. Mei soon realises there's more to worry about than being clumsy, though, when her crush's ex brings herself into the scene.

In a time of myth and magic, nine ancient mighty kingdoms are at war from as far as the inscriptions go back and stories are told. Leila is an orphan living in a magical world where she lives every day like it's her last. Leila has a past shadowed by misfortune, fires, unsavoury characters, evil sorcerers, dark magical creatures and all. Over the years she learns how to use all sorts of weapons; the once sweet little girl had grown up to be a dangerous woman. Things change drastically on Leilas sixteenth birthday and she is forced to serve the Golden Year. The Golden Year allows civilians the chance to escape the life laid out for them since birth. She has to leave what little she had behind in search of a new life. It means turning her back on her secret love, Theo, the self-crowned king of thieves. Leila begins to doubt her original assumptions about the royal family when she gets to know Prince Leonardo. However, the return of the dark lord could mean the end of everything she holds dear. She is put into the heart of a war between kingdoms at odds. She soon discovers her magical gifts and her destiny as the chosen one. She never expects to learn a new truth about her parents and herself. In this sweeping fantasy about Leila's journey to fulfil her destiny and all the monsters that stand in her way, only one monster does not have fangs or claws but he does have a powerful hold on her heart. Danger and betrayal, forbidden love and lust, dark secrets and enchantments threaten Leila's life and it could lead to her ultimate destruction.

****Taken down for publication with Parliament House Press in 2019*** ****Bonus Story Available: The House of Seven Smiles***** ***Wattys 2015 Winner!!!*** Magic runs bone deep... In a world overrun by monsters, humans struggle for survival underground. Magic is feared and reviled, but rooted deep in the bloodlines of families, cropping up once a generation. These individuals are cast out, banished to the Above where humans are far, far down the food chain. When her younger brother is tainted by magic and forced to the surface, Azzy follows, determined to save the only family she has left, no matter what he becomes. ***Lovely Cover by @mulanjiang*** ***#2!! in Adventure 2/28/16*** ***#6!! in Fantasy 8/15/16***