The Wattys 2014 "Undiscovered Gem" Stella Henry is afraid of a lot of things. As a child, her simple, comfortable home life did not prepare her for the sort of people whom she would meet as a younger teenager. Now eighteen and a freshman at Clemson University, Stella meets Charlie, who, like her, has long been keeping others at bay. Though his disposition is kind and gentle, Charlie is a boxer, and his world only reminds Stella of elements of her past she would like to forget. When both realize that they have a safe place in one another, they start to overcome their fear of other people, and of letting them get close enough to matter. In many ways, this is a story about allowing people to matter to our lives, and about meaning something to them, in turn. At some point in your day, in your routine, in your life, you will matter to someone. That is a special kind of power, do be careful with it. "We love people not so much for the good they've done us, as for the good we've done them." Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

She's With Me is now published as a Wattpad Book! As a Wattpad reader, you can access both the Original Edition and Books Edition upon purchase. Amelia Collins is in witness protection, starting at a new school in a small town. But when she becomes involved with the most infamous guy at school, she's reminded that she can never truly escape her tragic past. ***** When Amelia Collins moves to a new town with a new identity, she plans to keep her head down and finish her senior year. But this changes when she runs - literally - into the school's hottest badass, the mysterious and brooding Aiden Parker. Soon, Aiden's friend group is calling Amelia one of their own, and she finds herself balancing her new life while trying to recover from a tragic past. During a school year full of new friends and old rivalries, Amelia finds herself falling for Aiden, who has skeletons of his own. But she has to fight those feelings - after all, all Amelia ever does is run. Can she ever truly escape what she's been running from? Or has she finally found a reason to stop? Book One of the With Me series. | ranked #1 | 08.27.2015| | completed | 08.25.2016| | winner of a Talk of the Town WATTY 2016 | | Winner of The 2016 Fiction Awards "Best Teen Fiction"