Survival is all about rules. It's really very simple. Follow the rules and maybe you last just a little bit longer than most other people. These rules are harsh. They are cruel and unforgiving. You might not like them. Hell, you may hate them, but the fact is you must listen to them. I don't really care if you think that's too hard. I don't care if you believe me and I don't care if you think I'm just being a hard-ass. Go right ahead, think that if you must. The rules still stand. Sit there and deny all you want. If you think you can do it better than me that's fine, just don't come looking for sympathy when things go south because you didn't follow the rules. Looking at you I already have my reservations. I just get this feeling that you aren't going to even listen to the rules. But I'm tired of watching people die of stupidity so I'm going to teach them to you anyway. Listen to my story, I'm only going to tell it once. Then, you can follow the rules if you want to. ***This story contains strong language and some sexual references but nothing explicit*** Copyright © 2017

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity while simultaneously describing a murder he committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy "vulture-eye", as the narrator calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, and he hides the body by dismembering it, and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator's feelings of guilt, or a mental disturbance, result in him hearing a thumping sound, which he interprets as the dead man's beating heart. Cover by the lovely @FayLane.

[EXCERPT!] [BEING PUBLISHED!] [Highest Rank: #4 in Mystery/Thriller] [Featured Story - Fall 2017] Student reporter Penelope needs to prove herself. She chases a story tip on a secret organization of teenage urban explorers called The Broken. With the assistance of a young paranormal investigator, she begins to uncover the group's darkest secrets. However, the members have other plans for Penelope and her new "freak" friend. The reporter becomes part of her story, and she will have to fight for her own life and the lives of her friends as she learns what it means to be one of the broken. Book I of The Broken Trilogy. Featured Story: August 2017 Top Rank: #4 for mystery/thriller Royalty Awards 2017, first place for mystery/thriller Blooming Awards 2017, first place for mystery/thriller Wing Awards 2017, first place for mystery/thriller Dream Awards, first runner-up for mystery/thriller Dreamcatcher Awards 2017, second place for mystery/thriller Rose Gold Awards finalist for best first kiss #nbr Spotlight Chapter, Round 85

***Winner of the Wattys 2016 for Hidden Gems*** The Edgewise exists everywhere and nowhere. A sanctuary to all realms, should you find the door. Managed by one Macklemore Edgewise, proprietor, guardian of the between places, and barman of mystery. If the tavern accepts you, abide by the rules. 1. Leave all conflicts outside. 2. No murdering one another. Occasional maiming and righteous wounding exempt. 3. Never leave the door open. There's no telling what will sneak in. Cover art by Krazydiamond

[Book 1 of the ARC10 Trilogy] **Winner of the 2017 Watty Storysmith award** The President created an underground safe-haven for the survivors of the alien invasion. He built it to save them all from total annihilation. He protects them, feeds them, keeps them under his ever-watchful gaze so they can live. All he asks is that they obey. Captain Janika Lorn doesn't want to obey. Not if it means spreading her legs and contributing to the President's precious eugenics program. As a perfect candidate for the Human Hope Project, she is obligated by law to make more citizens for the dying society. But all she wants is her freedom to fight the Invaders and protect the people who already exist. If the mandated program wasn't bad enough, the worst part is trying to fulfill it with Captain Dean Freyer, her scientifically matched partner and best friend of sixteen years. Just as Captain Lorn is about to succumb to her fate, another opportunity arises. A mysterious commanding officer asks her to lead a human refugee ship--to save humanity by evacuating the destroyed Earth and shuttling the remaining population to a new habitable exoplanet 400 light years away. The mission is perilous. Especially because now, standing between her and her freedom is the hostile alien hosts of her ship, the ARC10, a sister returned from the dead, an array of impossibly confusing alien tech, a rekindled heat between her and Dean, and a sexy militia chief she can't seem to keep her hands off of. ARC10 is a romance-heavy sci-fi with the speculative horror of Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and the military action of Battle: Los Angeles. Cover art by @FayLane Copyright © 2016 by LL Montez

Belief is a powerful magic. Valerie Diaz has a power that she can't contain, and it's killing her. Bounced between foster homes and the streets, she only has time to concentrate on staying alive. But a visit from the imaginary friend of her childhood opens a world of possibilities, including a new life half a universe away on a planet that is bursting with magic. The Society of Imaginary Friends follows Valerie on a journey that straddles two worlds. In order to survive, she must travel many light years away to a realm where anything is possible. On the Globe, imaginary friends come to life, the last of the unicorns rules the realm, and magic seeps from the pores of all the Conjurors who live there. But choosing to embrace her potential will set Valerie on a treacherous course - one filled with true love, adventure and perilous danger.