A dialogue short story about the things we wake up to that remind us there are still things in this life worth waking up for. ante meridiem - [adv. & adj.] "before noon;" Abbr: A.M. Or a.m. [credit to owner of image (not me)]

Wren Martin is socially awkward. She blocks off herself to the world, hiding behind her favorite hoodie. All she wants to do is keep a low profile, and graduate well enough to qualify for a college scholarship. But then a babysitting job leads her to cross paths with Asher Reed, Eastview Highʼs notorious athlete. When a field injury kickstarts his senior year, heʼs turning his free time and attention to Wren. And maybe she might not want to be invisible after all. ***** [Watty's Collector's Edition Winner] [TFA Runaway Prize Winner] [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]] Cover designed by Ashley Santoro

Samantha wishes she were someone else. Anastasia, to be exact. Anastasia doesn't sit in the corner and read because she's too shy to talk to anyone. She doesn't keep trying and failing. Anastasia slays dragons. Of course, Anastasia is only a character in Samantha's story. That's what Sam does, she writes. She writes to keep the monsters at bay. She creates new worlds to escape into. And she writes to block out the cranky ramblings of her jilted father, who refuses to acknowledge the woman that ran out on them years ago. But Samantha finds herself thrown into a not so magical adventure when she discovers her long lost mother has been in town all along. She has questions that need answering, and a few arrow- accusations... she'd like to sling. But there are obstacles to storming the castle, her father for one. Either Samantha makes this her happily ever after, or it all ends in tears... Either way, the story is about to change.

Smoothies first, boys second. That was Taylor Oakes' mantra when she packed up her life and moved to the west coast with dreams of opening a smoothie shop. But it's hard to stay true to a mantra when you're faced with a beautiful, surfing, story-writing, smoothie-making hunk of a man.

He's a would-be college student stacking books in the local library. She's a high school senior nearing graduation. He leads a life of organized chaos and she's living by the book. He's free but all she can see are consequences. You can't control who you fall in love with. [To be published end of summer 2025. Stay tuned for details.]