⭐️ 2016 Watty Award Winner ⭐️ Willa Grainger is your average twenty-four-year old with one exception - she never left her university. A year after she graduated she still remains employed with Professor Paige Grimsby, acclaimed author of the popular Simeon Lee series. Her struggles to find a boyfriend, find a job, and write the next bestseller seem like a walk in the park when it comes to her volatile on-again, off-again relationship with her friend Cynthia Smoak, one-third of their best friend trio. But Cynthia's always been competing against Willa in a game Willa didn't even know she was playing. When she does something unforgivable, Willa's forced to examine her life and her friendships, leading her to a new romance with an unlikely young man - a former student who's convinced Paige stole his undergraduate novel idea. Willa's never been comfortable with change and the experiences she's encountered during her extended internship with Paige makes her question who she is and what happens when the people you're friends with aren't the people you like.

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

Mattie Burns can't keep up with her life. Her parents are too controlling, her best friend continually drags her everywhere, and her ex-best-friend insults her every time they meet. When her school starts the Penpal Project, Mattie diligently writes to her penpal. Through a span of days, she opens up to her penpal, who offers her genuine advice and seems to know exactly what to say. They advise her on bullies and crushes, on her controlling parents and making her own decisions. Then, Leroy Brooks starts appearing in her life—stopping her in the hallway to say hi or offering her his sweatshirt—and seems to know things only Mattie's penpal would know, which leads Mattie to wonder: Is Leroy her penpal?

One year ago, Kelrina and Alex were teammates in a virtual reality multiplayer role-play game until their friendship turned to first love. On the day they were to meet in person, Alex never showed up. One year later, Kelrina is about to achieve her dreams. A spaceship leaves for Vayne, a habitable planet in the Alpha Centauri system and she's going to be among the first Settlers. But Alex shows up at her doorstep with one last request. Science Fiction | Action | Romance --- ON HOLD

Eighteen-year-old Rajani Nadar is about to become the most powerful girl in all of Jupiter's moons. As the sole heiress to the biggest mining and construction company in Europa, Rajani has less than a day left before she takes over the family business. But on her return trip to her homeland, something terrible befalls her spaceship. Science Fiction | Short Story

Misunderstood and overmedicated, twelve-year-old Lilith Bloom finds the prospect of a grand family reunion decidedly dull... That is, until she discovers that the rose garden surrounding her grandfather's Berlin mansion is, well, completely and utterly carnivorous. Armed with Panther, her talking pet whippet, and the help of the mute boy next door, Lilith must unravel the secrets behind the mysterious estate, all while her family remains gloriously unaware that they are about to be devoured.

Genevieve can't tell if her soulmate is a transcendentalist author who died one hundred and fifty years ago, or the person who is leaving his books for her to find.

→ finished ← Claustrophobic and agoraphobic, Alaska Gouramie doesn't leave the house much. She whiles her days away nurturing her goldfish, Gordon. Her life is passing her by. Elver Harrison James is scared of fish. He won't go near the pond at the bottom of his garden. He will do anything to stay away from those water-loving freaks. Alaska's mother forces her to leave the house. It's just a trip to the park, no big deal. Until Alaska falls in the pond. And Elver is the only one around. Teen Fiction #118

OLD VERSION Self-proclaimed pathetic being Sam Anderson is shocked when her ex-almost-boyfriend, Austin, comes up to her and asks her to drive him all the way across the country to California just so he can see his girlfriend. Thinking she was only getting into a quick, scenic car ride across America, she finds herself saying yes, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, Sam had no idea she was signing up for two weeks of getting lost, eating crap, and falling in love all over again. [ current cover by isasecret ] THIS THING IS OLD. OKAY? THERE ARE PLOT HOLES AND PIECES OF BAD WRITING GALORE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DON'T NEED SNARKY COMMENTS GOT IT? COOL