'They wore uniform grey, their expression hard and distant, their muscles taut with expectation, as if at any moment they were ready to lead an assault, to carry out orders, to kill, to die. And yet they were. Kingston had trained these children to kill at a word, to obey their masters without question. They were machines, the ultimate weapons in modern warfare. Children, as young as seven and as old as eighteen, stood impeccable and fearless, but it was what was hidden in their minds that was to be feared most of all.' Nineteen-year-old Charlotte Owens has entered her final year at Kingston Academy and, together with her best friends, she plans on making it through the year in one piece, away from the scrutinising eye of the headmaster and the founder's son. However, when she discovers that she has been thrust into the role of Head Girl, working alongside a boy she can hardly stand, not only are her plans for anonymity destroyed, but her plans for making it through the year at all seem to be in danger of becoming a wistful dream. Charlotte finds herself faced with the monstrous task of learning to play a game for survival in a world that seems determined to destroy her. Not only fighting for her life, Charlotte must also fight to gain control over the genetic alterations that plague her mind, in an effort to become the soldier she must be. A dark and tense tale of the battle between good and evil, Altered brings to life a strange and deadly world full of power and intrigue, as well as casting light on many secrets that so many hoped would remain undiscovered. This is Book One of Altered

BOOK 1 // Human Error (COMPLETE) BOOK 2 // Human Instinct (IN PROGRESS) *NOW OPTIONED FOR A TV SHOW* "Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness engineered right into their DNA." - William Shakespeare, 1602 (adapted for BioPlus) Astrid Oxford is not normal. Two hundred years into the future, society is recovering from global collapse, and genetic modification has saved the remaining population from a hunger crisis. The alteration of human DNA has been illegal since the technology was developed, but in the heart of New London, a sinister trend has emerged among society's elite. Designer children have been the city's best-kept secret for years, but strange side effects are now appearing as they hit adolescence. When a freak suicide forces modification into the public eye, eighteen-year-old Astrid is about to learn how difficult it is to stay under the radar when you really were born to stand out.

Leaving behind everything she's ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes. The new freedom that comes with being a part of the Famoux is intoxicating, but behind the perfect image lies an ugly truth - being popular is a matter of life or death. ***** Out of the wreckage of environmental collapse, the country of Delicatum emerged. Its most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. In a world still recovering from catastrophe, they provide a 24/7 distraction. Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux - they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. But soon she realizes that fame can be deadly... Content and trigger warning: This story depicts mental health issues and contains scenes of violence. [[word count: 350,000-400,000 words]]

Book 2 of The Famoux Trilogy! Updated every Friday for #FamouxFriday.

"What good is showing I care going to do me, Ethan?" James hissed. "If I care, then I am weak. Don't you get that? I am a machine. I am a soldier. I cannot miss her. I cannot ask where she is gone. I cannot care that she is not here anymore, because caring will get me killed". As James tries to come to terms with life a Kingston without the girl he loves, Charlotte finds herself thrown into the real world, far from everybody and everything she knows, a place she is meant to be safe. However, with the headmaster's vengeful sights set upon tracking her down, and the greedy desires of the patrons still haunting her every step, any plans for a safe life begin to unravel rapidly. As Charlotte begins to understand just how dangerous the world she has grown up in can truly be, she is forced to push her genetic alterations to their limit to protect herself and those she loves; and in the midst of it all she is forced to choose between her past with James, a past that could cost her, her life, and a future with Matt that would mean turning her back on her friends, still struggling to survive at Kingston Academy. The second book in the Altered series, Hunted brings the dark and twisted world of Kingston to life once more, as well as the far-reaching ghosts of its industry, the seedy underworld of human trade and the true weight having altered powers carries for the altered students. Book One: Altered Book Two: Hunted Book Three: Feared (coming soon)

Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda? ***** Found as a young child washed up on the beach, 17-year-old Ari Callahan has never uttered a word out loud to anyone -- not even her adoptive family. Psychologists have diagnosed her with a condition called selective mutism, but Ari can't help identifying with her namesake character, Ariel, the little mermaid in the fairytale whose voice was stolen by a sea witch. Mermaid-obsession aside, Ari's silence makes socializing tough. She's never had a boyfriend or been asked out on a date. Not until Zac, the confident new arrival in town, asks for her number. But Zac has his own reasons for texting with Ari. He's part of a movement to sabotage the artificial music app called SirenSong, threatening to render human singing obsolete. Zac's collaborators have scoured the globe in search of a singing voice perfect enough to break the SirenSong spell, and their search has led them straight to Ari's beachside town. Will her relationship with Zac help Ari find her voice and unlock the secrets of her origins? Or will he use her and leave her high and dry? Title: Ari and Zac (formerly The Mermaid Hypothesis) Content Warning: This story contains references to selective mutism, suicidal thoughts, and early childhood trauma.

For 17 year old Benna Denman, it's hard enough being the president's daughter. And when she develops a telepathic Link, life gets even worse. Her father isn't impressed with this new evolutionary ability. It means he could lose control over people's communications - in a world without cell phones, publicly accessible internet, or a postal service, it's difficult for dissent to spread and uprising to organize. That's just the way he likes it. So when the government starts offering cash in exchange for these telepaths, and Benna is under suspicion by both her boyfriend and her powerful father, she knows she's in trouble. Upon discovering that the cold Dr. Frenchwood plans to use her as a lab rat to develop a cure for telepathy, Benna and her Link, a boy named Corin, decide to try to run... First place for best fantasy/sci fi in @Gossamersilverglow's Best Fiction Competition 2016 Best Female Character @Gossamersilverglow's Best Fiction Competition 2016 Made to it the Elite Eight of @Fantasci's The Chosen One Competition 2016/17

All the earth is torn asunder. There used to be grass, and the sun used to be golden. Children played outside, climbing trees with smiles on their faces and grass stains on their knees. People worried about a million things that would soon be irrelevant, continuing without a clue of the disaster to come. Centuries later, what little is left of humanity survives in a society constructed beneath the surface of a glass dome, the world outside converted to little more than a desert wasteland. Survival is a routine rather than an effort, and all rules are surpassed by only one: if you want to survive, you never leave the dome. There's nothing alive out there. The radiation that soaks the earth makes sure of that. Until one day, someone finds a bloody, dust-covered handprint on the outside of the glass. Nothing will ever be the same again. Book 1 of the Burning Series Highest ranking: #13 in Adventure on 03/04/16

Book 2 in the Burning Series: the sequel to Dust. The world is changing. There used to be men, and there used to be monsters. The line between the two is blurred now. Long ago, the earth spun in a constant cycle. There was life. There was hope. It is no longer such. Humanity cowers beneath glass domes in the midst of the desert, afraid of radiation that no longer pollutes the air. But there are darker things hiding in the wilderness now. Wild things. Cursed things. Burning things. Yet, not all is lost. Ashes, ashes. We all fall down sometimes. But what happens when you can't stand again?

Book 3 of the Burning series: the sequel to Dust and Ashes. The earth is no longer bound by the laws that once existed. Humanity is not contained to the desert domes as was once believed, but rather has begun to flourish throughout their broken earth. Diseases and desert monsters are among the least of the planet's worries: warfare waged in shadows, however, is another matter. They are all pawns. They are all players in this nasty little game that will never truly end. Look back on the mess you've made, darlings. This will be your legacy, if you let it. Will you let it?