Elly would give anything to have her life resemble a Hallmark movie. She longs for her happily-ever-after: a proposal by her boyfriend, a big raise at the perfect job, and a fat inheritance from her great-aunt. Instead, she finds herself alone, broke, and sorting through a storage unit filled with worthless junk. But life can change in an instant. When Elly opens a decade-old envelope addressed to her, she discovers it contains an astonishing monetary gift. Elly's prospects soar. Then she learns she can't cash the long-expired check. What's more, she's never heard of her benefactor: a woman who claims the money is honoring a long-ago favor by Elly's grandmother. Hoping to alleviate her financial straits and find a connection to her long-deceased family, Elly embarks on a search for the mystery woman. Trouble is, she doesn't know if chasing this particular rainbow will result in a pot of gold--or yet another crushing disappointment. This was my entry for the Open Novella Contest. I made it through the first two rounds, but didn't finish to qualify for the final round. It's also the prequel to "The Marvels of Prairie Creek." :D

Inspired by the non-fictional, historical lives of Sir Joseph Banks, Nicolas Baudin, Captain William Bligh, Matthew Flinders and John Macarthur, this 'coming of age' story is set at the dawn of the nineteenth century. It describes Charlotte, an English orphan, being saved from unimaginable misery by a young Irish Catholic priest, Reverend Sean Simmons. Charlotte cannot dream that she is about to embark on a fantastic journey that will take her from the manored estates of gentrified England to the brutal convict settlement on Terra Australis. Navigating the mire of desperate circumstances and characters she encounters along the way will test her mettle and spirit. Yet, meeting the strange and enigmatic Charlotte will also test every person who encounters her on the journey in unpredictable and uniquely different ways. Charlotte, it appears, brings change; nothing is the same again - least of all, the future Australian colony she longs to call home.

***3rd Place Winner in The Eminence Awards General Short Story*** The passage of time provides a new perspective on a high school football game.

This is an excerpt from one of 40 short stories in the OMP (One Million Project) Fiction Anthology. Historical fiction based around the Battle of Culloden -the last battle to be fought on Scottish soil.

***WATTPAD FEATURED Nov 2017*** Penniless, hungry, and stranded at a truck stop just before Christmas, Jane Johnson has few options. So when rescue comes in the form of three Kentucky hillbilly brothers--two of them mute--she reluctantly accepts. When they hire her to paint a dilapidated nineteenth-century hotel in middle-of-nowhere Nebraska, she expects nothing more than a few days' work and a meager paycheck. Instead, as the days turn into weeks, she discovers the true renovation is taking place within the brothers--and herself. Initially drawn in by the men's unexpected kindness and droll humor, she's mystified at their reticence to discuss their past. When shocking revelations about their family entwines with her own, she questions all she knows about her history. Soon she must decide if digging for answers is worth tormenting the men who befriended her. "The Marvels of Prairie Creek" is the first installment in a romantic women's fiction serial featuring the most off-the-wall leading man you'll ever meet. If you like slow-burn romances, wry-humored men with mysterious pasts, and true-to-life characters, then you'll love Lynne Mickley's witty tale of life in a small Nebraska town. ***Iron Lace Awards 1st place winner, The Monthly Elimination Awards 1st place winner & Grand Finale winner***