[Completed] A U.S. expatriate is cast into a rainy, foggy corner of Europe. He went there on the pretense to work on his research, but he actually wanted to put as many miles as possible between himself and his ex. The university he works for has found an apartment for him. It's in a house inhabited by a set of strange characters. The mess begins with a broken egg. And it continues with his neighbor being murdered. A story somewhere between general fiction, mystery, gossip, romance, and humor. Book of the Month (June 2017) over at Wattpad's official @AdultFiction profile. First place in Mystery/Thrillers and second overall in the Iron Lace awards over at @ElisabethTepes profile. First place in Mystery/Thrillers in the Blank Sheets Contest over at @Blank_Sheets . First place under Mystery in the New Beginnings Writer Awards 2019 (Tagged as #adultfiction not for mature content--there's no real mature stuff here--but for sporting some characters that are thirty and older)

Jack Hansard is the man who can sell you anything. Luck in a bottle, fame in a box, dreams on a leash, you name it: if he doesn't have it, he'll convince you he has something better. He's a trader on what's known as the Black Market - the occult Black Market, that is. If you're in need of that extra special something to curse your ex-lover or win your fortune, Hansard's the man to go to. Just make sure you check the 'best before' date on anything you buy. This is Season 1 of the Jack Hansard short story series - each Episode is a separate story, but follows an overarching plot much like a TV series. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Please do not copy or distribute this work without the author's permission. Cover art by Dominique Lane: http://domlane.weebly.com/

"As far back as I can remember, I've been surrounded by water. The salt in the air even now makes it hard to breath, forcing me to squint. Sand clings to every inch of me, caking my pants and shoes. The wind from the ocean picks my hair up, sending it blowing back towards the multi-colored houses lining the shore line. *** 'Quinn, don't panic,' Lexi says through gritted teeth. She holds fistfuls of my shirt now, and I hear the rubber soles of her shoes squeaking. 'Too late,' I whine, grabbing the barbed wire in a last desperate effort to regain some balance. The razor sharp blades cut into my palms, making me jump again. Lexi sucks in air and loses her grip on me. I hold my breath and close my eyes, feeling the wind cradle me from all sides as I fall at about twenty-four miles per hour, considering the height of the wall and my weight. Now, I wish I was surrounded by water." South of Compound 4, another compound exists. Within the wall of Compound 5, children are trained and tested for perfection through the Intelligence Exam, a test that every student takes during their sixteenth year. Pass, and you stay within the compound. Fail, and you are sent to another compound. It's common knowledge that they are building a perfect population to remain when the rest of the world falls to the Virus. Yet, what happens when Quinn faces the threat of Compound 5, a short blonde girl whose name he can't pronounce, and begins to question everything he's ever been taught, pushing the limits of the system and his own comfort zone? When a student receives the compound's first ever perfect IE score, a storm makes its way in from the ocean. Can Q unravel the secrets held within the walls, or will he lead his family and friends to a war they can't win against a woman who seems to be triumphing against all odds? Selected is the sequel to Immune, found on my profile. Record Ranking: #25 in Science Fiction

Chet Eubanks is Employee of the Year! Episode One Four years ago, Earth became the latest member of a vast, galactic alliance. Governments and corporations are struggling to understand how to interface with alien worlds, but for the people of Earth, not much has changed. The novelty of First Contact has worn off. Almost no one has seen an alien or a spaceship. Theories abound that the whole thing was just a ruse by news networks to drum up ratings. But Chet Eubanks believes in First Contact. From the moment he saw the footage of alien emissaries addressing a joint session of congress, he knew that he needed to figure out a way to get into space. He got his first job at his local fast food joint and started saving money for a starship. Spoiler: this doesn't happen, but something else does. This is the first episode of a serialized space opera that follows Chet Eubanks from small town South Dakota into worlds never before explored by humankind. The story is a celebration of classic science fiction, Americana, and average, everyday people.