When Lisa Dumont travels down to New Orleans to stay with her mother for the summer, she finds herself entangled in a web of century-long territorial disputes between undead and supernatural forces. Lisa soon realizes that she has become torn between the blood-loyalty to her mother, Voodoo Priestess Madam Dumont, and the intrigue she has grown towards Elder Vampire, Hezekiah Mercier - the enemy. And consequently, the heavy discord between the two factions leaves Lisa with life-changing decisions to make that could possibly alter the fate of both groups and everyone else in between. ** **DISCLAIMER** This story is UNEDITED and UNREVISED. I haven't made any adjustments to this story since I first wrote it, which was when I was about 18 years old. I'm 23 now, for reference. I adore this story with all I have, but most of the chapters I haven't even revisited since I first uploaded them. Any mistakes, I'm usually notified of them by readers who point them out in comments. Please tread lightly, for there are undoubtedly historical inconsistencies, incorrect language translations, grammar and punctuation mistakes, and information that hasn't been properly fact checked. This is a work of FICTION. Have fun with it, please! But also beware that this is an amateur piece (that I had a great time writing). Follow me on instagram! @ceaselessmindwrites

Vanessa-Van-Anderson knew life would never be the same after her mother and little brother were killed in a car accident, but instead of foster care, she's taken in by a man claiming to be her birth father. Abe Helsing is nothing like the father Van used to daydream about. Strict and unfeeling, it becomes clear he is a man with secrets and schemes. Her only desire is to escape him and the cold mausoleum he calls a home before she's in too deep. That is until she meets the disarmingly charming Luca Brooks. The fact that her father forbids her from seeing him only makes him even more tempting. Luca Brooks has never lived anywhere but Briarwood, and he knows he never will. His family signed a contract centuries ago. Their continued survival in exchange for freedom. When Van arrives in town, he's intrigued by her- not just because she's beautiful but because she represents everything he can never have. For one brief moment, he thinks a taste of the new girl might quench his thirst for the outside world, but that hope goes up in flames when he discovers her father is the very man behind his family's imprisonment. They're mortal enemies- destined to hate one another, hunt one another, end one another. Forbidden. But sometimes Fate has other plans.

Adam is a Neet. He never leaves his apartment unless he absolutely has to. He holes himself up, only giving attention to his comics and cartoons. However, things change when a noisy party animal moves in next door and becomes a pest. Adam is given no other choice but to confront his neighbor. A series of events pushes Adam outside his bubble and forces him to interact with others. And maybe, just maybe, he thought his neighbor, Assad, was a bit good looking. * * * * * TW/CW: The MC of this novel has social anxiety and depression, and although there are no thoughts relating to violence or self-harm, the MC is consistently in a state of mind /internal monologue that can be mentally tasking for people with similar conditions.

**The script version of this story made the top 3% of the 2020 Big Break International Screenplay Contest out of thousands of entries!** She's an expat living in Paris and one summer day, she meets a fascinating man in the underground métro. As luck would have it their instant connection isn't meant to last, as she eventually loses him in the chaos of the crowd. That is what happens on the day we meet Neela, but hey, maybe it's fine that this mystery man is gone, considering she's already in a serious relationship with a perfect-on-paper Frenchman. Yup, the future is looking pretty stable, but who says 'stable' means 'the one'? Should Neela embrace her predetermined future, or continue the search for a captivating man she only met for mere minutes? [This story is your passport into the streets of Paris, complete with wine, beautiful scenery, and the possibilities for romantic disasters around every corner, I hope you enjoy it!] [NOTE: This story contains some profanities, sexual references and politically incorrect moments]

There is an island in the sky, and not everyone can see it. A harmless village boy living in the rural lands, Iolani Tori is afraid of heights and loud noises. Taken by surprise when he receives a mysterious letter addressed to him, Io finds out that the floating island wasn't a figment of his imagination after all. A talking sparrow; An eagle's eye, A waiting vulture And a silent night.

[September Editor's pick- 2021] After taking a nannying job, Grayson never expected to fall for Rosie, the lawyer who employed him. But she's not looking for love, and he's scared to love again. Can they let go of the goodbyes that have hurt them in the past in order to embrace a future together? **** Grayson had a good life. He was happily married, loved his job as a nurse and maintained great ties with his family. What he didn't expect is that three years later that life would be shattered, with nothing motivating him to wake up in the mornings. Unemployed and on the brink of homelessness, Grayson's only options are to return to his mother's home, or find a job and maintain it. Grayson opts for the latter. Rosie Bhatt had her life planned out. She worked hard, built her family and was entering her thirties, excited to see what the future had in store. But soon the struggle of being a single-parent becomes too much as she juggles the life she wants and the life she has. With limited time on her hands, she chooses to employ Grayson as a nanny for her six-year daughter Anni. What she doesn't expect is the realization that someone else understands her pain. With both Grayson and Rosie suffering from the loss of goodbyes, tensions rise, and the importance of love, life and family is thrust upon them, challenging them to seek what really matters. Though Goodbyes were their beginning, can a new After become their future? * Content warning - This story contains dark elements including discussions on alcoholism, mental health and bereavement*

A magic-addicted spy trapped in the queen's service must track a princess-turned-assassin in order to earn her freedom, but things get complicated when she falls for the princess she's supposed to capture. ***** Weak. Cursed. That's how seventeen-year-old Kayden Branimir, the realm's deadliest assassin, views herself. Some believe she could save the world with her rare healing magic, but she gave up on her powers long ago after failing to save her best friend. Her life changes when she receives a letter from her supposedly dead twin brother, Alaric, begging to be rescued from rival territory Leodia. For the first time since her friend's accident, Kayden is determined to be the hero, but she must learn to embrace her magic--and herself--along the way. Strange. Unnatural. Those are the words whispered about eighteen-year-old Zara Tait, a Leodian spy addicted to soul-stealing magic. Forced into the queen's service, Zara wants to escape and return home, but she has nothing to offer the queen in exchange for her freedom. When Kayden arrives in Leodia, Zara sees the quiet girl with unique magic as the bargaining chip she needs. But the more she learns of Kayden, the more her feelings grow. Now, Zara must choose between her freedom and the dangerous assassin she hadn't meant to fall for. [2020 Watty Award Winner] Content warning: This story contains mature themes of violence, addiction, abuse, self-harm, and mental illness. Cover by Faera Lane

When powerful witch Marithyda Skyelorn becomes a participant of the Royal Exposition, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the Prince--or to be the cause of his death. ***** Every year, the kingdom of Karvoth hosts the Royal Exposition: a corrupt carnival where a race of citizens who possess powerful magic, known as the Touched, are exploited for the enjoyment of nobles. But when Marithyda Skyelorn's grand performance ends in tragedy and pits her against the deranged King, she must make the impossible choice between remaining in exile and participating again in the dangerous competition that ruined her life--to end it once and for all. (Book One of the Skyelorn Chronicles trilogy) [[2020 Watty's winner, Fantasy]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: Some scenes contain violence that may upset sensitive readers [[Word Count: 50,000-60,000]]

Ray is low on time, luck, and hope; his only chance is an artifact that may not even exist. But upon meeting Landon, Ray is beginning to believe he might find all four. ***** Cambions are doomed to tragedy. They are weak, sickly creatures that rarely live to see their twentieth year. Ray refuses to resign himself to that fate. Upon learning of the Crimson Sheath-an artifact capable of preserving his life-Ray is prepared to fight, steal, and kill to get his hands on it. He is not prepared for Landon. Landon is an orphan with no memories of his parents, the only inheritance left to him a dagger, sleeping in a crimson sheath. Though he has no love of bloodshed and no use for a dagger, Landon isn't about to let Ray take his only link to his forgotten history, even if that means following the cambion past the edge of the world and into the shadow beyond. Content Warnings: Violence, semi-graphic gore, character deaths, profanity, mild drug and alcohol usage, abuse discussed but not shown, and morally-questionable people doing morally-questionable things.

[12 Chapter Preview of 2019 Edition-2025 Edition Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble] When an army of darkness falls from the sky, Alex Kingsley enlists the help of her male peers and ventures into spirit-infested lands to save humanity. ***** She's an outcast cursed to consume the memories of anything she touches. A woman fated to repopulate the nation's army. A breeder barred from the sword. And she's desperate for a taste of freedom. So when a tournament is held to recruit the army's best candidates, Alex Kingsley does what she does best: she intervenes. But it's only after dark forces are unleashed upon humanity that Alex finally has the chance to prove herself -- and put her curse to good use. ***** 2020 Watty Award Winner: Fantasy 1st Place Admiration Awards 2020: Fantasy