**A Blue Beard retelling** Based on Charles Perrault's fairytale, this YA Historical Fantasy short story set in Victorian England mixes romance, magic and mystery. After agreeing to an arranged marriage to escape her greedy relatives, 18-year-old heiress Amelia moves into her husband's manor determined to start a new life. But the gothic mansion's forbidding surroundings, the servants' strange demeanour and her husband's mysterious past soon awaken her suspicions. If Amelia truly wants to become the lady of the house, she'll have to discover what secrets lie beyond closed doors and unravel the mystery of the old house's forbidden room. But sometimes secrets are kept for a good reason... HIGHEST RANKING IN HISTORICAL FICTION # 44 Copyright © 2017. All works posted here are the property of EM Castellan. Please do not use without permission. Any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal. Cover artist: @seventhstar

No one lives on the island anymore. But plagued by a lack of sleep and an unshakable feeling of wrongness, its last visitor begins to question whether they are really alone.

Follow crypto-entomologist Molly Mcguinness as she attempts to return a rare butterfly back to it's native habitat.

On the surface, Zenobia's principles of segregation were pure with good intentions; separate the men and women to keep the peace between sexes - to stop discrimination, inequality and violence. However, is a segregated society the best place to nurture humans? As two adolescents venture out to The Wall for solace, they uncover an essence of humanity long since forgotten after many years of segregation; and with it, the experience of the bittersweet taste of ugly fruits and vegetables. My entry to the contest: #RomanceToBeorNottoBe

"Solswept" is an upcoming atompunk series, co-authored with my husband, Max Gonzalez. Set in the retro-future universe of the "Family Of Earth" series (three decades after the climactic hijacking of the infamous Ruby lift in "Ruby Descent"), this saga follows the adventures of a rebellious group of teens from Mars who do things their own way, no matter what. From their wild youth of drag races and dares, they grow wiser and bolder and ultimately help to pioneer humanity's first interstellar voyages. These kids face an exciting but uncertain future in the face of corporate corruption. In spite of it all, the spirit of rock n' roll never dies, and it will guide them through the challenges ahead. This book contains various short stories set in the world of the upcoming series. Here we'll intro the characters and the often precarious lives they lead. The Skyfall Strip: Avee Lyn An adventurous girl challenges an overconfident rival to a drag race. Classic hot-rod style. The rock n' roll culture on Mars is well-known for its love of thrills. To a bunch of bored teens out in the dust, roaring engines and dares are a way of life. The Meaning Is The Feeling: Su and the Dust Bunnies Here we meet the Dust Bunnies, a tough all-girl hoverbike gang from Mars. Take a ride with these carefree gals and their robotic companion, Vex. They must defend their Say against the corruption of a terraforming tycoon, Mr. Ronald Frump.

X97A2 is an orbital on a century-long research mission in around Jupiter. He hears music coming deep from within the planet, and enters its atmosphere on a one way trip to investigate. What he learns on his five minute journey will not only change the world, but it will challenge his place in it. I wrote this story sitting in my hotel room in Grosvenor Square, London, the night before my trip to Oxford University to speak on complex networks. I stumbled on a YouTube video (with nine million views) playing what is called "The Music of Jupiter". I was inspired by the hypnotic and spooky sound. I even embedded the video in the story, and you can listen while reading. What started as a first contact story, morphed into a story on sentience. And about finding life and awareness in unexpected places. THE MUSIC OF JUPITER is also about mothers, like Miranda, and their importance in our lives. I dedicate this to my own mother Anna Maria, and my sister Lisa (also a mother). I am brave enough to call this Young Adult fiction, aimed as 12-18-year-olds. But the story transcends age. Hopefully, the 1980 pop culture references are not too obscure, but we live in the age of easy access to information from the web and social media. And Stevie Nicks continues to rock on, twirling away in the present day. Thanks to my beta readers and editors. And a special thanks to my husband Doug who for his vegan pancakes and critique. By the way, my covers are by Carl at Extended Imagery. He is super talented; check out his work http://extendedimagery.com/

The Little Android is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles by New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer. When android Mech6.0 saves the life of a handsome hardware engineer, her body is destroyed and her mechanics discover a glitch in her programming. Androids aren't not meant to develop unpractical reasoning or near-emotional responses…let alone fall in love.

In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….

A sci-fi short story. Quinn has been waiting for this day to come for twenty years. Join him in his search for truth in the dizzying heights of New London. [Audiobook to follow]