WATTYS 2022 SHORTLIST EDITOR'S CHOICE -- SEPTEMBER 2021 EXCLUSIVE CHAPTERS AND WRITER'S REVEAL CONTENT AVAILABLE - NOT A PAID STORY Appearances can be deceiving. What if the Bad Boy wasn't so bad and the good girl wasn't quite so good? Kelly Wankum has an unfortunate last name and even worse luck. By the tender age of twenty-three, she's broken her tailbone, thumb, her nose, hip, and now her rib. It wouldn't be so bad if she could say something funny like, "I broke myself on a stripper pole" or "I was mugged in a Walmart parking lot." That would actually be believable, right? Instead, she breaks her rib reaching for a ball of yarn. Even worse, everyone knows she's so accident prone, she could sneeze and lose a tooth. They'd probably bet on her swallowing it in a pancake. Oh wait, she's done that too. Another trip to the Urgent Care has the doctors shaking their heads, offering to pray for her health while new, sexy Doctor Blake Cole immediately gets off on the wrong foot. Months after their first encounter, Blake and Kelly meet again by chance. After inadvertantly humiliating her, Blake tries to set things straight and make it up to her. The problem is, Blake's lifestyle is painfully different, and Kelly can't help imagining him like every bad boy she's ever read about online. Can Blake convince her to give him a chance and prove he's actually a good guy? **This story is set in the present and the pandemic is part of the narrative.** --Cover by AnnieRosebud-- ©2020, 2022

Penniless and lacking the looks to attract a worthy husband, Jane Burton must trick a man into marriage to save her family from financial ruin. * When Jane's father loses his family's fortune in a game of cards and swallows a bullet as a result, Jane knows it is up to her to save her family from financial ruin by marrying a wealthy man. The odds are however against Jane, for without a sizable dowry or a face lovely enough to seize the attention of a man, the only way to find a husband is to trick one into marriage by creating a scandal. But what happens when her plan fails, and the wrong gentleman is implicated? CW: This story contains mentions of suicide. Cover by: @ClarissaNorth Previously titled: "Plain Jane" Copyright©2020 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.

Stephanie Morgan will not let anything derail her career as a top international lawyer. So when she comes face-to-face with the one man she hoped she'd never see again, Stephanie has no choice but to double down on her lies... Because if he finds out the truth, nothing will ever be the same again. ***** Six years after a weekend fling with her law school nemesis, Michael Wellington, Stephanie is hiding a secret that could change the lives of many. The last thing she wants is for Mike to find out. Groomed for success from the day he was born, with a powerful family whose wealth and influence go back generations, Mike is everything she's not. His charming arrogance makes him the last person she wants to deal with, even if she can't deny the attraction between them. So, as Stephanie takes the world by storm as one of the most successful international lawyers, she keeps up the lies and the facade that she started with her twin sister all those years ago... But what will she do when the house of cards comes crashing down? [[word count: 80,000 - 90,000 words]] Cover designed by Jenna Conrad

After a drunken night out leads to a one night stand with her smoking hot best friend, Maya can't help giving in to temptation again and again. But are passionate hookups and wild trysts all the future has in store?  *****  Best friends since the age of three, spirited Maya Crofton and ladies' man Luke Anderson are inseparable, priding themselves on knowing everything about one another. Or so Maya thought. What she doesn't realise is that Luke has been lusting after more than just her friendship, and, with alcohol involved, sparks soon fly. But past encounters, devastating secrets, and the unbearable need to hide her true feelings put Maya in quite a predicament. Will she overcome her doubts and offer Luke the chance he's been waiting almost half his life for? [[word count: 100,000 - 150,000 words]] Cover designed by Ren T

After a car accident leaves Kaden Bretton temporarily blind, Isla Moore struggles to break up with him while disguised as his girlfriend, who died in the crash. ***** Isla Moore has been in love with Kaden Bretton since he taught her how to slow dance on her sixteenth birthday. Now, four years later, she jumps at the chance to help him after a terrible car accident leaves him temporarily blind -- by agreeing to break up with him while disguised as his girlfriend, Evangeline, so he never has to find out she died in the crash. But will she be able to stick to the plan even after he starts falling for her? Or will the truth about her identity and the reason she lied to him destroy their chance at forever? ***** Cover by @lydiahephzibah.

Southern boys are supposed to be charming, right? Wrong. Because when Leighton moves onto her family friend's farm for the summer, she finds that their son, Nick, is anything but charming. Instead, he's one of the rudest people she's ever met, and makes it his life's mission to let her know just how much he hates her. But they're stuck there for the summer, and while the farm is bigger than her home in the city, it's not big enough. Forced into being together, his resolve begins to crack, and sparks begin to fly. Through it all, she realizes that maybe, just maybe, his southern charm is there after all.

[Small Town / Second Chance] When Jen heads back to her hometown after ten years to celebrate her grandmother's 70th birthday, she knows she'll have to face Matt, once the love of her life. But what both of them don't expect is to have the feelings they had long buried inside to flourish back to life along with walls of resentment, and a sizzling attraction. ***** Jennifer Bloom has completely escaped her small-town past. She's a successful interior designer with great clients and everything she's ever wanted. But when she's called back home to help plan her grandmother's 70th birthday party, she's partnered up with Matthew Hunt - once the love of her life. He's lived in town his whole life, and he's handsome, strong, kind, and the only man who's ever made her heart race. Experiencing life with Matthew again reminds Jennifer of all the things she's missing, even though she's got everything she once wanted. At one point, all those years ago, they thought they'd be spending their lives together, but life threw them a curveball, forcing her to make the decision to leave and never look back. Now, they realize love was never an issue; their problem has always been everything that comes in-between. He'd never move to the city, and Jennifer can't leave the life she's built behind. Walls of resentment still block the way, even though their love for each other still burns strong in their hearts. Can true love bridge the distance between them? Is love ever enough to make a relationship work? Is it finally their second chance?

Easton was Luna's closest friend until a family tragedy tore them apart. Five years later, a mysterious invitation brings them back together - and Luna's life will never be the same. ***** It's been five years since a deadly fire took the lives of Luna's parents and Easton's father-destroying Luna and Easton's friendship in the process. Now, Luna's looking forward to a brighter future. But when she encounters Easton at a party, she discovers that although she's come to terms with her past, Easton's is tearing him apart. As Luna tries to help Easton heal, she soon realizes that her past and her future might be more intertwined than she thought. [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]] Cover designed by Ashley Santoro

**Only the bonus chapter is paid, the rest of the story is (and will stay) free!!** Libby Marks-Whelan is decidedly not a lady. Kicked out of nearly every finishing school in the country, she's shocked when her demure, straight-laced cousin Ella invites her to the royal court as attendant during her debutante season. What Ella fails to realize, however, is that Libby's brand of mischief is exactly the kind of distraction Prince Andrew is looking for during his inaugural season as an eligible bachelor. Cover designed by Adam Budny