Now back on Wattpad! ---- In a land covered in eternal night, a young girl's light is all that stands between Mankind and the Forces of Darkness. When the Sun Goddess vanished under mysterious circumstances a thousand years ago, she left the land of Kuro blanketed in eternal night. Over time, the people learn to harness what remains of the Goddess: the precious and finite resource known as the Goddess Essence. Kurokyuu Orbs, miracles of modern technology, harvest the Goddess Essence and provide light and power to all. But there is a problem: the Goddess Essence is running out. And it couldn't have come at a worse time. Whispers abound of a growing evil in the North; stories of shadows that can only be harmed by the light of the sun. From out of the darkness rises the City of the Sun. Light Spires shine through all twenty-four hours, providing artificial sunlight for all. Everyone that is, but the residents of the Utter Darkness. In this forsaken place, Mina, a young orphan, is forced to beg and steal on the streets to sustain herself in the hardscrabble way of life. In the darkest corners, Marauders lurk, hunting little girls, searching for the one known only as "The Maiden". When Mina falls captive to a roving band of Marauders, she is faced with a life-altering decision: reveal the secret she has been hiding her entire life or stay silent and risk losing her already meager existence? When people die as a result of her inaction, Mina realizes her secret is no longer hers to keep. A secret that lies in a most unusual ability: The power to manifest sunlight... Copyright © 2013 - 2014 Michael Limjoco

[NOTE: This book was written in 2010, a time of long-distance phone cards, weight-loss obsessions, and searching for a man as a solution to life's problems-what a messy time to be alive! In other words, I hope you enjoy this throwback, and while this book does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, the sequel addresses any unanswered questions (which is hopefully fair, given that book 1 is free, ya know?] An awkward family homecoming at Christmas. A humiliating public weigh-in, with two judging parents as the audience. The announcement of a deadline for arranged marriage doom. And that's just the first two chapters. In "Year of the Chick," Romi Narindra must find love before her parents find her a husband. Easy to say, less easy to live through, as this book takes you deep inside "awkward Indian living in the West." To escape her fate, Romi wades through the waters of secret-dating, where self-consciousness is at an all-time high, and experience at an all-time low. It's the sort of thing that would turn almost anyone into a man-crazy freak with romance tunnel-vision, and that's exactly what ends up happening. All the while, a lack of inspiration in her corporate job leads Romi to her love of writing, in what quickly becomes a man-quest play-by-play. From whiskey-breath scum bags to uni-brow creeps and everything in between, Romi and her wingmen come up empty time after time. And that's when she meets a fellow writer. On the Internet. So will it be arranged marriage doom, or an Internet affair that's not as creepy as "To Catch a Predator"? Time will tell in the "year of the chick," a twelve-month quest to find love. Tick-tock. --------------------------------------------- "Year of the Chick" is book one of a series, and book two is available at Amazon! LENGTH: 75,000 words or 285 pages DISCLAIMER: this book contains profanities, blunt accounts of the dating scene, and many awkward family moments. Enjoy!