A secret program in the United States seeks to replace human militaries with artificial intelligence-driven machines, but the machines aren't so willing to play along. *** Picture a world where humans no longer fight wars. No more families missing loved ones. No more veterans with lifelong mental and physical scars. No more conscription. For the super-secret End of War Project inside the United States government, such a reality is already here. The project models out how artificial intelligence can overcome dangerous and morally sensitive war scenarios with algorithms and automation. The centerpieces are "autonomous combat machines," or ACMs, that look like humans but function like supercomputers. After a string of brilliant successes in the field of combat, the End of War Project is preparing to reveal itself to the public, but something unusual stands in the way. Against their programming, the ACMs start exhibiting all-too-human signs of apprehension, guilt and compassion as they're pushed to perform ever more extreme tasks. The human leaders of the End of War Project race to find who "hacked" the ACMs, but what they find is even more startling--and revealing--than they could ever imagine. ***2019 Watty Award Winner - Science Fiction***

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[FULL KELS SERIES] When Ande wakes up on the bottom of the ocean with a fish's tail, she's not sure what she did wrong. Getting sacrificed by her island is a likely bet, but why---and why her---is a mystery. Out of her depth in an unfamiliar world, she soon finds herself wrapped up in the society of the Kels, the people who live under the sea. Desperate to get back to her island, she strikes an agreement with a squid-tailed boy whose sunny smile and knowledge of her language are a welcome assistance at first. Soon, though, she begins to sense that he's hiding something. Things take a turn for the worse when her way home gets complicated by the Kels' wars and several eerie myths about her people that may not be myths at all. The history of the Kels goes back farther than her own culture, and the harder she struggles to get back to land, the more the question arises: Does she belong in the water after all? ❖❖❖ Marked mature for darker themes and scenes, not spicy content. Compiled Kels Series: Book 1: Listen to the Water (COMPLETE) Wattys 2022 Shortlister Book 2: Song of the Deep (COMPLETE) Book 3: City of Coral (COMPLETE) Book 4: Sing to the Moon (COMPLETE) Book 5: Water Will Rise (COMPLETE) Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

In 2045, Psychwatch treats the mentally ill or cages them. Margo wants to bring empathy to every patient but a killer pushes her, and the system, to the limits ***** In a dark future, more than a third of the United States population suffers from mental illness and violent crime is on the rise. In response, Psychwatch is formed - an organization intended to combine mental healthcare and law enforcement - creating monitored areas and neglected ones known as the Psycho Slums. Margo Sandoval is the latest recruit to Psychwatch, bringing a new level of empathy to the controversial agency known for its unforgiving methods. Margo spends her days as an Empath treating everyone possible, until the arrival of a new serial killer upends her life and forces her to confront the evils of the human mind and the system that claims to be the solution.

•Completed• Claire Fields has dreams and visions about a boy and a life that she's never had. Because of her delusions, she is put in a mental institution. Things begin to get strange when she finally escapes to find herself surrounded by vampires, and one of them is the boy from her dreams. • "I can't help it. It's in my nature," he replied simply and gave me a wink. Tristan was suddenly in front of me, and as I stumbled back in surprise, his strong arms held me steady. His eyes locked with mine as he stalked closer and stopped just a couple of inches away. "Just like being alluring, a predator..." He slowly closed the distance between us until his hot breath fanned against my face. Goosebumps covered my pale skin, sending a shiver down my spine. His beautiful, aqua eyes bore into mine with such intensity, I felt as if I would melt in his arms. "...and undeniably sexy." • Highest ranking: #1 in Vampire •All rights reserved. This work is the intellectual property of _haileyyk/Hailey Kelly. It may not be copied in any form.•

Now a published novel and available worldwide! It is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Google Play Books, and many many others! [A 2020 Wattys award winning novel]. Something has changed inside of Leo Harr ever since the nightmares started. Only, he's not certain they're just dreams. Have you ever heard the color white? "This story is expertly written, with a mind-bending plot. The writing is reminiscent of Iain Reid's work (and talent)." - 2020 Watty Awards

In an effort to live a bolder and braver life, Everly Rowan begins following the "10 Easy Steps of the Morris Method of Creative Risk-taking". Over the next few weeks she visits a karaoke bar, a punk hairstylist, a bible-thumping church, and a skydiving drop zone. She breaks off her engagement to her fiance, clobbers a policeman with her shoe, and stands up to her sister in a showdown over fried squid. Just as she is beginning to question the wisdom of her actions, the author of the self-help book, Dr. Lana Morris, comes to town for a 'Dare to be Great' weekend retreat. The events that unfold there give Everly a new understanding of the nature of courage... and love.

Evoking the paranoid tension of Rosemary's Baby and the unnerving atmosphere of the cult horror film Jacob's Ladder, The Cracks in the Labyrinth is a disturbing psychological thriller set in present-day Caracas, where the government has devolved into a "democratic dictatorship"-a creepy suspense novel meant to challenge your deeper, subconscious fears of losing control. It consumed the sanity of an entire country... And it was not from this world. It couldn't have been. Whatever caused the incident known as "The Red Christmas" drove Venezuela into madness. Even ten years since it happened, none of the survivors of that night dare to attempt to make sense of it all, including Adam. Living ostracized to hide from the brutal way of life in Caracas, he's working tirelessly as an online writer to help his brother and sister flee the country. Now, as he's about to have enough money to take them to safety, he receives an email from his old girlfriend ... which is remarkable, considering she's been presumed dead for years. Adam tries to think nothing of the email or the broken video file attached to it. He convinces himself that it has to be a computer virus of some kind until he discovers something terrifying: the video might link his sister to the worst night of his life, the night his girlfriend went missing, the night of "The Red Christmas". Then he realizes this could be a threat; his sister's life could be in danger. As he starts to investigate who sent the video, Adam begins to uncover dark truths about his neighbors and finds evidence that there might be a larger conspiracy at play. The problem is that he's starting to suffer from hellish hallucinations that make him question what is real. Soon, the only clear thing to him is that someone doesn't want him to dig up the past. Will Adam be able to stay sane long enough to find out what really happened the night of "The Red Christmas"? Will he succeed in helping his family escape the country?

Darkness lurks beneath the surface of society, something that has been growing and devouring the innocent for decades. Luna Aurion stumbles on a human farm under the streets of a supposedly peaceful human city, but before she can report back, she is captured by the underground vampires. There is no reason for her to be kept alive by vicious men who breed humans like cattle except for one, and Luna isn't sure she'll be long for this world as she is caged with a slave vampire named Ezra. When Mer hears that her Aunt Luna has gone missing on a routine training mission with the mages, she jumps into action with her father and Rush to find her. Old allies return to protect her, and she finds a new one in a mysterious vampire named Vice. Once a slave to the breeders who took her aunt, the man allies with them to take down the heinous group who birthed, raised, and changed him into one of their kind. What lies behind the slave breeders who were able to hide themselves for so long? Will Mer's powers be strong enough that she can stand on her own two feet in a fight with the dark? And can Mer find her aunt before the slave masters close their jaws on her soul?

While peace may be settling for the southern battlefield territories, Silvia finds herself up north where tensions are high. The meeting of the vampire leaders means trouble for Neil who has slain so many of his kind, and Rush is forced to make a decision about where his loyalties lie as vampire house turns against vampire house. A conflict is rising in a world tipped by the weight of Meredith and Silvia's presence among the vampires, changing sentiments and long-standing divides between vampires and mages. Will Neil be able to fight the inevitable storm that is coming for him and find his way back to Silvia? And Will Rush choose the right side as his feelings for Meredith become more complicated with a mounting conflict between mages and vampires? Don't miss the exciting conclusion to the sparks that set fire to the dawn and the breath that pushed the world into a change of seasons that will usher in a new era for vampire and mage kind!