She wasn't supposed to wear a black dress today. So she didn't. ▪▪▪ [ Short Story #53 ]

Austin Bruce, in over 20's of existence had portrayed the lives of people younger and even older than him, the only role that mattered to him was to be hers "So it's like a date?" She was hoping he'd say no, like he usually did every other time when he'd say it's just for the film's promotion "Yes" he noticed her eyes dim a little making something thug in his chest, he couldn't explain why he was feeling heartache from a relationship that never existed what I'llshow you if you don't give my book a chance🫴🌶

* 4 Sample Chapters * Bye-bye vanity! Neighbours Emma Dotrice and Mitch Garner have more in common than a general dislike for each other. They're both at career crossroads. She's had to climb back down the company ladder due to a family crisis making her guardian to her 8-year-old nephew, Gabe, and he's been benched from his role as a Major League sports commentator in favour of a newbie with way more Tik Tok followers. Now, thanks to Gabe's curiosity and Mitch's temper, they also share a giant hole in the flimsy wall joining their apartment bathrooms. Will Emma and Mitch be able to stand being in each other's space while keeping the damage a secret from their snooping landlord? Or with a little compromise, will they soon like what they see where their mirrors used to be? *No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner without the express written permission of the author. **This story contains a scene meant to explore how older generations who are pro-equal rights for all (in this case, the character Mitch) might navigate a discussion regarding trans athletes. I wrote it so readers can see Mitch, for all his old, grizzled, sports-guy toughness, is a progressive thinker and a compassionate person. I also thought it was kinda funny. BUT what is happening in the US these days is not funny. It is frightening and disturbing. Trump wants the trans community not to exist. And I don't want any work of mine to be used or interpreted in any way which adds to the stress, fear or pain people are feeling right now. This story will return in full when decent people start making the rules again. Love, Steff.

* 4 Sample Chapters * Inquisitive heir, Charlie Fine's obsession with the truth makes him an excellent fraud investigator, but there's one mystery he's never been able to solve: the identity of the girl who gave him the greatest kiss of his life during a high school game of 7 Minutes In Heaven. Twenty years of experiments attempting to recreate the chemistry of that kiss have gotten him nowhere but frustrated and he's about to resign himself to a life without relationship fireworks when an invitation to his high school reunion steels his resolve to get answers once and for all. Accompanied by his binge-drinking best buddy, Martin, he heads home to grill his lovely suspects only to find his skills better put to use in solving the disappearance of an old friend's father and the sabotaging of a maple farm. Thwarted by a shady detective, distracted by a former classmate's troubled sister, will Charlie be able to find out who done it and who done it best? Will the same suspect hold the answers to both mysteries and will her identity be that of the dream girl he let get away? Who kissed Charlie Fine? You could skip to the end, but you'd miss more bear attacks, booby traps, pickled cabbage, flying cardboard, dry lightning, ghost parrots, creepy crawlers, maple syrup and tea cozies than in any cozy mystery about smooching you've ever read! Please know this story contains mild cursing and three F bombs - one of which is totally necessary. *Cover art uses "On-De-Fence" by Gil Elvgren which is to the best of my knowledge in the public domain. *No part of this story may be reproduced or used in any manner without express written permission by the author. © All Rights Reserved

* 4 Sample Chapters * When an eccentric old neighbour dies and names Violet March in his will, she is even more surprised than his estranged and spoiled family. To make matters stranger, she learns that all must attend a pretend murder-mystery weekend for any to claim a share of the inheritance. Being a good sport under constant scrutiny and suspicion becomes trickier when she finds herself torn between the romantic attentions of both the deceased's "favourite" grand-nephew and the charming black sheep of the family. Loyalty forces her to favour the former, but when it is the latter who inherits the bulk of the estate, a grave case of mistaken identities is revealed leaving Violet to determine whether pride and an unwillingness to be labelled a gold-digger may stand in the way of the love of a lifetime. *Cover from "Lake Louise, An Alpine Wonderland" by Norman Fraser, which is to the best of my research and knowledge in the Public Domain. *No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author.

James Redwood has always loved women and feared marriage. When his parents force him into an arranged marriage against his will, he finds himself engaged to a woman he cannot stand and powerless to avoid what he fears the most. His only hope lies in prudish Grace Follet, his unwanted fiancee: if she breaks the engagement, he will be free. But how can James make Grace break the engagement when she has everything to gain by marrying him and everything to lose by leaving him?

Elaine has always known what she's wanted. But when too-happy Minjae smashes her bike with his car, she isn't so sure anymore. ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ Elaine, established and comfortable with her life as a university student, sees no need to venture out of her bubble. After all, she has to focus on her studies. But as the Angels, a group of contemporary dancers, drag her into spontaneity, and as one dancer in particular, Minjae digs up past memories Elaine wants to forget, her intricately-planned world begins to fade away. Elaine must learn to trust those who love her, and that maybe, a little chaos is just what she needs. belovedsun © 2021

Bronwyn Larson has spent her whole life not depending on her mother, a constantly recovering addict, until the moment her life was literally torn apart when an EF4 tornado ripped through their trailer park and her mom is found dead, miles away after the storm. Suddenly, her estranged father is a part of her life, a prominent state senator who's been absent since Bronwyn was born, a product of her parents' secretive affair. After living alone with her mother in a trailer for seventeen years, Bronwyn now has a stepmother and four new siblings, including an older brother and sister who seem skeptical, if not actually disproving, of Bronwyn living with them. While staying with them in their vacation lake house an hour away from what she called home, Bronwyn is hit with the bombshell that her mother's death is being treated as suspicious, with injuries inconsistent of being killed during the tornado. Estranged from everyone she knows, except her estranged new family, Bronwyn doesn't know who trust or who to believe about her mother's death. Torn between her life as the daughter of a single drug addict and the middle child of a well-respected senator, all while learning more about the mother she thought she knew, Bronwyn is forced to navigate through this new unfamiliar life alone, with this gut feeling she has. That her mother's killer isn't unfamiliar. 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐘 18th 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐏𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 Cover designed by Ashley Bandy

"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm trying to science," I said, not looking up from my binoculars. "See anything interesting?" "Not really. My vision's a little clouded from the fog and rain clouds you constantly emit." He laughed. "You never fail to amuse me, Rea." "But you just said-" "I just said you make me want to stab myself. Interpret that however you'd like." With a love for whales and all life (besides maybe humans), Reagan Winebrenner had never even seen an ocean until her senior year in high school. But the moment she saw her first humpback, she knew she had found her passion and future career. A few years later and an invitation to Paradise City in hand, Reagan has her entire summer laid out for her, working on the project of a lifetime. But with five other students completing their projects as well, will they discover something worthwhile, or will they end up a psychology lesson for future generations? A New Adult Watty Winner 2019