{WATTYS 2020 WINNER} {FEATURED BOOK} Paris, 1663. 500 girls selected by King Louis XIV embark on a journey across the seas from their homeland. Each is given a dowry, and the expectation that they are to marry a French settler, in order to increase the population of New France. They are the historic Daughters of the King, or "les filles du roi." Eighteen-year-old Celeste Dubois is a free-spirited, educated and headstrong girl. She comes from a wealthy Parisian family that has squandered their money and is subsequently forced to journey to New France. However, Celeste doesn't plan on marrying a complete stranger. She hopes to use the dowry and the free voyage as a way to escape the poverty and social ranks of Paris. Matters are complicated when against her will, she falls in love. Romantic, kind and stunningly beautiful Lorraine Leblanc is a girl from a large family with children to spare. Unlike Celeste, she happily dreams of the day she will meet her future husband in New France. When she marries a mysterious widower with two young children of his own and still reeling after his broken heart, she realizes that married life isn't all she had hoped it would be, and begins to question her new husband's complicated past. - Wattpad Picks Blast to the Future Past list 2018 - The 50 Best Wattpad Stories of 2018/19 by Design Wizard - 2018 Youngblood Awards Winner (Romance) - 2018 True North Awards 2nd place for Historical Fiction and 2nd place Truly Canadian special category award - Featured by Wattpad Historical Fiction profile under Kings, Courtships and Empires, Young Adult Fiction profile under Love, Actually and Romance profile under Time will Tell *Please be aware that since this book covers the colonial period, it does contain sensitive themes of racism and violence that readers will find disturbing. There are resources at the back of the book that prompt further learning in the Historical Notes section.*

WATTYS WINNER 2020 Two interconnected murders, 64 years apart. One woman's search for truth and identity. Readers' comments: 'a masterpiece', 'impeccably written', 'amazing', 'superbly crafted page-turner', 'hauntingly beautiful', 'tremendous plot and character development', 'one of a kind', 'fantastic story telling', 'loved this book', 'a wonderful read", 'absolutely beautiful', 'brought tears to my eyes' and many more Wattys judging panel: 'This is VERY good. We were HOOKED from the beginning, and the writing and plot hold up throughout. This is a very unique, polished, well-written and well-researched piece.' Plot Set partly in rural England, partly on the sun-kissed coast of southerm Italy, The Painted Altar is a murder mystery mixed with romantic and historical elements (World War Two). Given away at two days old, Mary Rice has spent her life in the shadows. When discovering the suspicious circumstances surrounding her biological mother's death, she embarks on a journey which will shine a light not only on the truth but also on her own identity. Brief extract Suddenly, the door had inched open, half a wrinkled face visible behind the tautened chain. "Hello. Who is it?" The words I was going to say had of course been well-rehearsed, repeated over and over in my mind like a mantra, but now that the moment had arrived I found myself struggling to remember them. "Mrs Harvey... I think that you might... well, that you might be..." The door closed, then slowly opened once more, the chain this time unlatched. And there she was before me - half a metre away, within arm's reach. Thin lips gradually crooking upwards at each corner like the slow beatific kindling of a summer's dawn. "Oh yes love, I know who you are." Length: 70,000 words About the author: Originally from England but for the last 16 years I've been living in Italy. I hope therefore that the Italian aspects of the novel will have a certain gloss of authenticity.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT NEEDED. People skills optional. Ability to take drink orders preferred. Personal mode of transport a MUST. To Reply, Contact Dr. M's home office: 1-555-TRBLE-4-U (Idiots and those prone to knock-knock jokes need not apply.) ◎ ◎ ◎ Nobody in their right mind would respond to a help wanted listing so vague. Enter, Robin Banks. The wacky exploits of a narcoleptic super villain and his reluctant sidekick. [COMPLETED FIRST DRAFT - #22 in Humor on 4/12/15]

Small town girl Song Hyejin grew up with a pair of scissors in her hand, spending her high school days in her father's barber shop cutting crew cuts for young men who were about to enlist in the army; this was how she was intending to spend the rest of her life. When top star Ares Hwang walks into the shop one rainy day demanding that she give him a haircut even though it's past opening hours, her life gets thrown straight into a raging hurricane known as the world of showbiz. ======== Enter Kang Hyunwon, hairstylist to the celebrities, touted by all the country's fashion magazines as the golden hands that could catapult anyone, literally anyone, from obscurity to stardom. When his limelight gets stolen unceremoniously by the head of hair atop one Ares Hwang (whom he had callously rejected to style just days before), his ego takes a beating that he will never forget. When he finds out who it is who was responsible for his humiliation, he vows to show this clueless suburban girl what it truly means to be hair-raisingly good with a pair of scissors... ======== Cover adapted from the artwork by @ClarissaNorth

Sixteen-year-old Faith Everett, reeling from her parents' divorce, is angry at being uprooted to the quiet town of Meadow. Guarded and defiant, Faith resists connection, seeking solace in solitude and substances. Her pain is fiercely private-she refuses to let anyone, least of all her well-meaning mother, in. Hope Chamberlain, the minister's daughter, is known as Mother Theresa in Meadow. She's devoted to her faith and her community, and is always looking to make a difference. Hope's world revolves around service and tradition, and she leads the church's summer camp with unwavering optimism. When Faith is forced to attend church camp, her path crosses with Hope's, and the two could not be more opposite. Hope sees Faith as her newest mission; Faith wants nothing to do with Hope. But beneath their differences, an unexpected bond begins to form-one that pushes both girls to confront painful secrets, question their beliefs, and redefine what family and friendship truly mean. In this moving coming-of-age story, Hope and Faith learn that loving and losing, defiance and healing, are all part of growing up-and sometimes, the path to redemption begins where you least expect it.

Whitney McGee is a 13 year old with a N.C.I.S agent dad. When the team gets suspicious. Will Whitney and her dad be the same now that the team is always around? Will they be mad and not like Whitney or will the team and the McGee's become a family? Well read and find out. I do not own N.C.I.S.

A school bus is ambushed and students kidnapped. All except one... This very student becomes the first NCIS junior field agent, a valued member of team Gibbs. What will her story be? What secrets and plot twists will be revealed? And how will a girl save her country? Disclaimer: All characters except ones I made up (like Zara and her family) belong to CBS. Plot belongs to me

Special Agent Whitney McGee is a 14 year old girl, working with her Father Special Agent Timothy McGee, Her Uncles Special Agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Tony DiNozzo, MES Jimmy Palmer and Ducky, Her Uncle Director Leon Vance. Her Aunt Ziva and Abby. One big family working for N.C.I.S. Follow Whitney and all the Unexpected things to come.

Winner of the 2019 WATTY AWARDS *Former Title: Grenadine Dreams* NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON IN PAPERBACK (link in bio) Cover art by Sonia Jas-Cameron *** It was just another nightclub. Just another shot of something hard and strong. Just another hookah pipe to share with a very hot, very mysterious stranger. At least, that's what Naya thought. But when she wakes up the next morning half-naked at the bottom of a hookah bowl, she learns that she has stumbled into the world of the supernatural, and there is only one way out. Uriel is a djinni who just wants a shot at being human. In order to get what he wants, he has to rely on his powers of charm and manipulation one last time. When he meets a free-spirited college dropout at a hookah lounge in downtown Atlanta, he thinks he has her figured out. Little does he know, he couldn't survive one day in the modern world without her. Though Naya and Uriel come from complicated pasts and don't always know which road in life to take, through their burning mutual attraction and a little magic, they can set fire to each other's world, and together, overcome anything. The Djinni and the Dropout is a whirlwind paranormal romantic comedy set against the backdrop of Atlanta, Georgia. Naya and Uriel's journey is a chaotic blend of fiery characters, supernatural encounters, and steamy romance! [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]

Wattys 2019 Winner! "So when is it a problem? Oh, when you're in love." ----- Simon St. John is a liar, a cheater, a fraud -- but only because he has to be. Born with the ability to shape shift, his childhood was mostly spent learning to control his many faces in a world where most people only wear one. In fact, it was almost fun, in a way, until he met Valerie Love. Valerie Love is a college student fresh out of luck. For years she has watched her friends fall in and out of love, test the waters of relationships, earn their stripes in the wondrous field of romance. Valerie, however, has watched from the sidelines, passing face after face, meeting person after person without forming many connections. She has mostly given up on the idea of searching for love, until Simon lends her a new hope. Follow the strange story of college students Simon St. John and Valerie Love as one finally discovers the true definition of identity, and the other questions what it really is to be known.