'When your breath becomes faint When your heart seems but quaint You'll know that touch of blue lips Upon bottle tips They say love is so pure Yet it isn't the cure For a soul that's lost in your eyes' You've heard it all before. The rebellious teenager who sings in a band and struggles with the woes of teen drama. They fight with their girlfriend and have a spat with their parents, and then it is all wrapped up by the end in a nice little bow. This isn't that kind of story. Clay Hudson is eighteen and is on the right course to go to the university his parents have chosen for him since he emerged from the womb. He has a girlfriend, Kaylee, and somewhere lost in that mix are his best friends: Fletcher who is ready to kick some ass with him, even if Clay is somewhat of a teacher's pet, and Chelsea, who is fighting her own battle, wanting to reclaim the friendship Clay's broken. Clay has pushed them from his life in favour of a night of wild highs and alcohol-fuelled adventures. The thing is, that life is a series of false thrills, and in the end, these adrenaline deceptions are distracting Clay from the things that truly matter in his life. Since he was little, Clay has dreamt of entertaining a crowd, singing his soul's notes to an audience that would love the pure bliss and magic that comes from music. But school is ending soon, his friends are almost lost to him, and Clay realises his life is a fanciful nightmare. With the weight of expectation crushing down on him, his dad's illness, and the feelings he harbours for Fletcher springing forth after a long period of burial, Clay has to cast aside the shackles of his superficial life and rediscover what inspires him in life, and who truly matters. Sounds pretty usual, right? But then again, No one ever said finding balance, the pure note Clay seeks would ever be easy. -Contains coarse language, some sexual content and scenes of an upsetting nature.

things were shit. life was shit. "was" being the operative word. now? now, things were different. whether this so called "different" was a good thing? one can't be sure. RANKED #3 in LIQUORICE as of 03/08/19 RANKED #5 IN SECONDARY as of 11/01/19 RANKED #17 IN TALKTHEPOC as of 01/01/19 RANKED #18 IN BWAW as of 08/12/2020

why do they call her milk? "...i like things simple. i'm not sweet, but i'm not savoury. you leave me alone long enough, and i'll become sour. some people love me, some people don't. take it or leave it." why do they call her honey? "i sweeten the deal. i ooze gold. a treasure from the Gods. the colour of sun rays on a hot day . words from my mouth leave that decadent taste on your tongue. loved by many, hated by few." they are opposites that cannot help but be good with the other. one by themselves is almost improbable. of course it's possible, they're okay on their own, they have to be. but together? together, they make each other better. that's what it's all about. (lowercase is intentional, a stylistic choice.) RANKED #2 IN SAVOURY as of 03/08/19 RANKED #16 IN TALKTHEPOC as of 01/01/19 RANKED #22 IN MILK as of 05/10/20 RANKED #69 IN MILK as of 12/11/21

[EDITORS' CHOICE, June 2020][#1 History June 2020] -- Five black students make history as the first to integrate a prestigious school for gifted students in 1950's Vermont. One student, Anita Prescott, is a young girl whose strength and leadership keeps the isolated group together. She finds her wariness tested when she falls for a handsome and thoughtful white student. In a time when loving someone of another race wasn't just frowned upon, but dangerous, a pair of young lovers must find a way to press through, with the help of good friends. **For teens and up, for sexual situations, racist language, and racial violence.**

To all readers old and new, this story will be soon taken down and re-written. Thanks for all the support. As soon as it is re-written, I will be sure to repost the chapters. Follow me for more information. Abigail Jenkins is a young African woman from Missouri in the early 1890's. She's caught wind of the Oklahoma Land Rush and now she's set her mind on getting a chunk of land for herself. She's tired of the high minded white people from her old town and she wants to take charge of her own life. She is well aware of all the risks she may face by going alone into unknown territory, but she's willing to take that chance to have a new start on life. Derek Greyson, on the other hand, is a man simply wanting a change in scenery. After his parents died, he'd been taking care of his little sister. But now that she's married, he's turned his attention away from his home in Texas, and to the Land Rush in Oklahoma. He finds himself in the dust ridden land with thousands of others, greedy for a piece of the land. What he didn't expect, however, was to meet a lively little African woman with a sharp tongue, deep chocolate eyes and a mountain load of prejudices against white men due to the murder of her little sister. What will he do when he finds himself falling for her, along with all of her emotional demons? And for Abigail, what will she do when the stranger with icy blue eyes and a charming smile decides to break all social norms just to be with her?

Rhea wants her. Her flaws. Her imperfections. She wants her. And only her. Qadeera is confused. Her world is a shackle. A spiteful, selfish shackle that binds her. Ignoring the depth of her love.

2016 WATTY AWARD WINNER - HQ LOVE THE TERM SHEET is a fast-paced technothriller about entrepreneurship, startups, encryption, and the delicate balance between national security and individual privacy. Its complex characters explore thought-provoking questions about the role of technology in an ever-changing society. Step into the high-stakes game played by today's technology innovators, who push the envelope and risk it all. Get ready, this thrilling book gives you a taste of what startups are really like. _____________________________________________________ David Alexander, a young programmer in Portland, Oregon, loathed his job. Computer programming had always come naturally, but being an employee never suited him. So he tried entrepreneurship instead. After making a series of embarrassing blunders, David finally hit on a startup idea that stuck: encrypted chat. Sure there were alternatives, but as Edward Snowden has shown us, most of them (willingly or unwillingly) have backdoors for spies and bad guys. A new approach made David's app one of the most secure options out there, which caught the attention of many people, including Shawn Douglas from the Secret Service. Shawn Douglas worked with eight different presidents, preventing twenty assassination attempts, forty-three terrorist plots and two bullets. When he was promoted to a desk job overseeing and organizing travel, he picked up on a cryptic email thread that hinted at a threat to the President's life. In a race to unravel the conspiracy, Shawn and David both have to make some difficult decisions. Will Shawn stop the terrorists in time? Will David be able to navigate his startup out of a crisis and keep his entrepreneurial dream alive? Or will fate deal them both a crushing hand? Read the book to find out.

"I didn't know you had friends like Isaac," Willa said in greeting. "I don't," muttered Jared. Isaac rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you don't. You have //one// friend like Isaac." His voice turned into this stupid mock whisper and he leaned towards Jared conspiratorially. "It's me, by the way."

ALTERNATIVE TITLE: "i don't care," reid says, caringly, as he cares deeply.