"You're nothing but a con man." "I prefer con artist, sweetheart." ➳ Winner of Season 3 1D Watty Awards for Best Smut

Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda? ***** Found as a young child washed up on the beach, 17-year-old Ari Callahan has never uttered a word out loud to anyone -- not even her adoptive family. Psychologists have diagnosed her with a condition called selective mutism, but Ari can't help identifying with her namesake character, Ariel, the little mermaid in the fairytale whose voice was stolen by a sea witch. Mermaid-obsession aside, Ari's silence makes socializing tough. She's never had a boyfriend or been asked out on a date. Not until Zac, the confident new arrival in town, asks for her number. But Zac has his own reasons for texting with Ari. He's part of a movement to sabotage the artificial music app called SirenSong, threatening to render human singing obsolete. Zac's collaborators have scoured the globe in search of a singing voice perfect enough to break the SirenSong spell, and their search has led them straight to Ari's beachside town. Will her relationship with Zac help Ari find her voice and unlock the secrets of her origins? Or will he use her and leave her high and dry? Title: Ari and Zac (formerly The Mermaid Hypothesis) Content Warning: This story contains references to selective mutism, suicidal thoughts, and early childhood trauma.

Kate Morgan walked out on her boyfriend seven years ago, without so much as a backward glance. She had no idea he'd go on to become the notorious Aidan Sands, Hollywood 'It' Boy and frequent flier of the celebrity gossip columns. Now Aidan's back in the picture, trying to rekindle the past - and neither of them can shake the feeling that they're trapped inside some formulaic Hollywood chick flick. He's an LA heartthrob with impulse-control issues, who always gets caught with his pants down in the most embarrassing places. She's an uptight Manhattan workaholic who can't stand that he's already co-starred with every leading lady in town. Can these two produce a remake that's better than the original? Or are romantic comedies a lot less funny when you're living them in real life? Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved Note: This is an original novel. All characters and events are entirely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real-life personalities or events is unintentional.