A collection of notes, a public library, two teenagers, and zero spoken communication.

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

When Rosalie moves to the Outer Banks for the summer, sparks fly with the local lifeguard. *** British socialite Rosalie Harrington enjoys the power and respect that her position as Queen Bee brings, so she's horrified to hear that she'll be spending the summer in a remote American coastal town. With opportunistic friends and a rocky relationship, it's the worst time to leave London, and she drags her heels all the way to the Outer Banks. One day into her so-called holiday, a careless mistake has Rosalie fighting against a rip current. Fortunately, the local lifeguard is on hand to help. Brent might be an expert at saving troubled swimmers, but he is drowning in problems of his own and is far from impressed by this tourist's recklessness. The two of them couldn't be more different, but their attachment to the beach forces them together and sparks fly as they try to ignore the sizzling chemistry that soon develops. Rosalie and Brent are both about to learn that it's not just the ocean where there is more beneath the surface than meets the eye. Achievements: 2015 Wattys Winner #1 in Romance 𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿: ❌ I do not use generative AI to write my books. ❌ I do not consent to my books being used to train AI models. ❌ I do not consent to my books being used to create AI-generated content.

Seat filler Lincoln Parker never expected to accidentally fall on one knee in front of world-famous superstar Emily Margot. Now, with his face on the cover of every tabloid, he has to pretend to be her lover-and keep hidden his real, growing feelings as their time together starts to run out. ***** When 23-year-old Lincoln Parker accidentally trips over famous actress Emily Margot, he never imagines that she would ask him to be her pretend fiancé until the scandal-of being caught supposedly proposing to her-blows over in the media. Because he's a relative nobody; just an army medic on leave, moonlighting at award shows as a seat filler. But with his name on the dotted line of their contract, he has to find a way to survive in her Hollywood bubble and also bury his growing anxiety, especially as his leave from the army runs out. Can their budding relationship withstand the distance? Is their love built to last? [ General fiction #2 chick lit #4 ] [Wattys 2015 Winner - HQ Love) [word count: 60,000-70,000 words] Cover designed by Lucas Fisher Sequel: The Game Changer

When the quiet girl in Clayton Hugh's chemistry class comes knocking on his door at five in the morning barely covered up in her little pajamas, inattentive, and drooling like crazy, he has no choice but to take her inside. But once Lucy Walker wakes up inside a room she has never seen before wearing an over-sized t-shirt and gym shorts, you can imagine the pure panic setting in her. The subtle addition of Clayton entering the room shirtless doesn't help much either. After three years of fawning over him, leave it up to her sleepwalking to finally get Clayton Hugh to notice her.

"Being reunited with your childhood best friend after eight years apart? Sounds like a heart-warming story. Finding out that said best friend is now a complete jerk who's determined to make your life hell? Not so much." Georgie and Connor were once inseparable. Best friends from birth, they did everything together - well, that was until Connor's dad got a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity and the family was forced to relocate to New York. At age sixteen, Georgie's life is totally different - her main goal being to keep her head down and escape the brutalities of high school with as little emotional scarring as possible. Balancing school, work and her dwindling social life is enough of a challenge, but it's about to get a bit more complicated when her conceited ex-best friend gets thrown into the mix. Maybe friendship should come with an instruction booklet.

The entirety of Audrey Burke's junior year is, for lack of a better description, a hot mess. But when she stumbles upon a dusty old version of Madame Bovary in its original language, French, in her dad's personal library, she realizes that this book is the key to everything. The only problem: her knowledge of French goes about as far as "bonjour" and how to form the imperfect tense. However, with some outside help from a boy whom she likes more than she should, she might be able to steam through the book and junior year-but definitely with more than a couple mishaps. updates every sun and wed [Camp NaNoWriMo project for April 2015] [Book One of the Excelsior Prep Series] {fantastic cover by @obsessions-]

Brayden's life is a beautiful disaster. After finally being adopted by a wealthy woman and her family, his entire life is turned upside down. The New Yorker boy who's only lived in small one-bedroom apartments and tiny houses is now living in a Barrington, Rhode Island mansion. The boy who has never walked inside an actual school is now attending a private charter academy. The boy who has always been a nobody is now a somebody, but the heart wrenching experiences of his childhood follow him day by day as he lives his new life. On the other hand, Collie's life is perfect. Being beautiful, rich, and popular was an easy job to say the least. She never dealt with scarce food supply, financial issues, or abandonment, which is everything Brayden has struggled with throughout his life. To anyone, Collie had it all. When Brayden suddenly turns up at Constance PCA, it was almost crush at first sight for Collie. A budding romance ignites, something that is forbidden due to the hatred of Brayden's new sister, Ursanne, but as the two grow as a couple, Collie forces her way into the secrets of Brayden Palmer's life, the secrets he calls his Splinters.

Isobel and Nathan must work to keep their romance alive when changes in their circumstances threaten to take a toll. *** As Isobel heads off to university, Nathan settles into his new job. They might still be living in the same city, but they're in completely different places in their lives. Nathan's career sounds perfect on paper: he's near his girlfriend and enjoys the mental challenge of Italian translation work. When his colleague messes up, though, he finds himself facing increasing pressure to save his own job. And that leads to him making a decision that rocks his relationship. Isobel is partying, meeting new people, and getting stuck into studying. But not everyone wants to be her friend. Personality clashes and romantic misunderstandings make her first year at university full of drama and learning curves. The time apart threatens to take its toll, while their time together burns hotter than ever. Can they balance work, studying, and romance--or will outside forces get under their skin? [Book 2 in the GOM series] 𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿: ❌ I do not use generative AI to write my books. ❌ I do not consent to my books being used to train AI models. ❌ I do not consent to my books being used to create AI-generated content.

Isobel's world is turned upside down when she meets a mysterious guy who reveals a devastating secret about her boyfriend. *** Isobel and Matt had been best friends for most of their school life when they decided to start dating. Comfortable around each other and knowing everything there was to know, a relationship seemed like a natural--and exciting--step for them. But with the novelty starting to wear off, Isobel struggles to accept that her loving boyfriend has changed, only remembering years of good memories with the guy she could talk to about anything. When Nathan arrives on the scene and secrets from the past become exposed, Isobel's world is set to change. Mysterious, dangerous and infuriatingly persistent, Nathan is the opposite of everything she's known. But maybe that's just what she needs to get over Matt. 𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿: ❌ I do not use generative AI to write my books. ❌ I do not consent to my books being used to train AI models. ❌ I do not consent to my books being used to create AI-generated content.