Ten Easy Steps to Be a Belle: 1. Lie 2. Be a very good liar 3. Believe the lie 4. Convince people of the lie 5. Find a comrade 6. Test your comrade 7. Remember the lie 8. Be seductive 9. Be smart 10. Kill a Belle

In Belcourt, they rear weapons no man can contend with: women. Sasha was never meant to be in the Court of Flowers, one of the most sought-after courts in Belcourt, but when she is suddenly placed there without warning, she discovers a world far from what she expected--one that reeks of passion, seduction, secrets, and betrayal. ***** Belcourt, an orphanage for young girls, keeps many secrets within its walls. Among those are the four courts that rear the kingdom's most powerful weapons: the Ladies of Belcourt. Sasha is safely tucked away in the Court of Libraries when Belcourt makes a sudden decision it has never done before in more than half a century. She is transferred into the Court of Flowers, the most famous court of all, where she is expected to service gentlemen who paid their way in for a Belle, a woman trained to please, seduce, and spy. Things take a turn when she is introduced to the mysterious West Blackwood who has a very different service in mind, one too tempting and one that may ultimately change Sasha's safe life in Belcourt. Torn between powerful forces, both the kingdom and Belcourt itself, Sasha will have to determine where her loyalties lie: to the man who not only infuriates her at every turn but also awakens sensations she never felt before? Or to the place that has always been her home since the day she walked away from a cottage with two dead bodies?

Rachel Lockhart grew up running wild and free with nomadic Gypsy children on her father's estate. Craving adventure, her imagination conjured up an impossibly perfect, grey-eyed man to share it with. Now grown, her outspoken ways are about to send her home from London in disgrace. Until she unexpectedly clashes with an impossibly perfect, grey-eyed man. And the back of her mind echoes with God's promise: I will not leave you comfortless. As if she'd find comfort with a man as arrogant as Nash Browning. Broken by too many sea battles, soul-sick from recent loss, Nash doesn't even know where to begin to search for his lost faith. It certainly isn't among the addle-brained females of the ton. But when he stumbles upon an enticing masterwork of contrasts named Rachel, his weary heart sparks with life. Is it possible the way back to his faith is with a woman who is honest to a fault, yet fiercely loyal to a shunned people? Can he set a course for a future with her, and trust that God has prepared the way?

{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.*

Inspired by the biblical story of a Jewish orphan chosen queen in the midst of her people's persecution, Esther's coming to the throne and Xerxes' choosing her is told in a fresh, unique way by tackling modern women's issues of self-value and worth as well as a man's role as the leader. (Book of Esther)

"I'm tired." I whisper, my voice breaking. "I can't do this anymore. It's too much." He pulls me closer and holds me as he always does. "You're a strong girl. People look up to you, Mina. You'll get through this, okay? You're not alone. You're a beautiful girl and you have us." I shake my head. "If ever I am, I'm just another pretty girl that's broken inside." He holds me tighter and I feel his chin resting on my head as I break down in his arms. "Well, I guess you're beautifully broken then." I sob, my body heaving at the pain, wondering how he always sees beauty in an ugly broken girl. *** Just a little warning. Though there are no graphic or detailed pictures in the story, this is a story based on a school project I had on human trafficking and abuse. Thank you for reading. (not edited. Thanks for reading:)