Adeliza of Normandy has only ever wanted a place to belong. The illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Normandy, she never was certain there was a place for her. Orphaned at a young age, all she knew was conflict and misery, as her brother, William, fights to inherit Normandy. Illegitimate like her, William promises that when he is recognized as duke, she will be a princess and marry a powerful noble. When William achieves his goal, he finds her not only an important noble, but the love of her life. As a favor to her brother, she vows to help bring about the marriage he desires with the grand Matilda of Flanders. Like Normandy, he's determined to have Matilda. But his desire might destroy everything, including Adeliza's happiness.

(ONC 2025 Shortlisted) It's been more than twenty years since Dwayne last saw his childhood imaginary friend. But in a sudden hail of bullets, explosions, and car chases, Mr. Foo Foo comes roaring back into his life in a major way with trouble hot on his tail. Dwayne's boring and mundane life is about to get upended in a serious way, and the bonds of friendship will be put to the test like never before in this wild and action-packed adventure. This story is based on prompt number 105: Your childhood imaginary friend, who disappeared years ago, suddenly returns - only this time, they're real.

Asher Greenly never wanted to play football. But at Kingsly Academy--a school where the rich and powerful call the shots--he doesn't have a choice. If he wants to keep his scholarship, he has to suit up. The coastal town of Willowbrook might look like something out of a vintage postcard, but beneath the neon lights and old-school charm lurks something far more sinister. Student athletes are going missing. Some turn up dead. And no one is talking. Asher has spent his life hiding his darkest secret: he can see the dead, and they're interfering with all his plans to lay low for his first year of college. But when he catches the attention of Jackal Riley--the too-handsome, too-clever captain of the football team--Asher realizes he's not the only one keeping secrets. Jackal knows something about the disappearances. Something about the shadowy forces puppeteering it all. And something about Asher that he's yet to discover himself. Now, Asher is playing a game he never signed up for-one where losing doesn't just cost scholarships. It costs lives. And the people pulling the strings? They've already set their sights on him.

His orders were simple: interrogate the Demon prince and then kill him. He can't afford to pity the Demon--much less fall for him. *** Fourteen years ago, the Demons conquered the world, decimating the Guardian order and enslaving humanity. Now, the last Guardians live underground, quietly rebuilding and waiting for a chance to strike back. Remgar, a noble Guardian hardened by loss, is honored with a mission of vengeance: interrogate the High Demon Prince and break him. It seems like a dream come true-until he meets the prisoner. Isalio, the younger brother of the Demon High Prince, is sarcastic, disarmingly sweet, and far too human. As forbidden feelings percolate between interrogator and captive, Remgar is forced to confront a truth more terrifying than any Demon: he doesn't want to break Isalio. He wants to save him. Torn between the oath he swore and the heart he never meant to offer, Remgar must decide what kind of Guardian he truly is. Because in a world where evil reigns and love is a death sentence, choosing wrong could doom them both. WARNING: This story contains content that may not be suitable for some readers.

{Sample} A queer, slow-burn steamy gothic horror novel about rediscovering yourself after trauma--with kinky, blood-drinking immortals and polyamory. ~ He gripped her red locks firmly and pulled her head aside, baring her neck. His teeth grazed the sensitive skin, causing goosebumps to rise. "I may own your body, but it's your soul that I want." ⚜ After losing hearth and home, Meya attempts to escape the traumatic memories by travelling east. In 13th century Tristanja, however, it's not safe to be alone. A local slave trader catches wind of the kinless woman and abducts her in the dead of night. Beaten and abused, the now meek Meya is sold to Lord Deminas. He's known to be cruel, yet becomes strangely protective of his new chambermaid, punishing anyone who dares hurt her. After cutting her to drink her blood, he even uses his own to heal her wounds. Meya and her paramour wonder if Deminas' dark secret is why servants regularly vanish, including the lord's previous chambermaids. However, the two women quickly learn that Lord Deminas isn't the only danger lurking in the castle's shadows. ~*~ A published version, containing exclusive 🔥 content, is available via shimaira.com Note: This story takes place in the same universe as the Lucius series. Still, they are both standalone.

A deadly winter storm puts the local port into a lockdown. Jake is convinced that one of the container ships is carrying illicit cargo in the form of abducted children. Ryan attempts to investigate, but after the kind of freak accident that feels more like a warning to stay away, he's kept in hospital for overnight observation. Jake is alone, but he's not deterred. Certain that his instincts are correct, he grabs his trusty friend Marty and heads back to the docks intent on getting proof before the storm blows over and the stranded vessels are allowed to leave British waters.

Humankind has found the stars - and forgotten the coordinates of their home planet. Then Hana does the impossible and gets pregnant. Her mother's predictions ringing in her ears, she sets out to find humanity's lost cradle. She only has a myth to guide her and a young librarian, half human, half Shozien, to watch her back. Oh, and there's *Strawberry Mollusk*, a clapped-out cargo ship painted an impossible pink and ALI, the snotty on-board AI. Even all taken together the gang isn't enough to survive a journey across a hostile galaxy filled with nasty surprises. As if that weren't enough, an alien secret agent is coming after them...

With a child murderer to catch, rookie Detective Ryan Shale has no time to lose. What he NEEDS is an older, wiser detective to teach him how to become a top-notch investigator. What he GETS is a guitar-plucking, fortune-telling, pickpocketing psychic. Is Ryan's career ruined before it even gets started? Or has he just had the luckiest break any guy could wish for?

☆ 2022 ᴡᴀᴛᴛʏꜱ ᴡɪɴɴᴇʀ!! ☆ "Hell is empty and all the devils are here." On the cusp of the 20th century, blue blood heiress Lucy Penn has lost everything: her betrothed, her family and home, and even her ability to walk in the sunlight. As she struggles to acclimate to her new nocturnal existence, she makes the acquaintance of Dr. Thomas Reed: an intelligent and tortured immortal, still haunted by the horrors of his past. As the pair grow closer, Lucy becomes privy to a frightening world far below the surface of polite society, in which beings of ancient and unfathomable power live outside the confines of humanity. Carpe Noctem (or "Seize the Night") follows Lucy on her journey through the shrouded streets, eerie hospitals, and aristocratic parlors of nighttime London. As she seeks to exhume the insidious and terrifying purpose behind her transformation, Lucy finds herself drawn deeper into a dark nocturne world of unimaginable folklore and intrigue, begging the question: can love be found after death? HIGHEST RANKINGS ~ #1 Carpe Noctem #1 Period Fiction #1 Nocturnal #1 Gothic Romance #1 Gothic Horror #3 Dracula #3 Shakespeare #8 Vampire #17 Victorian #46 Historical Fiction

An aspiring eighteen-year-old author realizes she is a character in an unwritten horror novel and must use her storytelling knowledge to survive. ***** Eighteen-year-old romance writer, Ima Jean Paige, questions the afterlife following the recent death of her brother, leading her and her friends Zeke Garble, Felicity Weiland, and Atem Tahir to the remote Ayahuasca forests for a private spiritual retreat. Although her search is for the meaning of life and beyond, she discovers an odd story outline in her notebook detailing and predicting the night's unsettling and bizarre happenings. Realizing they are characters in an unwritten horror novel, she must rely on the notebook and her storytelling abilities to not only gain control of her life but somehow steer the narrative toward a happily ever after. For fans of The Cabin in the Woods, Midsommar, and The Babadook! ***** TRIGGER & CONTENT WARNING: For references of suicide, drugs and alcohol, and mild sexual content ***** || Wattys Awards 2022 Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Entertainment Prize Winner (for film and/or television adaptation) || || Wattys Awards 2022 Horror Winner || || Wattys Shortlist 2022 || || AmbyAwards Horror Winner 2022 || || Editor's Pick 2022 || || NaNoWriMo Winner 2021 || - - Copyright © 2021 by L.L. Sanders