"When I tell you that he hates me, you'll probably assume it's because he's a jerk...but you'd be wrong. He's not a jerk. I am." --- Several years ago tragedy struck Emma's home, leaving her broken... like a cup with cracks spiraling and slithering around the edges. Slowly, bitterness crept in like tar, hardening between each fracture to resemble a deceitful wholeness. She became a monster, and targeted her venom on the sweetest person she could find: Trinity Nixon. Too bad the boy Emma longed for was Trinity's brother. Now, as Emma fights to win the heart of the boy who despises her, she's forced to hide her demons. She paints her fragile cup in pinks, yellows, and oranges - all the colors of the sun. She paints on a smile, and an unusual sense of humor, so that the world will view her as bright and cheerful, when in reality she's breaking. But she's completely unprepared for the acidic truth that melts away the tar, demolishing her shell, and awakening the Emma White buried deep inside. --- Book 1 in The Dismantled Pride series *Story was previously titled "Faking It"

After the death of her parents, Eden does everything she can to recover from the blow. Little does she know that Cade, the boy she meets during the very first week, will be her route to redemption. She misplaces her heart and soul in an old home and he struggles with his own demons but finds room for her to heal. She's the talented dancer and he's the skilled guitarist but their passion might just be the only thing holding them together. It's the most well-known formula for disaster and they can't help but get drawn into each other.

Steffy Vandergeld has it all. Beauty, popularity, money, love, everything. Perfect girl, perfect world. But what happens when her multi-million dollar business mogul father loses his fortune? The only means for survival is to auction off nearly everything they own, including the million dollar mansion, Steffy's BMW among many other things. And to make matters worse, her parents have to cancel the family summer trip to The Bahamas. With only a couple of thousand dollars left to the Vandergeld name, Steffy, her older brother, Spencer, and her parents leave behind their luxurious lifestyle in northern California and move to rural Tennessee. The family of four moves into Steffy's grandparent's home for and indefinite amount of time. On a farm. Having had everything handed to her in life, Steffy doesn't know anything about hard work. Being forced to wake up at the crack of dawn, feed the chickens, milk to cows and churn the butter, Steffy's in for a rough time. And of course, there's always a boy to complicate things ever further. Can Steffy survive life living on the farm? Or will this be her breaking point? © Copyright 2013 Millie Morgan. All Rights Reserved.

When Helena finds a phone on the night train, she decides to text the first number in the list of contacts in order to figure out who it belongs to. ***** Helena Santos hasn't had the easiest life. At twenty-one, she's the legal guardian of her teenage sister, in the final year of her nursing degree, and working night shifts at her small-town's local bar. And things get a lot more complicated when she finds a phone on the train home and decides to text the first number in the list of contacts, in hopes of tracking down its owner. That contact? Adam Bauer; the charismatic, sweet, and refreshingly honest older brother of the person who lost their phone. As the two continue talking, they can't ignore the chemistry and growing feelings between them, but life is never that simple. To make things work, Helena and Adam need to juggle a troubled sister, a meddlesome ex-boyfriend, and one fat lawsuit - all intent on keeping them apart. [[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: This story contains swearing, mature themes, and sexual content.

Love and death may be opposites, inverses and incredibly contradictory- but they do have something in common. They are the only two things that have the power to change Zoe Finley. The death of her twin brother stripped Zoe of her genuinely positive outlook on life, but the love of Carter Jacobs may be the only thing that can bring her back to the way she once was. After Carter and Zoe are paired together for an English project, Zoe is thrown back into the world that she has tried so desperately to avoid. Will she be able to handle the pressure or will she crumble without her brother by her side? Copyright © amy-eileen. All rights reserved.

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.

Twenty-one-year-old waitress, Hope, can only dream of living a better life. Keeping her little brother safe is her top priority no matter the cost to her own happiness. So when she meets Caleb, who seems too good to be true, her instinct is to resist - but what if he's the only one who can save her? ***** Hope is struggling to make up for her mother's absence and provide for her six-year-old brother. Enter: Caleb, who comes from money and lives a good life, but can't help feeling like there is something missing. Tired from a long day's work, he stumbles into the small café where Hope works. When fate gives him the opportunity to help his enigmatic waitress, he finds himself in a world where all that matters is saving Hope. But knowing that danger is on the horizon, would Hope let Caleb into her world? Content/trigger warning: This story mentions drug use and addiction. [[word count: 50,000-60,000 words]] Cover designed by Ren T.

Bailey is taking her yearly flight to her father's house in Florida for the summer. When her plane gets delayed, she's forced to spend a few hours at an airport in the middle of nowhere. As a teenager traveling alone, she knows it's best not to talk to strangers-but what if he's in uniform and really cute? Lucas is traveling alone to Florida to report for duty. His decision to join the Marines might have been impulsive, but he's learning really fast his career with the Marines will involve a lot of "hurry up and wait." He's not interested in making small talk with any other tired travelers-but what if he just can't help but learn her name? When Bailey agrees to give Lucas her email address after a few hours together in an airport in the middle of nowhere, they'll learn that a lot can happen between "Dear Baily" and "Love, Lucas." This will be a short YA story.

Mateo Sanchez is a wounded warrior. He's 22 years old and on the mend from the injuries he received in a battle that took his fellow Marine's life. He's angry and unsettled, trying to get back to the man he used to be. Ashlyn West has always been a rescuer. She works at the hospital helping wounded vets get stronger. She's seen the way an injury can annihilate the life of the men who have been brave enough to sacrifice for their country. She's a fighter...and a lover, but she hasn't met her toughest patient yet. When Ashlyn gets assigned to Mateo's shift, the two of them are forced to spend time together everyday. Mateo quickly learns that his physical therapy isn't only going to be torture on his leg, watching her with bend and move is going to be torture on his libido. The two quickly find that his limb isn't the only thing needing mending. Will he fight leaning on her or will the two of them find a hotter way to build his physical endurance? Lean On Me will be the third book in the Dear Bailey Series. It can be read as a stand-alone novel. If you like your stories hot and your leading male hotter....then this is the one for you.

Reece Bremer goes through life with a scowl and cold personality. Jessica Andrews goes through life with a glowing smile and positive outlook. Reece looks at life with dull, judgmental eyes that make him hate the world and the people living in it. Jessica, well... She looks at life through a camera. Literally. They're polar opposites, and that's what sparks Reece's immediate hate for Jessica the moment they meet. All he sees is a girl with the best life, put in the category of those who get everything handed to them on a silver platter. But who says Jessica's life is like that? Just like a photograph, there's more to the story than what you see. Stumbling across one of Jessica's hidden portfolio might reveal that her happiness isn't all that true. Behind that smile and each picture she takes, holds a thousand words of a very big secret - one that Reece is determined to find out. And who knows? It just might change everything between them. cover by dysanic || 2015 watty's winner for talk of the town ||