[Wattys 2022 Winner - Wildcard Category] Mereneith is a junior crystal keeper at the Temple of Ptah, the greatest of the temples located within the capital of Memphis. Bored with the mundane job growing and maintaining the Ak'heka crystals-the kingdom's prized energy source-Mereneith secretly pockets scrap pieces for her own research, her wild imagination conjuring endless possibilities for the Ak'heka crystal technology. When Mereneith's mentor is found dead in a temple well, leaving behind only a cryptic message, she sets out on a mission to uncover the truth behind his death. Accompanied by the fourth prince Kha, son of Pharaoh Sneferu and forerunner to inherit the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mereneith's quest for justice lands her in the middle of a political storm, where one wrong move could spell the end of the empire - and her own life. ======== Heretic of the Nile is Book One of the Sands of Giza Trilogy, a speculative historical fiction series that explores the origin of the Great Pyramid of Giza 19.10.22 - Heretic of the Nile has been shortlisted for The Wattys 2022!

Criminal necromancer & vampire private eye team up to solve the case of the missing barista. *** When a client drops dead in her fortune telling parlor, 'reformed' necromancer Isla has no choice but to illegally resurrect the poor gal. Your girl's got priors, alright? Hiding a corpse will send Isla back to the slammer. The client's just a Tourist, so Isla is certain nobody will notice. But you know what they say: The only things certain in life are death, taxes, and a handsome vampire poking his fangs where they don't belong. Gregor, a vampire private detective, has been hired to find another vamp's misplaced favorite bloodbag-- I mean, barista. Greg knows the fraudulent and distractingly attractive psychic, Isla, is the key to the barista's whereabouts, but he just can't put his fangs on what it is she's hiding from him. If her little whoopsie is discovered, Isla fears both the otherworldly authorities and an ancient vampire will have her throat. So she does what any girl would do in her situation. She hires Greg to find the risen barista for her first so that she can undo the resurrection. Sparks fly and blood splatters as Greg and Isla investigate Philadelphia's secret paranormal society, throw literal bones at the werewolf mafia, commune with the spirits of dead vampire-brides, dodge arrest by the magic fuzz, and occasionally pop off for late night cheesesteaks. The Vampire Always Bites Twice is the Wattys 2022 Grand Prize Winner! The "Bites Twice" Mysteries 1 - The Vampire Always Bites Twice 1.5 - Doubull Indemnity [revised version coming soon) 2 - Shadow of a Curse (Coming Fall 2025) This book contains explicit sexual content, paranormal violence, animal harm, and gore.

I'm scared of the sea. I can't help but think of the danger it brings. The width and depth seem forever. But I know that someday, I'm going to swallow all my fears and sail into that immense body of menace. Because I have to find him. I have to see him. I have words I haven't told him yet. There are things he needs to know and I don't care if it matters now or it never really mean anything at all. I just have to find him.

[ WATTYS '18 LONG-LISTED ] ❝ I have slit throats far more beautiful than yours.❞ In which a thousand brides have fallen, and she is the last, so she spins a tale as old as time to live the dawn. | an arabian nights x beauty and the beast crossover | (cover by ES Johnson) trailer (video by @AKfiction): https://youtu.be/2OSjakJrUeo

{SAMPLE: Published on Amazon} Five hundred years ago, humanity's freedom died. When the Greek Gods and Goddesses were usurped from their home on Mt. Olympus, they crashed upon Earth and enslaved the human race. Children spend their existence inside prisons ran by ruthless Immortals, and upon their eighteenth birthday, they are thrown into an arena to be fought after. Once won, they are scarified with their name and short-lived identity in an unforgiving world, where there is an absence of hope for people with mortality coursing through their red veins. Servitude shackled humanity, but then a girl stood in the arena on the first summer solstice since she turned eighteen years old. A nameless girl, trembling behind the safety of her friend, landed in the Gods' worlds without knowing that she was going to be their unraveling. This wide-eyed slave, who bled two colors. One red like humans. One gold like the gods. Five hundred years ago, humanity's freedom died, but she's here to take it back. Final Book Cover commissioned by @Fantastical-Ink

When the war brings a young enemy soldier to the ruined palace Tabeya calls home, the truth about her past emerges, chasing her into the desert, where she must elude her vengeful guardian for the sake of her freedom and her forbidden love. ***** In her lonely tower, Tabeya dreams of the world beyond it. That world becomes real when she meets Humban, a young general from a rival kingdom who isn't afraid to ask the questions Tabeya can't face about herself. Those questions bring answers that lead them into the desert, away from the goddess who imprisoned Tabeya. Enraged at her escape, Tabeya's guardian hunts her and Humban relentlessly across the war-torn land, where the elements are vicious and survival isn't guaranteed. In the treacherous world where Tabeya finds herself, she must fight for her happy ending or let her past destroy her future with the man she was never meant to love. [[Word count: 150,000 - 200,000 words]] Content warning: this story contains themes of violence.

Humanity has built for itself a near-utopia with no more use for violence. Someone has to protect it. Sam Decker is a man without purpose. The perfect, strife-less techno-utopia into which he was born has left him feeling directionless and nihilistic. Without risk or conflict his life has no meaning. Until one day, after a little creative rule breaking, Decker brings himself to the attention of a high-tech, stateless, semi-clandestine military outfit. Now he will have all the risk and conflict he can handle.

Earth has made first contact with an alien race. At the historic first meeting, an ambush put peace for humanity out of reach. Colonel Kyle Martin was there that day. It was his leadership and the bravery of his marines that saved what little hope mankind had. When Earth was threatened with invasion, Martin again felt the weight of war pressing down on him. Known as the Butcher of Hyderabad for his decisions in the Indian War, Martin seemed a poor choice to guard the peace but the perfect man to organize the forces of Earth to defend itself from the coming alien scourge. With a select team of humans and a few allies among the alien races, Martin is tasked with not only defeating the invading armada, but with making sure that Earth is kept free from any alien domination. Faced with impossible odds against an overwhelming foe with advanced technology, it is only a secret about Earth itself that gives Martin the glimmer of hope to succeed. With his “lucky charm” Ramirez, his go-to girl Kitch, and an unshakable Sergeant Major, Martin rolls the die time after time in audacious gambles with the stakes being nothing less than the survival of the human race. Face-paced action awaits in this military sci-fi adventure.