**A Blue Beard retelling** Based on Charles Perrault's fairytale, this YA Historical Fantasy short story set in Victorian England mixes romance, magic and mystery. After agreeing to an arranged marriage to escape her greedy relatives, 18-year-old heiress Amelia moves into her husband's manor determined to start a new life. But the gothic mansion's forbidding surroundings, the servants' strange demeanour and her husband's mysterious past soon awaken her suspicions. If Amelia truly wants to become the lady of the house, she'll have to discover what secrets lie beyond closed doors and unravel the mystery of the old house's forbidden room. But sometimes secrets are kept for a good reason... HIGHEST RANKING IN HISTORICAL FICTION # 44 Copyright © 2017. All works posted here are the property of EM Castellan. Please do not use without permission. Any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal. Cover artist: @seventhstar

Prey meets predator under a starry night.

She's a wild, free spirit who sees the good in everyone, and he's the hardened, bad-tempered loner who wants nothing to do with her-yet no matter how hard he tries to push her away, she's the one temptation he can't escape. *** He's never met someone with such a bubbly personality. Not to mention the wildness and odd phrases she says every five minutes. He hates it. He hates how he can't stay away from it. He hates what she does to him; it's not like him to chase after some girl. She gets under his skin like no other. She's never met someone with such a bad attitude. He's ill-mannered and menacing. The glare never seems to leave his face. Considering it all, she can't help but feel the attraction toward him. Dangerous attraction toward a seemingly dangerous man. Maybe it's the tattoos on his arm that gets her attention. Or maybe it's because she can tell there's hope for good under his rough exterior. And she's about to find it, whether he likes it or not. It's no secret that the two of them are complete and total opposites. *** "You like being called Sugar, don't you?" I tease, placing my toothbrush back after finishing. He does the same and gives me a side-eyed scowl. He grips my chin harshly and kisses me. My body temperature raises a good ten degrees and my right leg goes all wiggly. He pulls away. "You like it when I kiss you, don't you?" He teases the same way I did to him and I'm left blubbering. "I think both of our questions are rhetorical," I lower my voice up at him. His lip curls up into a smirk. *** #1 in Young Adult #9 in Badboy #1 in Cold #3 in Goodgirl #1 in Sweetheart #14 in Love *** *Warning* This story contains mature themes (language, scenes)

PREVIEW ONLY | No one knows the real identity of the hospital's Plague Saint is sixteen-year-old Winter Pierce. No one knows she's a fraud. And no one knows she's a killer. While floods and heat waves devastate the southern lands, the northern cities face blizzards and plagues. Up until two weeks ago, the Plague Saint of Devil's Pass was a real doctor. But when Winter learned he was only saving the rich and planned to let her mother die, she confronted him. And killed him. The death was an accident, but taking his place to save lives was a choice. Then, Winter's forced to kill again to save her brother. Her double life, already doomed to fail, is complicated further when her assistant insists on tracking down the murderer. Attempting to cover her tracks leaves Winter tangled in a political web. All the while, people are getting sicker, and trying to find the cure leads her to an enemy far smarter and more dangerous than she is. Powerful people want to see Winter fail. There's more to the plagues than meets the eye. Winter is rapidly running out of time, but she's determined to save her brother from death and her city from corruption. And she'll kill anyone who gets in her way.

Kira Nguyen saw her childhood through watercolored eyes, her memories blending together to create fairytales and dress-up plays and songs dancing across the sky. Matty Connell felt his childhood was made up of discarded puzzle piece-like memories too fragmented to be put back together. And he didn't understand why he had such a hard time remembering that part of his life, until he met Kira again, almost two decades later. And he wondered if he still hated her. While she tried to find the words to apologize. All without letting go of their past.

in which a guy calls a sex hotline just looking for a friend. ©iwearheelys, all rights reserved.

Erica wants to have it all figured out. She's fresh out of college, itching to put her master's degree in psychology to use. Her fiancé of five years swears on his life they'll set a date for their wedding any day now. On top of it all, her sister and best friend Nolan are destined to be the anchors by her side for the rest of their lives. These are all the makings of a damn good life. So why do her feelings get all scrambled up after a silly argument and a drunken kiss that doesn't know when to stop? .・。. ✧ Nolan has been in love with Erica probably since the moment he laid eyes on her way back in high school, but an on-again-off-again relationship with her current fiancé has kept him from ever making a move. So he sat back and tried to get a handle on his own life. He's dating a few girls here and there. He will definitely put his license in business and finance to good use. Things are stable with his best friend sticking by his side. Until a bottle of wine and a list of complaints about her husband-to-be leads her to lock lips with him, and he can no longer find the strength to resist her. Now, they're both screwed. first draft; unedited

When Vika gets kicked out of her flat, she moves in with her friend under one condition--she must babysit Cleo--the friend's best man's cat! She doesn't expect Cleo's owner to be the cold but delectably sexy Noel. And it turns out they'll be spending a lot of time together... ***** Self-proclaimed unambitious Vika is down on her luck. She's been fired from her job, kicked out of her apartment, and now she finds herself on her best friend's fiance's couch facing writer's block and a dreary future. To top it all off, she has to earn her keep by taking care of her friends' best man's cat. Vika's their maid of honour, so she can't exactly say no to such a simple request, especially when the best man in question is the drop-dead gorgeous Noel. Soon, sparks fly between Noel and Vika, but their chemistry is put to the test as wedding duties get underway. Can they keep the fire burning long enough not to make a scene at their friends' wedding? [[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]] Cover designed by Ashley Santoro