"Smoking is bad, you know." The placid voice speaks up from the distant dark corner, nothing to see but a tall silhouette and an orange glow of a cigarette cherry. "It's the least of my problems," I murmur with my own between my lips, proceeding to feel the stagnant debris valley my throat when I suck delicately. He exhales a chuckle of cynical amusement, his footsteps getting every step clearer to my eardrums until I eventually sense body heat burning my back. "And why is that?" He whispers over my shoulder, hands inviting themselves to grip the railing in front of me so I become a prisoner between his inked arms. I swallow. "Because you'll be the one to kill me first." // Aven Brooks is hired to take pictures for the world-renown punk rock band known today as Duplicity; hoping the experience gets her into her most elite-dreamed university. However, when her lenses accidentally capture more than just cheeky sound checks and performances, she comes to a horrifying discovery that Duplicity is anything but a band. Appalled and frightened, she's trapped. *HIGHEST RANKINGS* #1 IN HARRYSTYLES #1 IN ONEDIRECTION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO @happydays1d NOT ALLOWING TRANSLATIONS! CONTAINS VULGAR LANGUAGE / DRUG ABUSE / SEXUAL CONTENT / DESCRIPTIVE VIOLENCE / MENTAL HEALTH READ AT OWN RISK!

WATTYS WINNER 2020 Two interconnected murders, 64 years apart. One woman's search for truth and identity. Readers' comments: 'a masterpiece', 'impeccably written', 'amazing', 'superbly crafted page-turner', 'hauntingly beautiful', 'tremendous plot and character development', 'one of a kind', 'fantastic story telling', 'loved this book', 'a wonderful read", 'absolutely beautiful', 'brought tears to my eyes' and many more Wattys judging panel: 'This is VERY good. We were HOOKED from the beginning, and the writing and plot hold up throughout. This is a very unique, polished, well-written and well-researched piece.' Plot Set partly in rural England, partly on the sun-kissed coast of southerm Italy, The Painted Altar is a murder mystery mixed with romantic and historical elements (World War Two). Given away at two days old, Mary Rice has spent her life in the shadows. When discovering the suspicious circumstances surrounding her biological mother's death, she embarks on a journey which will shine a light not only on the truth but also on her own identity. Brief extract Suddenly, the door had inched open, half a wrinkled face visible behind the tautened chain. "Hello. Who is it?" The words I was going to say had of course been well-rehearsed, repeated over and over in my mind like a mantra, but now that the moment had arrived I found myself struggling to remember them. "Mrs Harvey... I think that you might... well, that you might be..." The door closed, then slowly opened once more, the chain this time unlatched. And there she was before me - half a metre away, within arm's reach. Thin lips gradually crooking upwards at each corner like the slow beatific kindling of a summer's dawn. "Oh yes love, I know who you are." Length: 70,000 words About the author: Originally from England but for the last 16 years I've been living in Italy. I hope therefore that the Italian aspects of the novel will have a certain gloss of authenticity.

WATTYS 2020 WINNER THIS IS NOT A PAID STORY. ONLY THE BONUS CHAPTERS ARE. YOU CAN READ THE MAIN STORY FOR FREE! When Brenna and Shea, two rival hockey players, have to collaborate to take down a common enemy, they soon discover love is a ruthless game. ******* Brenna Harrison, a gifted hockey player, wants to prove her worth in the hockey world. She knows the consequences of playing on the boys' hockey team: degrading comments, sexist rules, and jealous boys, but she's determined to undermine the patriarchal foundation of her favourite sport. Shea Smith is also a gifted hockey player... but he sees Brenna as a threat. He believes she doesn't belong in the boys' league, despite her astounding skills; he's jealous. So, when the opportunity to potentially eject her from the league presents itself, Shea takes the opportunity. He agrees to a bet with his enemy, Connor Watt; a bet that will break Brenna's heart and make her not want to play hockey. At least... that's what he thinks. Soon, he's regretting the decision and decides to tell Brenna. She's furious, but also sees this as an opportunity to have the root of the problem ejected from the league. Brenna and Shea agree to take Connor down and expose him for who he truly is: as sexist jerk. But with bending the rules, there comes a price.

(Scarecrows of Coldharbour Farm #1) WINNER Wattys 2021 | '...adorable and heartbreaking...' Erin loved to build scarecrows. She made a dozen in all. Her Pa showed her how. But he's dead now. Everyone is dead. The Many Years Storm saw to that. Terrified and alone, Erin endured the storm in her hilltop farmhouse. She watched the sea levels rise, flooding everything in sight, washing away all but one of her scarecrows, Number Twelve. Then, on the day the rain stopped, Twelve inexplicably came to life and jumped down from her cross. No sooner had Erin told Twelve about her eleven missing sisters, they decided to build a boat and set out across The Endless Blue to find them all.

Odelia has spent most of her life so firmly under her brother's thumb that she might as well have been an insect trapped in a chunk of amber, but now, at long last, something is happening to her. Too bad it's not a nice, normal, something, like a 'meet cute,' or a job offer. Odelia is metamorphosing. The process transforms her in ways that are simultaneously crippling and a source of wondrous creative power. Who knew magic could be so gross, so downright icky? Or that power, far from freeing someone, might just make their enslavement even more desirable?

Diagnosed with a terminal illness, Peter Katz hires a hitman to take him out. But when a cure is discovered, Peter's got to outrun the assassin to stay alive! ***** When douchebag lawyer Peter Katz gets diagnosed with terminal cancer, he wants to die painlessly. Still, death seems to elude his every attempt, so he hires an assassin to kill him at a random time and place within the month. Unfortunately for Peter, right after he orders the hit, a treatment is discovered that would add decades to his life. Now Peter Katz has to start running, until the month-long deadline ends. Desperate to survive, he has to deal with tall-dwarves, unionized suicide workers, art terrorism and all the insanity that being alive has to offer. Will he make it to the end of the month? Or will Peter Katz live a life's worth of craziness in however many days he has left? For what is Comedy, but Tragedy + Time? [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Rudy Sampson hates a lot of things. He especially hates his job and the new guy that works there. Right up until he doesn't. This is the tale of how Rudy and Miles fell in love. (BoyxBoy)

in which a boy has thirty days to convince his crush to not commit suicide. tw! mentions of suicide, self-harm & depression. [COMPLETE] lowercase intended. started: 04/08/2020 finished: 04/10/2020 milestones: #4 in lgbt - 5/26/20 #4 in lgbtq - 5/26/20

Adam is a Neet. He never leaves his apartment unless he absolutely has to. He holes himself up, only giving attention to his comics and cartoons. However, things change when a noisy party animal moves in next door and becomes a pest. Adam is given no other choice but to confront his neighbor. A series of events pushes Adam outside his bubble and forces him to interact with others. And maybe, just maybe, he thought his neighbor, Assad, was a bit good looking. * * * * * TW/CW: The MC of this novel has social anxiety and depression, and although there are no thoughts relating to violence or self-harm, the MC is consistently in a state of mind /internal monologue that can be mentally tasking for people with similar conditions.

Introverted Charlie never expected to gain the attention of Dia, the chatterbox on the train, and he certainly wasn't expecting to fall in love. *** A few words can describe Charlie Jackson. He enjoys the simplicity of a coffee far more than the average person, and devotes too much time to his work - commuting included. But Charlie's life is far more complicated than meets the eye. Hindered by his stammer and the anxiety that occurs as a result, he has become accustomed to letting others use their voices for him. When Dia strolls into work one day, it seems that the universe has its own plans. Charlie instantly recognises her as the chatty woman from the train he takes five days a week. She's different in many ways, and it becomes clear that there's something between them. But the journey to love isn't so smooth sailing, especially when Dia's own battles come to light. Can Charlie fight his demons to support Dia in facing hers, or will his anxiety never allow him to become more than the stranger on the train? Romance Wattys Winner- 2020 1st place in the Firework Awards [New Adult] Featured in the Wattpad Summer Challege- 2020 Content and Trigger Warning- this book contains themes including the following; mental health, anxiety, suicide awareness, domestic violence.