**slow burn, enemies to lovers** Maggie Sullivan always gets what she wants. And right now, she wants to stay Mayor of Little Falls, New York. With only one day left for a candidate to register against her, Maggie should gain a second term uncontested. She's sure she has it in the bag. Everyone loves her, right? Grady Castillo doesn't like Maggie Sullivan. He's convinced his brother's harsh jail sentence was her fault. So when their paths cross twenty-four hours before the filing deadline for the mayoral race, Grady can't resist throwing a wrench in her perfect life. When the race heats up and unwanted feelings surface, Grady realizes Maggie might not fit the box he's shoved her into all these years. Soon, he wonders if he wants to steal the election or if the real victory lies in winning Maggie Sullivan's heart.

When a deadly plague spreads like wildfire, 17-year-old Bren Watts is trapped at Ground Zero of a global pandemic. ---- Bren and his classmates are stranded in New York City, now filled with thousands of murderous infected and desperate survivors. Forced into an unlikely alliance with his school bully and former friend, Logan Hardy, the two boys must find a way back home, traversing through the ravaged landscape of the United States. With their odds stacked against them, Bren has no choice but to use the skills taught by his ex-Navy SEALs father to fight and survive. But the path ahead is bloodied and broken, and if he wants to reunite with his family, Bren must tap into his darkest heart for not only the infected are capable of hatred and violence. The Bren Watts Diaries tells a dark and gritty account of the end, all narrated in the survivor's own voice as a first-hand witness to humanity's end. The story will cover the first year of the Apocalypse, depicting the beginnings of the disease, society's war against the pandemic, and the eventual collapse of civilization. [[Current word count: 450,000 - 500,000 words]] ----- The series portrays an LGBTQ+ protagonist and numerous other characters. Violence, like any medium of zombie stories, is described in detail.