In a world where love is a dangerous luxury, Kamal and Maria steal moments beneath the moonlight, their passion defying the boundaries that fate has drawn between them. By day, Kamal toils in the fields, bound to a life that is not his own. By night, Maria finds him by the river, where whispered promises and forbidden touch are all they have. But secrets cannot stay hidden forever. When Kamal's mother discovers their love, her warning is clear-this is not just trouble. This is death waiting in the shadows. As the weight of reality closes in, Kamal and Maria must decide: cling to their love and risk everything, or let the river carry their dreams away before dawn. A haunting tale of passion and peril. Where Shadows Gather is a story of love set against the inevitability of ruin-where even the most beautiful dreams cannot escape the tide.

(Posting to RoyalRoad as well) After the destruction of her native city, Ilati must find a way forward to make a new life and avenge the fallen, shedding her old life as high priestess of the goddess of love like a snake leaves its skin. But with a sorcerer at her shoulder that she isn't certain she can trust, a charioteer with a dark curse, a nomadic warrior with a child who is not dead and not alive, and the Mother of Demons herself involved-can she survive? Can she hold onto the righteous path or will revenge drive her to seek another? Great Nysra, who claims her grandfather's title King of Kings, is not about to surrender his grip on the conquered lands. With skin that can turn even gods-blessed bronze and the power to conjure spellfire and lightning, is it possible to even topple his throne? Between his dark gods and his vast army, Ilati faces an impossible task. But woe to the men of Nadar, for they have let a lioness slip between their spears...

During the final decades of the twenty first century, a rogue brown dwarf star passed through the solar system and its gravity threw the Earth out of orbit around the sun. Two hundred years later, when the atmosphere has finished freezing onto the surface, explorers from the last refuge of humanity venture out to see what's become of their world. Things looks bleak. Mankind faces a future of huddling in whatever warm refuges it can make for itself until the Earth's core goes cold, but then a discovery is made. An opportunity exists for mankind to leave the planet and find its destiny among the stars, but to do so requires an all or nothing gamble and losing would mean the end of the human race. Some want to take the gamble. Others don't, and so conflict and violence breaks out as the survey teams explore a planet transformed out of all recognition...

Volume 6 • Beginning with Round 307 • 7 January 2024 Wayfarer's Lamppost Book Club is created in partnership with the now-closed-forever Next Big Recognition Contest (NBR). Wayfarer's Lamppost Book Club aims to provide what no other book club has done-feedback on character arcs and plot progression across the entire book. We also offer beta reading and light editing options for partnerships. We seek primarily adult membership, but we will consider high school students with a proven track record in other clubs as well as quality writing and good reviewing skills. Except for Random, Non-Fiction, and Poetry, all genres and ratings are welcome, provided the stories meet Wattpad's content guidelines.

An arsonist is having a heyday setting local businesses aflame, and the Vandersons, newcomers to the small resort town of Mountain Springs, Colorado, wonder if Clay Vanderson's structural engineering firm will become a target. At twenty-five, Ellie Vanderson, an insecure millennial and the youngest mom in the PTO, is desperate to win the approval of the other mothers while inconspicuously combatting her debilitating puke phobia, all for the benefit of her kindergarten son. Unable to muster anything resembling affection for her much-older husband Clay, she orchestrates an affair between him and the face-saving PTO president. To complicate matters, Ellie's grown stepson, an ex-heroin-addict and the childhood best friend she doesn't realize still has feelings for her, comes to live with her and his father, where his presence feels like a mud print on her pristine white carpet. As the arsonist's flames grow larger and the Vanderson family unravels, their origins become a topic of interest among the backstabbing PTO moms. Lana Clark, Ellie's frenemy-turned- nemesis, hires a local PI to dig up the Vandersons' buried secrets and discover who's behind the crimes that are ripping apart the fabric of the community, implicating Ellie's stepson in the process. The Vandersons scramble to figure out how to control their narrative, fearful of another ruined reputation in the town they hope to make their forever home, and even more fearful of the criminal who haunts their steps. This a domestic suspense novel / mommy drama of trainwreck proportions, a BIG LITTLE LIES meets LITTLE CHILDREN starring new neighbors with secrets to hide in a town with a reason to investigate.

Volume 5 • Beginning with Round 260 - 1 January 2023 Wayfarer's Lamppost Book Club is created in partnership with the now-closed-forever Next Big Recognition Contest (NBR). Wayfarer's Lamppost Book Club aims to provide what no other book club has done-feedback on character arcs and plot progression across the entire book. We also offer beta reading and light editing options for partnerships. We seek primarily adult membership, but we will consider high school students with a proven track record in other clubs as well as quality writing and good reviewing skills. Except for Random, Non-Fiction, and Poetry, all genres and ratings are welcome, provided the stories meet Wattpad's content guidelines.

The squids showed up on our doorstep six years ago and conquered most of known world--plunging many countries into darkness and despair. Only a few free nations remain to carry the fight to the enemy. On the night of another air raid at Alaska Base, Captain Samantha McGee only solace is found in the bottom of a shot. Then the attacks start up--plunging everything and everyone she knows right into the thick of the action. Heroism and sacrifice is the name of the game and everyone at the military installation and elsewhere are prepared to do their job--even if it means dying for a just cause...

On discovering the murder of his sister, Chief Inspector John Daniels follows the path from which there is no return. An unusual turn of events helps him in his task. From hunter to preditor, he remains one step in front of the police when he sets and springs the trap to destroy those he despises. Single-handed, he plays the game but rewrites the rules in the knowledge failure will cost him his life. Those who control others to do their bidding believe they are untouchable. John uses his extensive skills and knowledge of villains to help those with nowhere else to turn. With the assistance of two others, they act as minders for those who cannot protect themselves while pursuing redemption.

THIS VOLUME IS ARCHIVED. Please see Volume 5 that begins 1 January 2023. Volume 4 • Beginning with Round 213 - 2 January 2022 Wayfarer's Lamppost Book Club is created in partnership with the now-closed-forever Next Big Recognition Contest (NBR). Wayfarer's Lamppost Book Club aims to provide what no other book club has done-feedback on character arcs and plot progression across the entire book. We also offer beta reading and light editing options for partnerships. We seek primarily adult membership, but we will consider high school students with a proven track record in other clubs as well as quality writing and good reviewing skills. Except for Random, Non-Fiction, and Poetry, all genres and ratings are welcome, provided the stories meet Wattpad's content guidelines.

Closed! #1 cover #1 entries #1 winners #1 prizes #1 genres #1 participants #1 judges #1 awards 2021 #1 recognition