Grownupreads Stories

England 1921. For fifty handicapped veterans left without home or job after WW1, the only person standing between them and utter destitution is Olivia Altringham. Lacking sufficient funds and a support network, Olivia has managed to keep her veteran's programme running by sheer determination and force of personality. Now, a soldier she had an affair with during the war has suddenly reappeared in her life, forcing her to re-examine their time together and how she ended their affair. At the same time, mysterious and deadly events unfold on the estate that threaten to unbalance the safe environment she has created for her handicapped charges. The times, and circumstances, are rapidly changing and Olivia realises she must change with them -- or risk going under completely. 🔔 #1 in Historic Fiction May 2020 🔔 Featured on the Wattpad Hidden Gems list May/June 2020 🔔 1st place in the Jelsa Awards 2019 🔔 1st place in the One Million Project Awards 2018 in the category Historic/General fiction. 🔔 1st place in the Asteria Awards 2018 in the category of Historical Fiction 🔔 1st place in the Rise Awards 2018 in the category of Historical Fiction

On his way to becoming Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle pauses to settle a score with Minerva McGonagall. A little Polyjuice creates a terrible mystery for Minerva and Albus. ✔ COMPLETE ***** Trigger warning for non-con FEATURED STORY: The Petulant Poetess FANDOM CLASSIC: The Petulant Poetess

For the Unending Love Contest. It is based on the official prompt of the poem by Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore's 'Unending Love."

The Cold War is over, the USSR is gone and Russia lies in economic and industrial ruin. A new president, a new mandate, and Special Weapons has been disbanded, it's soldiers scattered to new MOS slots and new units. A vital component of the MAD program during the Cold War, Special Weapons and everything it represented is now an embarrassment that the government wants to just hurry up and go away so they can deny it has ever existed. Staff Sergeant Stillwater, formerly of Special Weapons, now haunts the edge of the Special Projects, working on dismantling the Special Weapons program. Among such projects is the long standing FEMA mandate. Continuity of the United States government even after a nuclear war. That has led him to the Rocky Mountains, to an old abandoned and forgotten underground facility. Built by FEMA in the 1950's, what scattered data exists suggests its a small facility, one or two levels. A quick job so that Stillwater can return to the arms of his young wife. Except that an old family saying is about to come true. Old dark places Attract old dark things.

**Featured in the @JustWriteBits Anthology** Keelanonikca (or Keela for short) is the first participant in the Intergalactic Personnel Exchange (IPE) at her job. The Thurlian company she works for has joined ventures with a little known planet. Natives refer to it as "Earth". How different can two planets actually be? _________________ 💕Written for the JustWriteBits February 2019: First kiss challenge. (Write an otherworldly creature, alien, angel, werewolf, elf, etc. experiencing their first kiss. Needed to be written in 1stPOV. Less than 1200 words)

Sandrine is reluctant to take the job as a ghost hunter, despite her ancestral gift. And when she meets her boss and future partners, every fibre of her being tells her to quit-but she needs the money. How hard can it be to dispel the ghost of a bird? Soon, she finds herself fighting the advances of a medieval playboy, targeted by a flock of ectoplasmic ravens, and trying to solve the puzzle of the cottage in the lake. With disaster waiting around the corner, she truly has no time for a budding romance, right? ~ ~ ~ My entry for the open novella contest 2021. Prompts: No 5: There is a terrible drought ravaging the land, but when the waters recede from the local lake/reservoir, they reveal something no one expected to find. No 64. What should have been a simple task for a trio of ghost hunters quickly becomes something for which the term 'Worst Case Scenario' is the mother of all understatement. No 61. I would've lived longer if it weren't for Lorraine. There's only one issue... who's Lorraine? Words according to Wattpad: Chapter 1 - 1495 Chapter 2 - 1455 - milestone 1 reached Chapter 3 - 1469 Chapter 4 - 1552 Chapter 5 - 1563 Chapter 6 - 1620 - milestone 2 reached Chapter 7 - 1564 Chapter 8 - 1700 Chapter 9 - 1637 Chapter 10 - 1797 Chapter 11 - 1605 Chapter 12 - 1561 Chapter 13 - 1690 - milestone 3 reached Chapter 14 - 1842 Chapter 15 - 1762 Epilogue - 233 Total words published: 24545

With the fishing the way it is, the crew of the Kelly-Jo have to bring in any catch they can... A 5000 word, single chapter and somewhat depressing post-Brexit dystopian story. Y'all know me; Y'all know how I make a living... You have been warned.

Escaping from their war torn country, 12 year old Ava and her family live in secret. Amongst the celebration after the Olympics she searches for food and reminisces of the place she used to call home.

An #OpenNovellaContest (#ONC) Ambassador Pick! Eleanor and Lydia, book 1 Armed with knitting needles and a fantastic playlist, Eleanor and Lydia set off to solve The Mystery of Novak Manor. Eleanor Albright is a spritely ninety-year-old ex-detective with more than a few skeletons in her closet and a grim determination to keep them there by hiding from the world. Her great-granddaughter Lydia is twenty-two- years old and sorely misunderstood by the world. After all, just because a girl dresses in all black and listens to My Chemical Romance doesn't mean she lacks vision or hope. Well... maybe hope. When Lord Novak calls Eleanor from his castle in a tiny, beautiful Eastern European nation with a desperate plea for help, she agrees, with mixed emotions, to come out of retirement and she talks Lydia into serving as her assistant. Now the two women must find the truth about the fearsome ghost that's haunting Novak Manor before the "ghost" finds the legendary secret treasure with the power to bring the monarchy to its knees.

Carlos, the caretaker of a vending machine, realises that it's not an ordinary machine - it sells luck. What happens next? Will Carlos's life remain the same? Read about the emotional roller-coaster ride Carlos goes through.

On nearly every timeline so far, it ended like this, with a game of Welters. Dean Fogg against the Beast. This time, however, the Dean finds out why the Beast took his eyes and hands rather than killing him outright.

This is where we will showcase our book of the month. We hope you can join us by reading what we have.

Gray walls. Gray clothes. Gray lifestyle. At the Ceremony, thirteen year olds have to choose between the underground and above. The people who live underground are tagged government haters, and those who are above are the government lovers. Or, as many like to call them, "Gover-Lovers". Emily Rinwood shouldn't be underground. But because of a deal she made years ago with her best friend, Scott, she finds that she is. Scott Owens never wanted to hurt Emily. But bringing her underground was important. He - and his other friend, Noah - have more than a few tricks up their sleeves. Harper, a crazy, energetic girl finds herself looped into the madness of the mission. Together, they team up for the quest that could shape the whole world.

He's searched for the right one for years...his patience growing thinner as each passing day goes by...the right one, the one he can sell the lie to, until it is too late for her... Bound is a story of a choice gone terribly, terribly wrong......... Complete as of March 20th, 2019. Please follow the tale into TWISTED, the new thriller by FireWoman74

Sometimes the truth is just too terrible to ever be guessed... Readers' comments: 'Excellent story', 'gripping page-turner', 'marvellous read', 'great writing', 'simply remarkable', 'a fabulously emotional ride', 'wow', 'what a great book!', 'had me engaged right to the end' Wattys award-winning author (The Painted Altar, literary fiction 2020) When two British brothers are reported missing whilst on holiday in southern Italy, the local carabinieri turn to retired detective Jim Jacks for help. Still pained by a recent divorce, he has started a new life for himself as a small-scale wine producer. Along with commander Nuzzo, he will slowly unravel a mystery which is even darker than it had first seemed... Genre: murder mystery Length: 75,000 words (300 novel pages) Target audience: adult, fans of crime fiction, anyone who likes mysteries full of twists and which are populated by three-dimensional characters Extract: I stayed there at the holiday bungalow with Sarah and Olivia for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Would return again the following morning. An analyst would no doubt conclude that my actions weren't entirely selfless; that as a lonely old divorcee I found a nostalgic comfort in female company. And yes, this might have been part of it. But there was a very practical reason too for my more or less continued presence in the house. I just didn't want to leave them to themselves I suppose, was afraid of what might happen. Yes, the thing I remember most about that forty-eight hour period is the silence. There was something brooding to it. Something ominous, almost delicate, like if it cracked you feared it would explode. An edgy, precarious silence stretching on and on, minute after minute, hour after hour... About the author: I'm a 47-year-old English teacher who has lived in Italy for the last 15 years. I have two other novels on the site, The Painted Altar and Kill Who You Want