Middlegrade Stories

Step into a world lost to time with "Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic," a captivating collection of short stories that transport you to the ancient past. Each tale unfolds in a different fossil formation around the globe. Gain a glimpse into unseen times in natural history from the healing world of the Triassic, the ecological bloom of the Jurassic, and the waning days of the Cretaceous. Explore worlds much different from our own such as the sea of middle North America, the wetlands of southern Mongolia, and the forests of the Antarctic. Meticulously researched and vividly imagined, these stories strive to capture the authenticity and wonder of life during the Mesozoic era. Written in a style inspired by nature documentaries, each story offers a realistic and immersive glimpse into the behaviors, struggles, and triumphs of a diverse array of creatures that once roamed our planet. Whether it's the famous dinosaurs, the sky-faring pterosaurs, the long-forgotten marine reptiles, or the earliest ancestors of mammals, this collection brings the ancient world to life with compelling accuracy. Drawing inspiration from modern-day natural phenomena as well as the latest theories and discoveries in paleontology, these tales blur the line between fact and fiction, reviving the distant echoes of prehistoric life. Join us on this journey through time, where the wonders of long ago await your discovery. Experience life on Earth as it once was for over 180 million years. Welcome to the Prehistoric Wild.

Jiwon, a twelve-year old girl with a quick wit, a ravenous desire for learning, and a hidden talent for dance finds her world turn upside down when she discovers that her mother is a former royal gisaeng--girls and women raised and trained to entertain the Royal Family. Her mother has always warned her to be cautious, never stand out and always follow the crowd. But with a face which half was covered by an unruly birthmark, she always gets herself into trouble, no matter how many times she tries to hide and avoid it. Even though her mother doesn't want it, Jiwon will be forced to enter the Palace, train and become one of the royal giseangs herself. She will compete with other girls, and she will realize that the gisaengs in the Palace are not only there to entertain the Royal Family or the envoys from other kingdoms . . . Enter Yul Geom, a fourteen-year old boy who settles in life that all he wants is to play with his friends, hunt in the woods, and live in isolation. His world is shaken when he's found that the only family by blood in his life--his sister--is seized by the imperial monks also known as, Dharmas. Yul Geom doesn't know why his sister is kept by the Dharmas, but he could not waste time thinking about the answer. He has to act soon, or it may be too late for him to rescue his sister alive. As their paths draw inevitably toward the Palace, Jiwon and Yul Geom will discover that survival is not won by hiding or remaining silent, but by confronting the savage spirits that rule both the court-and themselves.

Two brothers. One piano. One plays with effortless brilliance. The other fights to be heard. In a world of music, rivalry, and family expectations, Aden must discover whether talent is enough-or if heart is what truly matters.

Fifteen years ago, a prophecy was written. A girl was born. And history would be rewritten. Fifteen year old Alianna of Mysticsky, has lived in the kingdom of Sunhigh, oblivious to her future. She has long believed she was just a normal human girl, like everyone else in her kingdom. But it all changes one day, with the arrival of a mysterious boy, which starts off a quest of discovery, and prophecy far larger than Alianna could have imagined. Soon, she learns she's a witch, with legendary powers, and the single person to right the wrongs of a realm far older than her. - Contains fantasy violence, and gore, no spice or sexual content - Feel free to leave editing suggestions in the comments :) - This is a work from when I was ten years old and I am fourteen and a new author hoping to get discovered and published -Will publish new chapter every day! - Happy reading!

Rin lives on Lantern's Keep, an important lighthouse dedicated to steering the Kindred away from storms and cliffs atop the dragons they ride. Nearby lives a skull-like cave, and inside....hundreds and hundreds of....eggs. Dragon eggs. Once a year, the Holy Temple escorts the newest recruits hoping to become Kindred into bonding with an egg to hatch, raise, and train. But on this night, the singing of the Holy Temple's Choioisier cannot drown out the sound of...music. Where is it coming from? Rin is just the type to find out. GENRES: **fantasy,** middle grade, coming of age, magical school, dragons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First draft/second concept version A Sound Dragon Quartet Novel Project's Current Word Count: ~10k

When young Ash sneaks away to follow the Great Hunt, he believes he is finally proving himself. Instead, he becomes lost in a wilderness older than memory. As winter draws near and danger lurks beneath every cedar bough, Ash must find his way through the vast Greatwood with the help of an unlikely companion...a sarcastic fox named Rune. But the farther he travels from home, the more he begins to understand why his father tried to stop him. And some lessons can only be learned the hard way.

Fresh out of juvenile detention and desperate for a second chance, Ric should be stepping into freedom, not straight into a storm of buried secrets, dangerous loyalties, and a love story with impossible consequences. As he reunites with Bobby and the other outliers, he also uncovers shocking family ties and falls hard for Dara. A rival from Ric's past is hunting him, a haunted forest is calling its lost back home, and a brilliant teen coder's immersive AI game may have opened the door to something far more real than anyone understands. What begins as a story of redemption and found family detonates into a genre-bending collision of thriller, romance, and supernatural invasion, where teens with everything to lose must face monsters from both worlds, while they discover whether love, loyalty, and sheer nerve are enough to survive the fight.

Wendell Chestna is the complete package; he's a beautiful prince with riches and has not a fault inside of him. A made-up fantasy because of his royal position, but he is only human. A high title doesn't just produce false assumptions, but it's quite difficult to determine the sincerity of people's kindness. His father's recent death after a long war leaves Wendell in a stressful predicament. Their law dictates the eldest son must claim the throne upon reaching seventeen years of age, which he will turn in the next three months. Making matters even worse, his mother sets an arranged marriage with some nobleman's daughter. This union would grant them an ally in this nation, all at the cost of her hand, but she is not the girl Wendell plans to wed. Instead, he hopes to make a sweet peasant-one who dwells in the poorest village-his lifelong companion, Kana Littleton. Queen Althelia proposes a simple deal. If the lovestruck boy can get a favorable answer before the set time limit, he is free to espouse her over Blanche. These conditions are generous enough; however, will Kana accept him for the right reasons? Is her love a pure, honest emotion from within or only swayed by his status and wealth? Under a foreign boy persona, Wendell will discover if they're truly meant to marry. But as lies start piling up to conceal his double life, whose heart is really being put to the test? Meanwhile, another war thought to have ended is slowly approaching... Cover by: mahiramateen13 Banners by: lantea- Achievements~ 🏅Round three Ambys 2025 qualifier 🏅Added to Fake And Arranged Relations reading list by @romance 9/5/24 🏅 Added to DiverseLit Humor reading list by @humor 11/22/24 🏅Added to Diverse Fiction reading list by @Ambassadors 1/14/25 🏅 Added to Humor Spotlight reading list by @humor 🎖️Shortlister in the Romance category in the Grand Fiction Awards

Alex has always dreamed of becoming a great knight. During a medieval fair in Italy, surrounded by swords, archers, blacksmiths, banners, and shining armor, he receives a mysterious ancient compass from a sword master after losing his very first duel. The sword master leaves him with one lesson Alex will never forget: "No warrior is born knowing how to fight. First, he must find his path." That same night, the compass begins to glow and leads Alex to the mirror in his living room. But instead of seeing his normal reflection, Alex sees an older version of himself: a powerful warrior wearing legendary armor, holding a shining sword, and staring back at him from another world. When the mirror opens like a portal, Alex wakes up in a magical medieval realm with max-level equipment, a legendary sword, and powers he does not know how to control. He looks like a hero. But he is still just a boy. Now Alex must discover the truth behind the mirror, survive the creatures that hunt him, and learn what it really means to become a warrior. Because every great hero starts at level one.

RAMPAGING ORCS. SAVAGE BEASTLIES. AND... STUDENTS? In the heart of a Kingdom on the verge of another long and brutal war lies Barrett's Academy, an elite boarding school where the sons and daughters of the ruling clans study alchemy, medicine, and battle. There, each student is given a beastly, a child's closest companion and most trusted ally. A beastly might be a savage bull, a bloodthirsty hyena, or even a gentle healing monkey. Some can fight, some can talk, but all are fiercely loyal. Our hero, Sadie Lynch, desperately wants a beastly. She wants to train at the Academy, so she can grow up to become a Warrior and lead armies against the orcs. But Sadie Lynch is no noble. She's a taverner's daughter, which means if she wants to join Barrett's Academy, she'll need a scholarship. Plus, she soon learns that anger triggers her magical power: fire. That may sound exciting, but for her, it's terrifying. Because in this world, magic isn't fun and whimsical; it's a weapon of war, wielded by wizards and priestesses, not little girls. So, if Sadie wants to survive amongst the Kingdom's elite, she must learn to repress the rage that could unleash hell at any moment... *Updated daily.* **Also, I want to give a shout out to Leah McPherson, the first kid to read my book. You rock, Leah!**

Eldan Rovalen, the youngest child in the prominent family of nature fairies, is the only one left without an innate ability manifesting. As the date for his passage grows near, pressures from all sides increase. What happens when an abandoned kitten appears and wreaks havoc―literally and figuratively―into Eldan's life that's already planned out? Spin-off made in celebration of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢's 5-Year Anniversary. Part of the AUXPR2023 cluster of works. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2023 (First Edition) [10,000 - 15,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby]

Alikai loves stories. Writing them is easy. Getting people to read them is another matter entirely. After his friends reject his book club and his dreams of becoming an author seem farther away than ever, Alikai's luck changes when he meets a mysterious stranger in a bookstore. Impressed by his writing, the man gifts him an ancient book, a bottle of ink, and a strange pen before vanishing without a trace. But the gifts are anything but ordinary. When Alikai discovers that every story he has ever written now fills the pages of the book, impossible things begin to happen. Names rewrite themselves. Pens move on their own. And when a desperate voice calls for help from within the book's pages, Alikai is pulled into a world beyond his imagination. Now trapped inside a story of his own making, Alikai must uncover the truth behind the mysterious book-and the incredible power hidden within its pages.

This is where music dies, and nightmares come alive! Phoenix Novak and his friends never imagined that Rosewood Music School would become their worst nightmare. But when an AI experiment goes horribly wrong, the school transforms into a twisted labyrinth where a sinister online ghost stalks its students. As Phoenix delves deeper into the chilling mysteries hidden within Rosewood's eerie halls, he discovers that the danger lurking there is more real-and more terrifying-than anyone could have ever imagined. Now, Phoenix and his friends must face their fears and unravel the truth before they become the next victims of Rosewood's deadly secrets.

FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD Myles Cook is having a rough time. Not only has his mother run off with Jocelyn, her yoga instructor, but Myles and his dad have moved to a tiny rural island on BC's west coast to live in a log cabin. Garcia Island is nothing like Myles' old home in the city; there are no stores, the WiFi is sketchy, and let's face it, the people are strange. There's Clyde, the old guy in the silver airstream trailer who carves erotic demon sculptures, Daisy Archibald, the local coven's high priestess, and Axel Jespersen-a recumbent cyclist and angora goat farmer who is just plain nasty! Finally, there is Norm next door, a man who teaches Myles a little about llamas and a lot about life. Factor in a taxidermy raccoon (Myles' spirit animal?), a first crush, and a whole lot of growing pains, and Myles quickly discovers that truth really is stranger than fiction. But people can be full of surprises, and as the saying goes, you can't always judge a book by its cover. And sometimes, when things are out of your control, the smartest thing you can do is take a deep breath, let go and roll with it. (Well, you can try, right?)

||COMPLETE|| ⭐️CRINGE ADVISORY: I WROTE THIS WHEN I WAS THIRTEEN. THIS IS NOT REFLECTIVE OF MY WRITING NOW. If you want to see more advanced works, then check out my other book, Vipersong⭐️ -- AMETHYST TRILOGY BOOK ONE For centuries, the dragons of Oabria have been stuck in a world designed to benefit the strongest, the bravest, and the wealthiest while the poorest are enslaved. A strict dictatorship and hierarchy monitors their every move. They live by one law: eat or be eaten. Amasya was born different. Magic trails behind her, energy surrounds her. She is color in a world of black and white. But forces conspire against her, endangering everything she holds dear. There are secrets that brew underneath the surface of their society. She uncovers a destiny that awaits her and revelations that could change the fate of the nation. Amasya finds herself in the middle of a revolution that threatens to tear the country apart. One old dragon holds the answers, and Amasya is suddenly faced with a question: Will she let society tell her story or will she write her own? ........... [Originally published in 2016] Finalist in TheElectricAwards 'Best Cover' mini contest

Summer is coming, and Clementine is not ready. She is not ready to start speaking to her father again, because she's still mad at him for eating meat. Instead, she gives him drawings of animals she knows would not want to be somebody's dinner. Then there is the new baby on the way. Clementine's mom sure doesn't seem ready. She's suddenly crazy about cleaning (Dad says she is nesting), but she doesn't even have a name picked out yet. Clementine just hopes the baby won't be a dud. What Clementine really isn't ready for is saying good-bye to her third grade teacher. She knows Mr. D'Matz is going to tell her all kinds of things that aren't true. Everything else may be changing around her, but that doesn't mean that Clementine has. But which is worse, saying good-bye, or not saying good-bye?

Ben, Erica and the gang are back for another action packed adventure! Evil agent Murray Hill is back again, and leads the gang on a high speed quest for answers through a variety of locales, battling physical and emotional dilemmas. I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK! ALL CREDIT FOR MAIN CHARACTERS TO STUART GIBBS!

Cubella thought she was an ordinary girl living an ordinary life... until a mysterious crow started following her home. The next morning, she discovers something impossible: the crow can talk. Soon, Cubella learns that magic is real, her parents are powerful wizards, and she has been invited to attend the legendary Enchanted Edifice Academy. With her ghost crow guide, Corvus, by her side, Cubella enters a world filled with spells, magical creatures, hidden secrets, and dangerous enemies. But when she uncovers the truth about the extinct crows, a missing fairy crow, and the powerful elf ruler Lady Elaris, Cubella finds herself at the center of an ancient conflict that has lasted for a thousand years. Alongside her friends Elara and Willow, Cubella must rescue her family, uncover long-buried secrets, and face a monster unlike anything the magical world has ever seen. Some mysteries were meant to stay hidden. Some legends were never truly gone. And some crows refuse to be forgotten.

"Something has been forgotten, something has been lost, and something has not been forgiven." During the summer holidays, Alexander Cornelius Lockwood stumbles upon a dark, buried family secret, forcing him to enlist the help of his secondary school classmates, who must unravel the truth before the ghosts of his family's past seek their revenge on the Northumbrian village of Mourninghelm. ***** It is the bleak beginning of September and Alexander Lockwood has started the dreaded Mourninghelm Comprehensive School. With new challenges in the form of a resident school bully and classmate, Jean Smith, he wonders whether this school year will ever get better. But when he finds a box in the back of his mam's wardrobe during the annual summer Lockwood clean-up, he uncovers an age-old mystery - and a curse. With only twenty days to uncover the truth before the curse engulfs the whole village, Alexander enlists the help of his two best friends, the girl he has a crush on, and, regrettably, the school bully. However, with the fate of his family and Mourninghelm hanging in the balance, will the pressure crack him before he can save what he values most, or will he overcome the mystery standing in his way? 🥇Summertime Sadness Awards 2025 - Horror Genre 🥈The Quilling it Awards - Horror Genre 🥈 2025 Rose Gold Awards - Horror Genre 🥈The Elysian Quill Awards 2025 - Horror Genre

A trio of seventh graders become one another's first friends as they discover the secrets of a Civil War soldier in this middle grade novel for fans of Gordon Korman and Gary Schmidt. Praise for PRIVATE NOBODY: "Matthew Landis depicts the world of middle school with laser-like clarity, big-hearted warmth, and abundant humor, while also managing to bring Civil War history vividly to life. There's even a little romance thrown in! I wish I were still teaching just so I could hand this book to my favorite students." -Jordan Sonnenblick, award-winning author of Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie "A couple of tech savvy seventh-graders that readers will love getting to know go digging for a civil war soldier with a secret and discover themselves. Matthew Landis's novel is the best kind of time travel as past and present cross-dissolve." -Richard Peck, Newbery Medal-winning author of A Year Down Yonder