Payton James is a girl who, like most, cannot wait to get out of the broken down, dirt road, water tower town that she calls home. Starting her last year in high school, she knows to keep her grades up and taking all the extra credit that the teachers at Westwood High School offer are the only way to make her dream become reality. Payton has always been the good girl, always doing and saying what she was told to, but there is a place out there where she is in control of her own life. She will do whatever it takes to get out, even if that journey starts with writing letters to a certain soldier.
Greyson Tayler is a soldier in the United States Marine Corps, currently, overseas struggling with the effects of war and the loss of his childhood best friend Liam Simmons has brought. When his Sergeant comes to him with the idea to sign up for the pen pal project, he thinks he's crazy. How could writing to a complete stranger help him get through the slump that had become his life?
Can Payton save the broken soldier from himself, and can Greyson help a small town damsel escape? Find out in The Pen Pal Project, a story full of heartache, backstabbing, jealousy, and a love that can fight the odds.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]