Grownupreads Stories

All your dreams will come to life. So will all your nightmares. ― After narrowly surviving the car crash that killed his best friend, Andrew King is left to grapple with his loss and nurse a traumatic brain injury. With his injury comes a crippling sleep disorder, and sick of the restless nights and fatigued days, Andrew joins a clinical study to correct it as one of four subjects. The promise of returning to normalcy is lost as his dreams begin to take harrowing turns, prophetic in nature and vivid enough to be confused with waking life. Andrew bands with the other subjects, and they learn that the study has left them with the ability to live versions of the future in their dreams. Together they embark on a journey to find the forces behind their newfound abilities, only to quickly discover that some doors are best left unopened.

Three Spacecraft, two-hundred-and-forty colonists, twenty-five trillion miles and a discovery that changes everything. "Astronomicon: Inception Point" follows the human race's intrepid first steps into interstellar space, a colonisation mission to Proxima Centauri. The colossal distance and harsh environment are not all that stands between them and survival. This first volume in the epic Astronomicon series is the story of their desperate adventures and the political machinations that are unfolding back on Earth, which threaten to end space exploration permanently. With colonies on Mars and a thriving mining community around Jupiter, will everyone want to come home? ------------------------------------------------------- This is a complete rewrite from scratch of the first novel in the Astronomicon series. It's effectively the same story with many of the same characters (as it must fit with book 2 obviously) but there's LOTS of new stuff, the Elysian spacecraft has been completely redesigned and there are a few new twists added. The science has been hugely improved, the pacing tightened up and I've worked more on character development. Please comment on any chapters you like (or don't like!). I'm particularly interested to hear how this new version compares to the original. And don't forget, if you DON'T like a chapter, please DON'T vote for it! Books #1, #2 and #3 are out on Amazon. If you would like to support my writing, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE leave a review there!!!

This book is a collection of numerous short stories I have created, both mini and midi ones, written in the period of the past twenty years. Some of them are award-winning entries in various micronarrative competitions. Others were adapted with the usage of audio and video stimuli thus creating something akin to hyperliterature. The book cover was done by a Wattpad user and a friend, @AWFrasier. Thank you for designing my cover (again! :)) and at such a lightning speed! Tiny Tales is ONLY available on Wattpad. If you are reading this anywhere else, it is a plagiarized version that may contain malware. ⭐⭐⭐ 📘 Featured on "Multi-Genre Anthologies" reading list on @WattpadAnthologies (June 16, 2020) 📘 Featured on "Anthologies and collections" reading list on @MicroBytes (July 14, 2019) 🥉 Microbytes Contests and Challenges - Winter Nanofiction Contest 2019 Highest rankings: #14 microfiction (June 29th, 2020)

Stacy is an alcoholic mother. David is the father of their toddler. Lulu is the Thai trans woman he cheats with. Maybe that's a good thing? "The Out" is a complete novelette. Rankings: #1 NewAdult (January 1, 2019) #1 MatureRead (November 27, 2018) Note: This manuscript is a second draft that I've posted in hope of critique. So the beginning may be clunky, but it picks up around chapter 3. Thank you for bearing with me.

Schoolteacher Fiona is on a mission for grandpa - find a missing Zimbabwean artefact, the precious soapstone "Bird of the Gods". Conrad - dodgy archaeologist contracted to the stunning influencer Amanda aka #mandalove - has the same job. When Fiona and Conrad's paths cross, what was supposed to be a straightforward quest turns into a crazy race around the world. With antagonists popping up at every corner - from mountain tops to underground settings like Serbian caves, frozen Canadian crypts, and the silver mines of the old West, Fiona and Conrad have to work together to catch their bird. Mutual respect grows into something more intimate. But not everything is quite as it seems, and they had better watch their backs lest they too end up underground, this time permanently.

Where in the secret to life the universe and everything is revealed. Who says entertaining writing has to have a story, or a plot? Why can't it be just a stream of consciousness, some interesting episodes from one's life, some regrets revisited, some apologies long overdue, some philosophical speculations and some plain nonsense to keep it entertaining?

This is a 30 day writing challenge, a collection of short stories. I've always been a world class procrastinator. The goal of this challenge is to get me writing regularly and, hopefully, break me of the perfectionist thinking that often paralyses me. The Rules: 1. Write and publish 1 short story (flash fic, vignette) per day for 30 days. 2. Stories must be at least 100 words. 3. They can be of any genre or subject matter. Like a lot of writers I have notebooks lying around full of random story ideas. Most of my older ideas are for novels and screenplays. Been going thru my old ideas and picking out the ones I think lend themselves to the short story format. I'm also working on coming up with NEW ideas that I can use here. Never been good at using prompts, but this is a good opportunity to experiment with those. All the stories here are original works written specifically for this challenge. They were written on the day they were published unless otherwise stated. Any similarities to other writers' work is purely coincidental. Thanks & enjoy! ~Laura, 20 Feb, 2018

After the war, Petunia Dursley finds that Hogsmeade is a far cry from Little Whinging when she takes refuge in the Three Broomsticks. As she and Dudley begin to rebuild their lives in the wizarding world, she must make peace with both her past and her present. ✔ COMPLETE ****** Story contains mention of (off-screen) abuse

Robin Hood meets James Bond in this new Action Thriller ----------------------- What do you do when the world's most wanted man goes missing? That's my problem. Silver Tongue's a man of many faces; a nightmare to oligarches and a thief of hearts to the common man. There are those who want to kill him, sleep with him or be him. There is no neutral when it comes to Silver Tongue. Lucky for me, that overachiever's my brother. And while he's changing the world, I'm in the nation's capital, confined to my apartment with no social life, and a vague sense of this thing you call freedom. Until that letter changed everything. Silver Tongue has disappeared and his associates want my help finding him. I'm not sure what they expect me to do, but he is my brother. Let's face it. I'm probably going to get myself killed, aren't I?

Yuki had a crush on Kaname forever. When she learns that he also has a crush on her. The plot thickens as they learn more about each other and found that they're parents set up an arranged marriage years ago. What will the new couple do? ©2018 Nadine van der Merwe

The completely rewritten (newer and MUCH improved) version is available here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/236056789-astronomicon-1

Kymel loses her family at a very young age and manages to survive on the harsh streets of a feudal era city. When a quiet older man takes her in and trains her to be his assistant, she shows incredible aptitude.

Short stories of men and women who dwell in shadow and sin...mischief and mayhem...living and dying by the cut of a saber or the blast of a gun. [DISCLAIMER: A few of these stories have been published under the banner of West End Games and Lucasfilm from the Star Wars Adventure Journal. Others are creative recycling. I do not own the rights to the main franchise characters or intellectual franchise properties.]

While the world shivers since three years in an endless winter, Leif, a young man struggling to rebuild himself after the death of his girlfriend, meets fortuitously Freyja, a woman of his age with whom he shares strange common points. However, this heavenly encounter could be not as hazardous as it seems, and while fate plays the matchmaker, an old and dark power is about to be freed in the North...

[Formerly Featured/Historical Horror] Masquerading as a gentlemanly bachelor living in Victorian England, Joseph Redding is a fraud amongst the living. After splitting from his partner in unspeakable, underground crimes, he must now pay the price for disturbing the dead. When a ghastly spectre reveals itself to him one night in hospital, he finds himself hurled into an abstract streak of mysteries and homicides that will begin to unravel his fictitious existence. And it seems everyone is on to him... So begins the sinister fate of Joseph Redding as he is lured down a one-way path of paranormal horror, of secrets, and wanton desire. Discover why readers call this "brilliant", "classic" and "twisted"! -------------------------------------- • @IncarnateMovie Top Exorcisms Reading List • @ParanormalCommunity Ghosts Reading List • @HistoricalFiction Gothic Reading List • @Adultfiction The Gothic Reading List • @ProjectRefresh Refreshers Reading List • @OnlyTheBestNovels Best Horror Reading List • Wattpad Featured in Paranormal • Highest rank #11 in Horror (Nov 2016) PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK: "...I ate the twisted plot right up, relished in the conflicts throughout -- from Joseph's own internalised woes to the cryptic secret brilliantly built up..." FR "...This has been a terrific departure from the norms of horror convention..." IRC "...I loved this story not just because of the horrifying twists but because of the brilliance behind its plot. I've never read anything like it..." RC "...Classic prose, meticulously written, reveals the promise of a chilling tale that begs to be told..." KN "...I loved this original story. It tapped into so many idols of mine, but just saying that does not give the story the weight it deserves..." MB ------------------------------------- 25,000 word novella

Included in Mistletoe and Mischief (A Wattpad Romance Anthology), edited by MichelleJoQuinn. The heartwarming and story of two young lovers, travelling together to their new home, and in search of the true meaning of the holiday season. Warning: this story contains elements which may cause watering of the eyes and blowing of the nose. Use of tissues is recommended.

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

In the midst of a string of bank robberies hitting the city, detective Alpha investigates a bizarre sexual assault case. Meanwhile the unkeyed Ability still remains a mystery, nobody knows where it came from or what it does. But hey, at least there's coffee.