Contemporary Stories

Storie Sovany is used to being dismissed as the fat friend, until she moves from New York City to rural Ohio for college and the charming frat boy Liam Alexander approaches her. Torn between disbelief and flattery, Storie hopes her luck may have finally changed - but is it too good to be true? [author's note: this is not a romance!]

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION How do you trust the ground when all you've known is flight? In this breathtaking debut, Leigh Ansell has created a compelling, heartbreaking, and truly engaging story about a young girl used to flying high only to be faced with living life with her two feet firmly on the ground . . . Seventeen-year-old Corey Ryder can't remember a time when she wasn't gliding through the air of Cirque Mystique's big top. As a trapeze artist in a traveling circus, Corey wakes up every day in a different place, buzzing for the moment she can suspend gravity during the night's performance. When the circus pulls into small-town Sherwood, California, everything seems normal - aside from meeting the exceptionally cute Luke Everett at a local diner. But that night, in the midst of the performance, tragedy strikes and flames overtake the tent. While Corey narrowly escapes, in the ashes of the circus pitch lies the only home she's ever known. Repeatedly thrown out of her comfort zone, Corey must learn how to push toward her future without forgetting her past, what it means to be a daughter to a mother she's never known, and how to navigate the confusing magic of first love, even as she performs the high-wire act of being true to who you really are.

After the accident, Noah Archer built a wall around himself. But Riley Dawson is curious about him, and she's determined to meet the man behind his defenses. ***** Riley Dawson has always noticed Noah. He was the most popular guy on campus, until he lost his parents in a car accident. Now he's withdrawn and silent. Mustering up the courage to give her condolences, the two end up talking, and Riley grows determined to help Noah find himself again. Every time she coaxes a smile from him, she can feel the ice around his heart melting. But Riley knows that Noah's loss is still close to him. She's opening up her heart, but can Noah do the same? He's got so much to lose, but now, so does she. [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

Tyler is being hunted by the Grinning Man and flees to Marble Springs, where he teams up with Serling and Price, real estate agents who sell haunted houses. ***** After his brother disappears and a burial mound explodes, high school student Tyler Graves starts having strange visions. His brother warns him that something is coming for him. Soon, Tyler's entire family is slaughtered, and he's being hunted by an otherworldly entity known as The Grinning Man. Fleeing to Marble Springs, he meets Serling and Price, real estate agents who specialize in selling haunted houses. It's up to this unlikely trio to stop a madman from destroying the world - by literally unleashing Hell on Earth! (Sequel to Apartment 239.) [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION Finished high school, Emma's forced to spend her summer at a camp. But a striking counsellor, Vivian, changes her plans from escape to together forever. ***** Seventeen-year-old Emma Lane usually lives with her dad, but she's once again being forced to spend the summer with her homophobic mom. This time, however, instead of spending a summer on the beach, her mom drops her off at Camp Mapplewood while she heads off on a cruise with her new husband. Emma hates the camp and tries to escape, but she is caught by a camp counsellor Vivian. She's drawn to Vivian's voice and her charm, while Vivian is fascinated by Emma's instinct to protect others and to feel with her whole heart. The two grow close, but the end of the summer looms. Can they find a way to stay together when they have to return to their normal lives? (Has a sequel: My Pretend Summer.) [[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]

When Hayley falls for a bodyguard whose secret is more dangerous than her own, she must decide how much she is willing to risk for love. ***** Tank has spent his life protecting people. He works for one of the most successful security companies in the world, makes more money than most people see in a lifetime, and has a past that no one can ever know about. Hayley Elliott will do anything to keep her mom safe. Her sister has found a cure for Alzheimer's and their mom is living proof that the supplement works - but hiding from the people looking for the supplement's formula is impossible. When the threat to their lives becomes deadly, she has no option but to trust a man who's living with a secret more dangerous than her own. With more at stake than their own lives, Tank and Hayley have to decide what is more important: protecting the past or risking everything for love. Leeanna Morgan is a USA Today Bestselling Author.

Anne De Ville is a do-the-same-thing-every-day kind of ordinary. On the one day she chooses to try and do something different, she ends up dropping her shoes down several flights of stairs, right onto the head of her crush-and her brother's best friend-Hunter Denegan. Will her Prince Charming look for the girl who lost her shoe? [This book is going to be published with Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group in the Summer 2025] [[word count: 20,000-30,000 words]]

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION. If you'd like to access both this Books Edition & the Original Edition of Entwined, please see the other version on my profile. *** Sometimes love gets a bit twisted. Avery Montgomery doesn't even know if she wants a soul mate. As a member of the Hellenicus-a race founded in antiquity and descended directly from the Greek gods-Avery's attending her first Gathering where she'll gain the ability to entwine her thoughts with her destined soul mate and be tied to them forever. But all is not as it seems at the Royal Court. There are severe and strange looks from the elders, whisperings from the ancient Dodona tree, and encounters with spirits who seem to know Avery better than she knows herself. Throughout these whirlwind events at Court, Avery finds herself torn between her feelings for the wise and protective Vladimir and the passionate, fun-loving Adrian. Unwilling to surrender her independence or to betray her heart, Avery must decide once and for all if she'll give in to her desires and risk the wrath of the Gods. Because who are you if your destiny lies with another person?

ORGINALLY A 'PAID' STORY. NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON/KU *** 4 CHAPTER SAMPLE HERE *** Jake Bryant must stop the criminal mastermind who orchestrated the murder of his best friend from killing his new family. ***** More dark secrets from Jake Bryant's past come to light. Dolan, the criminal mastermind who ordered the hit on Jake's best friend, Tom, is searching for evidence Tom collected against him for another murder - evidence Tom hid with his widow before his death. Desperate to bring Dolan to justice, Jake finds himself in a race against time to save the lives of those he loves. But with allies double-crossing him left and right, Jake must discover who he can trust before Tom's family is destroyed along with the evidence. Can Jake win the race or will he die just like his friend? [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

EPILOGUE WILL BE FREE STARTING JUNE 29TH, 2023! Diana wakes up in pain, tied to a bed and unable to escape. She's been trapped by a group of surgeons with a twisted passion and she's their next victim. ***** Diana Slater, a typical University student, wakes up in pain, tied to a bed and unable to see. After a mysterious figure, known only as Dr. Sweeney, nurses her back to health she finds out the truth. The Doctor has kidnapped her and given her a cat's eyes as part of a larger ploy to turn humans into collectibles. Now she's being trained by Ben, another patient, with the skin of a snake, on how to behave. Diana and Ben are forced to work together to try to escape the murderous doctors - until she discovers Ben might not be the victim he makes himself out to be. The only person Diana can trust is herself, and if she fails, her eyes won't give her another nine lives. [[Winner of the 2018 Fiction Awards for Best Horror Story]] [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]] Cover designed by Holly Thurston

Sara Gaspard swore she'd do anything to find those responsible for her sister's death, but teaming up with the Sin of Pride is more than she bargained for. ***** Desperate and dying, Sara Gaspard promises her soul to the Sin of Pride if he'll find the madmen responsible for ruining her life, but they soon discover her wish is more complicated than expected. Together, Sara and Pride delve into a twisted world of insidious plots, occult fanaticism, and paranormal disaster as they search for answers and struggle to survive. As the danger in the city of Verweald rises, Sara and Pride must find the cult before the newest threat haunting the city's bloody streets claims them both. [[Book 1, the Bereft Series]] [[Writer's Debut Watty Award Winner]] [[Readers Choice Award]] [[Original Draft]]

ORGINALLY A 'PAID' STORY. NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON/KU *** 4 CHAPTER SAMPLE HERE *** When the biker gang calls in a Jake Bryant's debt, he has no choice but to hunt down an old friend by any means necessary and retrieve their stolen drugs, even if it cost him the woman he loves. ***** Time has run out for Jake Bryant. The Devil's Hand motorcycle gang has cashed in the debt he owes them. Jake must hunt down his old friend, Rick, to retrieve the million dollars worth of heroin he stole from the gang. Soon, Jake finds himself double-crossing both Rick and the Devil's Hand, but his true loyalties will be tested when his girlfriend becomes a bargaining chip. After failing the other women in his life, will Jake finally be able to save someone he loves? [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION When her initiation into her college's History Club goes awry, Sol has to come face to face with Ethan-the cute guy whose house she just broke into. ***** Soledad Gutierrez, or Sol to her friends, decides to join the History Club at her Community college. However, this club is not like other clubs: they have an initiation process and a slew of other 'extracurricular activities.' In order to join the club, Sol must break into the oldest house in her small Californian town and steal one of their forks. The club members provide all the materials to break in; she just needs to take the utensil, take a selfie in the kitchen, and get out undetected-with the fork, of course. The problem is: Ethan Winston spots Sol in his grandparent's house, and he's determined to uncover the reason behind the break-in. However, both he and Sol are thrown for a loop when feelings begin to develop between them. And as Ethan becomes suspicious of the History Club, he and Sol get tangled in an adventure none of them were expecting. [[word count: 90,000-100,000 words]] [[Wattys 2019 Winner for Young Adult + Being Published by Wattpad Books in Fall 2020]]

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION There are imperfect moments in every life-but sometimes, there are perfect accidents . . . What's the point of pretending nothing has changed when everything has? It's the last summer before college, and Jonas Avery knows he should be excited. Instead, he hides out at home, avoiding his friends, his family, and everything that resembles his old life. Because nothing will be normal again-because of The Accident, when everything started falling apart. Brennan Davis knows she needs to stand up and face her anxiety-the deep, dark, debilitating dread that rules her everyday life. Because what stops her from going out into the world and just living is going to get a whole lot worse. She's leaving for college in the fall, where she'll be confronted with even more to worry about. To get back up sometimes you have to fall down, hard . . . When Jonas crashes into Brennan-in a harmless, albeit embarrassing fender bender-the two teens connect in ways they never expected. As friends, they help each other overcome their biggest falls and faults, and soon discover that while love can't fix everything, it's sometimes a place to start. Sensitive, wry, and unabashedly authentic, The Opposite of Falling Apart isn't about finding perfection in another person or fixing the things we think are broken. Instead, Micah Good has penned an enchantingly honest novel about accepting the very pieces of ourselves that make us unique, whole, and undeniably human.

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION Griffin Tomlin is dead. And Clara's sister killed him . . . Four months after the murder, the entire town of Shiloh is still in shock. For Clara Porterfield, the normal world has crumbled around her in a million chaotic pieces. Now Clara lives in a new reality, where her sister awaits trial for murder, her mother obsessively digs in a dead, frozen garden, and her father lives and breathes denial. At school, Clara is haunted by her classmates' morbid curiosity-and all of the unspoken questions they won't ask. But none of them knows what she knows . . . Now Clara's sister wants something from her-the one thing in all of this that Clara isn't ready to face: the truth about what really happened that night. Because this story didn't die with Griffin Tomlin. There's another story that needs to be told. And sometimes, the lies we're told are nowhere near as deadly as the lies we tell ourselves . . .

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION When a summer of fun turns upside down, Olivia must figure out whether her paranoid imagination is playing tricks on her or if she's being followed - and by who. ***** It's been years since Olivia nearly drowned in Caldwell Beach, and after moving away, she's back for the summer to reconnect with old friends. However, not everything-or everyone-is the same. Her childhood best friend, Miles, is still sweet and carefree, but his older brother West is not. Disowned and working at the local garage, he's distanced himself from everyone, until Olivia accidentally uncovers the reason why. But as the two grow closer, strange things begin happening to Olivia. She can't stop seeing shadows and hearing voices, but as she slips into a downward spiral of obsessiveness and paranoia, she must fight to uncover the truth behind who is after her, and why. [[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]

Abe Barrett is surrounded by ghosts - some of them are even his roommates! But now Abe's visions show something dark coming, and it wants Abe dead. ***** When Abe Barrett's family died, he started seeing ghosts. Soon he was living with three of them, and it turns out ghosts are just as eccentric as people. Abe is bothered by the ghosts constantly since he doesn't want to solve their murders, avenge them or do much of anything. He just wants to do his job and relax. His dreams, however, have been getting darker as people in town start to disappear. Soon Abe realizes there is something hunting him, and that same threat was involved with his family's deaths. A legacy of darkness is chasing Abe Barrett, and his supernatural roommates may not be enough to save him. [[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]

ORGINALLY A 'PAID' STORY. NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON/KU *** 4 CHAPTER SAMPLE HERE *** Jake Bryant, a disgraced Chicago detective, inserts himself into the police investigation of his murdered best friend to protect the woman he loves - his friend's widow. ***** Jake Bryant, a former Chicago PD detective, rushes home after his best friend is killed. Determined to find the murderer, he starts his own investigation into Tom's death. However, the case is complicated by the involvement of a motorcycle gang, drugs, and Jake's feelings for Tom's widow. But Jake has bigger problems when the police set the killer free- who then decides to silence Tom's family as well. Now Jake is faced with the ultimate dilema. Does he trust a broken system to protect Tom's family? Or does he seek his own brand of justice? [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

While falling in love with a drug kingpin, Tikera must prove she can survive in his dangerous world - and convince him their relationship is worth fighting for. ***** After dropping out of university and setting her sights on traveling to Europe, twenty-three-year-old Tikera Copeland is desperate for a job. So when she innocently applies for a gardening position and immediately gets hired, she's shocked to discover that her "real" job will be tending to a bunker full of thriving, (definitely) illegal weed plants. Intrigued by this world she knows nothing about, Tikera agrees to stay, but her growing feelings for "The Boss" -- the mysterious drug kingpin who owns and grows the plants -- quickly complicate things. He's falling for her too (and she knows it, even if he won't admit it), but breaking through his icy exterior won't be easy. And with thieves, vengeful hitmen, and rival kingpins threatening them at every turn, will they even survive long enough to find their happily ever after? [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION. You have to step off the trail to find your path . . . When her mother unceremoniously dumps her at Camp Mapplewood for the summer, Emma Lane's hopes of repairing their fractured relationship are gone with the wind. Now she's stuck in the wilderness facing her worst fears. Trees? Terrifying. Spiders? Even worse. And don't even get Emma started on how she feels about camp activities. But Emma's got a plan, and she will do anything in her power to get kicked out of camp, from sleeping in to playing practical jokes on her fellow campers. Yet when Emma draws the attention of her illusive and attractive camp counselor Vivian Black, she has to come to terms with the fact that how her summer starts isn't necessarily how it might end. Will Vivian be the key to unlocking Emma's fears once and for all?