Ownvoices Stories

One man is her family's dream. The other could be her undoing. Suraiya Rao has never quite belonged. She's not white enough for society, not brown enough for her family... not enough for anyone. She's spent her life walking a tightrope between British reality and Indian expectation, doing everything by the book, no matter the cost. Then one chance encounter changes everything. Haydn Ellis Clarke isn't part of the plan. He's rich, ridiculously handsome, and absolutely not the man her family has chosen for her. But he sees her - not the dutiful daughter or the girl buried beneath generations of pressure, but the version of herself she's never dared to be. Mendhi My Heart is a story of identity, belonging, and choosing love, even when it means breaking every rule. Because love doesn't always arrive in the "suitable" package. Sometimes, it wears torn jeans... and gives your grandmother a heart attack.

In a twist of fate, Ariah Martin's world flips upside down when she receives an invitation to a Christian summer camp. Little does she know that the charming guy she's been texting on a dating app, specifically made for trans people, is none other than the pastor's son. Step 1: Avoid him at all costs. Step 2: Repeat Step 1. But just when she thinks she's got it under control, Bryan Nguyen enters the scene, leaving her heart in chaos, but she hasn't disclosed to him yet. Caught between love and war, Ariah must navigate the unpredictable waters of summer romance, where keeping secrets might be her downfall or her saving grace. Highest ranks: #1 - Diversebooks 08.25.23 #1 - TransWoman 12.01.2025

ආදරය කියන්නෙ හිමි කරගැනීම ම නෙවෙයි අයිතිය හෝ අනියමත් නෙවෙයි. රාගය..විරහව..නියම්..අනියම්...මේ සේරම තියෙන්නෙ අයිතියක් ඉල්ලුවොත් විතරයි. ආදරය හරියට හඳ වගේ.... අයාන් කියන්නෙ පකිස්තානයම වසඟයට ගත්තු ජනප්‍රිය නිවේදකයෙක්.තරු පවුලක සැමියෙක්.පියෙක්. මෙත්මා අබේසිංහ කියන්නෙ ජීවිතේ ලස්සන හොයාගෙන යන ආදරේ භාෂාව ඇස් වලින් කතා කරන අහිංසක දඟකාරියක්. දෛවය කියන්නෙ..... ඒ දෙන්නාටම වෙනස් කරන්න බැරි වුණු ලස්සන කතාවක්. 'Firaaki' ඒ කතාවට දැම්ම නම 'වෙසක් මුබාරක්' මේක හඳක් වගේ ලස්සන හිත් ඇතුලේ පෑයුව තරු වගේ ලස්සන කතාවක්...

I'M GOING TO START EDITING THIS PROBABLY. If you go to Our Lady of the Black Veil Academy, chances are you know the names Cass Landry, Rebecca Lovelace, and Mallory Meksawan. Cass Landry being the mysterious new girl with a tendency to practice magic illegally, Rebecca being notorious for lighting up every room she walks into, and Mallory being the second in command it-girl of Black Veil, as famed as she is feared. After a magical attempt to escape detention goes terribly, horribly wrong and their ethics teacher winds up dead (ironic, they know), Cass must band together with Rebecca, the girl she "totally doesn't like", and Mallory, another girl she doesn't like (but like...for real this time) to find a spell that can bring their teacher back to life before her situation becomes permanent. A spell of this caliber, however, requires that they venture into the underground world of their picturesque town, striking a deal with a powerful gang leader that not only raises the stakes, but gives them an even tighter timeline. And though as a witch Cass has personal experience with life and death, the pressure that she's facing now might just be too tough to handle. Luckily, she's not alone. And with the three baddest witches of Black Veil, who knows what could happen. (So yeah I failed but I'm keeping ONC in the title okay let me have this)

Finding Meesha alone, he approached her on the side walk. The sun was hanging low on the horizon leaving an orange glow across the shore. "Now that your girls are gone, let's be real," Mike spoke. She was prepared to give him the real Meesha as he put it. But when she turned, she looked at him. No shades, no barriers, just the two of them standing on the sidewalk inches apart. Words failed her. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of brown. And at moment she couldn't describe what exactly they were doing to her. He was a full head taller and his broad shoulders eclipsed her shadow as her back now faced the sun. He was fione. No, he was more than that, he was beautiful.

Who uploaded the viral video that tanked Bette Porter's mayoral campaign? Powerful, charismatic Bette Porter is poised to become the next mayor of L.A., with the help of ambitious P.R. exec Dani Nunez. But the fundraising gala on Saturday night is a disaster. Instead of polishing Bette's image while the money pours in, a gala participant catches Bette in the middle of a raging temper tantrum and uploads a video that goes instantly viral. At brunch the following day, Bette's friends strategize about how to repair the damage. But what if some damage can't be repaired?

***CAMP NANOWRIMO APRIL 2017 - CERTIFIED*** ***A sequel to Fright Fest 2016 Gold Winner RED RAIN*** "Lately I've been thinking. Do you think I'm the Devil because I'm inherently evil, or just because dear ol' Dad decided I was?" -"Lucifer" "Wearing a cross is one thing. Living by it is another." -Michael Schofield, "Prison Break" Red Rain was just the beginning. Blue Monday made everything worse. White Shadows started setting things right. The Black Mirror threw some wrenches in the works. Gabe Snow's spent a few happy months with his boyfriend and best friend getting back into school for the first time since any of them died. Alex Snow just wants to have an easy-going Christmas with his friends back in the mortal world, though he can't help but miss those he's lost. Two more brothers, both with their own long history of daddy issues, are working to protect them. Divine intervention, however, may not be enough when one enemy is the Peppermint Corporation, with its lack of qualms about tampering with history, and the other uses his divine origins to mask his true, devilish nature. (Fifth novel in the Red Rain series. Cover designed by @Whisperingwater.)

[ ON-GOING ] सोबती (sobati) /sobatee/ noun. companion, partner. [ Extended Description inside ]

COVER NOT MADE BY ME* "Only women are born ymbrynes." Something about that phrase had always seemed wrong. This was odd for a number of reasons. The first of which being, that in her long years of life, Miss Bleeding-Heart had never heard of it being false. The second reason and the reason Miss Bleeding-Heart was having the most difficult time understanding was that it made her deeply uncomfortable for no reason she could formulate and had for as long as she had been an ymbryne. | Part one of A Peculiar Family | *The awesome cover was made by @TheNoctisLich at Melancholy Memories Graphics Shop! I'd definitely recommend them for any of your graphics needs!

After a wild summer thunderstorm, a small town is rocked every night by methodical, mysterious loud booms echoing through the streets. When the adults are unable to solve the mystery, the new kid enlists the other outcasts he's befriended to take up the challenge and discover the source of the disturbing noises.

TESTING DAY IS HERE Full-of-herself teenager Lilianne Whisper thinks she's got it all figured out. For her, school is an arena to hone "socialista" techniques for manipulating the masses. So Lilianne believes until enchanting Anton Flowers transfers to her class. He's a joyous rainbow in an otherwise brutal world of mutant animal warning signs and torturous Testing Days intended to spark any latent superpowers teens might possess. Lilianne and Anton become best friends, and when they kiss, something more. But Lilianne's world is upturned when Anton Manifests abilities and is sent to Jupitar Island to be with his fellow Supergenics. When Lilianne also shows signs of enhanced DNA, she dreams of being adopted by a wonderful Supergenic family and hopes to see Anton again. But her new life falls short of what the Manifestation propaganda promises. What happens to Lilianne if she only partially Manifests? Will she be doomed to a painful orphaned life as a deformed, servile halfie? In an oppressive system that uses tantalizing lies to hide ugly truths, can her socialista wits rise to seemingly insurmountable challenges while winning Anton to her side? If so, at what cost, to herself ... and the world? Find out in The Girl With Green Scales.

One story told from different perspectives, One game that would either make a team, or Marr their bonds forever. Each player has something to lose, something to prove, and something they have been hiding, and as the final whistle approaches, they'll learn that life isn't always about winning, and sometimes, it's about who you become when the game is over.

Will hears things -- the fears and phobias of those around him. And when he's sent away to a foreign boarding school after an incident he caused with the new and dangerous side to this ability, he begins to realise there may be more to the school than he'd originally thought. ||| Windsor's Boarding School collects struggling kids from all over the globe -- and William Moore wants nothing to do with it. But when he finds a dangerous secret society living on the school grounds, one that uses nightmares as a way of magic, he realises they might be connected to his freakish ability. A stolen dream. An exiled student. A brewing war. Making a risky deal with one of the members, Will finds himself drawn to the danger of his power and uncovers exactly what the society would do to him if they found it out. [UNDER EDITING]

An anthology centered on the power, strength, weaknesses, fears, hopes, ambitious, prejudices, thoughts, secrets, and dreams of Filipino women from all walks of life.

| 8𝘅 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 · A YA Beauty and the Beast gender-swapped retelling. Bit of a Stranger Things vibe going on, too! Life was going mega well for Beatrice-Bea Laurent, a soon-to-be 18-year-old certified Insta star slash posh gal. She was spending every waking breath throwing parties, and dodging responsibilities. Until one fateful day when an Instagram scandal has her parents banish her from New York to New Town. Next thing she knows, she is cursed by a creepy old lady and is... changed. She starts growing fur, claws AND fangs! *** Beatrice Laurent is your average posh teen girl, who goes to classes when she feels like it. Which is basically... never. She spends her days lounging on her couch, staring at her phone screen, sharing fab life insta stories with her "friends," and sliding into their dms. Dodging real life responsibilities left and right, she does nothing, yet has everything. And, she has no problem with that. In fact, she enjoys it. Chartering planes-check. Private yachts-check. Designer duds-check. No expectations, no responsibilities, no worries. But that all ends when Beatrice gets grounded and banished from New York to New Town. Cherry on top: she is cursed by a creepy old lady at a party she threw! Suddenly she is friggin' growing fur, claws and other feline attributes, and having the incredible urge to roar and pursue tiny rodents. What's a girl to supposed to do when she involuntarily transforms into a beast and can't attend classes no more? Can Bea count on Ross Thorne, a bookish classmate who is struggling to stop living in his older brother Gus' shadow... To keep her secret? And perhaps aid her in the un-cursing when their budding affection becomes more than apparent? © 2022 EvelynHail Exclusively on Wattpad

**AVAILABLE ON AMAZON (Paperback AND e-book)** What will Elijah do when A-list movie star, Aria Sterling, crashes his well-earned vacation? As a lawyer fighting for the rights of LGBTQ youth, he doesn't have much sympathy for some spoiled actress who is trailed by paparazzi wherever she goes. But, surrounded by aggressive photogs, they'll realize they have more in common than first meets the eye.

Amygdala: "Poll question! What's the best part of the sequel to 'Big City, Little Magics'?" Couch: "Why is there a sequel?" Sleeves: "Pretty sure the author's just obsessed with us and wanted to see what else we'll do." Manchester: "Authors do be like." Harkness: "My favorite part is the conversations like these, because it is fun that we ask and answer such important questions as 'What is home to you?' and 'What do you think red smells like?' and 'What do you love about Harkness?'" *smiling sun emoji* Travis: "I like- well, /most appreciate/ the Manchester POV chapters. Far from easy, but deeply important. I hope they reach the readers who need them." Amygdala: "Of which the author was one." Amygdala: "Best part in my opinion? Getting a chance to further explore the different social dynamics between our various friend combos within the band. I like us liking each other. :)" Sleeves: "I like us speaking probable blasphemies while high." Couch: "I like the new song." Couch: "Not new to us, but to anyone who hasn't heard it yet." Couch: "Edit: /read/ it yet. (The author needs to get around to making audio for this shit.)" Manchester: "Best part of the sequel? Same as the best part of the original: Friend-family making the most of their magics to deepen each other's lives." Sleeves: "Plus the Pride Night aesthetics." Manchester: "Oh, HELL YES, the Pride Night aesthetics."

His father felt ridiculous asking. His father, a sturdy man who was never unsure, had carefully considered his words and concluded that there was nothing to be said to ease the conversation. It was his fault really. He allowed himself to be caught, more than once, staring at the object that now held both of their attention...

When 19-year-old Ayana stumbles upon a buried relic beneath an ancient sugar tree in rural Georgia, her world cracks open-literally. Marked by ancestral magic and haunted by visions, she's drawn into a hidden war older than any history book dares record. With the help of Kofi, a spiritual scholar with family secrets of his own, and Malachi, a mysterious young man bound to the same darkness that nearly consumed her, Ayana must confront the legacy of power, pain, and prophecy left in her bloodline. But when her growing powers awaken a forgotten entity known only as the Hollow Crown, Ayana realizes she's not just a bearer of magic-she's a key. And something is watching her. The door has opened. What walks through will either heal the world-or hollow it. Powerful, poetic, and rooted in Black ancestral mysticism, The Obsidian Mark is a lush fantasy about identity, legacy, and the cost of awakening.

This is poetry I wrote in 2016 expressing my feeling with autism at the time. The style is quite wordy, something I learned to avoid now. Can't really hype it up, just some juvenalia in case I actually turn into an author lol. Enjoy!