What Makes Lacuna A Sci Fi Noir Adventure Unique In Tone?

In a bleak future, the man with everything wants one more thing. Her. Tiernan is a man with everything, and he’s not used to being denied what he wants. When he sees Madison from a distance, he makes the arrogant decision to take her. Her family needs her, but she has little choice except to become the Commander’s new companion, albeit reluctantly. Life in the hub of power isn’t what she expects, and neither is Tiernan. He’s dark and demanding, but there are flashes of tenderness that have her falling for the man she glimpses inside the cold and exacting commander of their territory. Which Teirnan is the real one—the tyrant or the tender lover? At first, it seems impossible that she could ever be happy with the man who forced her to give up her life, but feelings grow between them. Their relationship reaches a fragile new level that could deepen to something neither expected, if betrayal and treason don’t separate the lovers.

---> if you are interested in my work, please check out my novel The Starving Vulture. Available on Amazon, $3.99 for the Ebook and $14.95 for the Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Starving-Vulture-Miguel-Monta%C3%B1a/dp/1951150899<---------The Pacific Capital. A product of an altered world, the legacy of the dead Philippine nation. A congested megacity holding 50 million people all huddled in what was once Metro Manila. It is the center for Pacific Maritime Trade, the world's largest Tax Haven and one of the few places in the world free from the Draconian but necessary environmental laws that saved the world since Cometfall. Ruled by Megacorporations, Corrupt Politicians, Invested Nobility and Criminals. It is one of the world's most important agricultural and pharmaceutical centers. H-6 is an Arbiter of the Court. As Judge Jury and Executioner, they maintain the essential Power Plant Canals and Massive weather controlled Dome Districts. Two elements that even the all powerful Megacorps need maximize their profits. Making Arbiter's Court the true rulers of the city. But even an all powerful Arbiter of the Court like H-6 knows, that Ambition and Greed will always find ways to ignore the rule of Law. Solus Valentine is a Security Consultant, plying her trade to anyone in need. She is a gun for hire who has the street smarts for the city's underworld. Whether in the gilded halls or the most flooded streets, she's ready for your contract. But while completing a contract, she stumbles into a vast conspiracy that just might threaten the city's fragile power balance, if not the world. She just might need an Arbiter's help for this one. One who might be someone from her past.

She negotiated peace for five years while her fated mate raised the children she'd left behind with the best friend who now called them hers. When Lyra returns, she finds her mate celebrating five years with the woman she once called her other half. Her twin pups, stolen from her arms as infants, call another woman "Mama." Her place has been erased, her sacrifice forgotten. Then her best friend and sister frame her for poisoning her own children. Condemned by the mentor she trusted, Lyra is exiled to the rogue lands, where she uncovers the truth: the woman she called Mother has been poisoning her since childhood to suppress her Shadowborn bloodline—a power feared for generations. Exile doesn't break her. It awakens her. Five years later, Lyra returns stronger than ever, wielding shadow magic and truth-seeing abilities capable of exposing every lie. Her former mate rules with strategies she created, while her best friend wears the Luna title that should have been hers. Worse still, she discovers the woman who raised her was never her real mother—and one final betrayal is already in motion. Her only ally is Kael Northwood, a rival Alpha who has searched for her since she disappeared. He believes in her innocence, but their undeniable mate bond is forbidden by ancient law. Now Lyra must choose: reclaim the family stolen from her—or embrace the destiny waiting in the shadows. Some betrayals destroy you. Hers awakened the monster they should never have tried to bury.

Her mama always said she was special. His daddy called him a demon. But even monsters can fall in love. Montessa Tovar is walking home alone when she is abducted by Lu, a serial killer with unusual talents and a grudge against the world. But in time, the victim becomes the executioner as 'Apocalyptic' Montessa and her doomed lover, 'Nuclear' Lulu, crisscross the country in a bloody firestorm of revenge. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

When a young girl named **Emilia** moves to an isolated, fog-drenched city in search of a fresh start, she quickly discovers that something is terribly wrong. The streets echo with silence, residents vanish without a trace, and time itself begins to twist and collapse. As doors appear in places they shouldn’t, and her own reflection begins acting on its own, Emilia realizes she’s trapped in a place that is not just haunted — it’s alive. Each chapter peels back a new layer of horror: shadowy watchers, eerie apparitions, underground tunnels, and ghostly echoes of past inhabitants. But the real terror lies within — the city seems to feed on fear, loneliness, and the feeling of failure. It reflects Emilia’s own anxieties back at her, warping her reality into a trial of the soul. As she searches for meaning, and later for escape, Emilia uncovers the city’s sinister purpose: it traps those most vulnerable and forces them to confront their darkest selves. With the help of other survivors — some real, some echoes — she must navigate psychological mazes and make impossible choices to survive. But survival isn't enough. Emilia must transform — not by escaping her fear, but by embracing it. In doing so, she becomes something more than a victim of the city. She becomes a guide, a witness, and eventually, a keeper of the door. *Trapped in the Hollow City* is a suspenseful, haunting exploration of inner demons, resilience, and the eerie beauty of choosing to become — even when the world seems built to break you.

Abandoned as a newborn on the edge of rogue territory, the female lead never knew a mother’s touch or a father's protection. She was raised among outcasts—rogues feared and despised by the werewolf packs. Though life was brutal, it was all she knew. Despite their coldness, she learned to survive, hunting like a shadow and fighting with a ferocity that belied her soft features. But one truth haunted her every breath: at nineteen, she still hadn’t shifted. No wolf. No bond. No howl. To the rogues, she became an oddity. An embarrassment. A burden. Whispers turned into suspicion. Some claimed she was cursed. Others swore she was human. But her instincts screamed otherwise—especially under a full moon, when her body trembled and her veins burned with an unknown power. Everything unraveled when a visiting beta from a powerful pack, known for his cruelty, sensed a faint bond and tried to claim her. When she rejected him publicly, his pride cracked. In revenge, he spun a web of lies, calling her a witch, a traitor, a danger to everyone around her. Without a trial, the rogues chose exile. But they didn’t stop there. To appease the packs and protect their own hides, they sold her. Chained like an animal and dragged into the world beyond the rogue borders, she was labeled a slave, her identity erased. She was passed from master to master; beaten, starved, and silenced. Yet something inside her refused to break. With every insult, every chain, her soul burned hotter. Stronger. And then, one night, in the deepest hour of despair, her wolf howled. The world will regret what it did to her. Because she is no mere rogue… She is the Luna fate forgot and the one destiny has been waiting for.