Hit The Ground

Nora, a quiet and talented artist, has always kept to herself, letting her creativity speak louder than words. Life takes an unexpected turn when she crosses paths with Jaden, a charming and irresistible basketball star whose reputation for heartbreak precedes him. What starts as a casual connection soon spirals into a passionate and consuming romance, filled with stolen glances, secret moments, and undeniable chemistry. But love is never simple. Betrayal, heartbreak, and jealousy test the strength of their bond, forcing both Nora and Jaden to confront their deepest fears and desires. As they navigate the turbulence of young love, they must decide whether their hearts are strong enough to endure the storms—or if falling in love means falling apart. Tender, raw, and unforgettably intense, “The Art of Falling” is a story about love’s power to heal, transform, and sometimes, break us completely.

…from his responsibilities as a father, hiding out from his pregnant girlfriend, and working as a groundskeeper in a rural graveyard. He’s running from a lifetime of guilt and bad decisions, but principally he’s running from the murderous entities that have possessed the very ground at his feet. Jim has no idea what these entities are, but they’ve done unspeakable things to everyone in the graveyard and now they’re hunting him down. There is nowhere Jim can hide, nowhere he can walk and nowhere he can run that isn’t under the lethal power of the things in the ground. If he stands any chance of survival he must uncover the link between his murderous tormentors, three mysterious graves and an ancient heresy that stretches back to the beginning of time. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

The day I was awarded the highest service medal, I got a call that my grandfather had died. My superiors approved emergency leave, and I rushed straight back to the family estate without stopping. The moment I reached the hillside cemetery behind the house, what I saw snapped something inside me. Our family burial ground had been completely leveled. My parents' graves had been dug open. Their urns had been turned into flower pot bases, with dark-red roses planted right on top of them. My grandfather's coffin had been split apart. His body was left exposed in the dirt, already starting to rot. And my younger brother, Jerry Horton, who was on the autism spectrum, was being ordered around like a laborer by my husband's assistant, Digby Wolfe, hauling construction materials back and forth. I lost it. I grabbed Digby and slammed him into the ground with a hard shoulder throw. "You touched my family's graves and made my brother do manual labor. Are you trying to get buried here with them?" Digby coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet, sneering at me. "This was Mr. Gray's decision. He said your family plot is in a good location, with plenty of space. It's perfect for building a golf course for the future Mrs. Gray. In Joule, Mr. Gray is the law." His tone was icy. "And who do you think you are?" I swallowed my rage and called Marshall Gray. "I hear you run Joule," I said. "Well, I'm about to change that."

A boy who falls hard, and a girl afraid of falling. Cassiopeia Walton has always been running away. Falling in love isn't an option, she learned that lesson the hard way. The only way to protect herself is by closing off her heart and not letting anyone in. Matthew Rayner refuses to allow anything to stand between him and his dreams. He already failed once and once was enough. He won't fail his band mates again. Now that they have finally achieved their hard earned success, he vows to put the band before everything else. When Cassie began to work with Matt's band, neither can resist the magnetic force between them. Matt and Cassie falls helplessly in love with one another, but Cassie knows that loving him means reopening old scars and letting go of the baggage that has been weighing down on her. And so she finally left to face them. Now Matt is left with the choice, to follow his dreams...or run after the girl of his dreams.

I gave up a vast fortune to be with my boyfriend Terrence. In our poorest days, we didn't even have a single grain of rice at home. Terrence went out to fight in underground rings, never surrendering once even when he was beaten black and blue. With his blood and sweat, he paved the path to our future brick by brick. In the present, his name was uttered with an undeniable tone of respect, while I was known far and wide as his missus, the woman he treasured above anyone or anything. One year, when I left the country because of a family emergency, I learned that he even started seeing a therapist due to separation anxiety. Everyone said that Terrence loved me more than life itself, and I had believed it too, wholeheartedly. Until I stood on our balcony, watching him tightly embracing another woman in the villa next door. "Even though Tanya is back, the very thought of losing you makes me lose control… I can't live without you, Mia… "If any other men ever appear by your side, I might just end up killing them…" His voice was a low rumble, tinged with a sort of unconscious madness. "B-But what about your wife? Didn't you say that she means more to you than your own life?" "Well, we just have to keep this hidden better, don't we? I want to always be with you…" My hand trembled, and I accidentally cut my hand with the fruit knife I was holding, but I felt no pain at all. To think that just one year apart was enough to shatter thirty years of love and mutual support… With trembling hands, I picked up my phone and called my mother. "Mom, I'm feeling homesick… Can you get me a new identity and a one-way ticket out of the country?"

Usually nothing separates the popular from the nobodies like family wealth and status. But what would happen if no one knew who you were? if they judged according to appearance and you became lost in the crowd at will? you felt comfortable with who you are, but because of bullies and schemes you were forced out of your inner shell. On the other hand, what if you were Mr. popular. Quarterback of the school's football team, dating the hot and spicy cheer-captain while both your families were highly respectable members in the business circle. What if you never wanted any of those things? Join the journey of Erika Stevens, the wealthy nobody that was dragged into the light against her will as she unexpectedly "Crashed-Into-Love" with the one trying to escape the scene of fame... Jeremy Adams. The teens that wanted a normal life, a fair chance to live and the freedom to choose their path to love.