A Tree Without Roots Novels & Stories

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"Why can’t you just leave me alone?" Valentina snarled, breath hitching as she shoved against the bark of the tree behind her. He stepped closer, eyes glowing with an untamed hunger. In one swift, possessive motion, he pinned her hands above her head, his lips grazing the pulse at her neck—dangerously close to the spot only a mate should touch. “Because, little wolf,” he whispered, his voice dark velvet against her skin, “you belong to me—and I’m done pretending otherwise.” _______ Stabbed by the man she once loved and betrayed by the friend she trusted most, Valentina was reborn in the ashes of heartbreak. No longer the obedient luna of the Shadow Crust pack, she rises from the shadows to reclaim her life—and her power. But home is no longer safe. Her pack is in ruins. Her father? Bewitched by a mysterious woman named Carmella. And fate? Cruel, as always. Because waiting for her in the heart of the storm is the man she should never desire—Andres Donovan, the cold and dangerously obsessive Lycan King… and her second-chance mate. He watches her with eyes full of secrets, speaks in riddles that echo of a past she can’t remember, and touches her like he’s been starving for centuries. But as enemies close in, alliances fracture, and war brews over the divine blood flowing in her veins, Valentina must decide: Will she fight fate again… Or surrender to the one man who could ruin her—or save her?

Ten years ago, Eli Voss left Cedarwood Falls without a word — without an explanation, without looking back. Now he's back to restore a crumbling Victorian inn, and the only contractor available is the one person he never stopped thinking about. Noah Callahan spent ten years building walls under his easy smile. He's fine. He's moved on. He just needs to get through six weeks of working side by side with the man who shattered him at eighteen — without letting it happen again. The problem is, Cedarwood Falls is a small town. The inn needs both of them. And the distance Eli keeps trying to maintain keeps shrinking. Some things don't stay buried. Some feelings don't care how many years you put between them. And some men fall harder the second time.

We had agreed to spend the New Year with our own families, but at the last minute, my husband, Drake Murrell, changed his mind and insisted I go back with him this year. I agreed, planning to take this opportunity to finally tell him the truth about who I really was. When we first got married, my parents told me to keep a low profile so that Drake, who came from a single-parent household, wouldn’t feel pressured. So I hid the fact that I was the daughter of the richest family in the capital, the Thorntons. When we returned to his hometown, I specifically bought my mother-in-law, Diana Murrell, a pair of gold bangles. She accepted them with a beaming smile, praising me again and again for being such a thoughtful daughter-in-law. However, the next day, as I passed by the old oak tree at the edge of Willow Creek, I overheard her talking about me with a group of people. "Oh, you have no idea. My daughter-in-law is absolutely ridiculous!" My hand froze midair, still holding my phone, as I instinctively ducked behind a haystack. I heard her continue loudly, "She bought me a pair of gold bangles this year. The moment I touched them, I knew they were fake! I’m telling you, they’re probably those cheap online knockoffs, like the kind that cost next to nothing and start fading the moment you wear them!" I was stunned with anger. She called pure gold fake? Looks like the million-dollar New Year gift I had prepared for her wasn’t necessary anymore.

I am in such a rush to pick up my daughter, Ava Pennington, from school that I don't have time to change out of my work attire. At the kindergarten gates, I run into the mother of one of her classmates, Candice Austin. She sizes me up from head to toe and says, "You must be Ava Pennington's mom." I politely nod. Just as I am about to say hello, her expression suddenly sours. "It's no wonder your daughter dresses so skimpily at school. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?" I am so mad that I nearly forgot to respond. "What nonsense are you talking about?" Candice clicks her tongue and grows even more aggressive. "Nonsense? Your daughter wears skirts to school every day. She's distracting my son so much that his grades have slipped." Her words leave me utterly speechless. How is her son's failing grades somehow Ava's fault? When I don't respond, she gets bolder. "Look at you dressed from head to toe in cheap junk; how can you afford to send your daughter to this elite kindergarten? You must have pulled some shady strings to sneak her in through the back door, didn't you?" Has she lost her mind? Since when does Ava need strings to attend the school I built?

Ava Williams has fallen head over heels over her charming prince and best friend, Axel. So imagine her disappointment when she realizes her fated mate isn't Axel, but that one playboy in her school named Hunter Ysrael, the future alpha of a rival pack! 19 year old Hunter Ysrael had always looked down on wolves of her rank. When he discovers his mate was none other than an omega from his rival pack, he couldn't wait to get rid of her. But when Ava proposed to be the first to reject the breathtakingly handsome, god-like future alpha Hunter, he is filled with an unyielding determination and desire to turn the tables and make Ava fall in love with him no matter what. However, it turns out that Ava has other dreams of her own. The night brings surprises not only for Ava but her family tree as well as the structure of the wolves' societal order. As she struggles with finding her true identity and dealing with unexpected extraordinary powers, an evil force from the past comes back to haunt the wolves and to seek vengeance from the werewolf kind. It is said that only a white can save them from those corrosive, dark magic wielding demons, but until now the prophesized white has yet to be found. Everything changes for Ava when she learns her true identity, and the purpose she was made to serve in this cruel world. She has a lot to lose if she does fight but a lot more if she doesn't. A story of divided loyalties, love, magic, and survival.

He divorced her the very day they got married.. That's sad... What did she do? Left without questioning him and without even knowing his name.. Now what happens when they meet up again? Read to know more....

My name is Elara. For years I lived without a pack, without a she-wolf, without an identity. Everything changed when I went to a home that should be mine, but they rejected me as if I were an imposter. I was not happy, although I had to be. It was the only chance I had to be able to unravel the mystery of the silenced. The problem was that I met three brothers who made my soul come alive. Aiden, the protector who burns in silence. Jayden, the rebel who pushes me to defy everything. Brayden, the strategist who sees me even when I don't want to be seen. All three are bound to me by an ancient, savage, and dangerous bond. But I am more than just a beastless Omega half-breed; I am the key to changing everything. And if I have to burn it all to protect what I love from an absurd spiritual prophecy... I will do it without hesitation.

Everyone is given a choice in life, but what about the one for whom the choice comes by itself - suddenly and without a chance of refusal? What to do when the road to a dream turns out to be covered in blood, and sometimes you yourself seem like a piece of meat? And what if the dream dies, leaving behind only a void? You can't become a warrior and never get killed. One cannot be a sorcerer without coming into contact with death. You can't train to be a healer without cutting living flesh. In this world, to be a guardian means to know cruelty, dirt and pain. But love will endure everything. Even those that are not able to withstand the mind.

When my husband, Lucius Croft, and I were on a flight that was heading toward our honeymoon destination, his childhood friend, Belinda Todd, suddenly appeared before us while pregnant. She claimed that she had bought an economy-class ticket and that she wanted to go on a vacation with us. Not only did Lucius not reject Belinda, but he also wanted me to give my first-class ticket away to her. I turned his suggestion down. So, he helped Belinda occupy the first-class seat next to us. When I realized that an old lady was the owner of that particular seat, I did everything I could to convince Lucius to return the seat to her. Unexpectedly, Belinda was so mad that she got off the plane right away. On her way home, she got into an accident, which killed her and her unborn baby. Lucius attended her funeral calmly. But on the day I was supposed to go into labor, he tied me up in the car and staged a car accident on purpose. "This is all your fault! If it wasn't for you, Belinda never would've died! You deserve to make it up to her with your life!" I could only watch the car drive into the tree in total despair. All I saw was a huge explosion and tongues of flame around me before I completely lost consciousness. When I open my eyes again, I see Belinda standing before me with her belly jutting out. This time, I no longer stop them. What they don't know is that the inconspicuous-looking old lady is actually a member of the esteemed Howard family, also known as the global business powerhouse. She's also the grandmother of the richest man in the world, Ethan Howard.