Awkward Writing

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Jane Winters moves to Los Avalos with her mother, Sarah, who is getting married to the Alpha, Kyle Heiden. Once there, Jane realizes that her new stepbrothers are the two boys who used to bully her. They had lived with their mother for two semesters and had made Jane's life hell. Now faced with having to live in the same house as them, Jane makes two new friends. Freya is bubbly and just what Jane needs. Sebastian likes her as she is and wants more than just friendship. When Jane turns eighteen she realizes that her mates are Reid and Ryan Heiden, her stepbrothers and bullies. Jane is convinced they're playing a mean trick on her when they tell her they want her. Follow Jane's story as she stumbles through awkward teenage phases, tries to sort reality from fantasy with her twin mates and Sebastian's declaration of love. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Will Jane make the right choice? Who will she choose?

The last thing Scott McCall expected to see in his hotel room one night is a beautiful waitress. A woman so desperate for a at his company that she would do anything to get his attention…like sneak into his hotel room to talk to him. Despite his growing attraction for this woman, Scott McCall throws logic out the door and hires her anyway. Vivian Sanchez is excited. She got a at a successful company, despite all the mistakes and bad decisions she made… and she couldn't believe it. Everything was falling into place and It was all happening like a fairytale. She vows to give this new her best, but there's just one problem. …. Her boss Being crazily attracted to Scott McCall was a situation Vivian didn't quite anticipate when she asked for this , and she doesn't quite know how to handle it. The long awkward gazes, subtle flirting and tension between them is enough to make anyone crazy. An affair with the boss could ruin her, but what is life without risks?....

When Fallon Prescott returns to her parents’ mansion for what she thinks is just another family dinner, she’s blindsided by two shocking revelations: her father’s company is on the brink of collapse, and the only way to save it is to marry the last person she ever wanted to see again—Reid Callahan. Reid, the charismatic and wildly successful heir to the Callahan fortune, has no interest in marriage either. But business is business, and their parents have sealed their fate with an arrangement neither of them can escape. Determined to keep things strictly business, Fallon and Reid strike a deal: a marriage on paper with an expiration date. No love, no complications, just two years of playing the perfect couple to satisfy their families. But as they navigate awkward public appearances, nosy socialites, and unexpected sparks, Fallon starts to wonder if their arrangement is as simple as it seemed. Because Reid Callahan might just be the one man capable of breaking through her carefully guarded walls—and rewriting the rules of her heart. Can two people who swore off love find it in the most unexpected place?

All her life, Maxine lived in the shadow of her glamorous stepsister, Coreen. So, at age 18, she was awkward, nerdy, and wolf-power-less, making her an easy target for mockery. She gets the dare to kiss Alph Damore—the handsome alpha of Hanton University—at Coreen's party, and her world spins 180 degrees. Just after this, Maxine's family is evicted on a falsely accused infidelity charge. Months later, her life is going to turn another turn when her mother brings home her new stepfather—Alph's father. The different world to which she is cast, one of power and money, is not what Maxine had expected; now, she will have to contend with Coreen's envy and take up the role of half-sister to Alph. Problems ensue when she learns that Alph has been her fated mate all along. Is Maxine able to sail through this turbulent new life and the hidden bond between her and Alph, or will the chaos consume her? Will she ever find the wolf inside herself that turns everything favor to her?

Arla-Rosa gave her heart to the wrong man and paid the ultimate price, her life, and the lives of her unborn children. Betrayed by her family, ruined by love, discarded like trash, she was left to die in the cold, her trust shattered and her spirit broken. But death was not her end. It was her rebirth. Waking six months before the night of her greatest betrayal, Arla is no longer the naive, trusting girl they destroyed. This time, she sees the daggers hidden behind smiles, the poison laced in sweet words. This time, she has no intention of forgiving. No plans to surrender. No mercy to spare. Armed with the knowledge of what’s to come and a heart forged in fire, Arla-Rosa is ready to play their games... only now, she is writing the rules. And when the final reckoning comes, they will learn one brutal truth: The phoenix does not forgive. It burns.

Twenty four years old Lena's life is a struggle. She moves from place to place, trying to run away from her horrible past. A past that gives her nightmares. She lives in her car and tries to survive life all by herself. Her only hope is writing stories. Her only dream is to publish her stories. And so she does... she finds a website to upload her work, but she desperately needs a model for her cover... and so she meets Max at a local gym. He is exactly what she needs for her book cover and unexpectedly way more... Max is a twenty-nine yeard old that works in a military base. He accepts Lena's offer to be her cover model, only because he thinks she is cute... little did he know, that Lena is not just that...

The job was simple; to preserve the past. But Isla never expected her own past to walk through the door of the Thorne Estate. Isla Campbell lands a career-defining project as a historian for organizing the archives of the Thorne estate, a task critical for a high-stakes foundation review. Her client, Cade Thorne, is the dedicated and undeniably handsome heir to a legacy he strives to honor and keep. But on her first day, Isla is met with a shocking surprise: her boss, Cade, is the charming stranger she shared a fleeting, unforgettable night with just days before. Now, the undeniable spark between them threatens to ignite, risking the professional integrity of the project and the future of the very estate Isla was hired to protect. As their passion deepens and secrets unravel, they must choose between the history they're preserving and the future they're dangerously close to writing together despite the odds. What happens when Isla finds out she is also a Thorne?

Katalina’s writing career has stagnated since she moved to another city. Her editor gave her an unusual project, she hopes this is her big break. What is the task? An exposé on a bachelor billionaire tycoon who is the buzz of the town. The idea is to expose something shady about his past and harm his reputation. She feels awful about it, but if this is the cost of success, she decides to accept it. After all, the public deserves to know the truth, right? Katalina Robbins pretended to be a high-end real estate agent and have some time with Hunter Collins, she discovered that he was brilliant, engaging, and considerate. He's not what she expected. The more time she spends with him, the stronger her feelings become until Katalina realizes she can't finish her project. Their fledgling relationship would be destroyed if he ever found out about her dark origins.

Sophie is speech impaired; she communicates by writing on pieces of paper, and as such, she carries a notebook along with her wherever she goes. She was able to clearly express her anxiety and pain through these papers, sometimes through text messages too. It is fascinating that whenever she goes out, she doesn’t appear to be a pitiable figure. Sophie is bold and clever, and she is an enthusiastic being. She is a baker, and she owns her shop. Sophie’s voice is a great weapon, and there is a lot to her central figure. People assume that she has been mute from birth, but her condition was the aftermath of the sexual abuse she received from Mr. Adrian, her uncle, at the age of 12, and her aunt, Mrs. Eliana, feels shadowed by societal analysis, so she keeps quiet about it. Sophie decided to fight and survive, and she always chose to pick shattered pieces of herself broken.