Dead Simple

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Teresa has been blaming herself for the events that occurred the night her parents died. From being a beloved pack member to the most hated she-wolf. However one conversation after dinner with the alpha may shake up the whole pack. Will Teresa be back on top or end up dead?

Stacey Greenwood thought her life was perfect, even though her boyfriend Grant was nearly blind. She still thought life was good. Then she got a call from her mother saying her father was rushed to hospital and to come back quickly. Her life was never the same again. Grant chose that time to show his insecurities and delayed her so her father died. He had her travel back as she was concerned for him only for them to have a huge argument. She had a terrible accident and when she woke-up she thought she was her dead twin sister Amber. Can she build a good life for herself as her dead sister? When Grant finds out what happened to her, can he help her remember who she really is? And why is Grant's mother so against him getting back together with her? When in the past she loved Stacey.

Ley Baler died. However, he later discovered that he has nowhere to go because a war of goddesses erupted in the world of the deceased and destroyed the kingdom of the dead! Poor him and his fellow souls! Thankfully, there was another kind and beautiful goddess who saved him, and even turned him into a Skyworld dweller. However, since he is not a natural-born deity, he would have to create followers and believers on earth, otherwise, his weak spirit will slowly wane till it reduces to not even a speck of dust in the great wide universe. The challenge though is that his powers have nothing to do with healing or anything useful. So how would he gather followers? What should he do when his abilities are more suited for construction sites?! Follow Ley's journey as he established his own church, discover why the kingdom of the dead was attacked, and attain real godhood through his weird, no, amazing abilities.

I’d been dead a month before my family even noticed. It wasn’t concern that brought them to that realization. It was my silence after the so-called “dinner” with Adam Rossi, the infamous mafia boss. My father scoffed like always,“She probably shacked up with that bastard. Too busy spreading her legs to pick up the damn phone.” My sister texted me a photo of them smiling under the Christmas tree, ornaments twinkling like nothing was wrong. Bitch, she wrote. You better talk Mr. Rossi into working with Dad, or you might as well be dead already. And my mother—once the softer one—was now colder than the frost on their windows. “I told you, we should’ve sent Gia to charm Mr. Rossi. Serena always screws things up.” They didn’t think I would die. Not until they found my body—broken, rotten, and forgotten—in Adam Rossi’s basement.

What is supposed to be a simple escort job turns into a fight for their very survival as Tristan, Rebecca, and Bailey are forced into the smoking ruins of mankind after an alien invasion. Can they survive a wasteland filled with infected, bandits, and aliens? *Inspired by The Last of Us*

be careful what you wish for Amelia's simple wish suddenly changed everybody's like when she suddenly woke up in the body is the most arrogant and bossy daughter of a millionaire who happens to have opposite characters as hers

I had never imagined my life would eventually turn into a business deal. But when my father's hospital bills reached a surprisingly huge amount, I thought that was all not until my landlord decided I was better off homeless. At this point, I had no choice but to sign a contract with Alexander Pierce, a man whose presence alone screams arrogance and pride with power. The deal was simple: marry him for a year and three months, feign to be his devoted loving wife, and in turn, I will regain my financial freedom. But I can't say there was something simple about Alexander. His gaze burns too deep, his touches linger too long, and harder it becomes to state what's real or fake. I signed a contract. I never signed up for falling in love. But tell that to my heart.

Catherine Swann, a simple countryside girl, was having a leisurely and carefree life in the countryside. She thought she could have a happy life there for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her. Her grandfather left a will for her, making her the inheritor of the Swanns’ billion-dollar fortune. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, he also arranged a marriage for her.Branden Duncan, the only heir of the wealthiest family in Casier, was the dream prince charming of almost all the women in Casier. But Catherine turned him down in public. Instead of being angry about it, he was attracted by Catherine's cold eyes.Although Catherine seemed to be a girl with a simple life in the countryside, she was not simple. What kind of identity did she have? How would she deal with her unexpected fiancé and the opposition from the rest of the Swanns to her inheritance of the Swanns’ fortune?

Their marriage begins as a simple contract. Valentina agrees to marry for Nathan to pay her mother’s medical bills. However, things take a dramatic turn. Neither of us knows who crossed the line first, let alone who started this love game.