Diane Franklin Young Novels & Stories

My uncle’s rival, Emmett Meyer, saved me twice. The first time, I was drowning after a shipwreck—until he cut through the waves on a speedboat and dragged me ashore. The second time was after someone had slipped drugs into my drink. That night, I seduced him, a hardened man ten years my senior. In the dim glow of a private room, he guided my hand downward and growled, “I want you so bad, Babe.” He took me ruthlessly, ignoring my sobs and pleas. From then on, Emmett—the untamable “Prince of Silverbridge”—abandoned his reckless ways and devoted himself to me. Or so I believed. Then one day, he coaxed me into his Rolls-Royce and captured our tryst on camera. I flushed with embarrassment and secret delight. Later, as I hurried after him to return some documents he had left behind, I heard the sneers whispered in the hallway: “You’re so wild, Emmett. Everyone heard your girl moaning.” “Damn, the car rocked so hard I thought you’d break it.” “Hey, if Franklin Reed ever finds out that his precious niece has been your plaything for three years… think he’ll have a heart attack?”

My mom often makes an example out of someone when it comes to parenting. Unfortunately, I'm that someone, while my little brother, Raymond Nelson, benefits from it. Ever since I was four years old, my mom had been using this method. If Raymond breaks a bowl, I'm the one kneeling on the floor to pick up the pieces. If Raymond destroys something belonging to someone else, I'm the one writing the reflection report on his behalf. Mom tells me, "You're the older sister here. Since you can't keep your brother in line, you're the one at fault." But Raymond can never get rid of his bad habit of stealing and lying. When Franklin Harris, the owner of a grocery store, comes knocking on our door, Raymond points at me once again. "She was the one who stole your money!" In order to help Raymond get rid of this problematic habit of his, Mom decides to hand me over to the owner. "Sorry, Franklin. It's my fault for not raising my child well. I'll give my daughter to you. You can do whatever you want to her, be it scolding her or beating her up." Little does she know that I will never go home after Mr. Harris takes me away.

The day I marry Navy Captain Dean Aldridge, I hear his stepsister Shirley Pierce's inner voice. "Diane is so beautiful and graceful. I wish I could be like her, but I'm nothing more than an unwanted burden in this family… "I really adore her, though. I saved up my allowance to buy her a bracelet as a wedding gift, but I'm afraid she'll think it's unlucky and refuse it." In my last life, those words had filled my heart with pity. I'd accepted the bracelet and even taken Shirley under my wing, teaching her to read and write. But not long after my wedding, my health began to deteriorate for no reason. It wasn't until I lay dying that I discovered the truth—the bracelet Shirley had given me was cursed, and she'd deliberately made me hear her inner voice. She'd long been in love with Dean and was determined to make the Aldridge family hers one day. Now, when I open my eyes again, I find myself back on my wedding day.

Freda Lewis has spent her life fighting against the odds, scraping her way through college with nothing but grit and determination. But when the world outside proves just as unforgiving, a desperate leap of faith lands her in an unexpected arrangement—a five-year contract marriage to the enigmatic billionaire, Williams Franklin. Williams needs a wife to secure his position as the rightful heir to the Franklin family empire. Freda needs an escape from her toxic past. It seems like the perfect deal: no strings, no emotions, and a generous payout. But the deeper Freda steps into Williams’ gilded world, the more she uncovers the cracks in his armor—and the secrets that threaten to tear them both apart. When a shocking revelation exposes Freda’s true identity as the long-lost heir of the powerful Harrington dynasty, she finds herself at the center of a dangerous game of power and betrayal. Torn between her growing feelings for Williams and the family that abandoned her, Freda must decide where her loyalty lies. But just as Freda begins to carve out her place in this treacherous new world, an unexpected betrayal leaves her questioning everything—and everyone. Who can Freda trust when her life has been planned from the start? And as the lines between love and duty blur, will she fight for her heart or risk losing everything? *The truth about Freda’s past is about to change everything… and Williams might not survive the fallout.*

When down-on-her-luck Rennie Brooks accepts a job as a live-in nanny for the daughter of cold, enigmatic billionaire Shawn Wolfe, she believes it’s just another job—and another clingy child—until the little girl looks up at her with wide, innocent eyes and calls her “Mommy”… then begins mirroring her every habit. The connection is instant. The tension between her and Shawn, undeniable. Because Shawn isn’t just her new boss—he’s the man from her one unforgettable night eight years ago, the stranger who vanished before dawn, leaving behind nothing but memories and heartbreak. Rennie swore she’d never fall for him again. But under the same roof, every stolen glance and forbidden touch reignites the desire she thought she’d buried for good. Her fragile new beginning shatters when Shawn’s glamorous ex-wife suddenly returns, demanding custody of the little girl Rennie has come to love as her own. Just as she prepares to walk away, a devastating secret surfaces— Diane isn’t Shawn’s daughter. She’s Rennie’s. Now Rennie must fight for the child she never knew was hers and face the hardest choice of her life: between the man who broke her heart and the one who might finally mend it.

Only the broken can heal a broken. Five years after the death of his fiancee, Caitlyn Smoak, Dario has been living a miserable life. His father, the famous billionaire Michael Simpson decides to interfere. He has a hundred days to find a bride that will be suitable for the Simpson family or his position in the Simpson Enterprise will be given out to his younger brother Theo. What happens when Diane Jones, a struggling single mother and Dario Simpson, the cold hearted billionaire crosses part, they'll discover that only the broken can heal a broken. Book 2 Catherine Stone's life takes an unexpected turn when Dario Simpson, the son of a famous billionaire, is involved in a life-altering accident that leaves him in a state of vigil paralysis. The only way to bring him out of it is for Catherine to agree to Mr. Devon's proposal to pretend to be Dario's fiancée. Desperate for money, Catherine agrees to the , believing that all she has to do is act. However, as she begins her charade, she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with the opulent surroundings of the billionaire's mansion and the lavish lifestyle that comes with it. As she navigates the challenges of maintaining the deception, Catherine must confront the growing feelings she has for Dario's brother and decide whether she is willing to risk everything for a love that may not be real.

Andrea Garcia is the daughter of the late Alpha of the North pack. The current Alpha of North pack adopts her not to take her as their own child but to make her slave. Andrea was called a curse child by the werewolves of her pack. On her birthday, her adopted father sold her to her mate, the Alpha of the South pack, Alpha Bryan Williams. She doesn't know that her mate has an evil plan for her, to make her a sacrificial living. The moon goddess came down and revived her because of her good deed. She only did not receive revival, she also received a strong body and charisma. The Great Spirit wolf was disappointed by what Alpha Bryan Williams offered. That is not what the Great Spirit wolf meant by living sacrificial. Because of what Bryan Williams did to his mate, the Great Spirit wolf talked to Andrea Garcia who was now crying in pain and hatred because her own mate and husband killed her. Not only that, he cheated on her and killed their unborn child that was inside her womb. The Great Spirit wolf allowed Andrea to take her revenge to punish Alpha B, and to those who conspired on killing her, but in one condition. She must not kill anyone. She was also blessed by the Great Spirit wolf that wherever she goes, the pack will become on top of the top blessed pack. The Great Spirit wolf told her to go with her only childhood friend, Franklin Ashford, that will help her to take her revenge plan. This is where it start that the three hearts of the werewolf pulled by the whirlpool of revenge, betrayal, hatred, power and love.

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

I took my in-laws to our place for Christmas without telling my wife. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the moment George, my father-in-law, stepped into the house, my wife's assistant shoved him. He crashed into the shoe cabinet and threw out his back. "Ms. Sampson's villa doesn't let homeless people in. I can't believe you're her father-in-law. Look at you. Even a homeless guy wears better than you." I told the maid to hold George, but the male assistant stopped me again. He even shoved my mother-in-law, Diane. "You think you own this place? That's Ms. Sampson's maid. It's enough she has to serve a leech like you. You don't get to make her serve your parents." The fury consumed Diane whole, and she had a heart attack. I called my wife and asked her to come to the hospital. Wendy Sampson, however, shrugged it off. Scoffing, she said, "Zack told me everything. I can't believe you brought your parents to my house! And you want me to see your mother? She's faking her heart attack! I know she is! I want them out of my house! So what if they die? Best Christmas gift I could ever hope for."

On the day of my birthday, I'm burning with a fever that almost hits 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of that, I've called Tristan Graham more than a dozen times. He never picks up any of them. In the end, my dad has to take me to the hospital. When we walk past a corridor, he suddenly stops in his tracks. "Mr. Graham? What are you doing here?" I raise my head to see Tristan and Madison Franklin walking from the OBGYN department. Their fingers are tightly laced together. Tristan is even carrying a bag of medication. Birth control pills as well as ointment meant to be used on private parts can be seen in that bag. My mind goes blank at that moment. All I can do is stare at Tristan. As soon as our eyes meet, Tristan frowns slightly at me, though his gaze only lingers on me for a second before he turns to look at my dad. "I'll be hosting a banquet in the garden tomorrow night. Remember to decorate the garden nicely." Dad quickly accepts the order. "Don't worry, Mr. Graham. When Luna's fever breaks out, I'll deal with this task right away." Tristan is momentarily stunned by Dad's words. When he notices my unnaturally flushed cheeks, he instinctively takes a step toward me. But that's when Madison tugs his sleeve. "Stop wasting precious time on a gardener's daughter, Tristan. Let's go. I'm still in pain, you know." Tristan stops in his tracks instantly. Then, he leaves with Madison. Later on, he pays for my hospital bills. Our seven-year underground relationship that's considered a taboo is also paid off as well.