Grim Grinning Ghosts

Penelope Maxwell didn't imagine that one day she would fall in love with her best friend. The problem is that now that they have both assumed their desire, he will get married to help another woman, and Penelope needs to make an important decision, while the ghosts of her past resurface to disrupt her life.

“I’m s-sorry *hiccup* I won’t try to run again *hiccup*” Kayla pleaded when she saw him coming towards her like a grim reaper. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as he closed the last of the distance between them, backing her into a corner of the room. She closed her eyes and covered them with her palm, unable to endure his dark gaze. He curled his fingers around her arms and pulled them back, but a frown set on his face when he saw that her eyes were still closed. “Look at me Kayla...” he demanded, his voice thick with the need to see her golden-brown orbs. He let go of her hands and cupped her face. “Open your eyes...” he tried a little gently this time. Kayla ever so slowly lifted her eye lids, giving him the sight that he had been deprived of. A rare smile flitted on his lips when his eyes collided with the most stunning pair of pearls that adored the girl that he had become obsessed with. “Will you *hiccup* p-punish me?” she asked. “For what you did, you deserve a punishment. Don’t you think so, Malyshka?” he smirked as he caressed her bottom lip with his thumb. Even even before she could say another word, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, gaining a surprised yelp from her. “W-what are you *hiccup* doing!?” she felt scandalized to be hanging upside down on his muscular torso. “You’ll find out soon enough” he stated coldly and strode towards the bed. And upon reaching it, he transferred her onto the mattress. “And now for the punishment...” he muttered as he leaned onto the bed and hovered above her, sending a cold shiver down her spine.

A million reasons why we can’t be together, but a billion more why we desire to be. Hikari Yi is a girl of a grim, fatalistic world, the love of a family was never one of her assets. Away from the fallen realm of her father’s menacing territory, she leads an independent life. Little did she know the world she was running away from, was advancing towards her at a pace faster than she was travelling at. Hikari admires a world famous boy band, the ORIONS, consisting of seven members. She somehow receives an offer to look after them as a manager or a caretaker. As unexpected as it looks, it isn't. The more time she spends around them, she grows infatuated with one of the seven. Are the feelings mutual? Is he the one to fill the void of solicitude in her life? Overtime, mysteries unfold, what was Hikari's past? What other plans does she have for the boyband she adore? What secrets has she locked? As it is, it isn’t just her. The Orions, too, have got their own darkness to unravel. ____________________________________ -"Tell me once you again that you love me" -"Reassure me once more that you'll stay forever, that you won't leave me alone." -"Who are you.. No... What are you exactly?" -"I want you Hikari. Now." -"Is that how you talk to your boss?" -"Your clothes are see-through" -"Yakuzas are the most feared mob group" -“This world won’t let us be.” ____________________________________ It's an enthralling, mystery, romance, action thriller. It has everything you've been looking for. High school romance? Office heated relations? Eternal love? Mafia? demons? Vampires? Boys? Best friends? Family? Action? Suspense? It's all there, read to indulge in the roller-coaster adventure!

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

Like in the deck of cards, the Ace outranks the King—and so does Ace Salvatore. A Greek-Italian mafia leader feared by all, Ace is a man of unspeakable cruelty, a calculated mind ruling an empire built on blood and terror. His face is a mystery— those who’ve seen it are long gone, silenced by his wrath. Manipulative, controlling, psychotic, and untouchable, he rules his empire with an iron fist, his past buried beneath layers of bloodshed and regret. His obsession with power and control leaves no room for weakness—not in himself, not in his enemies, and certainly not in others. When a desperate debtor can’t repay what’s owed, he offers something unexpected to settle the score: a little girl. Ace accepts the deal, not out of need, but because curiosity flickers in his mind— a curiosity he loathes. Yet the little girl is more than just an innocent. She unknowingly awakens ghosts of Ace’s past— a life of betrayal, loss, and secrets he swore to bury. Even monsters have scars. The darkness that shaped him, the wounds he carries, and the revenge that fuels his every decision begin to resurface. The past never truly stays buried. As their worlds collide, her presence becomes both his salvation and his torment. But as the past catches up, threatening to destroy everything, Ace must face a harrowing choice: cling to the monster he’s become, or risk everything for the one thing he never thought he’d have— a chance at redemption. Will his darkness consume her and change her? Or will she destroy him?

Selene spent ten years as a rogue after she was accused of her sister's death. On her 18th birthday a forbidden mate bond with Alpha Kael Blackthorn was awakened, the very man who exiled her. He claims her not with love, but dominance. Mocked by the pack, tormented by Kael’s possessive touch, and hunted by the ghosts of her past, Selene uncovers a dark prophecy: their bond isn’t just fate, it’s a curse that could destroy them both. When her sister returns with vengeance and betrayal, Selene must decide. Either she submit to a mate she swore to hate, or rise as the Luna she was born to be. But can love bloom in the shadow of obsession, or will the curse consume them both?

Cassidy Young is what most people compared to a wildfire - she has sass, beautiful looks, and knows how to make anyone turn in their grave but she has a dark past... In fact, she chasing both ghosts and murders, forcing her way from town to town, hoping to redeem her faults and somewhere along the way she meets a handsome and dangerous stranger... Dodge Moore is called the Reaper, he brings death and calm anger everywhere he goes; he has always been alone and even though he seems to care for no one, a new and beautiful stranger walked herself into his life, taking him in a whirlwind of emotions he has never felt before. Not only is he faced with a new challenge called Cassidy, he's also searching for a murderer... Will they help each other or will their feelings scare them away? Is love real on the Wild West frontier or is it just infatuation? Will Cassidy's wildfire burn her or Dodge? Will Dodge's Reaper presence kill him or the girl he's quickly falling for? Find out in Searching the Wild Lovely West to find out!

Everyone deserves a second chance at happiness... even a killer. Serendipity Fizzlestitch wants nothing more than to be left alone. In a small cabin a stone's throw from the house where her sisters and mother breathed their last, Serendipity toils away, making the dolls her late father was working on when he disappeared beneath the ocean waves. Serendipity is content to spend the rest of her existence here, trying to atone for the mistakes of her past by creating the dolls that bring joy to so many others. When a mysterious letter arrives in her fireplace, an unusual stranger shows up at her door, and her favorite mouse friend goes missing, Serendipity is forced to face the outside world--and the ghosts from her past. Will she accept the opportunity to join the most famous toymaker of all time, or will her guilt prevent her from finding the happiness everyone deserves? The Doll Maker's Daughter at Christmas is a whimsical romantic fantasy that proves everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how horrific our past. Perfect for Christmas, or any time of year, The Doll Maker's Daughter at Christmas will bring back the magic we can only find when we truly believe.

On the very night Ansel Halberg is in another woman's arms, Odessa Montclair meets a tragic end. The Grim Reaper gives her seven days to return to the world of the living and make one final request. Her only wish is to divorce Ansel and erase every trace of their shared past. She's determined never to cross his path again—neither in this life, nor the next.

Take a journey with me into my collection of short horror stories. Over the years, my dreams have always scared me so much that I had a hard time sleeping at night. So, one day I decided to create new stories from my deepest fears. From Vampires, monsters, witches and ghosts to stories that seem normal but are just a little off, I hope my stories chill you to the bone as much as they do me.