Novel Of Character

At 16 years old, I travel with my sister, Sarah Barnes, to the remote mountains of Nectar Valley to participate in a program. While herding cattle in the mountains, I fall asleep. In my drowsy state, I hear strange panting and gasps. Thick fog has somehow risen throughout the forest by the time I wake up. Suddenly, Sarah's anxious voice calls out from within the fog. I'm about to respond when someone suddenly covers my mouth with their hand. A voice whispers in my ear, "Don't answer. That's not your sister. It's the Temptress!"

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

He aimed for a better life, but slumped into ruins. His life could have been filled with light, but he instead plunged into darkness. Tears and snort was how he lived his life but why was his heart beating so fast? "I think I fell in love..." Brewster cried out. But would his love ever be reciprocated? He had no idea if he was worth it.

(Completed) A vampire with memory loss. A fae with vampire issues. What happens when fate merges their path? -----———————— Willow, a fae, an assassin, and also known as 'whisperer' by a selected few, is ordered to spy on the vampire king by her Guild head. But before she can venture on her task, she stumbles on a vampire in need of dire help. Lothaire, a two-thousand-year-old vampire, also known as the most powerful vampire by a selected few, has only known the life of a prisoner since he woke up in a cage some years ago. But before he can escape his reality he was tied and left to die. What happens when these two meet? Can Willow help him before Lothaire's captors re-capture him to finish the job? Will Willow help him when she learns his identity? Who are those captors? Why do they want to kill Lothaire? Can they find out before it's too late?

Ivy Cruz is broke, desperate, and out of options. With debt collectors closing in and her brother fighting for his life in a hospital bed, she has no choice but to accept a dangerous deal from the gangster she owes everything to. His demand? Pretend to be the wife of Damon Williams—a cold, ruthless billionaire who was believed to have died in a fire. The offer is impossible to resist. If she plays the part, Ivy can take whatever she wants from Damon, enough to pay off her debts and save her brother. Refusing means certain death at the gangster’s hands. But what Ivy never expected… is that Damon would believe her. Two years ago, Damon lost his wife, Selena, in the fire. Her body was never found. Now Ivy stands before him—identical in every way, down to the secret birthmark only he ever knew. Dragged into a dangerous lie, Ivy becomes the shadow of a woman she never met. Damon, consumed by grief and obsession, is convinced fate has returned his wife to him—and he will never let her go. As Ivy steps deeper into his dark, possessive world, she can’t shake the guilt of living another woman’s life. But with secrets about the fire beginning to unravel, one question burns hotter than the rest: What really happened the night Selena died? And when Damon discovers the truth, will Ivy survive his wrath… or his love? Because when love rises from ashes—it can either heal or burn everything to the ground.

As the daughter to a prestigious family, she was trained as the heir of her father’s legacy. Usually, this type of training was well-suited for the boys of the family but since she’s the only child and she is a girl, her father allowed her to train. Due to her training, she had no friends and she was casted as an outsider. At a young age, she was expected to train both physically and mentally. She was both good in archery and swordsmanship as well as in her studies as she had an affinity with Japanese history. Years passed and her training was paying off. She was prepared to inherit the company when her parents announced that they will be having another child. Much to her dismay, her baby brother was born. She was stripped of everything she had prepared her whole life for. After an unfortunate car accident, she found herself in a different timeline. Will she be able to return to her own time?

"I don't know why the moon goddess blessed me with a mate when being mateless was my punishment. But once your fate is written with mine, love me or hate me....you are mine. MINE!" *** Being assigned to kill the head-hearted barbarous Alpha, Ven went to his territory willingly after their first meeting. But the thing she didn't know then was, he was an immortal, like her. She wanted to find a way to end her immortality and in that journey, a mysterious man asked her to kill Aragon. Meeting Aragon was pre-planned by that mysterious man, but feeling some unavoidable affection was fate. When he was desperate to keep her by his side, she badly needed to leave him. Why so? Because she was no one ordinary. She herself was made of poison. Even a single scratch from her was enough to kill. She didn't want to kill him anymore, neither she wanted him to know about her reality. She was fated to be his mate but no way he could mark her. Not that her poisons would kill him, but it would make his life worse than death. And he had a magical universe to protect. Could he accept her like a poison damsel when it was harmful to his pack? How would they remove the curse to accept each other when it was their punishment of some sins from a past life? Was it even possible? And also who was the mysterious man to pave the way for their journey? Was it a selfless help for two love birds or a selfish trap for two powerful immortals? Being bound to protect the magical world, were they fated to be together or moon goddess planned to fall them apart?

True love never dies. Not even when those around me are trying to kill it. With vampire bounty hunters still out for me, having the Grand Coven accuse me of treason against witches is the last thing I need. No one should tell me who I can and cannot love. Determined not to let anyone or anything get in our way, Lucas and I decide to lay low for a while and let everything blow over with my coven while Lucas hunts for the vampires who tried to kidnap me. But things, of course, don’t go according to plan, and when I stumble upon an ancient evil force hiding out in the underground of Chicago, we realize our forbidden romance is the least of our worries. As we search for a way to defeat unbeatable odds, I start to discover that things aren’t what they seem…including my very existence.

"How about meeting again so we can continue from were we left." Raphael asked in his husky voice, his hand still squeezing my breast. He was really good at it. "You were good but not good enough for another night baby boy." I winked, leaving him with a shocked expression on his face.

Nine years into my "non-cohabiting partnership" with Simon, his father passed away. The first condition in his will was simple: Simon and Ella had to conceive a child. On the day the child turned one month old, Simon would inherit his father's fortune. Simon told me this himself—the night I walked in on them tangled in our bed. Afterward, as he took a slow drag from his cigarette, he murmured, "Lily, just wait a little longer. Once I get the inheritance, I'll marry you." But he went back on his word. From then on, every time Simon planned to meet Ella at our house, he would hang a string of bells on the door. Since his father's passing, those bells had chimed ninety-nine times. After the ninety-ninth, the news arrived—Ella was pregnant, and their engagement party was set. My daughter saw the invitation, hesitated, then softly asked, "Mom, is Daddy's name on this?" I forced a smile and gently smoothed her messy hair into a neat ponytail. "Daddy is marrying the one he loves," I said. "And I'm taking you home." Simon never understood—I never cared about that marriage certificate.