Small Heath

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

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

"Mom, Dad, I’ve decided to come home for the blind dates you mentioned. I’ll be back by the end of the month." In the early spring, with the lingering chill of winter in the air, Valerie Stonecutter pushed open the door while speaking softly into the phone. Her gentle voice drifted through the rain like a thread weaving through the mist. Pulling her collar tighter against the cold, she heard her parents breathe a sigh of relief on the other end. "Val," her father began, his voice heavy with age. “Your mom and I haven’t been in good health these past few years. So now that you’ve made up your mind, that’s good. When you’re back, I’ll have your Aunt Laura arrange a few suitable candidates for you to meet." Hearing that her parents were already making arrangements for her future, Valerie’s gaze flickered, her emotions momentarily unsettled. After a few more words of small talk, she ended the call. She glanced around her home with a heavy heart, her thoughts tangled in a quiet storm. Then she retreated to her bedroom and began to pack.

The last thing Lark Ward wants to do is return to Lovell. In a small town that keeps a big secret and memories of her unhappy childhood.For the sake of her aunt, she returns to where those who call themselves her family live, but they are not. They do not recognize her as their own, but one of them saw her as his mate. But she's not one of them. How to break the imposed connection? Will she be able to ignore someone else's life? Can he escape fate?

Zeres Hades seeking to retrieve his already stolen kingdom, but problem arouse and he alone must to solve that problem. In the whole of the dark creatures those great and small, Zeres was one with the powers of great doom. His powers was already linked to the goddess of life and death and then on the verge of his ascension, he met Abigail Timothy. His whole world came to a standstill when she proposed to him on the day of his birthday. Her only action got her hellbound with him. Volume 2 Ezekiel Louis exposed to the fact relating his dangerous powers. It was either tit for tat but unknowingly, his soul was demanded in the underworld, whoever had gotten a glimpse of this evil powers is always destined to be summoned, sooner or later. Ezekiel will have to fight for his stay , Kai would take over from him though but his presence would be nothing less than just dememted. He was the true ruler of the underworld.

The sleepy English locality of Middletown is about to get even sleepier, as a strange malady starts to affect the population. It spreads quickly, causing the authorities to quarantine this small city, and seek out the only person who might be able to help: Doctor Andrew Strauss. However, Strauss has a secret, one that has linked him to this place all his life, one that has linked him to a particular person there, though he doesn’t yet know who. But he’s not the only one hiding things – and as he ventures into Middletown to collect samples with an army escort, a mixture of UK and US troops, cracks soon begin to appear in the operation. Especially when his team comes up against the most terrifying threat humankind has ever known.

Heartbroken and betrayed Rebecca packs her old life and drives as far away as possible from the one that hurt her the most and swears she wants nothing to do with any male in her life. Finding her way into a peaceful small town Iverdale, Rebecca feels it is a place where she belongs and been longing for, so she plans her new start. But her fresh start is turned upside down when very handsome and very determined owner of the ranch she's about to work at Luke Dalton barrels into her still very shattered world and insists she is his soul mate, a werewolf and an Alpha to the Moon River pack. How can she accept a werewolf into her human world and commit to a life-long unbreakable bond, after the storm she has just been through. Will Rebecca chose to become a Luna and mate to Alpha Luke or will she runaway with the secret she doesn't know exists within her bloodstream?

Growing up as an orphan, Fenrir never expected to be loved by anyone until he met his girlfriend, Lisa. His dedication to her made him join the cruelest Mafia gang(City thugs) however his naivety was exploited by the mafia gang leader and he committed suicide by falling off a tall building. Without any remembrance of the past, Fenrir woke up on a full moon night as an Alpha werewolf after a disturbing curse was placed on him. “Never to love, or beloved.” Unfamiliar with his new body development, the full moon effect, and the impact of the curse inflicted on him, Fenrir could only follow the lingering fascinating smell he perceived into a small pack where he broke into a killing spree. After killing the Alpha, Luna, and a few members of the pack, he declared the marriage between him and the deceased Alpha’s daughter. What happens when he finds out that the scent of the person who saved him back in the woods was the same as hers? Will Marsai forgive his crimes after finding out they are mated to each other? What will be the end of their predestined love story?

Two years ago, my entire family boarded a luxury cruise ship for an ocean getaway, only to be ambushed by abductors. My parents and younger brother were all murdered. Meanwhile, I leaped into the sea, fighting for my life. Nigel Heath was the one who saved me from the water. Before my family's bodies were even recovered, my relatives rushed in, trying to seize control of the company. Again, it was Nigel who helped me hold onto everything. He stood by me, supported me, and eventually proposed to me. I agreed with tears in my eyes. Two years have passed since we got married. One day, I catch Nigel fooling around with the housekeeper he's hired for a high sum. "When are you going to make me your wife, Nigel? When can I enter your room without having to sneak around?" He kisses her and laughs. "Running out of patience?" She complains, "Her company's almost yours, so what are you waiting for? Aren't you worried you'll lose everything when she finds out you killed her parents?" He immediately grips her neck tightly, his gaze turning frosty as he growls, "She won't know as long as you keep your mouth shut. Her father killed mine, so I'm going to keep her by my side forever and torment her for life. "I'll give you what you want once she transfers the final patent to me. Step a toe out of line, and you're getting nothing." I stand outside the door as tears silently stream down my face. My husband killed my parents and is even plotting to steal the company they established! The murderer has been by my side this whole time! My parents and brother died so horribly. How can I let Nigel get what he wants?

This world is not for a simple and innocent beings. People can eat you alive, without thinking twice. Same happened with a small town farmer's boy. He just wanted to study and learn more, was it really wrong? To wish for a better life? To be eligible for someone?You know Human can be ruthless, they hit you where it hurts the most.They said, until the end is not happy it's not the end. That's not how it works in reality. They say everyone get better, everything gets better, but what if destiny decided not to give you the chance to be better? What would you do?Think before you do anything.It all started with an absurd mistake and that made an innocent boy's life a living hell. When death was only safe escape for him.The other was guilty, ashamed and wanted to apologize but to whom? When the one whom he wanted to apologize was already gone.