Story Driven Vs Character Driven Novels & Stories

I had a best friend who was sweet as honey but only with her mouth. Behind my back, she was a demon. She stole my boyfriend, the underboss of the Chicago Outfit. Her excuse? She wanted to keep me away from the darkness and the blood, so she'd take the suffering in my place. She pawned her wedding ring and fed her husband some story about a limited edition bag for me. She skimmed from her husband's company accounts and pinned it on my male escort habit. She was pregnant and still wanted thrills. So she went to a full-blown orgy with her husband's uncle and a group of his associates. That's how she ended up hemorrhaging. But somehow it was my fault. I was the one who organized that kind of party, according to her. And her story? She tried to stop me, so I pushed her down and made her lose the baby. In the end, her husband sent me to a cartel hellhole in Mexico to atone for my sins. There, her lover sold me to the red-light district. First came the addiction. Then the streets. I served every man in their outfit, one after another. My body rotted. I died slow, sick, and alone. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the night my best friend miscarried because of her own filthy party.

My in-laws, who have flown back to the country for the Christmas holidays, visit my home on Christmas Eve for dinner. But Selena Collins, the housekeeper, has only prepared two plates of cold shrimp ravioli despite the fact that I've specifically reminded her about my mother-in-law, Lora Fischer's allergy to shrimps. Selena just tells me in a stoic manner, "Mrs. Peterson, I know that you country bumpkins love taking advantage of everything. So, I completely understand that your parents want to mooch off a meal from the Peterson family during the holidays. "But as Mr. Peterson's most caring housekeeper, I have the right to protect the Petersons' assets from getting leeched by outsiders. Yes, this includes a regular meal. "Then again, I have a heart of gold, you see. I won't starve the elders at all. These are leftover shrimp ravioli from last year. Your parents should hurry up and leave after polishing the ravioli off. "Mr. Peterson is very busy with his work. I can't let him deal with your impoverished parents after getting home from a stressful day at work." I'm stunned at first, but I soon realize that Selena has mistaken my in-laws for my parents. She's purposefully causing me trouble as always. I'm about to explain the truth to Selena when I see my enraged in-laws turning to leave. But Selena wastes no time in calling the bodyguards over to stop them. "I completely understand that country bumpkins like you two have poor character, but wasting food is a really bad trait. "Since the shrimp ravioli is already prepared for you, please finish them all before leaving."

Born in scandal, raised in shadows—Mira has only known the scorn of being an Omega’s daughter. In the harsh hierarchy of Pine Shadows Pack, her life is marked by grief and servitude. But when her mother dies mysteriously, Mira begins to unravel a past darker and more powerful than she ever imagined. Bound by secrets and driven by resilience, Mira embarks on a journey to discover her true heritage. Alongside Eryna, a rogue healer, Mira decodes her mother's hidden journals, uncovering a conspiracy of poison and power that spans generations. Her path leads her to Moonlit Pack and into the heart of her real lineage—one where love once blossomed secretly and betrayal took root. Caught between two rival packs, Mira's unique abilities, strength, and immunity to silver make her indispensable. Yet, amidst political turmoil and brewing war, her greatest challenge emerges in the form of forbidden love with Liam, the Alpha heir who once scorned her. Can Mira bridge the bitter divide between packs, unravel the corruption poisoning their bonds, and embrace her rightful destiny? Or will the weight of hidden truths shatter her newfound identity and the delicate peace she's fought so fiercely to forge? "From Omega’s Daughter to Alpha’s Daughter" is a riveting tale of romance, courage, and redemption—a story about the power hidden within us all, waiting to be discovered.

“You,” Hades snarled, his eyes burning into Claudine’s, “are a viper in my bed. A ticking time bomb.” Claudine’s lips curved into a chillingly beautiful smile. “Darling, in your bed, I’m whatever you desire.” ~~~~ This isn’t your typical enemies-to-lovers romance. This is the story of the infamous daughter of the worlds greatest russian Kalashnikov Omerta,a woman driven by vengeance, who wanted the downfall of Hades Vancouver, the dangerous American mafia leader. Death was too merciful a punishment for the man who murdered her parents. But in a twist of fate, she’s caught in his grip and forced into marriage with him—the very man she swore to destroy. To Hades, she’s not simply his wife. She’s a snake he’s obsessed with, a woman he wants to bend to his will and claim in every way imaginable. Her true identity is hidden from him, but he’s been obsessed since the first night he fingered her into a screaming, squirt-filled orgasm that felt like a soul-shifting experience. The same night she stole from him. Now, trapped in a deadly game of forced proximity, where desire is both a weapon and a weakness, one wrong move could ignite a war that consumes them all. But when Hades discovers the tracker in her old gunshot wound, a relic of a past encounter, the game changes. Read on to find out if things were falling out of place for these characters, or perhaps things were falling into the right places.

Ten years ago, werewolf Alpha Salvatore took a risk driven by desperation—he borrowed money from a Lycan, Solomon Romano and put up the pack lands as collateral. Now the debt is due, and Solomon demands Salvatore’s youngest daughter, Lucia as compensation. As an Omega, Lucia knows she is basically useless to her pack, so she might as well agree. She soon has second thoughts, though. Solomon is fearsome, and he’s free to do as he likes with Lucia. Solomon knows his race’s reputation, and he even admits some of it is deserved. But he’d rather kill himself than let his innocent mate’s light go out. It won’t be easy, but he knows, his mate worth it more than anyone else in the world..

When her parents' business collapses and her family suffers sudden bankruptcy, Jenna is forced to watch her mother disintegrate in shame and disappointment until she dies, and her father, who has become a drunkard after his wife's death, eventually dies in an accident that suggests suicide. Alone in the world, Jenna realizes that the person responsible for her family's destruction is Sean Anderson, a business magnate with a penchant for destroying and controlling other companies, including Jenna's parents'. Driven by a desire to avenge her family, Jenna tries to get close to Sean and find a way to get back at the ruthless man. Unfortunately, instead of getting her revenge, Jenna ends up in Sean's clutches. She is forcibly kidnapped, abused, and imprisoned in his house, and he has no intention of ever letting her go.

Born a slave and wolfess, Esmeray hasn't lost hope for a better tomorrow and a wolf. The Mating Run comes around, bringing Alphas from all over the globe to participate including the ruthless Alpha Knox. Esme finds herself mated to Crowned Prince Alpha Leo, a pompous Prince who sees Esme as a worthless slave and swiftly rejects her. Bruised but not deterred destiny offers redemption when Esme learns about a magical gem that could grant her heart's desires. As Esme's fate shifts, she must battle treacherous pack politics and mysteries from her past. Alpha Knox is driven by passion, intrigue and desire. He sets his sights on Esme, enraging Knox's potential fiancée. Will Esme find the love she desperately craved and will she find her place in the Pack?

My husband, Luca, had a childhood sweetheart named Sophia. Years ago, during a brutal gang shootout, Sophia shielded him from the worst of the bloodshed, and since then, she had suffered from severe PTSD. Because of that, Luca would push aside family business every year and fly to our estate on a secluded island off the coast of Sicily to spend three months “helping her recover.” “Victoria, she lost her mind because of me,” he told me. “I’m responsible for her. I hope you can be magnanimous.” So, I nodded. And eventually, I got used to the fact that every year, my husband would disappear for three months to fulfill what he called a moral obligation. That was until the day I flew in without warning to inspect the family’s money-laundering network on that island and saw him. In the town square, under the bright Mediterranean sun, Luca was standing there with a five-year-old boy by his side. “Papa, how long do we have to hide on this island?” the child asked. “I want to go to New York. I want to see the Empire State Building.” Luca laughed gently and scooped him up in his arms. With his other hand, he held Sophia’s. “Antonio, be good,” he said affectionately. “Papa’s position is… complicated. When you turn eighteen and pass the family’s initiation ceremony, I’ll kill that woman and her dead old man. Then, I’ll take you back to New York to inherit the entire Corleone family.” I stood in the shadows, unseen. Slowly, I lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around me as their voices drifted over, the conversation getting more vicious as it went. Sophia leaned into his chest, her tone sweet and coy. “Luca, I’ve been with you for seven years without a name or a title. How much longer are our son and I supposed to live like ghosts?” Luca sighed. “I don’t have a choice. The old man in the Corleone family is still alive. I married Victoria just to get her territory. Don’t worry. I’ve been adding something to her milk every day. She’ll never get pregnant in this lifetime. My family bloodline will only continue through you.” The last thread of reason in my mind snapped. In the six years of marriage we shared, I had been infertile. I’d taken countless hormone injections to stimulate ovulation. I’d knelt in church and prayed more times than I could count. Yet, all along, the devil poisoning me was my own husband. The initial shock faded quickly into rage. I crushed out my cigarette and pulled out my phone. Then, I dialed my uncle, the family’s clean-up man. “Uncle Rocco,” I said calmly, “Luca betrayed me. He betrayed the family. Order a coffin in the finest black walnut for me, and make it large, large enough to fit a family of three.”

For years, Vampires and Werewolves has coexisted peacefully, despite both supernatural species naturally and genetically designed to hate each other. When Seline Atwood's pack is attacked on a cold winter night, she is embittered and confused. Driven by a thirst for revenge, she decides to devote her entire life to training in order to bring down Ferrara DeMarco, the much-dreaded vampire king who's responsible for her grief. The plan is simple. Seduce and stake him to death. But when she gets to know Ferrara for who he really is — a caring, loving and yet, lonely king — and not the monster he's been painted out to be, she falls in love with him. Is there a chance that he wasn't the one responsible for the attack on her pack? Most importantly, is there a chance that their love could sail through the storms of complications and enemies on it's path?

One lie sets off a chain of events that drastically alters the lives of several people involving them in a world they had no way out from. Facing the risk of losing her home, Love at the push of her best friend Mira agrees to pretend to be blind in order to secure a job. Her decision is driven by a pure heart, wanting nothing more than to help a struggling soul. As she works, she helps Sebastian while falling in love with his brother, Christian. Love struggles with the burden of her lie, she considers walking away from everything, even if it means losing Christian forever but the lie has already laid roots tying her down and ultimately making her pay the price of her dishonesty while seemingly stripping Christian off of his humanity.