Val Westover Burns

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

We're releasing balloons on Christmas Eve when Milton Jenning's lover deliberately sets off fireworks. They explode on me, burning me severely. My back, already torn and raw from skin grafts for her, becomes even more of a bloodied mess. However, I don't ask Milton for help. Instead, I shield a recently reunited heir of a wealthy family beneath me, risking everything to save him. In my past life, Milton kicked me in the back and told me not to stand in the way of him taking his lover to the hospital. "Is it funny to you to use a child as a cover, Larissa? Even if you're pregnant, you and your baby are just walking skin providers for Rita! I must've spoiled you—how dare you do something as heinous as this!" I was blacklisted by all hospitals and ended up dying while pregnant. My heart was filled with hatred as I breathed my last breath. When I open my eyes again, I see Rita Atkinson secretly aim fireworks at the night sky and set them off. I hear her laugh manically as she says, "You and your child can die together!"

Aria had it all—prestige, ambition, and a picture-perfect future. But nothing scorched her more than the heartbreak she never saw coming. Years later, with her life carefully rebuilt and her heart locked tight, he walks back in: Damien Von Adler. The man who shattered her. The man who now wants a second chance. Set against a backdrop of high society, ambition, and old flames that never quite went out, For What Still Burns is a slow-burn romantic drama full of longing, tension, and the kind of chemistry that doesn’t fade with time. He broke her heart once—will she let him near enough to do it again? Or is some fire best left in ashes?

It turns out a man who once took a bullet for Isobel Sutton will ultimately fall for someone else.

Marissa thought the marriage was forever. Until one day, her husband Alaric's first love Stella came back, she was faced with the accusations of cheating while being pregnant with their second child. Alaric handed her divorce paper, he took their first child, daughter Nova and Marissa grandmother's house. Years later, fate brings them back together, Alaric's empire collapses, Nova is gravelly ill and the woman he once discarded is now untouchable. Broken by regret, Alaric begs for a second chance but Marissa holds the choice: forgive the man or finally make him taste the pain he gave her.

Mary comes back to her hometown after a year of living with her family in London and this time, she's not going to let herself be pushed around by Tyler, her bully and ex-best friend. She also doesn't want anything to do with him anymore because he's bad news but his failing grades bring them together, making her his tutor. Their after school sessions soon grow heated - in a really good way - and the both of them grow closer till they fall for each other all over again.

Two opposite personalities, Two different colleges, One goal... That made them 'The Rivals'_________ Ace and Edwin, the basketball captains of two opposite colleges, who always hated eachother. They both never leave a single chance to hurt one another. But one truth, a single situation changes every

“Ja…cob, what's the problem? what are you doing?” I stammered, He was standing close to me, much closer than how friends were supposed to be. “The problem is today is the last day of our stay in this hell hole, and probably the last day we will see each other,” he said, his voice dark. “I…we can call, or maybe visit…” I was saying when his lips crashed on mine, sealing my heart. ******************** Alex, after spending his long vacation in a camp, returns to his boring and quiet life as the weird kid in the neighbourhood where he was bullied and maltreated. Heartbroken for three years after parting with his only friend, he continued his lonely life as the shunned nerd until he went to college. But on his first day in college, rumors fly about the arrival of a hot, mysterious new student, the heir to the powerful Rufus Corporation. But who would have thought that the mysterious hot guy was his first kiss? The person he had sleepless nights for. But Jacob has changed, now going by the name Andrian, a ruthless, dangerous, powerful figure from the strongest family in town. Acting Indifferent, as if Alex doesn't even exist. From first love to bitter enemies, what will he do when the boy of his dreams becomes his fiercest rival and arch enemy? That was hellbent on making his life miserable. Alex's world is further thrown into chaos when conspiracies about his origin as heir to another powerful corporation, the Davidson and his father's death surfaces, pointing toward the Rufus family. This is a thrilling story of hate, love, betrayal, and discovery

Arlo Ford has everything he wishes for in life— a perfect family, great looks, and the greatest title. Being the next Alpha of the Blood Shadow pack, the strongest pack in the world, he has always been in the limelight and is loving every second of it. However, although all of those are important, he believes that the greatest blessing in life will be meeting his one and only mate. Hera Ahearn, on the other hand, never had any of those. She lived with her adoptive family, had little to no friends, and had the lowest title in their village. Growing up, she always heard stories about her mother and how she was ruthlessly killed in a war. So, when she hears that the perpetrators responsible for her mother’s death were in the Blood Shadow pack, she leaves everything behind and vows to take revenge. But what if the incoming Alpha of the Blood Shadow pack is actually her mate? Will she continue to pursue revenge for the sake of her mother, or will she follow her heart and fall in love with her sworn rival? [Sequel to The Alpha's Hidden Child. Could be read as a stand-alone.]

At the Combined College of Magic and Science, CCMR, teens gifted with magic create a large body of students where they learn and grow out of childhood. It's there that Revel Ester arrives, an orphan and predominantly lonely up until now in his life. However, CCMR is a very bright place, full of kind teachers, friendly classmates, and new subjects to learn. In this environment, Revel comes to get new friends as well as a new routine of school he never knew, and can't help but enjoy a great deal. But with adversaries within and outside the walls of CCMR, Revel's got his plate full of trying to navigate a path of saving his new life, and school as some events escalate, and he even has to protect a lover he never had until now, Leonard. With a twist of magic and a turn every few steps, this teen story couldn't be anymore exciting.