Writing In Present Tense

New York’s youngest bestselling author at just 19, India Seethal has taken the literary world by storm. Now 26, with countless awards and a spot among the highest-paid writers on top storytelling platforms, it seems like she has it all. But behind the fame and fierce heroines she pens, lies a woman too shy to chase her own happy ending. She writes steamy, swoon-worthy romances but has never lived one. She crafts perfect, flowing conversations for her characters but stumbles awkwardly through her own. She creates bold women who fight for what they want yet she’s never had the courage to do the same. Until she met him. One wild night. One reckless choice. In the backseat of a stranger’s car, India lets go for the first time in her life. Roman Alkali is danger wrapped in desire. He’s her undoing. The man determined to tear down her walls and awaken the fire she's buried for years. Her mind says stay away. Her body? It craves him. Now, India is caught between the rules she’s always lived by and the temptation of a man who makes her want to rewrite her story. She finds herself being drawn to him like a moth to a flame and fate manages to make them cross paths again. Will she follow her heart or let fear keep writing her life’s script?

After I dropped out of school, my parents didn't pressure me to do anything. But Nicole Hicks kept calling nonstop. She was my boyfriend's childhood friend who had established a reputation as a genius. I was too busy helping out in the fields, growing vegetables, and splashing around in the creek, living my best carefree life. Writing code wasn't even on my mind. In my past life, she had turned in a project just one day before I did. Her codes were exactly the same as mine. Everyone called me a fraud and said I had stolen it. I tried to explain, but no one believed me. Later, she even did a livestream, accusing me online of being a school bully. People went wild. They didn't just come for me—they went after my whole family. Some obsessed troll chased my parents in a car, and they died in a crash. I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped off a high-rise, my eyes still wide open, refusing to accept the way it all ended. Even in my last moment, I couldn't figure it out. That code was mine. My hard work. So how did she manage to post it before me? When I opened my eyes again, I was back, right before everything fell apart.

Although he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, Daniel King Carnillo was a magnet for bullies. Despite the severe bullying, he was able to survive his fourth year in high school. One day, a group of guys took his card and threw it away. Incidentally, Hannah Mae De Vera found it-she was the most popular girl in school-she tampered with King's name on the report card and happily showed it to her mother. But her mother found out about the tampering and made a deal with her. She shall need to graduate with excellent grades in math, otherwise she would be expelled and unable to proceed to college. That was why she needed the help of King. King became her tutor and unintentionally their hearts fell in love with each other. But a revelation from the past ruin everything they started. Despite knowing the truth, King and Hannah manage to graduate, struggling to ignore the feelings they had once. But Hannah wasn't able to pass the aisle due to deep devastation. Will the wounds from the past heal the heartaches of the present?

Two paths crossed on a rainy night at the bar. Lorie was seeking space from an abusive boyfriend when she met Asher, who despite his emotionless eyes and cold aura, dripped with everything sinful. In the heat of the moment, they shared an intimate night, one that was etched into their memories. They parted ways not expecting to see each other again until Lorie was shocked to see Asher arrive at the company she worked as the new CEO who she was to be his secretary. Ten hours working together everyday, the memories of that night haunted them till an unexpected love story was born. But before they could welcome it, they were faced with obstacles in the form of themselves, people they knew and didn't know. Personal trauma, Abuse and manipulation embedded in their past and present tried to pull at their budding love. Amidst the pressure from family, Asher proposed a contract marriage with Lorie which she accepted to save her from a financial crisis. Their marriage brought them closer and at the same time increased their enemies. Will their love be strong enough to face the opposition?

Haunted and tortured by her past and living with the belief that her mother is dead, Kaitlyn navigates a world where only 500 years ago an ancient race declared war with the warriors known in Asgard as the Valkyries. Now in the present those same whispers are resurging with deadly precision. Kaitlyn must now embark on a journey with her girlfriend Samantha, and her sisters Olivia and Brittany, along with the assistance from another person, to uncover the truth about not only her past--but also learn how to prevent the extinction of her fellow Valkyries as they get caught up in the midst of the Olden War. In order to survive, she will have to call on not only her physical abilities but others as well as she decesdends deeper into the Darkness--a dark and troubled web of lies and deceit in order to solve the riddle of her dark and troubled past. But there's also something that she must ask herself. Just how far will she allow her trust to go, before she can't trust anyone ever again?

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

My father suffered from serious manic depression. When I was eight, my house was robbed and my mother was killed. I became blind while shielding my father from being stabbed. I became the only solace for my father after that. Anyone who hurt me would suffer my father's wrath. When my classmate made fun of me for being blind, her thermos suddenly exploded a few days later and she was blinded. When the class bully targeted me, he was found lying in an alley the next day. Something had dropped on him from a high building that broke his limbs. Not long after, my father achieved great success in his career. He was known for being a sharp businessman. I continued to be the most important person to him. Whoever dared touch a hair on me was as good as dead. I was lucky that a top medical research center overseas successfully came up with a treatment to restore my eyesight. On the day they removed my bandages, I received my father's wedding invitation. [Rina, I found you a new mother. We'll both dote on you when you come home.] My father told me how gentle and kind my new mother was and how much he looked forward to us meeting each other. I was touched and specially prepared a present for her. However, she instructed her bodyguards to abduct me and bring me to an abandoned factory. "Of all the things to learn in life, how dare a young girl like you learn to seduce another woman's husband? How shameless! How dare you steal something that belonged to my husband's late wife? I'll skin you alive!" My present was flung to the ground and destroyed. She ordered her bodyguards to force themselves on me and broke my bones. She skinned me alive and put plaster all over me to turn me into a statue. She then put me into an exquisite gift box to give to my father as a surprise. "Sweetheart, this is the vixen you've kept hidden from me. I turned her into an angel statue. You can see her every night if you put her in your bedroom. You won't need to sneak out to see her.

Syanja eventually made a choice regarding her life after attempting numerous jobs and different careers. She waited for a chance while writing novels. One day, she received an email from a sizable business located distant from her hometown. She quickly accepted their offer and signed the contract with them without any hesitation. She joined that organisation mostly because she wanted to advance her profession and it is the top corporation in the world for authors. Jeong Jung-Hoon, the CEO's younger son, noticed her assisting someone one day. Jung-Hoon was awestruck by her acts and beauty, and his affections for her gradually grew. He was supported in pursuing her by his siblings and friends. They get close and fall in love after a few dates, but Syanja's ex Hyung-Shi returns to her life. He visited her and made an effort to reunite them. Due to their respective occupations, Jung-Hoon was likewise quite busy at work and barely found time to spend with her. They took a step back. Rumors started to circulate. They began to lose faith in one another, went their separate ways, and concentrated on their occupations, but neither of them knew what fate desired. Their love wasn't over after that. They encountered each other again, this time with stronger souls and no love but anger. They had transformed and strengthened their character. They made each other regret everything they had done for one another this time. They made every effort to bring each other down, but it just brought them closer.

Dreaming about unnatural events which have no relation with present, was that ordinary?The feeling of being haunted by the same tragedies as she dreamt of, whose dreams those were? And why is she watching them?MURPHY MARTINO had no answers to these questions. As she was an orphan, she had no one by her side except SAM LEONE with whom she shared milk kinship as they were fed by the same Nanny in an orphanage.It soon turns out that the death of her parents wasn't an accident but a murder! And why did someone wanted to do that? What was her relation to the dreams and that Royal Palace? And what role did Sam have in her life? Was the death of his parents an accident too?She was living destiny of someone else's life, whatever she does she will end up with the same end.Why was her blood so precious? No one knew till when she turned 18 and her blood bore the strength and will, it is then when everything will reveal itself, every story will uncover itself.But! Will she be able to endure it?Will Sam stay by her side forever?

“Russian Mafia’s Queen” is a tantalizing, high-stakes dark romance that plunges into the dangerous world of the Russian mafia. Chloe Monroe, a woman with a hidden past, is thrust into a life she never expected when she crosses paths with the cold and calculating Nicholas Romanov, heir to the Russian mafia’s empire. Nicholas is a man driven by power and control, a leader who never leaves loose ends. But Chloe’s presence disturbs him in ways he can’t explain. Despite his dangerous world, Chloe’s past is more than just a mystery—it’s a puzzle he’s determined to solve. What’s worse, she seems to know more than she lets on, and the lies she’s living could threaten everything he’s worked for. As passion ignites between them, secrets begin to unravel, and Chloe realizes that staying hidden may no longer be an option. Nicholas won’t let her slip away, and Chloe knows that if he ever discovers who she truly is, her past will come crashing into her present—and no one will be safe.