Year Of The Black Rainbow

On the night of my wedding, my best friend's younger brother wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked me, “It’s a little big. Can you handle it?” I stared at his perfectly defined abs, my mind going completely blank. “What?” He repeated, “Can you handle it?” My voice jumped an octave from my panic. “Aren't we supposed to take things slow? Isn’t this way too fast?” That night, the sound-activated lights in the house flickered on and off until dawn. Meanwhile, my ex-husband was squatting downstairs. His eyes were swollen red from crying, but I did not even spare him a thought. Back then, when I agreed to let him proceed with a fake wedding with his childhood sweetheart, Miles Carter thought our cold war was over. When he explained things to me, he said, “Vivian and I will only be married on paper. The ceremony is just to satisfy my mom. I swear, when this is over, we’ll live as a real couple.” I remained silent. I just stared at the countdown on my phone, counting the days until I could finally leave. He did not know that the moment he tricked me into signing the divorce papers, our marriage had already ceased to exist.

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

After Jacob Locke brings up breaking up with me once again, I don't wait for him to say anything else. I pack up my things and move out on my own, then quietly cut ties with our past. On the first day, I cancel the wedding planner I booked three years ago but kept delaying. On the second day, I turn off the automatic payments for his mother's treatment. I also politely refuse his sister when she reaches out for money. On the third day, I accept my superior's transfer proposal and get ready to settle down in a southern city. The moment I board the plane, I suddenly get curious. Without me, the free housekeeper who hasn't taken a break in the past decade and the always-on ATM, how will Jacob fare? How will he care for his paralyzed mother, deal with his vain sister, and face his precious junior who's the apple of his eye?

BLURB: Elena Rivers only wanted to survive senior year quietly but one wrong seat next to Ryan Blackwood, the school’s most feared and untouchable boy, changed everything. He’s dangerous, untamed and hiding secrets darker than his tattoos. Elena is soon pulled into obsession, lies, and forbidden attraction that could destroy them both because loving Ryan Blackwood isn’t just risky… It's deadly!

Noong una, inakala nina Mj Krisela Maceda at Jarred Lloyd Villagracia na nagreincarnate sina Edcel Kate Del Amor at John Eric Ballesteros sa kanila, ang magkasintahang nasawi ang pagmamahalan dahil sa kagagawan ni Kenneth Whin Villagracia, ang kakambal ng ama mismo ni Jarred. Until complicated stories found them both and thier connections to the deaths of those two lovers twenty years ago. Ang kuwento ba ng pagmamahalan ng dalawa ay magiging kapalaran din ng pagmamahalan nina Mj at Jarred? Hindi kaya nagpapanaginip ang mga ito dahil may mensaheng nais iparating o dahil may gustong ipaalala sa kanilang dalawa?

Aurora Kingston has everything—money, beauty, and a habit of ruining her father’s reputation. Her latest scandal pushes him too far. Her punishment? Become the personal assistant to Damian Blackwood—her father’s ruthless, impossibly controlled best friend. Damian is the last man she should want. Forty-two. Divorced. Dominant. A billionaire who turns obedience into an art and mistakes into consequences. He thinks she’s a spoiled brat. She thinks he’s an emotionally unavailable tyrant. But when he discovers she’s untouched, curiosity turns into obsession… And her smart mouth turns into an invitation he can’t ignore. Now Damian wants to teach her discipline. Submission. Pleasure that borders on pain. Rules she’ll kneel to obey. He swears he won’t touch her. She swears she’ll make him break. And when he finally does… Daddy’s little spoiled princess becomes a very, very bad girl. But their secret burns too brightly—and when it explodes, it could cost them her father, his empire, and the one thing neither of them expected: Each other.

After Rory was betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, in a moment of impulse and rebellion, she sought revenge through a one-night stand with a stranger, only to wake up and discover that the man was her best friend Needy's father. Caught in a mix of embarrassment and turmoil, she thought it was a one-night stand…, until he turned out to be her new professor. It was said that Scott never had second sex with the same girl. But he wanted Rory every night. Their forbidden relationship was full of danger and excitement, and then Rory’s mother arrived to set off yet another bomb.... Yearning for My Friend’s Dad is created by Amelie Bergen, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

The night before my fiancé, Soren, and I were supposed to leave for Northern Europe to start our new life, the sounds of a lively discussion drifted from his private club. "Christ, Boss, are you insane? Why the sudden marriage alliance with the Rosetti family to make a play for Italy? Didn't you say you were getting out of the life with Abby and heading north?" Soren leaned back into a leather sofa, his voice nonchalant and muffled by a cloud of smoke. "Plans change. Besides, remember, I'm the one who made her who she is." "Once she sees the new empire I'm building, that little canary will come flying right back to my cage. The woman can't live without me." I stood in the shadows of the club, a wine glass in my hand, a dull ache blooming in my chest. The anniversary gift I had so carefully chosen for Soren was still in my purse, waiting for me to give it to him. I slipped out of the smoke-filled club, tossed the gift into the nearest trash can, and booked a one-way ticket to Northern Europe. But what he didn't know was that just as he could betray our future for Monica, I could abandon him for mine. All those years we spent dancing with death were never just for his sake.

Sasha Barlow receives a call from Aidan Gallagher when she leaves the hospital after getting an abortion. He says, "Get ready. Mr. Conley is coming tonight, so bring five bottles of whiskey and three bottles of red wine." Sasha subconsciously clenches her hand around her phone. "Can I skip tonight?" Aidan pauses. "I know you're angry about yesterday, Sasha. Natalie hit you yesterday, but I reprimanded you instead of helping. "You need to remember that she's my girlfriend, though. She comes from a good family, and her parents have always treated her like a princess. She's bound to be a little willful and spoiled. You're older than her, so cut her some slack."

Lyssa was adopted into Zeta’s family when she was a child. Zeta always protected her as an older brother, and over time, Lyssa fell deeply in love with him but never said it to anyone. Later, the grandfather arranged a marriage between them because he believes she’s fit to be Zeta’s wife. Lyssa agreed because she loved Zeta, but she pretended she didn’t so he wouldn’t feel pressured. They have been married for three years, and Lyssa thinks they are building a real life together. On her 25th birthday, she plans to finally tell Zeta she loves him. But when he comes home, he gives her divorce papers, saying his college girlfriend has returned after 5 years of studying abroad and he wants to be with her again. Lyssa realizes she was only a temporary replacement until Isabella came back. Zeta thinks Lyssa never loved him and he feels he was doing her a favour by ending the marriage so she can be free to be with any man of her dreams. This hurts her even more. To find out more, read Fifteen Years of Craving The Wrong Love