A criminal mastermind makes a bold move against a wealthy client to put himself in a position to retire in comfort. He has no idea what he's up against when a young widow, desperate to make ends meet, sets her eyes on earning the bounty set on his head. *** Newly widowed housewife Melody Scott needs to earn some major cash, fast. When her bright and busy children learn that a priceless ruby bracelet has been stolen and a six-figure reward is being offered, they convince her to try to do what the police, museum security, and the best private investigators have failed to do. Working against them is a notorious thief who has met people from around the world, but who has never once encountered a woman like Melody Scott. When the sweet innocence of the Scott family clashes against criminal forces more dangerous than they ever imagined, Melody is all too aware that a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do to protect her family. The Widow, Melody Scott is a 2021 Watty Award Winner! Content Warning: This story does contain depictions of stalking behavior.

"I can't remember what happened that night. I'm not talking slippery details or fuzzy-edged visions; I mean a complete and utter blackout. Like I wasn't even there. Except... I know I was." Since the death of her boyfriend six months ago, Morgan Cain's life is spiralling out of control. She didn't mean to stay away from college all this time. She didn't mean to ghost her best friend, who was only trying to look out for her. But most of all, she didn't mean to keep it to herself that she was with Josh the night he died-and doesn't have a single memory of what happened. It's hard enough returning to campus, but things get even worse when a shocking exposé in the student magazine reveals a sinister truth about Davidson University's golden boy. Amidst twisted allegations of abuse and sexual assault, Morgan is set to discover that the more she remembers about Josh... the more she may want to forget.

(Scarecrows of Coldharbour Farm #1) WINNER Wattys 2021 | '...adorable and heartbreaking...' Erin loved to build scarecrows. She made a dozen in all. Her Pa showed her how. But he's dead now. Everyone is dead. The Many Years Storm saw to that. Terrified and alone, Erin endured the storm in her hilltop farmhouse. She watched the sea levels rise, flooding everything in sight, washing away all but one of her scarecrows, Number Twelve. Then, on the day the rain stopped, Twelve inexplicably came to life and jumped down from her cross. No sooner had Erin told Twelve about her eleven missing sisters, they decided to build a boat and set out across The Endless Blue to find them all.

Alison's sister disappeared filming a reality show, so she goes undercover as a contestant, discovering that in some cases reality tv is all too real. ***** Alison's sister disappeared while shooting a Survivor-style reality series, so when the show gets a reboot, Alison gets herself cast as a contestant. Arriving on the island, none of the organizers seem to be giving her straight answers. Forced to manipulate the situation to stay on the show, she starts an uneasy alliance with the handsome and physically capable Travis. They even act like they're falling in love, hoping their romantic appeal will keep them on the show. But as more challenges take place, and contestants go from being injured to dying in front of the camera, Alison and Travis realize that something is wrong. They have to win this game, or they won't make it off the island alive. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

[ UNEDITED ] READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!! Let's be honest. What could possibly be worse than a 4 night stay in a 'haunted hotel'. Angeline, John, Max, Marcus, Ashlynn and myself, grouped together and assigned to stay in Room 414 of Resident Hotel. Creepy receptionist, elevator stopping at random floors, weird screaming at night, sudden deaths of students and seeing things only a person with a third eye could see. This is our story. *RESIDENT HOTEL IS A FICTIONAL HOTEL WHICH I MADE UP MYSELF.

Evoking the paranoid tension of Rosemary's Baby and the unnerving atmosphere of the cult horror film Jacob's Ladder, The Cracks in the Labyrinth is a disturbing psychological thriller set in present-day Caracas, where the government has devolved into a "democratic dictatorship"-a creepy suspense novel meant to challenge your deeper, subconscious fears of losing control. It consumed the sanity of an entire country... And it was not from this world. It couldn't have been. Whatever caused the incident known as "The Red Christmas" drove Venezuela into madness. Even ten years since it happened, none of the survivors of that night dare to attempt to make sense of it all, including Adam. Living ostracized to hide from the brutal way of life in Caracas, he's working tirelessly as an online writer to help his brother and sister flee the country. Now, as he's about to have enough money to take them to safety, he receives an email from his old girlfriend ... which is remarkable, considering she's been presumed dead for years. Adam tries to think nothing of the email or the broken video file attached to it. He convinces himself that it has to be a computer virus of some kind until he discovers something terrifying: the video might link his sister to the worst night of his life, the night his girlfriend went missing, the night of "The Red Christmas". Then he realizes this could be a threat; his sister's life could be in danger. As he starts to investigate who sent the video, Adam begins to uncover dark truths about his neighbors and finds evidence that there might be a larger conspiracy at play. The problem is that he's starting to suffer from hellish hallucinations that make him question what is real. Soon, the only clear thing to him is that someone doesn't want him to dig up the past. Will Adam be able to stay sane long enough to find out what really happened the night of "The Red Christmas"? Will he succeed in helping his family escape the country?