One – I would’ve tried shielding Miles from the ugliness of the mirror. Two – I would’ve listened to the warnings that despite the evil I’ve already met, worse was coming. Three – I would’ve recognized that while I was trying to keep everyone in the light, darkness crept into the hidden corners of myself I never knew existed. Four – I wouldn’t have so willingly trusted others just because they are family. Five – Most importantly, I would have shielded my heart before it turned black.

    Now that Sparrow, her ward, has reached nine years of age, she reckons he needs a male role model in his life. With typical efficiency she sets about finding a father-figure by drawing up a series of checklists for each candidate, and following a strict protocol for interviewing them.So far, all the contenders have failed miserably to get enough ticks in the right boxes. But Ferne is focused and nothing is going to stop her from fulfilling her responsibilities…...except maybe a saboteur out to wreck her business; drunken neighbours; her unfortunate past from which it is so difficult to escape; her estranged mother; long-lost sister; and her Jack Russell, Merrie, who is not above galloping over and nipping any prospective role models she thinks Will Not Do.Katie Fforde (best-selling rom com author and President of the Romantic Novelists' Association) said of 'All His Own Hair': 'Susan Alison handles difficult issues with quirky humour and uplifting results.'(To give you some idea of length - 'White Lies and Custard Creams' is 83,700 words long and 'All His Own Hair' is 87,300 words long.)Susan Alison is the Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner for 2011. She has won competition awards for short fiction and sold numerous stories to commercial publications. Her fiction concentrates on the relationships humans forge with each other (and quite often with their dogs). She is a freelance artist.Jill Mansell (best-selling rom com author) said of 'White Lies and Custard Creams': "Susan Alison has written a lovely, quirky romp packed with off-the-wall characters - original, intriguing and great fun!"

    Now if only she could keep Casey from sneaking into her heart. Excerpt His bright blue eyes pierced through me. I wasn't sure how long he had been looking at me. I ignored him at first, but found it impossible to concentrate on anything else. Eventually I met his gaze evenly, and watched as his lips turned up into a smirk. It took effort not to roll my eyes when he raised his eyebrows slowly. His eyes were burning through me; their intensity made me uncomfortable, but I wasn't going to let him know that. "Mr. Fitzgerald!" my new English teacher, Mr. Oldman, barked. "Could you please at least pretend to pay attention?" Mr. Oldman sounded so exasperated. There were still three months left before graduation, but most of the seniors were already acting as if they didn't need to be in school any longer. "Sure, Mr. Oldman," he said, never taking his eyes from me. I didn't back down even after realizing people were staring at us. "Casey, what do you find so fascinating about Ms. Fuller?" Mr. Oldman turned to him again a few minutes later after realizing he still wasn't paying attention. If it was the teacher's goal to embarrass him, it didn't work. His smirk just widened. "She's new," he said simply, his blue eyes sparkling. Casey's caramel brown hair was messy, his style trendy. He reminded me of every popular guy in high school, except for the confidence he exuded. It was as if he knew he was the shit and was daring anyone to say otherwise. "Casey, will you leave the poor girl alone?" Mr. Oldman sighed. "I've got your letter of recommendation done. Should I send it myself or does it need to go with yours?" Casey didn't respond. His eyes were still piercing through mine, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Casey!" Mr. Oldman yelled, causing both of us to look at him. He handed him a sealed envelope. "Get out of my classroom," he pointed at the door, defeated. "Don't you have friends to bother?" I let out a snicker, though I felt bad for Mr. Oldman. It was obvious he was at his wit's end. Casey seemed to be doing everything he could to push him over the edge. "I'm trying to make the new girl feel welcome," Casey explained, his eyes on me again. I picked up my book, finding my place with ease. "Thanks," I said shortly, "I feel welcome now." And I refused to pay him any more attention. He wouldn't stay with Mr. Oldman in the room, looking dangerously close to pelting him with dry erase markers. With the obvious dilemma before him, he backed down. He stared at me for a second longer, daring me to look at him and when I didn't, he left. I smiled to myself, turning the page leisurely. Mr. Oldman let out a chuckle, "Looks like he's finally met his match."

    well, almost. As Christmas rolls round once again, she longs for a child of her own to share it with. In a town where Christmas is big business all year round, it turns out Santa Claus isn’t the only one with mysterious powers. When a psychic reveals that the answer to her future will come in red and white, Kate follows this sign. It leads her to disastrous dating agencies and demoralising dead-ends until, finally, the answer seems to be revealed. But will her search for the missing piece of her family mean she doesn't recognise the one person who's loved her from the start? Or can Kate really have it all in time for the perfect Christmas?

    Responsible older brother Will has fled Primrose Bay, unable to forgive and forget after the ultimate betrayal. And Jasmine, no longer the wayward baby sister, is determined to prove to her brother and sister that she’s just as capable as they are. Together in the bay after years apart and a separation spanning three continents, it doesn’t take long for the siblings to clash when Mia calls everyone together in a family crisis. And with jealousy and resentment simmering between them, as well as faces from the past and new loves, the family ties could end up being severed forever. Sometimes we need to lose ourselves in order to find each other again…

    Just One Day followed Allyson’s quest to reunite with Willem; Just One Year chronicled the pair’s year apart from Willem’s perspective. Now, back together at last, this delectable e-novella reveals the couple’s final chapter.

    What's not to love? Growing up in a small, sleepy English village together, Jazzy and Ethan have known each other all their lives. Nobody knows Ethan as well as Jazzy does, they really are the 'perfect couple'. But when Jazzy falls for the gorgeous Kane Leyton (Ethan's team mate and best friend) things are about to reach a whole new level of awkward. But things aren't always what they seem and what else exactly is Jazzy hiding and why?

    The Medusa Project Collection Sophie McKenzie 6 Books Set (The Rescue, The Hostage, The Set Up, Hunted, Double Cross, Hit Squad)

    With poverty never far from the door, the battle to stay respectable is finally lost when the family breaks up in tragic circumstances, and Mabel is thrown upon the dubious mercy of her grandmother, the sinister Mimi Court, who has her own dark secrets. But faithful Harry Drover of the Salvation Army, in love with Mabel, gets an opportunity to prove his devotion when Mimi falls foul of the law and Mabel has to fight for her own survival...

    To say the least. She calls Sweet Meadow, Georgia, home, where she works for her father doing auto repairs. She also drives the tow-truck, although Sweet Meadow's rather colorful denizens tend to treat Bertie more like the local, free taxi service. You know, someone has to get to a doctor's appointment or pick something up at the dry cleaners. Bertie's favorite day of the week is Friday, when she leaves the wrecker with her father for the whole weekend and joins her friends at the Dew Drop Inn for a night of dancing. Her best friend, Mary Lou, sometimes fixes her up with dubious dates, although Bertie has to remind her friend not to tease her hair too high for those occasions. Like the time when they went to Carrie Sue's open house, and a ceramic cow with angel wings hanging from a ceiling fan locked its hooves into Bertie's big hair and refused to let go. She had to wear it all night, dangling chain and all. Bertie's nearly perfect life is about to take a downhill turn, however. It starts when her landlord, Pete, currently a resident in a nearby nursing home, starts showing up at her house. In his birthday suit. A very badly wrinkled birthday suit. And then she goes to her mailbox, a rubber large mouth bass, and finds a notice from the zoning commission saying she can no longer park the wrecker in her driveway. The notice is signed by George Bigham. But when she goes to the courthouse to take care of her little problem, it is only to discover George Bigham is deceased. And Mary Lou's pregnancy test just came up positive. Can it get any worse? In a word... yes.

    He was a trainee at Le Méridien, New Delhi, before finding his niche in writing. He is also a self-proclaimed grief-counselor and motivator, who loves to help people, counseled dozens of people out of suicide, as well as people going through depression, anxiety & heartbreak. Apart from this, he loves to cook, read and travel. You can reach out to him through: Instagram–@Vedant_thereal Twitter–@Vedant_thereal.Annie Pruthi is an old soul which nestles in a body of 17-year girl. She's from Delhi and alumni of St. Anthony's School, currently pursuing her Bachelors from Gargi College, Delhi University. She likes to read and listen to music. Instagram: @poetryandpoetess

    From the foothills of North Carolina to the mountains of West Virginia, Birdie weaves her story with homespun simplicity, creating a tapestry that vibrates with the colors and textures of her life and times, spinning a tale from the years before the Great Depression on up through the end of World War II. Enthralled by her first taste of womanhood, she follows her heart with the man of her dreams, only to find that life is not fair. Or perfect. Or easy. Will she find the courage to risk everything in order to reclaim what she once had?

    She went on this secret journey to pursue a nuclear weapon and it brought her to meet two good men who changed her life from bad to good and from good to bad at the same time.

    She's young, pretty and she has a fabulous job on a glossy magazine, which involves interviewing celebrities (and air-brushing their personalities). But when she is offered a job presenting a trendy Friday night television show she can't resist the opportunity to experience fame first hand. Putting her puritanical Scottish upbringing, her intellectual boyfriend and her hippy best friend behind her, she soon hooks up with world-famous actress Lucy Lloyd and gorgeous, infamous rock god Ricky Jones, who introduce her to a hedonistic world of partying where appearance is everything and nothing really matters but sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. But as the stories about her private life become front page news, Laura begins to doubt those closest to her, and her life starts to spiral dangerously out of control. Packed with passion, glamour and danger, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS is a unmissable glimpse into the fame game - and the price you have to pay to play it.

    One: He would show up on her doorstep two weeks later as the son of an old family friend.Two: That he would be staying in her house, right next door to her. If living together isn’t enough, Duke starts to go to Harper’s school for the year, and immediately earns the status of the senior heartthrob. Suddenly, Harper, the girl who keeps mostly to herself and spends a lot of time in her room watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathons, is the envy of every girl in her high school. Harper couldn’t care less, and despite that fact that she has insisted that she has in no interest in Duke, she is still subject to the wrath of jealous, catty bitches and the admiration of wide-eyed freshmen. It really doesn’t help that Duke is constantly flirting with her in his own irritating yet charming way.Harper refuses to be yet another conquest, but is that what Duke wants?Or does he want more?