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Survival

Characters struggling to survive

156 items found (26 series, 130 stories)

American Revolution 2

American Revolution 2

Story

by John Clayton Hale

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I was a big Tom Clancy fan back in the day and I read everything he published. I started writing AR2 when I was twenty five and it is loosely based in the vein of a Clancy book. Donovan Carson was the first character I ever created, a journalist for the Washington Post. I have been obsessed with the newspaper business since writing for my small town newspaper thirty years ago. Carson's Editor, Andrew Lloyd, is loosely based on one of my old editors.  The idea of the story was pretty far fetched back then. There were no American billionaires and no one had attempted to overthrow the government...at least not seriously. A lot has changed since then and the concept is outdated, but I still love my story, no matter how unpolished and raw.

Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Political Intrigue
Kei. Family Matters (Deamhan Chronicles #1.5)

Kei. Family Matters (Deamhan Chronicles #1.5)

Story

by Isaiyan Morrison

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Kei once ruled the Deamhan of Minneapolis with an iron grip. For decades, he united supernatural factions, challenged powerful enemies, and helped shape the city into a stronghold for his kind. To his supporters, he was a leader. To his enemies, he was a tyrant. Everything changed when his sibling, Selene, freed the ancient Deamhan Lucius from Limbo. With Lucius' followers gathering behind him and Kei's allies falling one by one, the ruler of Minneapolis found himself stripped of power and forced into hiding. Now hunted by those who seek justice for his past actions, Kei refuses to abandon the city he helped build. As old loyalties crumble and dangerous forces close in, he is determined to reclaim what was taken from him—no matter the cost. Set in the world of the Deamhan Chronicles, Family Matters is a dark urban fantasy novella about power, loyalty, and the bonds that can both unite and destroy a family.

Dark
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Hidden World
Object of His Fixation

Object of His Fixation

Story

by Jordana Faye

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Reigna has built a life that fits her exactly: high-end statement heels for women who want to command a room, and a quiet Friday ritual of shoes, sketches, snacks, and silence. No obligations. No distractions. Just her.\ Then the silence turns wrong.\ Someone is watching. A cage is being tested. A game is already in motion — and the unmasking coming will change everything she thought she knew about the life she built.\ Free chapter first, or all 36 at once — where would you start?

Dark
Survival
The Last Hope

The Last Hope

Story

by John D Bertucci

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Reluctant Hero
Survival
Found Family
Action-Packed
AI/Robots
Gramma’s Cookbook World of Comfort Foods

Gramma’s Cookbook World of Comfort Foods

Story

by Marilyn Q

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a collection of cherished recipes that are more than just instructions; they are a tribute to the traditions and flavors that have been passed down through generations, offering a taste of nostalgia with every bite. Whether you're a seasoned cook or a beginner just starting out, these recipes are designed to be accessible and rewarding. With straightforward instructions and ingredients that are as familiar as they are wholesome, anyone can create these dishes in their own kitchen. The essence of Gramma’s cooking is not just in the food itself, but in the experience of making it—of slowing down, savoring the process, and sharing the results with loved ones. As you flip through these pages, we hope you’ll find more than just recipes. We hope you’ll discover a connection to the past, a sense of comfort in the present, and a culinary foundation you can build on for the future. So gather your ingredients, roll up your sleeves, and whether you’re just putting on your first apron or you’ve been cooking for years, let the aromas of Gramma’s kitchen fill your home. There’s no need for perfection— just a willingness to cook with love and enjoy the simple pleasures of good, honest food.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Cozy
Self-Discovery
Quest
readerful

Fractured kingdoms book 1

Series

by Petal project

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When a rabbit looses her party and her mysterious crest turns everyone away from her what happens when someone who falls from the sky and owns a calamity book called celicas embers and her crest starts to burn differently find out in this story.

Action-Packed
Quest
Mystery Box
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Santification from Scars to Salvation

Santification from Scars to Salvation

Story

by Joan Schreiner

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Grief and Healing
Spiritual Awakening
Dark
Second Chance Romance
Survival
60 Million Reasons to Run

60 Million Reasons to Run

Story

by Larry Lee Rhoton

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**They came for their home. They accidentally took their $60 million.**   Homer Hoskins expected a quiet retirement at the Meadow View Assisted Living Center. Instead, he finds himself staring down the barrel of an international drug cartel after a ruthless criminal syndicate evicts twenty seniors to convert their home into a smuggling hub. But the cartel made one fatal mistake: they forgot that Homer had spent forty years as a deep-cover detective. Refusing to be thrown out onto the street, Homer and a rogue crew of stubborn retirees stage a midnight heist, steal the cartel’s massive Silver Eagle touring bus, and hit the open road. Only when they are miles away do they open the luggage bay to discover six heavy duffel bags filled with sixty million dollars in cold cartel cash. Now, pursued by a frantic motorcycle gang, tracking aircraft, and a clinical executioner known as El Verdugo, this armed senior-citizen family must rely on high-voltage stun guns, a 30,000-volt electric-fence crisis, and a highly weaponized bus sewage tank to survive. To save his friends, Homer must return to the lion’s den alone and pull off the greatest, most chaotic psychological frame-up in thriller history. Packed with high-octane suspense and laugh-out-loud humor, this heartwarming road-trip thriller follows a family of misfits who prove that while aging is mandatory, backing down is entirely optional.

Heist
Underdog
Survival
Cozy
Action-Packed
Billionaire Bank

Billionaire Bank

Story

by Miracle okpa

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Billionaire‌’s Bank:‌ A Tale⁠ of⁠ Power⁠ &​ Desire In a world of unimaginable we​alth, irresist‌ible passion‌, an‍d d⁠angerous secre​ts, love can be the most expens⁠ive gam⁠ble‌ of all. Caught b​etween two powerful men, one woman must n⁠a‌vigate a world of j⁠ealousy, be‍tra‌yal, ambitio⁠n, and for‌bidden d​e‌sire. Beh⁠ind their lu​xurious life​styles lie hidden truths th‍at could shatter empires and destroy hearts. As th‌e ba⁠ttle for love‌ an⁠d⁠ control intensifies, she discovers th⁠at money⁠ c‌an b‌uy almost anything—but never tr‌ue loyal‍ty. When pas‍sion clashe​s with power, who will win, and who will lose everything? ‍Billionair⁠e’s​ Bank is​ a thrilling romanc‍e filled with wealth, tempta​tion, suspense, and unexpected twists, where e‍very secret ha⁠s a pri⁠ce and eve‍ry heart has so⁠me​th‌ing to lose.

Survival
Revenge
Action-Packed
Artificial Intelligence
Self-Discovery
The Silent Trigger

The Silent Trigger

Story

by Marilyn Q

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The deadliest shot is the one you never hear. They sent Olivia Kane into the frozen shadows to stop a war before it began. Her mission: track a rogue assassin whose bullet could ignite an international crisis. Her reality: the Arctic isn’t just cold — it’s a predator. Cut off from her team and hunted through a labyrinth of ice and lies, Olivia must outthink an enemy who knows her every move. Allies can’t be trusted. Truth and deception blur. And one wrong step will echo in blood across the snow. From the moment the crosshairs find her, Olivia learns the first rule of survival in the Arctic: you never hear the shot that kills you. The Silent Trigger is a relentless thriller for readers who crave shadow wars, deadly precision, and heroes who refuse to break — even when the ice does beneath them.

Military
Survival
Action-Packed
Political Intrigue
The Dreamscape Series

The Dreamscape Series

Series

by Christina Farley

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**"A high-action adventure with swoon-worthy romance and a mystery that will keep you turning the pages all night long!" - Beth Revis, *New York Times* bestselling author**\ \ **Your dreams are no longer safe...**\ \ Eighteen-year-old Aria Hale loves her job at her father’s dream therapy company where she enters dementia patients' dreams to save their memories. But when their lab is ransacked, two technicians are murdered, and her father is kidnapped, everything changes for her.\ \ Determined to find her father, Aria and her friends embark on a harrowing hunt across continents using the dreams of their enemies to guide them. But this dangerous journey plunges her into a world she never bargained for: deception, intrigue, and even love. As she races to save her father and hunt down her enemies, she soon realizes she’s in fact, the one being hunted. And her dreams are the greatest danger of all.\ \ In the vein of *Inception* meets *The Bourne Identity*, THE DREAM HEIST propels readers into a fast-paced adventure that will send them racing to the very end.

Action-Packed
Heist
Quest
Survival
Found Family
Mutated Files Series

Mutated Files Series

Series

by Rachel E. Croxton

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Besides having a missing father, eighteen-year-old Carol Tyson is a pretty normal teenager. This changes when she finds a poster in the attic, among her father's possessions. The man in the poster comes alive, warning her of a dangerous, apocalyptic future.   Now, Carol must travel into the dark and dismal future to seek out her father, who might be the only person with answers. But a sinister force lurks in the shadows, far more sinister than the roaming zombies and mutants that have completely over taken the world.   Will Carol and her allies be able to stop this seemingly unstoppable evil?

Action-Packed
Dark
Survival
Revenge
Meteor by Robert Austin | Free Preview

Meteor by Robert Austin | Free Preview

Story

by Seerendip Publishing

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The sky goes dark. The meteors fall. Derek’s fight to survive begins. In the year 2056, a mysterious meteor storm strikes Earth. Electronics fail, darkness spreads, and a camping trip becomes a nightmare when Derek’s family RV explodes with his parents inside. Stranded in a freezing, ash-covered wilderness, Derek discovers a strange meteorite that continues to give off warmth and light. It could be his best chance of survival. But when it responds to his touch, he begins to wonder what he is really holding. This free preview includes the prologue and first two chapters of Meteor by Robert Austin. Continue Derek’s story in the complete novel, available on Amazon:\ [https://a.co/d/0gdRpu5X](https://a.co/d/0gdRpu5X) Published by Seerendip Publishing.

Dark
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Action-Packed
Atmospheric
NSFW
A Little Girl's Life

A Little Girl's Life

Story

by Ann Dowling

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The reader experiences quarantine wards, iron lungs, and endless spinal taps not as historical abstractions, but as the bewildering daily life of a small child separated from her family for two full years. Along the way we encounter fascinating characters who all impact the little girl’s life as she struggles to recover. Written with honesty and heart, A Little Girl's Life offers an unforgettable glimpse into mid-century medicine, family perseverance, and the resilience of children during one of history's most challenging epidemics. Ann Dowling brings personal memories vividly to life for modern readers.

Grief and Healing
Nostalgia
Coming of Age
Survival
The Phantom Traveler

The Phantom Traveler

Story

by Marie Tessier

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*A field full of garden phlox and Russian sage spread in front of her. A quiet breeze picked up and brought the sweet smell of the blossoms to her.  She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes (“Where am I? How did I get here?”).  She slowly looked around attempting to make sense of where she was.* *The massive field rolled in every direction, seamlessly untouched, but still.*    *A flak of skylarks flew overhead carried by the breeze; she slowly stepped forward.  She felt the soft grass underneath her feet.  The landscape seemed to go on, as if it had no start and no end.  Just then she noticed a light shimmering in the distance. It was almost as if it was calling to her.  As she looked down, she noticed a path clearing through the flowers in the same direction as the flak of birds. She was sure it wasn’t there before.  She felt herself starting to move forward, as if the breeze was pushing her along the path. Up ahead in the far distance she started to hear faint music playing. She stopped and attempted to listen.  As she was listening, she noticed the sun getting closer on the horizon, filling the sky with soft violet and gold. Darkness slowly settled overhead.  She began to recognize the soft melody as she grew closer. Just as she stepped through the trees she stops.*        *As she stood there, she saw a white gazebo wrapped in twinkling lights.  She could still her the music somewhere nearby.  She took a moment and stared.  She felt a sense of calm come over her.  The place seemed to feel familiar to her, but she didn’t know from were.*      *Before she realized, she found herself walking towards the gazebo.  As she got closer, she saw a small radio playing softly.  Next to it was a bottle of red wine, two glasses and a picnic basket.  The bottle and glasses were sitting on a table next to the radio.  She stopped just at the bottom of the steps.  As she looked around in the gazebo, she saw a tall man with his back turned toward her.  Her heart started racing a bit, she felt herself calm at the same time.  It was as if she knew him somehow from a distant past.  She kept still, confused yet curious.  Her gaze fixed on him.  She started to climb the steps one by one, slowly.  No more then she reached the top step a piercing sound filled the air Beep. Beep. Beep.*

Spiritual Awakening
Second Chance Romance
Survival
Self-Discovery
Small Town
The Long Watch

The Long Watch

Story

by Jessiew

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In the mountains of Alder County, rookie deputy Caleb “Cal” Mercer begins his career with a call he will never forget: a pickup truck down an embankment, a frightened little girl, and a mother he cannot save. Before his first shift is over, Cal learns that wearing a badge means carrying the weight of outcomes he cannot always control. Under the guidance of veteran Sergeant Warren Harlan, Cal begins to understand what the academy could never fully teach him. Through dangerous calls, difficult investigations, storms, searches, and quiet acts of kindness, he discovers that serving a community demands patience and compassion alongside courage. As the years pass, both Cal and the county around him change. The friendships forged on duty help sustain him, while the memories of those he encounters follow him home to his wife, Anna. Every shift adds another lesson about responsibility, human frailty, and the limits of what one person can put right. Drawing inspiration from author Jessie Woody’s law enforcement experience, *The Long Watch* follows a rural deputy’s journey from uncertainty toward a deeper understanding of service. It is a story of loyalty, sacrifice, and the people who keep answering the call—even when the hardest part begins after the emergency ends.

Grief and Healing
Survival
Action-Packed
Small Town
The Weeping Jackal

The Weeping Jackal

Story

by Esther Squires

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It was common for veiled-born children of the Egyptian gods to die— not that Heba Badran knew that. On her 16th birthday, her divine heart matures and kills her mortal body. Now, she’s stuck at The House of the Second Measure; a half-way house for dangerous demigods caught between life and death. Surrounded by heart-eating monsters and undead teenagers, Heba must control her powers to find her way home.

Grief and Healing
Dark
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Found Family
readerful

A Bastion of Sanity Tale

Series

by L.W. GREGSON

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Chosen One
Dark
Quest
Survival
Underdog
Newly Diagnosed, Not Defeated

Newly Diagnosed, Not Defeated

Story

by Donna O'Neil

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In Newly Diagnosed, Not Defeated, Donna O’Neil draws on more than 29 years of healthcare experience as a Medical Assistant and her own lived experience navigating chronic illness to offer compassionate encouragement and practical guidance for the journey ahead.  You are seen. You are heard. You are not alone. 🌸™   Coach Donna O’Neil, Chronic Condition Wellness Life Coach | Patient Advocacy Insider | Author

Grief and Healing
Survival
Self-Discovery
The Bloodline They Erased

The Bloodline They Erased

Story

by Sable Monroe

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In the modern city of Saint Veil, Nyra Voss is a twenty-three-year-old night-shift EMT who has spent her life hiding the strange mark on her palm. She has no idea that the mark connects her to the Hollowborn, a supernatural bloodline believed to have been erased from existence seven hundred years ago. Nyra is the last living Hollowborn—and her power is unlike anything vampires or werewolves have ever encountered. With a single touch, she can strip supernatural beings of their powers and even end the immortality of creatures thought impossible to kill. But every use of her ability comes at a dangerous cost. When a mysterious murder threatens to expose the truth behind the Hollowborn’s extinction, Nyra is pulled into a deadly conflict between two powerful supernatural rulers: Lucien Draven, a dangerously alluring vampire prince bound to his king, and Kael Thorne, the ruthless Alpha of the Blackmere werewolves, who knows more about Nyra’s past than he is willing to admit. As secrets unravel, Nyra discovers that the history she has been taught may be a lie. The vampires and wolves have their own reasons for keeping the Hollowborn forgotten, and someone is willing to kill to ensure the truth stays buried. Each clue brings Nyra closer to the people responsible for destroying her bloodline—and closer to a power she may not be able to control. Caught between forbidden attraction, shifting loyalties, and a mystery that reaches back centuries, Nyra must decide whom she can trust before the supernatural world turns against her. But the deeper she digs, the more terrifying the truth becomes: the Hollowborn may not have been erased simply because they were dangerous. They may have been erased because someone feared what they could become. Nyra was never supposed to survive. Now the bloodline they tried to erase may be the one that brings their kingdoms to their knees.

Survival
Revenge
Chosen One
Behind Her Eyes

Behind Her Eyes

Story

by Novi Chase

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Summer is a self-proclaimed home body, a lazy lizard if you will. A remote worker who thrives on living, relaxing and working from a home that used to be her mother's. One rainy night, she is coached into leaving her comfortable, slightly agoraphobic life for a surprise birthday party in Atlanta for a college crush, named Ethan, she had not seen for a long time. After unpredictable events, Summer abruptly leaves the party and wants nothing more to be back home by the fire with a bottle of wine and ice-cream. But before she knows it, she is drugged and taken from the parking garage and ends up....well, you will just have to read to find out.

Dark
Survival
Action-Packed
Blood of My Blood: A Botanical Gothic Memoir

Blood of My Blood: A Botanical Gothic Memoir

Series

by J.J. Johnson

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The Blood of My Blood Series is a three-tiered botanical Gothic memoir tracing generations of an inheritance blanketed in shadows filled with sorrow across shifting prairies and vast peaks. Between blood-soaked Oklahoman clay and the golden fields of Nebraska, come with me to unlock my mother's green trunk—examining the fragments of my family's trauma and secrecy, while discovering the maternal sacrifice that flows through my bloodline like silent, deadly currents.

Atmospheric
Dark
Self-Discovery
Small Town
Survival
NSFW
The Path Of The Geometer

The Path Of The Geometer

Series

by Jon Praker

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### ***A Descent into Mechanical Noir*** **Book I: He Who Walks the Nothing** Stripped of comfort, routine, and identity, Marek enters a stone cellar and falls into the Void—a metaphysical landscape that feeds on silence and reflection. Guided by the crushing pressure of the universe itself, he is forced to endure twenty-five brutal trials. Armed with only his breath and a dull blade that sharpens with his own honesty, he battles the Wolves of Habit, which are feral creatures born of his excuses and addictions. He climbs the Stair of Coins to face his financial and moral debts, and stands in the Temple of Two Ears to confront the devastating consequences of refusing to truly listen to those he loved. In the Forge of Identity, he hammers his fear, shame, and primal desire into a new tool of survival. Ultimately, Marek does not find clean forgiveness; instead, he finds the God-Spark within himself, willingly accepting the burden of the dark life he almost lived as a permanent compass to navigate his way back to reality. **Book II: The Geometer** Back in the waking world, Marek operates Aperture Mechanical Solutions, repairing engines while trying to maintain his grip on his newly forged identity. But the shadows have followed him, personified by KlusterFux—a volatile, jester-like manifestation of Marek’s anger, calculation, and survival instincts who chimes with phantom bells and burns with red eyes. The battle here shifts from gaining power to mastering restraint. Marek faces the gods of False Mastery, Leverage, and Empty Rooms, learning the agonizing discipline of refusing to dominate others or force outcomes to soothe his own discomfort. In the ultimate act of psychological alignment, Marek integrates KlusterFux entirely, accepting his own capacity for violence and darkness so that it can never blindly govern him again.  **Book III: Listen While It Whispers** Marek and Donjha are pulled into a terrifying new architecture—a recursive, fractal manifestation of their own relationship. This realm does not test their strength; it weaponizes their distance. They navigate infinite hallways, locked rooms, and a heartbreakingly perfect house they never actually lived in, witnessing every possible outcome of their shared choices. The environment perfectly mirrors their instincts, physically expanding the space between them whenever Marek tries to chase her or she tries to flee. Finally, they encounter the "Fourth Point"—a pure geometry representing the vast, indifferent system that contains them both, proving that they are not the center of the universe. They escape the trap not by saving each other, but by letting go of the desperate need to control the other's choices, returning to the real world to build a life in real-time. You don't fix the machine by screaming at it. You fix it by listening while it whispers. **Enter the VoidDoctrine.** From the grease-stained concrete of small engine repair to the infinite, crushing geometry of the human mind, author Jon Edward Praker delivers a visceral masterpiece of industrial mysticism. This isn't just a story of addiction, heartbreak, and recovery. It is a mechanical blueprint for the soul. The Nigredo Logic Group proudly presents a trilogy for those who have fallen, those who are climbing, and those who know that the darkest parts of themselves aren't enemies—they are adaptations. *He Who Walks the Nothing.* *The Geometer.* *Listen While It Whispers.* **Available now.**

Grief and Healing
Survival
Self-Discovery
Thought-Provoking
Dark
Last to Fall

Last to Fall

Story

by B. shock

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Exiled and left to die on a hostile alien planet for a crime she didnt commit, alita is saved by a alien native who wants nothing to do with her... Or so he thought. \ `Xanadis...A world deemed uninhabitable by humans and made into a penal colony where deathrow convicts are sent to serve out the rest of their lives, forced to fight to survive or subcome to the harsh enviroment and fall prey to the many creatures that live there. `\ \ `After being convicted of a murder she didnt commit alita is left stranded on the hostile world filled with carnivorous plants, ruthless criminals, hostile natives, and bloodthirsty monsters. `\ \ `She comes to realize the world isnt as unforgiving and cold as it seems. She's saved by a native who dislikes humans as much as the next guy but shes intent on sticking by his side in order to survive. The only issue being is the last thing he wants is a pathetic, weak human girl following him around.`\ \ \ \ \ `(Limited time only read!) `\ \ \ ` (THIS IS THE RE-WRITTEN VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL STORY AND WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE TEMPORARILY)`

Fish Out of Water
Forbidden Love
Survival
Self-Discovery
Slow Burn
NSFW
Extraterrestrial Exploration

Extraterrestrial Exploration

Story

by B. shock

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After crash landing on an unknown alien planet a female Xenobiologist finds herself in the company of two strange aliens after they kidnap her in the middle of the night from her ship and crew. luckily the two aliens have yet to show any signs of hostility but when their exploratory touch starts to become more intimate she finds her own sexual urges hard to resist. and being a scientist at heart, how could she deny a chance to learn the anatomy of a new alien species in the most pleasurable way possible?

Forbidden Love
Survival
Found Family
Action-Packed
Slow Burn
NSFW
My Becoming: One Life. No Dress Rehearsal.

My Becoming: One Life. No Dress Rehearsal.

Story

by LeAnnHall

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**FREE PREVIEW — MY BECOMING** Enjoy a complimentary introduction and brief excerpt from *My Becoming: One Life. No Dress Rehearsal.*, the published memoir by Le Ann Hall. The complete book is available for purchase through major book retailers.   **My Becoming: A Journey Through Love, Loss, Faith, and Rediscovery** What happens when life asks you to begin again, even when you believe you have nothing left to give? In *My Becoming*, author Le Ann Hall invites readers into an intimate journey of love, unimaginable loss, grief, resilience, and personal transformation. Through the heartbreak of losing her son and beloved family members, navigating complicated relationships, and rediscovering her own voice, Le Ann shares how faith, courage, and self-reflection helped her move forward—not by forgetting her past, but by learning to live beyond the pain. More than a memoir, *My Becoming* is an invitation to anyone who has experienced loss, questioned their purpose, or struggled to recognize the person they are becoming. It is a reminder that healing is not a destination, growth has no expiration date, and every chapter of life offers an opportunity to begin again. **Because becoming isn't about arriving. It's about continuing.** **Purchase the Complete Memoir** Thank you for reading this complimentary preview of *My Becoming: One Life. No Dress Rehearsal.* Continue the journey! The complete memoir by Le Ann Hall is available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover editions. **Find your copy here:**  Available Now — Find Your Copy **Amazon — Kindle, Paperback & Hardcover** <https://a.co/d/0bneYcgI> **Apple Books — eBook** <https://books.apple.com/us/book/my-becoming/id6815373676> **Barnes & Noble — eBook** <https://share.google/F5nwLy4ZuB4qUmgzU> **Google Play Books — eBook** <https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=QH8ZEgAAQBAJ>    About the Author Le Ann Hall is an author, Certified Life and Grief Coach, ordained minister, and advocate for emotional wellness, personal growth, and resilience. Drawing from her lived experiences, professional training, and commitment to helping others, she encourages individuals to navigate life's challenges, embrace healing, and discover new possibilities. Her message is simple yet powerful: **Life is not about having everything figured out. It is about having the courage to keep becoming.** *I am a work in progress.* — Le Ann Hall

Grief and Healing
Thought-Provoking
Spiritual Awakening
Survival
Self-Discovery
Are You Serious Right Now

Are You Serious Right Now

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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"I Can't Make This Up" is a humorous and heartfelt memoir about one woman's ongoing battle with bureaucracy, bad luck, and baffling human behavior. Through a series of unbelievable but true experiences, she recounts everything from scam emails and vehicle registration nightmares to canceled medications, a traffic stop involving "weed" that wasn't weed, and the loss of a cherished home. Along the way she reflects on modern society, common sense, education, family, disability, and the resilience required to keep moving forward when life seems determined to pile one absurd challenge after another in your path. Equal parts comedy, frustration, and perseverance, this collection of stories proves that sometimes the only way to survive life's chaos is to laugh at it. Back Cover Blurb If someone told you this stuff happened in a novel, you'd say it was too ridiculous to be believable. A vehicle registration renewal becomes a bureaucratic obstacle course. A WiFi adapter is mistaken for drug paraphernalia. Medications disappear without warning. Scam artists promise millions. A beloved fifth wheel home vanishes from reach. And somehow, through it all, there's still room for family, stubborn determination, and the occasional glimmer of hope. With sharp humor, unapologetic honesty, and plenty of "you've got to be kidding me" moments, I Can't Make This Up is a memoir about surviving disability, bureaucracy, bad decisions, and the endless parade of absurdities that make up everyday life. Because sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. And sometimes a whole lot funnier.

Thought-Provoking
Dark
Underdog
Survival
Self-Discovery
Traitor Among Us

Traitor Among Us

Story

by Charles Carfagno

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In the tranquil village, the Way of Sun Ma Kung Fu School epitomizes discipline and honor. This peace is shattered when a ruthless gang of thieves, orchestrated by the enigmatic Bearded Man, pillages the school, stealing ancient manuals and leaving chaos in their wake. Upon learning of the devastating event, Jacko's wife, Breen, embarks on a determined quest to uncover the culprits. Inside the school's walls, she discovers shocking secrets that challenge her understanding of loyalty and betrayal, uncovering deep-seated rivalries and reopening old wounds. Meanwhile, miles away, Jacko senses an impending crisis. Defending his teaching rights before the council of elders, he faces a mounting responsibility that extends beyond tradition. Unbeknownst to him, the true battle lies back at his school, where echoes of betrayal and vengeance await his return. As tragedy tests Jacko's spirit and loyalty, he must confront the malevolence of the Bearded Man and the treachery of those around him to reclaim his honor and restore what was lost. In this journey, friends may reveal themselves as foes, and foes may become unexpected allies, forcing Jacko to navigate grief and uncertainty as he seeks the truth about the night that changed everything."

Dark
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Ancient Secrets
Statica

Statica

Story

by Darren Glenn

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Mara Marinescu had spent most of her life trying to survive. Then she met Alaina Winslow, who showed her how to live. Everything changed the morning Alaina killed Raymond John Vixler. Something inside her began to disappear. And then she did. Reports emerged of a mysterious girl with a halo of lightning stepping through static to save people. They called her Statica. But with each life she saved, she lost a piece of herself. Refusing to let her best friend go, Mara sets out to bring Alaina home. Through the static, she discovers a hidden realm beyond reality, where impossible choices shape the fate of the living and the dead. From the author of *Earl* comes a contemporary fantasy thriller about friendship, memory, sacrifice, and the people we refuse to let go. For fans of *Shatter Me, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue*, and *All the Bright Places*.

Grief and Healing
Coming of Age
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Found Family
The Catalyst and The Victor

The Catalyst and The Victor

Story

by Jay Venuto

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A man must come to terms with a tragic loss and navigate life with complex trauma.

Grief and Healing
Thought-Provoking
Second Chance Romance
Coming of Age
Survival
Earl

Earl

Story

by Darren Glenn

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**Out of money. Out of gas. Out of options.** When Dan Abernathy accepts help from a wealthy stranger, he expects kindness. What he gets is a mansion, unlimited wealth, and a curse he can't escape. **The rules are simple:\ Stay in the house.\ Feed the dog.\ Every day with human prey.** Dan tells himself he's just trying to survive. But as the bodies pile up and the house grows more luxurious, he faces a terrifying question: Is he still the victim... or has he become the monster? Twenty-seven caretakers before him failed to escape. Their souls swim endlessly in the pond, waiting for Dan to join them. His only hope is a starving white dog in a forgotten room—and the courage to face what he’s become. **Because inside every person, there are two dogs: One good. One evil.**\ **The one that wins is the one you feed the most.** In the tradition of psychological horror that asks “what would YOU do?”, Earl is a visceral exploration of moral compromise, the seduction of wealth, and the thin line between victim and monster. Perfect for fans of dark psychological thrillers who appreciate: - Morally complex protagonists facing impossible choices - Supernatural horror grounded in human psychology - Stories that linger long after the final page

Dark
Mystery Box
Haunted House
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
NSFW
Layaway

Layaway

Story

by Arkadiusz Wyrzyk

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A cash-strapped factory worker hopes a store’s unusual layaway plan will help him give his wife the perfect Christmas present. But he soon finds out that falling behind on a payment will cost him a lot more than just a late fee.

Nostalgia
Dark
Forbidden Love
Survival
Atmospheric
NSFW
Broken Trust

Broken Trust

Story

by FadedAura

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Audrey Lowe has never dreamed of falling in love with anyone until she met the love of her life. Shawn Cunning’s but when Shawn goes missing it is up to Audrey to find out what happened to him. Nothing will stop her from uncovering the secrets about the man she loves…

Dark
Survival
Found Family
Revenge
Small Town
NSFW
A Third Will Die: The Calling

A Third Will Die: The Calling

Story

by T L P Jr.

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Following the torment of the Scorpion Locusts, a new phase of the apocalypse begins as four fallen angelic generals are released from the Euphrates to kill a third of the human population. Inside a repurposed thrift store sanctuary, a resilient community led by Ellis, LaTroy, and a small group of believers navigates day-to-day survival through shared chores, humor, and nightly Bible studies. Their fragile peace is shattered when terrifying supernatural entities begin roaming the ruined world. While a select few marked by the divine Seal of God possess supernatural protection, the rest of the group remains vulnerable to the advancing slaughter. As the team expands by absorbing new survivors like the hardened combatant Jonas and his mother Joyce, internal tensions flare and outside gangs threaten their safety. Meanwhile across the globe, the apocalyptic heralds execute their grim mandates, pushing humanity toward an impending convergence of two hundred million destroyers. Bound together by faith, love, and a desperate need for community, the survivors must hold fast as the ultimate test of endurance closes in around them.

Spiritual Awakening
Dark
Survival
Found Family
Action-Packed
NSFW
AFTER

AFTER

Story

by T L P Jr.

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In a world where the air is a death sentence and the radiation levels are a coin flip, Ambris is just trying to find her next meal. She has a high-tech suit, a pedantic AI named BLABS, and a partner named Tollson who keeps trying to pet things that want to eat him. Surviving the apocalypse is hard, but surviving her own teammates might be impossible.

Human-AI Connection
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Quest
NSFW
Kangaroo Is My Safe Word

Kangaroo Is My Safe Word

Story

by Thomas White

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At thirty-nine, Valerie Stewart is trapped—a dead-end job, a deadbeat husband, forgotten dreams. But then, she secretly earns her accounting degree, and something inside her shifts. Six months later, Valerie is single, living in a new town, under a new name, and building the future she risked everything to achieve. For the first time, freedom feels real. Until her ex-husband finds her. Now, the fresh start Valerie created is threatened by the one man she thought she’d escaped.

Thought-Provoking
Second Chance Romance
Coming of Age
Survival
Found Family
The Sad and Inevitable Demise of Tiara Jewel

The Sad and Inevitable Demise of Tiara Jewel

Story

by Thomas White

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Survival
Action-Packed
NSFW
The last Call Home:A Romantic Novel About Survival And Perseverance

The last Call Home:A Romantic Novel About Survival And Perseverance

Story

by M. leFevre

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Prologue By Chance Boston had a way of bringing people together when they least expected it. Sometimes it happened on a crowded subway platform, with two strangers reaching for the same seat. Sometimes it happened in a coffee shop on a cold winter morning, when someone held the door open for another person. And sometimes, it happened in the middle of chaos. It was the kind of night when the cold seemed to settle into the bones of everyone walking the streets of Boston. The wind came hard off the harbor, pushing through coats and scarves, carrying with it the smell of rain and the distant sound of traffic. For twenty-two-year-old firefighter Jack Callahan, it had already been a long shift. He had been at the firehouse since before sunrise. There had been a kitchen fire in Dorchester, a medical call in South Boston, and a false alarm at an apartment building downtown. Nothing unusual. Nothing that would change his life. At least, that's what he believed. Jack had grown up understanding what it meant to wear the uniform. His father had been a firefighter before him, and from the time Jack was a boy, the firehouse had been almost as familiar as his own home. He loved the job. He loved the brotherhood. But at twenty-two, Jack still hadn't figured out what he wanted when he wasn't wearing the uniform. He was young enough to believe he had plenty of time. That night, after another exhausting call, Jack stopped at a small twenty-four-hour coffee shop not far from the hospital. He wanted coffee. Nothing more. He stepped through the door, still wearing his department sweatshirt, his boots leaving faint traces of rain on the floor. And that's when he saw her. She was standing near the counter, wearing blue hospital scrubs beneath a dark jacket. Her brown hair was pulled loosely behind her head, and she looked exhausted. But she smiled at the cashier. Jack noticed the smile before anything else. He didn't know her name. He didn't know where she lived. He didn't know that she had been working a twelve-hour shift at the hospital. He didn't know that she had spent the last several hours caring for people on some of the worst days of their lives. He didn't know that her name was Emily Parker. And Emily didn't know that the firefighter standing a few feet behind her would eventually become the person she trusted with her heart. She picked up her coffee. Jack reached for his wallet. And then, because neither of them was paying attention, they turned at exactly the same moment. Their shoulders collided. Emily's coffee tilted. Jack reached out quickly, catching the cup before it hit the floor. For a second, they simply stared at each other. "I'm sorry," Jack said. Emily laughed softly. "You're a firefighter. Shouldn't you be used to catching things before they fall?" Jack smiled. "Usually they're buildings." That made her laugh again. It was a small moment. Nothing dramatic. Nothing that either of them would have thought mattered. But sometimes the biggest moments in our lives begin as the smallest ones. Jack handed her the coffee. "Jack," he said. She looked at him for a moment before answering. "Emily." Neither of them knew it yet, but that introduction was the beginning of something neither had planned. A firefighter. A nurse. Two lives moving in completely different directions. Two people who had never met before that night. And one chance encounter that would eventually teach them that love doesn't always arrive when you're looking for it. Sometimes... love finds you when you're simply trying to get a cup of coffee.

Grief and Healing
Survival
First Contact
Friends to Lovers
readerful

The Things We carry

Story

by Summer Hawkins

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The Things We Carry is a daughter’s journey through memory, grief, family, and the complicated inheritance of love. At its heart is Don Hawkins—a father, husband, mentor, coach, educator, and friend whose influence reached far beyond his own family. Through memories of football, family, work, caregiving, laughter, loss, and the people whose lives he quietly changed, his daughter begins to see her father not only as the man she knew, but as the man others knew. Some of the stories are hers. Others belong to the people who walked beside him, worked with him, learned from him, challenged him, depended on him, and loved him. Together, those stories become something larger than a portrait of one man. They become a reflection on what we inherit from the people we love: the lessons they taught us, the kindness they showed, the battles they fought, the mistakes they made, and the pieces of themselves they leave behind. Because when someone we love is gone, we don't simply lose them. We carry them. And sometimes, it takes losing someone to finally understand how much of them was already living inside us.

Thought-Provoking
Underdog
Survival
Self-Discovery
Small Town
The Settlement

The Settlement

Story

by Nellie James

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Every year, the Settlement chooses three people from the Foundry for the Ascent. For those born beneath the humming pipes, crowded corridors, and failing machinery of the lower district, being chosen means everything. The Ascended are promised a new life in the Reserve, where artificial sunlight warms immaculate gardens, food is plentiful, and the machinery keeping humanity alive is hidden behind polished walls. Eight years ago, Sera Dain’s older sister, Veda, was chosen. Before she disappeared into the Reserve, Veda screamed one warning at Sera: Don’t let them choose you. Now twenty-year-old Sera’s name has been called. Determined to discover what happened to her sister, Sera enters the Reserve and quickly realizes that the beautiful world above the Foundry is built on secrets. Medical examinations reveal information she was never meant to see. Ascendants are tracked by numbers no one will explain. A hidden designation keeps appearing in records connected to Veda: Ward Nine. And when another newly Ascended citizen vanishes shortly after arriving in the Reserve, Sera knows her sister’s disappearance was never an isolated event. Her only unexpected ally is Transition Officer Shaw, a young Reserve official raised to believe the Preservation Authority saved humanity and that the Ascent offers Foundry citizens a better future. At first, Shaw sees Sera as difficult, suspicious, and unwilling to trust a system designed to protect her. Sera sees him as another polished face of the Authority. The deeper they search, the harder it becomes for either of them to ignore what is happening, or the growing attraction between them. Behind the Settlement’s promise of order lies a brutal truth about the Ascended, the privileged families of the Reserve, and the world beyond the walls. And somewhere beneath it all, Sera’s sister may still be alive. **The Settlement** is a fast-paced dystopian fantasy romance novella for readers who love dangerous secrets, forbidden attraction, class divides, hidden facilities, and immersive speculative worlds, but don’t necessarily want to commit to a 900-page fantasy novel. Designed as a shorter fantasy reading experience, it delivers the mystery, worldbuilding, romance, and high stakes of a larger dystopian story in a compact novella.

Forbidden Love
Survival
Enemies to Lovers
Hidden World
Slow Burn
The Gilded Cage

The Gilded Cage

Story

by Michel Gerren

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Dalia Njeri left Kenya behind and built the life she once dreamed of—a successful music career in Los Angeles, sold-out performances, fame, and fortune. But when her childhood friend **Juma is murdered outside a Nairobi courthouse** while investigating corruption, Dalia returns home and discovers his death was only the beginning. Following the trail Juma left behind, she uncovers missing activists, suspicious government contracts, poisoned communities, and secrets reaching into the highest levels of power. As public anger grows and ordinary Kenyans begin demanding answers, Dalia realizes her fame has given her something more powerful than celebrity: **a voice people will listen to.** Using that voice comes at a price. Dalia becomes a target, forcing her to choose between the comfortable life she created and the dangerous fight Juma left unfinished. ***The Gilded Cage*** is a political thriller about friendship, corruption, sacrifice, and a woman who discovers that having a voice means nothing if you're too afraid to use it

Survival
Action-Packed
Political Intrigue
Origins of a Demon

Origins of a Demon

Story

by Jeremy NoFucks Ryan

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Hospital monitors beep steadily as federal agents whisper outside the door, waiting for Jeremy Ryan to flatline. But before the silence claims him, his entire defiant existence surges back into focus.   Born into severe rural neglect and subjected to horrific medical abuse under Munchausen by proxy, Jeremy refused to be caged. Breaking free from small-town Wisconsin's psychiatric wards, he fled south into the mid-2000s criminal underworld of Detroit's notorious Cass Corridor. Adopting the street handle Fuzzbuster, Jeremy moved weight, outmaneuvered rival operators, and found a fierce, grounded love in Dominique.   Even as an aggressive cancer diagnosis and punishing radiation threatened his body, Jeremy refused to yield to weakness or fear. But survival in Detroit demands blood. When a fatal neighborhood ambush tears his world apart, claiming Dominique and their unborn child, Jeremy is catapulted into agonizing grief, exile, and a profound psychedelic rebirth.   Origins of a Demon is an unfiltered, heart-pounding journey through institutional violence, organized crime, and relentless personal resilience. Discover what happens when a corrupt system tries to break a man—and creates a demon instead.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Big City
Self-Discovery
Friends to Lovers
NSFW
Structural Integrity

Structural Integrity

Story

by Trish Strawberry

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Structural Integrity is a deeply personal memoir about survival, self-discovery, and rebuilding a life. Through travel, unexpected adventures, and the companionship of her dog, Trish Strawberry explores what happens when life pushes us to our breaking point and we discover what we're really made of.

Thought-Provoking
Spiritual Awakening
Survival
The Ghost in the Light

The Ghost in the Light

Story

by Christoph Woods

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After years of living in the shadows as a cold, methodical operative known only as "the Ghost," Corbin relies on extreme isolation, precision, and zero human attachments to stay invisible and survive. His rigid routine breaks when his neighbor, Samantha, knocks on his door asking for food after her power is shut off. Despite his instinct to remain detached, Corbin opens his door, feeds her, and eventually offers her a place to stay on his couch. As she gradually brings warmth and normalcy into his desolate life, Corbin finds himself genuinely caring for her safety and well-being. Simultaneously, Corbin takes on a contract targeting Daniel Mercer, a corporate CFO with dirty books. However, his meticulous surveillance reveals that Mercer is merely a lure—and the dossier he was given contains deliberate lies. A secondary operative, "the Observer," has been positioned nearby not to take out Mercer, but to eliminate Corbin the moment the hit is complete. Corbin turns the tables, ambushing and capturing the Observer. Before sending the operative to his death in a disused furnace, Corbin learns that both contracts were orchestrated through a shadowy broker named Vance. Corbin discovers that Vance and his network have been tracking him for eight months—and worse, they have documented Samantha as well. When a photograph of Corbin and Samantha taken that very morning is left inside his locked apartment, Corbin realizes his home and the woman he cares about are directly compromised.

Dark
Survival
Action-Packed
Big City
Friends to Lovers
The Traveler

The Traveler

Story

by S. Hicks

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Cast into exile and forced into a land scarred by war and forgotten magic, a lone traveler must survive the weather, beasts, skeleton armies, betrayal, and the growing weight of the blade he carries. As his journey pulls him deeper into a world of ancient powers and buried truths, every step brings him closer to a final test that may cost him more than his life. Told entirely in verse, The Traveler is a dark fantasy journey about survival, identity, and what is left when everything familiar is stripped away.

Thought-Provoking
Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
Quest
The Spine of All Voids

The Spine of All Voids

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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The town exhaled the morning Johnna noticed it, and nothing about her life held still afterward. Cracks open where they shouldn't. A stranger knows her name. The ground pushes stone and memory up toward the surface like it is trying to be understood. The Spine of All Voids is a mythic memoir about a woman who was marked long before she understood it, and a piece of land that has carried every secret ever buried in it. Part survival story, part folklore, written in a voice that jokes when it hurts and tells the truth when it counts.

Dark
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Action-Packed
Small Town
NSFW
Use Your Damn Brain

Use Your Damn Brain

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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For the people who survived me, shaped me, and kept me from losing my damn mind, and for everyone who learned life the long way around. Twelve short chapters of plain common sense: consequences are real, emotions are not facts, red flags are not decorations, boundaries are not rude, therapy is great but accountability is better, and nobody is coming to save you. Funny where it can be, honest where it has to be.

Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
Small Town
Hidden World
The HOA — A Modern-Day Villain Origin Story

The HOA — A Modern-Day Villain Origin Story

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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The HOA does not just run the neighborhood. The HOA is the neighborhood: a group of adults who gather voluntarily to enforce rules nobody asked for, like the PTA and the IRS had a baby that grew up to police the color of your mailbox. A comic anthropology of modern suburban life, taking on lawns as identity, Costco migration patterns, the fitted sheet crisis, the emotional support houseplant you are going to kill, and what all of it looks like from a trailer park and a 94 Bounder.

Thought-Provoking
Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
Atmospheric
Tweaker Apocalypse (Director’s Should because the first one was too sober)

Tweaker Apocalypse (Director’s Should because the first one was too sober)

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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Welcome to the end times. Not the biblical ones — those would be easier. I’m talking about the kind of apocalypse where a man wearing a foil hat shaped like a swan tries to sell you a broken vape and a conspiracy theory at three a.m behind a Dollar General. Why would you even have been behind there to see them at three a.m?     This is not a drill my friends. This is not a simulation where you wear those simulation glasses and can be stopped at anytime. This is not even the worst Tuesday I have personally have had. Let me tell ya I've had some bad ones too.   This is the Tweaker Apocalypse, and if you’re reading this, congratulations — you’ve survived long enough to need a field manual.

Underdog
Survival
First Contact
Action-Packed
Hidden World
NSFW
How to survive a 94' Bounder without losing your shit- tv series

How to survive a 94' Bounder without losing your shit- tv series

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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How to Survive a '94 Bounder Without Losing Your Shit is a raw, funny, and painfully honest documentary about life inside a worn-out 1994 Fleetwood Bounder. What begins as a simple plan for freedom quickly turns into a relentless battle against breakdowns, leaks, electrical gremlins, mechanical failures, and the daily reality of living in a machine that's older than some of the people offering advice online. Armed with limited money, questionable repair skills, and an unhealthy amount of determination, the filmmaker documents every setback, small victory, and hard-earned lesson from the driver's seat of an aging RV. Along the way, the film becomes more than a story about fixing a motorhome. It's a story about resilience, self-reliance, and finding humor when everything seems to be falling apart. Part survival guide, part road diary, and part cautionary tale, How to Survive a '94 Bounder Without Losing Your Shit proves that sometimes the road to freedom is held together with duct tape, zip ties, and sheer stubbornness.

Underdog
Survival
Action-Packed
Friends to Lovers
Small Town
𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙 𝐹𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑂𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛: 𝐴 𝑇𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙

𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙 𝐹𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑂𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛: 𝐴 𝑇𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙

Story

by Drew Faraday

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For most survivors sheltering in the wilderness along the Upper Alsea River, Pearl’s raspy voice announcing her arrival was music to their ears. Little wonder since she was the only outlier with enough nerve to trade goods out of a drift boat upriver and down through a dystopian landscape, patch up the wounded, bury the dead, and share the latest news about the Meltdown dragging on into its fourth year. But a few months ago, her luck went from bad to worse. Bounty hunters tracked her down. Jailers locked her away in a single cell with the well-worn gallows in her line of sight. A military court found her guilty of gunrunning during a declared disaster. Now Pearl faces her toughest challenge yet—confronting her own part in the chaos while talking her way out of being the next inmate hauled up those rickety stairs to take the long drop.

Underdog
Reluctant Hero
Survival
The Shared Crown Series

The Shared Crown Series

Series

by Heiwa Akers

Read

Out of the ashes of a devastating war, a broken princess and a warrior prince must forge a new legacy—or watch four kingdoms burn

Self-Discovery
Grief and Healing
Enemies to Lovers
Survival
Found Family
NSFW
Ugly Camp

Ugly Camp

Story

by Taylor Michelé

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<u>No AI was used in the writing of this work of purely human imagination.</u> In Dominion, you don’t know whether you are pretty or ugly until you are fifteen. Not officially, anyway. It comes as no surprise to Rissa Marlow when she rated AP—Aesthetically Prohibited. She’s ugly, after all. Not stupid. The surprise comes when she arrives at ARC Three—Ugly Camp—to begin training for either a life of labor in the Corporations or a much shorter life in her nation’s endless war with the Enemies. Everything changes though when Rissa finds herself the unwilling leader of a group of fellow Aps ordered on a mission to find a madman operating without official sanction deep in the Forbidden Zone. But one more surprise awaits: Cannen Ramsey, a beautiful Aesthetically Optimal boy will be joining this impossible mission. Their journey down the Desert Sea is fraught with peril. Violent weather, dangerous animals and even more dangerous people greet them around every bend. But for the first time in her life, Rissa finds friendship. With cheerful Birdie, stoic Tree, and even with the arrogant Ettie and the unpredictable Shora. And as the reluctant adventurers are drawn deeper into the desert something even stronger seems to be growing between Cannen and her Only when Rissa finally comes face-to-face with the man whose command she has been ordered to terminate does she begin to learn the terrible truth. About him. About her country. About herself. While virtually everything Rissa thought she knew turns out to be lies perpetrated by the government, the corporations and even by her own parents, now she learns that the madman has found something here in the wasteland. Something ancient. Something horrific. Something deadly. On this journey into the very heart of darkness Rissa may have to sacrifice everything including those she has come to trust, respect—and love.

Coming of Age
Forbidden Love
Survival
Action-Packed
Self-Discovery
The Powers Bestowed Saga

The Powers Bestowed Saga

Series

by J.L.K. Taylor

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In 1979, Jason Beannú Elias was playing dive bars in Reno, Nevada. He had no idea he was about to become one of the most powerful beings in the world.\ \ Neither did the four men beside him. The ones who would become his Brotherhood, his warriors, his brothers in the truest sense of the word. To the world, they were just a hard rock band called Battle Cry, five musicians with more talent than anyone had a right to. To an enemy who had been anticipating their generation for nine centuries, they were something far more dangerous.\ \ All it took was one old man, one wooden box, and one night in a San Diego hotel room to prove it.\ \ Singer Connor Braydee couldn't silence the flood of voices suddenly crashing through his mind. Guitarist Ricky Strathan blinked and found himself across the room without having moved. Bass Player Erik Hahn touched a table, and it collapsed like paper. Keyboardist Nathan Dallenger burned from the inside out. And Jace — their drummer, their anchor — died on the hotel carpet, rose in a column of living light, and came back to himself with an ancient voice echoing in his bones.\ \ \*"You are the Guardian of Aelin..."\*\ \ The next morning, a man named Sidney Greene stepped over the door Erik had pulled clean off its hinges and began to explain what none of them yet had words for. Five musicians. Five titles older than any nation they had ever played in. Five amulets that could not be removed until their work in this world was finished.\ \ They didn't ask for this destiny. None of it. But the world had been waiting nine hundred years for them to arrive.\ \ \*The Powers Bestowed: Origins.\*

Chosen One
Survival
Found Family
Dark
Hidden World
NSFW
First Eight Years

First Eight Years

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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Sammie didn’t expect to watch her own death from above her body. But when her heart stopped, reality split open. In the chaos of an operating room, she became both witness and patient — hovering outside her own shell while surgeons fought to pull her back from the edge.She saw everything: the wires, the screens, the frantic hands working inside her. She heard the words no living person should ever hear spoken about themselves — time of death. And she felt the terrifying truth of being conscious, aware, and unable to make anyone understand she was still there.This is not fiction. This is not embellished. This is a true story based on real events — the moment Sammie slipped out of her body and into the space between life and whatever waits beyond it.As she drifted through darkness, tunnel vision, and the suffocating weight of her final breath, she discovered a clarity that only comes when everything is stripped away. And when she fought her way back into her body, she carried with her the knowledge that every second matters — because once it’s gone, it never returns.Between Breath and Darkness is the raw, unfiltered opening to Sammie’s memoir: a visceral descent into near‑death awareness, dissociation, and the fragile boundary between existence and oblivion. It is a story of survival told by the only person who lived it.

Spiritual Awakening
Dark
Second Chance Romance
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
NSFW
But Every Day I’m Their Mama

But Every Day I’m Their Mama

Story

by Teanna Askew

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*But Every Day I’m Their Mama* is an honest and emotional look at motherhood beyond the picture-perfect moments. Teanna Askew explores what it means to keep showing up for your children when life is exhausting, support is limited, and the responsibilities never seem to stop. From advocating for children with different needs to navigating schools, relationships, financial pressure, job hunting, absent support, and the everyday demands of raising a family, this book gives a voice to mothers who quietly carry more than most people ever see. This isn’t a story about being a perfect mother. It’s about being present. It’s about the nights you cry privately and still get up the next morning. It’s about fighting for your children while trying not to lose yourself. Above all, it is about a simple truth: life may be difficult, motherhood may be overwhelming, and some days may feel impossible—but every day, **I’m still their mama.**

Grief and Healing
Thought-Provoking
Underdog
Survival
Self-Discovery
Core Haven: Hope Amid the Ruins

Core Haven: Hope Amid the Ruins

Story

by Drew Faraday

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At the height of the Oregon Meltdown, a simple mistake along an evacuation corridor leads to disaster. Less than a week before the military plans to cordon off the last bridge over the Columbia River, Nate finds himself stranded along a wilderness ravine with little more than the clothes on his back. His only hope of reuniting with his family and continuing up the coast to safety is to survive a fifty-mile solo journey on foot through a lawless landscape devastated by warring factions.

Underdog
Survival
Action-Packed
Blight: Better Off Dead

Blight: Better Off Dead

Story

by Nicholas Scott

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**This is a short story during the aftermath of the outbreak**   It started with a viral attack, glass vials shattered in the heavily trafficked corridors of Grand Central Station. Within a month the virus was the deadliest attack the world had ever witnessed. But it was only the beginning. The survivors, what few remained of the planet's 7 billion, would come to realize the virus attack was the easy part; it killed outright, but the Blight was a different story altogether. The end wasn't just the beginning.

Coming of Age
Survival
Found Family
Postal: Special Delivery With A Vengeance

Postal: Special Delivery With A Vengeance

Story

by C. Matthew McCall

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**POSTAL** What begins as an ordinary day at a local post office quickly becomes a nightmare when a tragic accident claims the life of Mike’s sister, Kristen. Grieving and struggling to understand how something so terrible could have happened, Mike begins noticing details that don’t make sense. Strange occurrences, unsettling encounters, and clues surrounding Kristen’s death slowly pull him into a mystery far darker than he could have imagined. As Mike searches for answers, he discovers that some things are better left unexplained—and some mysteries refuse to stay buried. With the help of those around him, Mike must piece together the clues before something else is taken from him. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous the search becomes. **Some mysteries are meant to be solved.** **Others are meant to be survived.**

Dark
Forbidden Love
Survival
Revenge
The Mafia Fairy Tale Series

The Mafia Fairy Tale Series

Series

by Heiwa Akers

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Follow the journey of Crystilline Heiwa Yuy as she discovers her ties to a Japanese Mafia family and how she turns tradition on its head. Crystilline is no ordinary princess who sits within a tower, waiting to be rescued. She will rescue herself.

Political Intrigue
Coming of Age
Self-Discovery
Survival
NSFW
Kareesa's Chance At t Destiny

Kareesa's Chance At t Destiny

Story

by Kareesa

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Welcome to Kingdom City, where the pavement is unforgiving and every real connection is tested. When Chance and Destiny cross paths, it’s a collision of raw hustle and high-stakes reality. But out on these blocks, the streets don't let beautiful things breathe. Backed by a crew of heavy hitters like Ego, Pride, Slander, and Fear, the neighborhood is gunning to tear down what they’ve built. Dive into Kareesa's Chance at Destiny and witness a gritty, unfiltered journey where keeping your head straight means surviving the fire.

Thought-Provoking
Spiritual Awakening
Dark
Survival
Ancient Secrets
Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage

Story

by Kareesa

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When the ancient rebellion in the high heavens spilled down into the dust and the streets, humanity became the collateral damage in a war between a false empire and a sovereign King. Collateral Damage traces the roots of spiritual warfare from the throne room to the block, laying out raw, unfiltered truth about why we bleed, who pulled the trigger, and how the final reckoning is coming due.

Thought-Provoking
Spiritual Awakening
Dark
Survival
Ancient Secrets
Parralax

Parralax

Series

by SarahMae

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Deep beneath the desert sands, a routine investigation into a strange gravitational anomaly ends in tragedy—or so the research team believes. Five years after losing one of their own, the surviving scientists uncover a horrifying truth: their colleague isn't dead. He was captured, caged, and studied like a laboratory animal by an advanced species operating across interdimensional gateways. Determined to pull him out, the researchers assemble a squad of ruthless mercenaries to breach the portal on a clandestine rescue mission. But stepping through the gateway reveals a civilization beyond their wildest imagination—a world where hyper-advanced technology powers everything from effortless daily life to intergalactic superhighways, prioritizing comfort and infinite capability. What begins as a targeted extraction quickly transforms into an unprecedented opportunity. Intoxicated by the power at their fingertips, the team transitions from rescue to exploration, and ultimately to high-stakes piracy—smuggling alien technology back to Earth for immense personal gain. But stealing from a superior intelligence carries catastrophic consequences. When the thefts are exposed, retaliatory war erupts between the dimensions, locking both species in an all-out battle for survival and absolute control over the gateways that link their worlds.

Action-Packed
Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Quest
Hidden World
0 Dread

0 Dread

Story

by Vexen Spell

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**You find yourself in the zombie apocalypse with a Serial Killer, a Mafioso, a Loser, a Hockey Player, a Bounty Hunter, and a Preacher’s Son.**   **What could possibly go wrong?**   Welcome to the end of the world.

Dark
Survival
NSFW
Toxic Entanglement II

Toxic Entanglement II

Story

by Laueriano Alvarado

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(Draft import — author to rewrite.)

Forbidden Love
Survival
The Way Back

The Way Back

Story

by Tony Olson

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Dr. Mariah White is a gifted trauma surgeon accustomed to saving lives in the controlled chaos of an operating room. Victor Flemming has spent his life saving them in the unforgiving Adirondack wilderness. When Mariah steps away from medicine to train in search and rescue, their worlds collide. What begins as a clash between two stubborn professionals becomes something neither expected as danger, survival, and the mountains themselves force them to depend on each other in ways that could change both their lives forever.

Survival
Slow Burn
NSFW
Devour

Devour

Story

by Albert A Long

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After enduring endless torment and forbidden experiments at the hands of sadistic mages—who sought to forge him into a living vessel for a Daedric Prince—Verrick claws his way back from what he believed was death. His mind is a furnace of pure rage. His body hungers with a bottomless, feral craving for flesh.  \ \ Now he stalks the lands of Nirn, driven by one purpose: to uncover why this nightmare was forced upon him… and to hunt down every last architect of his ruin, leaving only blood and silence in his wake..

Dark
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Quest
NSFW
Star Trek The Next Generation The new adventures of captain Mootee and the USS Enterprise

Star Trek The Next Generation The new adventures of captain Mootee and the USS Enterprise

Story

by Edward Alvin Hodges Jr

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In a thrilling space saga, Captain Mootee's crew defies orders to answer a distress call from an uncharted planet battling unknown cosmic threats and betrayal from within, tensions mount as the fate of civilizations weigh on them. Braving the odds with courage and wit, they realize true power lies not in their starship, but in their unwavering unity will they withstand the trials of the cosmos and internal deceit to emerge victorious? An epic of bravery and the human spirit unfold among the stars.

Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Action-Packed
Quest
He Came Back. I Became a Fugitive.

He Came Back. I Became a Fugitive.

Story

by Dani Ashford

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Rosalie Carlisle spent years believing Nolan Devereaux vanished without a word. He didn’t. Before graduation, they shared an impossible glimpse of a future neither could explain. Then Nolan disappeared, leaving behind a confession Rosalie never received. Someone made sure she never saw it. Years later, Nolan returns, and the secrets buried between them begin to surface. Hidden letters. Family betrayal. Missing pieces of the past. And truths dangerous enough to turn Rosalie’s life upside down. The deeper she digs, the less she knows who to trust. Then everything goes wrong. Now Rosalie is running, Nolan is tied to questions she never knew to ask, and the past they thought was over is coming after them both.

Second Chance Romance
Survival
Action-Packed
Friends to Lovers
Trapped between a flooded 2026 mine collapse and a rigid 1800s time loop, an engineer must decipher a glitching historical blueprint before her oxygen permanently runs out.

Trapped between a flooded 2026 mine collapse and a rigid 1800s time loop, an engineer must decipher a glitching historical blueprint before her oxygen permanently runs out.

Story

by Winter

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**Algorithmic Shift** **Two centuries. Two crushing realities. One unbreakable loop.** When a catastrophic mine cave-in traps engineer Clara Mercer deep inside a flooded subterranean shaft in 2026, her world goes completely black. Instead of death, the suffocating atmospheric pressure fractures reality itself, thrusting her consciousness backward into a rigid 1800s logging camp while her physical body remains pinned beneath a thousand tons of stone. Bound to the pre-programmed autopilot of a historical ledger clerk, Clara discovers a terrifying system rule: her actions in the past directly control the structural layout and dwindling oxygen supply of her modern tomb \[INDEX\]. Under the cold, clinical gaze of the mysterious Timber Boss—who carries the exact face of her real-world husband, Gideon—Clara must meticulously log the camp’s anomalies to maintain her fifteen percent survival margin \[INDEX\]. From the future, Gideon's rescue team desperately tears through the bedrock with pneumatic saws, completely unaware that every inch they gain fractures the historical foundations keeping Clara alive \[INDEX\]. When Clara finally rebels and forces the matrix to overload, she doesn't break the trap—she permanently deletes the future, rewriting both herself and Gideon directly into a permanent historical blueprint with no escape.

Survival
Unexplained Phenomena
Action-Packed
Small Town
Hidden World
The Sky Was My Ceiling

The Sky Was My Ceiling

Story

by Sammie Settlemire

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After dying, waking, and dying again, Sammie watches her own body from above as doctors call her time of death and prepare to let her go. What follows is a chaotic, brutally honest journey through survival, brain damage, disability, humor, trauma, and the stubborn refusal to stay gone. From waking up with tubes down her throat to navigating life in a beat‑up RV with a misunderstood XL bully service dog, Sammie fights her way back into a world that keeps trying to erase her. This memoir is a raw, unfiltered account of the moments between life and death — and the messy, ridiculous, painful, beautiful fight to keep living once you return.

Dark
Survival
Action-Packed
Chosen One
Political Intrigue
The Stranger She Became

The Stranger She Became

Story

by Gina Murdock

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## SHE WASN'T LOOKING FOR A BREAK. SHE WAS RUNNING FROM A STALKER.  Sloane Mitchell has everything. Wealth, success, a picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, she's suffocating. When she meets Harper Grey, a woman who looks uncannily like her, Harper makes an irresistible offer: swap lives for three weeks. No strings attached. Just a chance to escape.  What begins as a thrilling adventure becomes a descent into terror. Because Harper didn't tell Sloane the truth. She wasn't looing for a break from her boring life - she' was running from a stalker who has been watching her every move for almost a year. A man named Jared Mills who doesn't just follow his victims. He owns them. ###  She's The Stranger She Became.

Fish Out of Water
Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
Slow Burn
The Son

The Son

Story

by Lola Blackwell

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After being robbed by the caravan meant to guide him across the vast desert, an affluent man is left to die beneath an indifferent sun. As starvation, dehydration, and isolation erode his body, his mind begins to fracture alongside it. To survive the unbearable agony, he recounts the life he left behind: a refined home, a kind wife, and a brilliant but cruel son whose arrogance he believes he cultivated through years of emotional distance. The desert strips him apart piece by piece. Hallucinations blur the boundaries between memory and imagination. He agonizes over the man he should have been and for the son he believes he destroyed. Part survival story, part psychological horror, and part tragedy, this story follows a dying man whose journey across the unforgiving desert becomes a devastating confrontation with memory, guilt, and identity. Exploring the way shame reshapes memory, the stories we tell ourselves to survive our own failures, and whether redemption remains possible once every illusion has been stripped away.

Fish Out of Water
Thought-Provoking
Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
The White Line Of A Faint Heart

The White Line Of A Faint Heart

Story

by Kiara Guzman

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So I feel like what inspired me to write this as someone who has been through really bad relationships, addiction issues, self-harm, loss, attempts, being locked up, losing myself trying to save other people, homelessness, bad self-image, loss of children terrible abuse that should happen to no one ever. I want my books to give people of all ages. that just because you have been broke doesn't mean you're broken. Just because you were given battles does not mean you give up because everything gets better and it doesn't always stay bad forever. I want people to connect not just on a mental level but to actually feel everything I have said and to know that all the emotions of hate, love , guilt ,shame ,peace ,fear ,distress , and hopefulness does not mean that their story hasn't ended and that it's just starting to take off. Because I remember thinking multiple times I will never get through this or I am not strong enough then I have to remember if I never went through the stuff I went through, I would have never become the person I am today. but yes, i have lost people along the way but that just means they weren't met to stay for the long run. They were met to be there for a lesson and to grow and that perfectly fine. Cause you're going to look at your and say that was worth it cause look at me now.

Thought-Provoking
Coming of Age
Survival
Self-Discovery
Hidden World
NSFW
SENTENCED TO SURVIVE

SENTENCED TO SURVIVE

Story

by JamesD.Vanderpool

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Survival
Self-Discovery
The Silence Between Thoughts

The Silence Between Thoughts

Story

by Devin D. Taylor

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Dark
Survival
Found Family
Ancient Secrets
Chosen One
RADIO

RADIO

Story

by KW Chaproniere

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Aurelia Greenlaw is a twenty-two year old Captain in the 13th Recon Division, and she is a Radio. In Palvera, the nation built on the ruins of North America, that word means something specific. Centuries ago an experiment on the human mind produced a mutation that never went away. Now there are six kinds: Builders, who rearrange matter with their hands. Washers, who put thoughts in your head and let you believe you thought them. Shifters, who change what you see. Sensatives, who read what you feel and can turn the dial on it. Nets, who move what they can see without touching it. And Radios, who read the world in waves, who hear a signal a mile out and can put a voice inside your skull. The Centre calls this humanity, perfected. Everyone born without it is a Blank, and the Centre has built a country on that distinction. Arra has spent her whole life on the useful side of the line. Then a bomb takes her unit apart on the mountain and leaves her the only one breathing. The Centre searches forty-eight hours for a missing soldier. After that, she’s a name on a list. She wakes on day three, strapped to a gurney in a stronghold carved into rock, listening to the people who found her argue about whether she’s worth the water it would take to keep her alive. They’re Blanks. They’ve also done the one thing no Blank should be able to do. They’ve blocked her. The waves are gone. The world has gone flat and quiet, and the part of her that made her worth keeping has been cut out. Arra is going to get home. She’s willing to be patient about it: count the turns in the tunnels, memorize the faces, learn who can be used and who can be turned. What she doesn’t account for is how long it takes, or what months of it do to a doctrine that was never meant to survive contact with the people it was written about.  *Radio* is an adult dystopian novel about inheritance, indoctrination, and what’s left of a person when the thing that defined her is taken away.

Dark
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Enemies to Lovers
Political Intrigue
Ruin Shaper

Ruin Shaper

Story

by D.C. Pope

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Adam was only trying to live a normal life. A hiking trip with his friends was supposed to be a break from everything, but instead it ended with him stranded in another world, separated from everyone he knew, and left with only the contents of his pack to keep him alive.\ \ His first shelter is a ruined tower hidden in the forest, but safety does not last. A territorial monster claims the land outside, trapping Adam inside with dwindling food, broken rooms, and whatever scraps he can turn into tools.\ \ With no way home and no clean way out, Adam begins searching the tower. What he finds buried inside is not treasure, but the remains of an ancient magical training facility and a System designed to help people survive a world they were never built for.

Survival
Ancient Secrets
Tier Zero

Tier Zero

Story

by D.C. Pope

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Find more of my Fictions at ChapterTrail.com  Lucas Cadalain had never expected much from his life. Born into a world controlled by corporations and the implants they used to manage nearly every aspect of society, his future seemed simple: work, survive, and remain useful enough to be left alone.\ \ Then a dying stranger placed an impossible implant in the back of his neck and shattered everything Lucas thought he understood.\ \ Within hours, Lucas is branded a dangerous fugitive, hunted by Aethis, and driven from the only city he has ever known. His new implant refuses corporate control, learns without permission, and can seemingly undo the restrictions built into other implants. Worse, nobody seems to know exactly what it is capable of, including Lucas.\ \ His escape brings him to Amiri, a stranded engineer whose own implant has been disabled by the corporation she once worked for. Together, aboard a half-repaired shuttle that was never meant to leave under fire, they make a desperate attempt to reach the freedom waiting beyond Aethis-controlled space.\ \ For the first time in Lucas’s life, there is no schedule waiting for him, no corporation assigning his place, and no clear path forward.\ \ He has no idea where he is going.\ \ He only knows that, for once, the future belongs to him.\ \ And an unknown future may hold far more possibilities than the life that was chosen for him.

Survival
NSFW
Dual Karma

Dual Karma

Story

by Crimson Rose

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Cadence Maxwell does not have a happily every after. She has an abusive one with her husband, Ray. Something strange happens during these times. Sometimes the water responds to her or so she thinks. Is she delusional or does she really have control over water.

Dark
Forbidden Love
Survival
Self-Discovery
NSFW
The Secrets We Carry

The Secrets We Carry

Series

by Meghan Treadwell

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The Secrets We Carry is a gripping series about the lives we leave behind, the secrets we protect, and the people who slowly become the ones we trust. At the center of the series is Rylee Schmidt, a woman determined to build a new life while keeping the truth about her past buried. As she begins finding friendship, love, family, and a sense of safety she never thought she could have, the secrets she's spent years protecting don't simply disappear. Some truths stay hidden. Some begin to surface. And some have the power to change everything. As Rylee's new life unfolds, trust will be tested, old fears will resurface, and the people closest to her will discover that there is far more to her story than they ever imagined. Because everyone carries secrets. The question is what happens when those secrets can no longer stay buried.

Found Family
Survival
Thought-Provoking
Small Town
The Architects of War: The Enemy Beyond the Stars

The Architects of War: The Enemy Beyond the Stars

Series

by M. leFevre

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The War Before the War 2099 There are wars that begin with a gunshot. There are wars that begin with a bomb. And then there are wars that begin generations before anyone remembers why they are fighting. The war between the Sultans and the Luveniles was the third kind. For sixty years, the two colonies had stood on opposite sides of the galaxy, watching one another through satellites, listening through intercepted transmissions, and preparing weapons that neither side wanted to admit existed. Children were born knowing the name of the enemy. They were taught the stories. They were taught the betrayals. They were taught that peace was nothing more than a temporary pause before the next attack. But the truth had been buried. And buried beneath the truth was something far more dangerous. The war had not really begun sixty years ago. It had begun eighty-five years earlier. 2014 — Earth Reckoning Humanity had long since stopped calling Earth home. The old planet still existed, but Earth had become a historical monument—a dying world surrounded by the ruins of civilizations that had once believed they would last forever. Humanity had spread across the stars. Two of its greatest colonies were the Sultan Dominion and the Luvenile Federation. At first, there had been no hatred between them. In fact, they had once been allies. The Sultans controlled the mineral-rich world of Sultan Prime, while the Luvenile established their civilization on Luvenile, a planet known for its oceans, massive forests, and advanced scientific communities. Together, they built something humanity had never achieved. A civilization that stretched beyond a single solar system. Trade routes connected their worlds. Scientists worked together. Families crossed between colonies. Children grew up speaking both languages. For almost twenty years, there was peace. Then someone discovered something beneath the surface of a small Luvenile moon. Its name was Aurelia. And what was found there would change everything. Deep beneath Aurelia's crust was a material unlike anything humanity had ever discovered.

Action-Packed
Atmospheric
Survival
The River's Secret

The River's Secret

Story

by Diann Cabler

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# **A MEMORY OF SAM** Luke stood alone at the riverbank, watching the Mississippi move beneath the pale morning light.The water was different today. Or maybe he was. Since returning to Belle Rive, he had found himself remembering things he'd spent years trying to forget. His father's voice. The smell of tobacco on his work shirt. The way Sam McCall would stand on the porch at dusk, staring toward the river as though the water had answers no one else could hear. And then there was the conversation with Miss Clara. Luke closed his eyes. He could still hear her voice. *"There were two of them, Luke."* She had spoken those words quietly, almost reluctantly. *"Two men came after your daddy."* Luke remembered the way her hands had trembled in her lap. *"I know one of them."* "Simmons?" *"Snake Eye Simmons."* She nodded. *"Yes. Snake Eye. I'd know that man anywhere."*    Luke opened his eyes and stared across the river. He remembered asking her the question that had haunted him ever since. *"Who was the other man?"* Miss Clara had looked away. *"I don't know."* At the time, Luke had pressed her. "You're sure?" Her eyes were filled with tears. *"I saw two men. I heard their voices. I knew Simmons. But the other one..."* She had shaken her head. *"I never saw his face clearly enough to swear who he was."* Luke remembered the frustration he'd felt. He had wanted a name. A second name. Someone to blame. Someone to find. But Miss Clara had only given him the truth she possessed. She knew **Snake Eye Simmons** had been there. She knew there had been another man. But she had never known for certain who that man was. Luke let out a slow breath. For so long, he'd carried the second man around in his mind like a ghost with a face he couldn't see. Perhaps that was all the man would ever be.A shadow. A voice. A pair of footsteps disappearing into the darkness.  Luke reached into his coat and touched the folded letter his father had left behind. He had learned many things since coming home.Some truths had hurt. Others had healed wounds he hadn't even known were there. But one thing had finally become clear. He didn't need to invent an answer simply because he wanted one. Miss Clara had told him what she knew. Nothing more. Nothing less. **Snake Eye Simmons had been one of the men responsible for his father's death.**  The identity of the second man remained unknown. And perhaps, Luke thought, that was where the story needed to end. For now. He looked down at the river. The current carried a small piece of driftwood past his boots. Luke watched it disappear around the bend. "Some secrets aren't ready to be found," he whispered. Then he turned toward town. He had no idea how wrong he was. Because beneath the muddy water of the Mississippi, something was already waiting for him. Something that would make him question everything he thought he knew. And this time..the river was going to give up its secret.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Revenge
Action-Packed
Small Town
Embersoul Chronicles

Embersoul Chronicles

Series

by Jeremiah T. Foxx

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Kieran Ashford embraces a new body and destiny as he discovers to master his magic and become known as one of the greatest wizards of Valterra

Underdog
Survival
Fish Out of Water
Reluctant Hero
The Lost Vampire System

The Lost Vampire System

Story

by Draxber Faber

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Humanity was locked in a desperate war against the vicious Lyracken race and their god, Lycanther. As total defeat loomed inevitable, a mysterious group stepped out of the shadows calling themselves the Evolved. These were humans who had concealed their extraordinary powers for generations. Some generously shared their knowledge with the rest of the world in the hope of turning back the Lyracken tide, while others selfishly guarded their abilities and refused to let them spread. Jareth and his sister Mia had lost almost everything in the war, his home, and his parents. The only thing Jareth had inherited was a weird-looking advanced computer. When Jareth had unlocked the computer, he was granted “The Draven System,” it granted him power that was similar to a video game but in real life. When Jareth received the system, it made contact with its creator, Joseph Klein, before its completed bond, notifying a very powerful force of its activation and location. Now, forced into military school at age fifteen, Jareth enters a high-tech academy built on salvaged enemy technology where students are ranked by their Evolved powers and the rich buy powerful Evolved powers from special books. He must hide the Draven System inside him, its stats, experience points, quests, daily tasks, and growing skills, because powerful people are hunting for it. With a mysterious bracelet from his father, a tampered Evolved tablet giving him the rare “Jack of all Trades” power, and a strange egg that could change everything, Jareth begins to uncover a family secret tied to an ancient name: Draven. As tension rises and the old war threatens to restart, Jareth has to protect his sister, survive the academy, and figure out why the system chose him before the wrong people find out what he truly is. If he is discovered, the biggest war in the known universe may ensue, against the once strongest empire of the known Universe.

Coming of Age
Survival
Action-Packed
Ancient Secrets
Quest
Permission

Permission

Story

by J. L. Becker

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Permission is about my journey through years of abuse and finding my way through the darkness toward the light. It is a journey for anyone who has lived with childhood abuse.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Self-Discovery
NSFW
Secrets & Shadows Series

Secrets & Shadows Series

Series

by Piper Lazarus

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***THE DEEPER THE SECRET, THE DARKER THE SHADOW***  **The Secrets and Shadows Series** is a gripping four-book thriller series where deadly hunters, clandestine societies, buried conspiracies, and enemies hiding in plain sight collide. Each mystery pulls the characters deeper into a web of secrets where nothing—and no one—is exactly what they seem. In **The Deadly Hunter**, the hunt begins when a deadly predator emerges from the shadows, leaving behind a trail of violence and unanswered questions. Someone is watching, manipulating the investigation, and protecting a secret powerful enough to destroy lives. **The Secret Society** takes the mystery deeper when evidence points toward an organization that has operated in the shadows for generations. Its members are powerful, connected, and willing to do whatever it takes to protect their secrets. The closer the truth comes to the surface, the more dangerous the investigation becomes—and escaping the society's reach may be impossible. In **The Buried Truth**, long-hidden evidence begins to surface, exposing connections no one expected. The past refuses to stay buried, and the truth reveals a conspiracy far more complicated than anyone imagined. But uncovering the truth comes with a price, and someone is determined to make sure it stays buried—even if it means silencing everyone who gets too close. Finally, **The Danger Within** brings the series to its explosive conclusion. After everything they've uncovered, the greatest threat may not be waiting outside the walls. It may already be among them. Trust fractures, loyalties are tested, and the final secrets begin to unravel as the characters race to uncover who is really behind it all. Across four heart-pounding mysteries, **The Secrets and Shadows Series** explores the dangerous intersection of deception, power, obsession, and betrayal. With every revelation comes another question, and every answer leads deeper into the darkness.

Action-Packed
Enemies to Lovers
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Political Intrigue
Norumbega

Norumbega

Story

by Mary Ellen Humphrey

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Leah Rigley disguised herself as a cabin boy in order to accompany her father, the captain of three trading ships, to the New World. She did not anticipate the turn of events that would happen during the voyage from Falmouth England to the coast of Mayne, and after the ships arrival at their destination.  Travel with this extraordinary girl across the Atlantic Ocean in a 16th century sailing vessel and experience her adventures in the strange new world as she tried to find her way home.

Coming of Age
Survival
Found Family
Action-Packed
Quest
The Drowned World and the Lifeline

The Drowned World and the Lifeline

Story

by T. Barnes

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### **The Drowned World and the Lifeline** **In a flooded wasteland, a young engineer must protect her brother and floating home from a ruthless warlord targeting their resources.** When catastrophic sea level rise turns the Bay of Bengal into an endless grey expanse, nineteen-year-old Anja and her younger brother, Sami, are left clinging to the crumbling rooftop of their submerged home. Armed only with her late father’s engineering wisdom and a desperate drive to keep Sami alive, Anja navigates a sea of rot and false hope until a floating sanctuary—the **Lifeline Cooperative**—offers them a second chance at life. But peace on the water is short-lived. When a toxic red tide poisons the flotilla's water supply and power systems fail, Anja uncovers a terrifying truth: the disaster isn't natural. A militarized empire operating out of a rusted northern refinery is waging a covert war of attrition. Led by the calculating warlord Voss, the refinery seeks to starve the Cooperative, breach its defenses, and seize its most precious asset—a pristine pre-Collapse seed bank. To save her new home and her brother’s future, Anja must evolve from a quiet mender into a key operative. Navigating traitors inside the gates, covert infiltration missions, and high-stakes tactical warfare, she learns that surviving the drowned world requires more than sharp tools—it requires the courage to stand against the tide. ### **Why You'll Love This Story** - **Gritty Atmospheric Post-Apocalyptic Fiction:** A grounded, realistic look at technical survival, resource scarcity, and community resilience in a flooded world. - **Smart, Engineering-Minded Protagonist:** Anja relies on logic, salvage mechanics, and strategic thinking rather than superhuman combat skills. - **High-Stakes Conflict:** Featuring espionage, sabotage, complex moral choices, and an immersive cat-and-mouse game between two surviving factions.

Dark
Survival
Atmospheric
Delta Moonshine

Delta Moonshine

Story

by Diann Cabler

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A hidden moonshine still. A forgotten ledger. A murder that has haunted the Mississippi Delta for twenty years. When Luke McCall returns home after his father's death, he expects to spend only a few days settling family business. Instead, he uncovers a web of buried secrets stretching back to the final years of Prohibition. As the truth slowly unfolds, Luke discovers that the greatest mystery isn't who committed the crime... It's why his father spent a lifetime protecting those left behind. Rich with unforgettable Southern characters, family secrets, redemption, suspense, and unexpected twists, *Delta Moonshine* is perfect for readers who enjoy atmospheric mysteries where heart matters as much as the mystery itself. If you enjoy the storytelling of Southern fiction, heartfelt family sagas, and mysteries filled with unforgettable characters, you'll feel right at home in Belle Rive.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Revenge
Action-Packed
Small Town
The Bridge: Volume I – The Foundation

The Bridge: Volume I – The Foundation

Story

by Adrian Pruitt

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**The Bridge** is not simply a memoir. It is an invitation to investigate the invisible foundations that shape every life. Through deeply personal stories spanning childhood trauma, family secrets, military life, failed rescue, hidden shame, and the long search for identity, Adrian never asks readers to simply witness his past. Every chapter becomes a bridge from his story to their own. Rather than asking, *"What happened to me?"* the book asks deeper questions: *What shaped me?* *What did I learn to believe?* *What patterns did I inherit?* *What do I want to hand forward?* Combining authentic storytelling with practical reflection, **The Bridge** introduces concepts such as the Fixed Point, Generation Zero, the Forensic Audit, and Companion Guides that help readers recognize the difference between survival and healing. This first volume (15 Chapters), **The Foundation**, explores the earliest experiences that quietly formed identity, trust, safety, shame, and resilience. It demonstrates that while we cannot change what was handed to us, we can decide what continues through us. **The Bridge** is written for anyone who has ever wondered why they respond the way they do, where those patterns began, and whether a different future is possible. Because healing does not begin by rewriting the past. It begins by understanding the foundation beneath it.

Thought-Provoking
Underdog
Survival
Self-Discovery
Atmospheric
Midnight Fairy Tales: Bleeding Neverland

Midnight Fairy Tales: Bleeding Neverland

Story

by D. M. Shelley

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Wendy Darling didn't want magic. She wanted her family to stop falling apart.\ \ But when a boy made of shadows and stolen smiles pulls her from her window - along with her brothers Michael and John - she finds herself in a place where time doesn't heal. It *consumes.* Neverland is alive, and it is hungry. The forests breathe. The Lost Boys have forgotten what innocence felt like. And Peter Pan is not the hero the stories promised. He never was.\ \ Wendy has her brothers to protect and a world full of dangers she doesn't yet have a name for. Tinka, a fairy with her own agenda, is never quite the ally she appears to be. Hook moves through the dark like a man who has already lost everything and has nothing left to fear. And then there is Nyx - a figure who belongs to no story Wendy has ever been told, and whose presence in Neverland may be the most dangerous secret of all.\ \ Every step deeper cost something she won't get back.\ \ To find a way home, she'll have to face what this place is really built on - and what it's already started building in her.\ \ *Some doors don't open from the inside.*\ \ **Bleeding Neverland** is a dark psychological reimagining of Peter Pan for readers who always sense something wrong beneath the magic.

Dark
Survival
Ancient Secrets
Atmospheric
Goddess of Embers

Goddess of Embers

Series

by Dionna Robinson

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THE GODDESS OF EMBERS SERIES   She was never meant to be a goddess. He was never meant to love her.   Persephone Deimos thought the gods were myths.   Then the God of the Dead found her.   Pulled into a world of ancient magic, ruthless gods, forbidden desire, and deadly divine politics, Persephone discovers that there is something inside her the immortals have spent centuries trying to destroy.   Hades has ruled the Underworld for centuries. He knows monsters. He knows power. He knows exactly what happens when you let someone get close.   But Persephone is unlike anyone he has ever encountered.   As their dangerous attraction deepens, Persephone must uncover the truth behind her awakening power before the gods decide her fate for her. Because the Underworld is already stirring, Olympus is watching, and an ancient war is beginning to rise from the ashes.   She is the spark. He is the darkness.   And together, they may become the greatest threat the gods have ever known.   🔥 Begin the journey with Crowned in Ash, Book One of the Goddess of Embers series.   Six books. One forbidden love. A goddess forged in fire.

Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
Hidden World
Stoic...a memoir

Stoic...a memoir

Story

by JD Berryhill

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At the center of *Stoic* stands Theresa—a matriarch whose life redefines what it truly means to be stoic. Far from cold detachment or suppression, her endurance is an active, grace-filled love that acts as the anchor for her family through relentless trials. ​Spanning decades, the memoir captures the subtle rhythms of family life, the unspoken sacrifices that build home and security, and the tragic loss that ultimately tests their seams. Through raw honesty and poetic grace, J. D. Berryhill reflects on the emotional inheritance passed down from mother to son: the strength to stand steady when everything else falls apart.

Survival
Contradiction of Thoughts - An Enigma of Depression

Contradiction of Thoughts - An Enigma of Depression

Story

by R.K.Mazza

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***What happens when the mind you trust most turns against you?***\ Alana wanted to be a good mother. ***This is the true story of a mind fractured by postpartum psychosis*** a condition so misunderstood, so often hidden, that even the people living through it don't always recognize what's happening to them. ***Contradiction of Thoughts doesn't offer easy answers. It offers something rarer:*** the raw, unfiltered truth of what it feels like to want help and resist it, to seek connection while pulling away, to know your thoughts are irrational and still feel trapped inside them. ***This book has one purpose: if even one life is saved because someone read it, that purpose is fulfilled.***\ For the mother who's struggling. For the family member who doesn't know what to do. For anyone who's ever felt like their own mind was the enemy this is the story that says: you are not alone, and this is not your fault. **Overall Assessment** For readers seeking a deeply personal account of depression and postpartum psychosis, *Contradiction of Thoughts: An Enigma of Depression* offers an intimate and thought-provoking perspective. It is best viewed as a memoir and awareness narrative rather than a clinical guide. Its value lies in helping readers understand the emotional complexity and contradictions that can accompany severe depression.   **Best for:** Readers interested in mental health memoirs, family awareness, and firsthand accounts of depression and postpartum psychosis.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Quest
Broken Angels  Series     BK 1  Serena

Broken Angels Series BK 1 Serena

Story

by R J Vlier

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Angels are among us. You have heard that all through your life, but.... What IF? What would you do, how would you handle it? Would you tell another? If so, how would you explain it to them and not end up in a locked room.   OK, so you did see one, or have one help you or.... Heck, I don't know. But there they are or at least one of them.   You were in trouble, someone appeared and helped you stay alive. And then said, 'call me if needed', and by that look, you understood that line would only work if it was necessary.

Survival
Hidden World
Survive

Survive

Story

by Natalie Lilflower

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Mia and her friends go to an abandoned house. It had ben abandoned for a long time with no explanation. Strange things occur and they must use their minds to survive. Will any of them survive?

Dark
Haunted House
Survival
Revenge
NSFW
The Air Sprites

The Air Sprites

Story

by L. R. Goss

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*Sprites are small magical beings with delicate, fairy-like features and a deep connection to nature and the elemental forces of the world. Their appearance often reflects the environment in which they live, from the colors of their clothing to the shape and shimmer of their wings. Though they are tiny, sprites possess keen senses, ancient knowledge, and magical abilities far greater than their size might suggest. Most prefer to remain hidden from larger folk, revealing themselves only to trusted friends or creatures in need.* *Air Sprites make their homes among the highest branches of the forest, where sunlight touches the leaves and the wind moves freely through the canopy. Their villages consist of small houses made from bark, curled leaves, woven grass, and flower petals. Narrow rope bridges connect their homes to nesting grounds, gardens, gathering platforms, and hidden watch posts. From these lofty settlements, the Air Sprites tend the trees and protect the creatures that shelter beneath their leaves.* *Through gentle winds and whispered songs, Air Sprites carry pollen between distant blossoms and guide falling seeds toward fertile ground. They direct fresh air into the deepest and darkest parts of the woodland, clearing away smoke, rot, and harmful vapors. During dry seasons, they gather morning mist upon their wings and carry precious droplets to young plants. Their work is rarely noticed, yet much of the forest depends upon their quiet care.* *Air Sprites are playful, curious, and fond of harmless mischief. They may hide a traveler’s hat among the branches, braid flowers into the mane of a sleeping deer, or imitate birdsong from an unseen perch. Their laughter sometimes drifts through the leaves upon a warm breeze, though few outsiders ever discover its source. Those who show kindness to the forest may occasionally catch a glimpse of silver wings flashing in the sunlight.* *Despite their gentle nature, Air Sprites are fiercely protective when their homes or woodland companions are threatened. Their rangers patrol the outer canopy upon trained wrens, carrying tiny bows, thorn spears, and slender needle swords. They use speed, teamwork, and knowledge of the branches to overcome enemies many times their size. Anyone who mistakes an Air Sprite’s small stature for weakness may quickly learn that even the smallest blade can turn the tide.*

Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Ancient Secrets
Quest
The unjustice system

The unjustice system

Story

by JD Berryhill

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This story is a true story though the names have been changed. A real eye-opener for anyone who has thought that the system in place is meant to help, protect or rehabilitate. And, that more times than not good people who have just simply been through hell, get placed into a system where their back story is never taken into consideration and they lose their humanity and become just another number. One that is guilty until proven innocent. A broken system that often leaves individuals worse than they found them.

Thought-Provoking
Dark
Survival
NSFW
My Hell Hath No Fury

My Hell Hath No Fury

Story

by Lura Mckinnon

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A girl born in the early 60s learns that in life, there's not always going to be someone to save you. The story captures the resilience, strength, courage as well as ways to get even against people who have hurt her, or her friends, in comical actions. Her father George became her silent hero, and with his silent actions, taught her the ups and down in life. *Life taught me to be strong.* *The men who cheated on me...* *Well, they taught me to be creative.*   People have asked me about the title of this book. Some assume it's about anger. Others think it's about revenge. It isn't. Wrath isn't always loud. Sometimes it's quiet. Sometimes it's walking away. Sometimes it's refusing to let someone else's betrayal define your worth. And sometimes... It's a harmless prank that reminds a person they should have treated you better in the first place. I never believed in cruelty. Life had already shown me enough of that. But I did believe in consequences. Especially the kind that could make you laugh years later. If that's wrath... Then I suppose I'm guilty.

Second Chance Romance
Coming of Age
Survival
Revenge
Small Town
Holding It All

Holding It All

Story

by Luz Molina

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You are tired in a way that sleep cannot fix.   You are the woman who handles things. Who shows up. Who figures it out. You carry the career, the family, the household, the community — often all at once, often without anyone noticing, and almost always without anyone asking how you are doing.   You are extraordinary at all of it. And you are exhausted in a way that has stopped feeling temporary.   Holding It All is for the woman who has been holding everything together — and is finally ready to hold it differently.   Drawing on real research and deeply personal experience, bilingual community advocate and author Luz Molina takes you on an honest, warm, and deeply personal journey through:   Naming the invisible load — the cognitive, emotional, and physical labor that falls disproportionately on women and goes largely unseen Understanding where your roles came from — the family patterns, cultural expectations, and inherited beliefs that shaped who you became Releasing guilt, setting limits with love, and learning to say no without losing the people you care about Reclaiming your body, your rest, your voice, and your sense of self — not someday, but now Building the community, financial independence, and sustainable foundation that makes thriving possible Defining what thriving actually looks like for you — on your terms, in your life With bilingual tools and boundary scripts in both English and Spanish, Holding It All speaks to every woman who has ever said "Estoy bien" when she was anything but.   You don't have to put it all down. You just have to stop carrying it the same way.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Self-Discovery
Slow Burn
The Crown's Company

The Crown's Company

Series

by Lyn R. Shane

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To save her dying queen, an elven princess seeks a rare leaf—only to discover her kingdom's reckless policies caused the monsters hunting her.

Quest
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Self-Discovery
Ancient Secrets
The Blood Tide Chronicles

The Blood Tide Chronicles

Series

by Amy Lynn Murdock

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# **The Blood Tide Chronicles** ### **Series Synopsis** For generations, the people of the coast have dismissed stories of vampires as little more than superstition. Missing fishermen, abandoned boats, and whispers of pale figures beneath the moon are explained away as storms, wild animals, or frightened imaginations. Beneath the waves, the ancient cities of the mer-people tell their own legends of dangerous humans and endless wars, believing the surface world is as foreign as the stars above. Both worlds are wrong. When Weston Donovan falls in love with Brianna Nordith, a young mermaid who dares to defy her people's oldest fears, their secret romance sets in motion a chain of events neither world could have imagined. A single bite, a forbidden love, and an impossible child become the spark that awakens ancient myths, shatters fragile peace, and gives birth to a new species unlike anything the world has ever known. As old enemies rise, hidden truths surface, and blood stains both land and sea, Weston and Brianna find themselves hunted not because of what they are—but because of what their family represents. Their struggle to protect one another will echo across generations, forcing vampires, mer-people, and humans alike to confront the terrifying possibility that legends are not relics of the past... They are still being written. Spanning oceans, kingdoms, and generations, **The Blood Tide Chronicles** is an adult dark fantasy saga of forbidden love, sacrifice, family, and survival. Blending supernatural horror with sweeping romance and epic underwater warfare, the series explores how a single choice can reshape history—and how even monsters must decide what kind of legacy they will leave behind. Because every legend begins with a story. And every story begins with a choice.

Dark
Hidden World
Forbidden Love
Ancient Secrets
Survival
NSFW
Shadows Of Standing Rock

Shadows Of Standing Rock

Story

by Tony Fain

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**Some secrets are buried deep for a reason.** When heavy excavation begins tearing into the ancient bluffs at Standing Rock, the rural peace of Lake Eufaula is shattered. The blasting unearths more than just limestone—it awakens a primitive, ravenous terror that has slept beneath the river channel for centuries. Cole Garrett has spent years running *The Outpost* marina while living under the dark cloud of his father’s unexplained disappearance on the water. When local fishermen start vanishing and strange, slime-slicked tracks are left on the docks at midnight, Cole realizes the lake is claiming victims once again. Only this time, it’s no accident. Avery Sterling, daughter of the powerful developer driving the excavation, senses that her father’s crew has unburied something monstrous. Caught between her family’s ruthless ambition and the horrifying reality unfolding on the water, Avery turns to Cole—the only person willing to look past the official cover-ups. As night falls over the lake and the body count rises, Cole and Avery must unearth the dark truth behind Standing Rock before the terror rising from the deep consumes everyone on the shore.

Underdog
Survival
Ancient Secrets
Small Town
Hidden World
The Last Good Day

The Last Good Day

Story

by Gina Murdock

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Jake Miller is living the best morning of his life. Pancakes, laughter, his wife's hand in his, his daughter buckled safely in the back seat. He has no idea it's about to become the worst.  When tragedy strikes on an ordinary Wednesday, Jake wakes up the next morning to find it's the same Wednesday again — 6:12 a.m., the same golden light, the same choices waiting to be made differently. He's the only one who remembers. And no matter what he changes, the day seems determined to take something from him before it lets him go.  The truth, when it finally surfaces, is worse than anything supernatural: someone built this. Someone patient, brilliant, and devastated — a woman whose life's work Jake's own hands helped destroy, and whose grief has spent years hardening into something with a plan.  As the walls close in — a stranger's car parked down the street, a note left in the dark, a friend who pays a price for helping — Jake has to face not just what's coming for his family, but what he's already done to deserve it.  Some debts don't get canceled. They just wait for the right Wednesday.

Fish Out of Water
Mystery Box
Survival
Revenge
Slow Burn
NSFW
Revenge Series

Revenge Series

Series

by Lisa Uptain

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Some people spend their lives running from the past. Casey Oakley has spent hers surviving it. One violent act shatters the life she thought she knew, setting her on a path filled with betrayal, heartbreak, impossible choices, and relentless danger. Every time she begins to rebuild, another enemy rises, determined to tear it all away. But Casey refuses to stay broken. Surrounded by the unwavering love of her brothers and the fierce loyalty of the friends who stand beside her, she discovers that true strength isn't measured by the battles you've lost, but by the courage to rise every time life knocks you down. From the dust of the rodeo arena to the fight for a future worth believing in, Casey's journey is one of resilience, sacrifice, justice, and hope. As old wounds reopen and new threats emerge, she must decide whether revenge is found in settling the score... or in refusing to let the darkness win. **The Revenge Series** is an unforgettable trilogy of survival, friendship, family, and the extraordinary strength of the human spirit. Filled with unforgettable characters, heart-pounding suspense, unforgettable romance, and hard-fought triumphs, this is the story of one woman who refuses to let anyone else write the ending to her life. **Some stories are about revenge.** **This one is about surviving long enough to earn it.**

Revenge
Found Family
Self-Discovery
Survival
Second Chance Romance
NSFW
Man In The Mirror

Man In The Mirror

Story

by Emilio Minor

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1. **“A man confronts his past, his pain, and his reflection—only to discover the person holding him back is himself.”**

Survival
Self-Discovery
Still Here - Finding Strength When Life Changes You

Still Here - Finding Strength When Life Changes You

Story

by Letitia Hill

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**Still Here – Synopsis** *Still Here* is the inspiring true story of a woman who refused to let tragedy define her destiny. After surviving multiple sclerosis, lupus, a heart attack, an aneurysm, and countless moments when life seemed impossible, she finds herself facing a question that medicine cannot answer: *Why am I still here?* As each diagnosis threatens to steal her hope, she discovers a deeper strength rooted in faith, resilience, and an unshakable purpose. Through heartbreak, pain, setbacks, and miraculous survival, she learns that every scar tells a story, every setback builds resilience, and every breath is an opportunity to inspire someone else. More than a memoir, *Still Here* is a testament to the power of perseverance and God’s grace. It is a story for anyone who has ever felt broken, forgotten, or ready to give up. Through one woman’s extraordinary journey, readers are reminded that survival is not the end of the story—it is the beginning of a life lived with purpose. *Still Here* is a message of hope that proves no diagnosis, no obstacle, and no circumstance can silence the purpose for which we were created.

Survival
To Build a Nation

To Build a Nation

Story

by B Halevi

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Judah has given his all to the Roman legions. Having advanced from being a mere auxiliary to a mighty centurion in the regular legions, Judah has fought his way to glory all over the known world; from the great Romanized bastion, the Syrian-Greek city of Antioch, to the shores of barbarian Gaul. But, now, stationed in the Greek Isles, everything falls apart when his powerful friend and patron turns on him. Abandoned and alone, Judah decides to return to his native land, Judea, where he has been invited by an old childhood friend, he hasn’t seen in years, to join their struggle against the Roman yoke. The people of his native land have recently rose in rebellion seeking their freedom; a way out from under the thumb of Roman imperialism. Fighters are massing in Jerusalem and the leaders of the movement have even begun to issue their own coin. However, when the Roman campaign of reprisal finally begins, the rebels are proven to be no match for the Roman invaders. Before Judah even arrived, Vespasian and his legions have swept through the land like lightning, retaking the Galilee in under a year. Now, as Judah arrives home amongst his former people, he arrives to find Jerusalem already stands alone. Together with the Jerusalemites, he must revitalize a defeated cause. The situation he has entered could not have looked more grim. The factions in Jerusalem are eating each other alive, tearing each other apart in their quest for control over their nations course. Grizzled brigands have seized control from those who are reasonable minded. It seems, none of the powerful leaders left, are noble men. Under the looming prospect, of a siege, which surely must come, the quest to quell the brigands and marshal the spirit of Jerusalem is on. Judah will find, a stout sword arm is not enough, nor will his well trained military mind, alone, get him through the siege. He will need to learn local politics, if he expects to survive in Jerusalem and see this deadly struggle through, until the bitter end. As armed factions vie for power, there are still those in Jerusalem who seek to build a nation. Judah will discover, however, that not everybody in the holy city shares the same vision for what it means to be a Judean. In Jerusalem, they wrestle with important questions? Is shared ancestry enough to unite a fragmented people? Or does it take, a unified identity, or perhaps religion, to keep disparate groups together? however they solve the equation, the citizens of Jerusalem *must* come up with an answer; ***what does it take to forge a nation?*** Through it all, Judah is personally adrift, practically a stranger in his own country. It is a land bristling with strange habits and customs he hasn’t seen since childhood; brimming with a religious zeal of a kind, Judah hasn’t encountered in any of his many travels. As ever, Judah finds himself alone. Why does he sometimes feel he has neither a nation, nor a home? Will he always be a traveler in life whisking into one place and flying out in an array of violence. Is he destined to stand for nothing, to possess no identity? Read the book and find out How to build a nation but more importantly how to build a man! Oh, and of course remember, as Long as the great Temple stands how can Jerusalem fall?

Underdog
Survival
Action-Packed
Self-Discovery
Political Intrigue
The Hunted

The Hunted

Story

by Christina Hull

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In a world where a myth becomes reality, maybe too real. A legendary beast terrorizes a backwoods town. Sheriff Brody investigates a mysterious disappearance that happened during a 9-1-1 call about an alleged sighting of the rare BigFoot. Join Jake and Maria, Park Rangers of Blackwood Forest, as they aid Sheriff Brody in the missing person's case. Will they succeed in their mission? Or become victims of the elusive beast themselves?

Mystery Box
Haunted House
Survival
REMEMBER ...I'VE SEEN YOU NAKED

REMEMBER ...I'VE SEEN YOU NAKED

Story

by Stuart Grant

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**For twenty years, Stuart Grant stood inches from the spotlight while witnessing everything audiences were never supposed to see.**   **Remember, I’ve Seen You Naked: A Backstage Memoir pulls back the curtain on life behind some of America’s biggest touring theatrical productions. As a hairdresser, makeup artist, wardrobe professional, and quick-change expert, Stuart traveled from city to city helping performers become glamorous, heroic, terrifying, and occasionally presentable—often while complete chaos erupted around them.**   **Backstage, personal boundaries disappeared quickly. Actors undressed without hesitation, wigs malfunctioned at the worst possible moment, costume changes became full-contact sports, and conversations took turns no ordinary workplace would survive. Stuart found himself surrounded by outrageous personalities, unexpected hookups, touring disasters, sexual misadventures, nightclub escapades, and situations so absurd they could only have happened in show business.**   **But beneath the laughter is the story of a demanding and deeply intimate world built by people the audience rarely notices. It is also a remembrance of the friendships formed on the road, the people whose curtain came down too soon, and a career Stuart believed would last forever—until an injury abruptly took it away.**   **Candid, adult, darkly funny, and unexpectedly moving, Remember, I’ve Seen You Naked celebrates the people behind the scenery who make the magic happen, clean up the disasters, and return the next night to do it all again.**

Thought-Provoking
Underdog
Survival
Found Family
Self-Discovery
NSFW
Savage Salvation

Savage Salvation

Story

by C. Marie

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In a world where survival demands sacrifice, love becomes the most dangerous risk of all.   Savage Salvation is a dark romance that plunges readers into a brutal landscape of trauma, desire, and redemption. When two broken souls collide, their bond is forged in violence, tested by betrayal, and ignited by a passion that refuses to die.   This is not a gentle love story—it's raw, atmospheric, and unapologetically intense.   Every page drips with tension, weaving together themes of survival, trauma, redemption, and forbidden desire. Fans of dark romance, psychological drama, and morally complex characters will find themselves captivated by the push and pull between tenderness and brutality.   For readers who crave stories that balance emotional vulnerability with physical intensity, Savage Salvation delivers a visceral journey where pain and passion intertwine, and hope flickers even in the darkest corners.   Perfect for fans of dark romance, survival fiction, and redemption arcs—this is a novel that will haunt you long after the last page.

Dark
Second Chance Romance
Survival
Action-Packed
NSFW
Silver Spine Saga

Silver Spine Saga

Series

by L. R. Goss

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Long before the Silver Spine Forest earned its name, a great dragon fell from the sky and reshaped the land with its death. Its bones became ridges, its blood hardened into iron, and strange veins of silver spread through the stone. Over centuries, the forest grew around the ancient wound, hiding secrets that scholars, thieves, and travelers sought but rarely understood. Deep beneath the roots and bones, something left behind by the dragon waits in a state between memory and sleep. The mountain hums, streams run unnaturally cold, and old places seem to listen. Those who enter the forest seeking treasure often vanish, unable to read the warnings written in stone and silence. The first to truly hear the mountain is Gut, a small goblin exiled from his tribe for being kind, curious, and different. While others fear the unknown or seek only riches, Gut studies the silver seams, listens to the humming stones, and patiently learns the hidden language of the land. When the ancient presence beneath the Silver Spine begins to stir, Gut realizes that his curiosity may have awakened something forgotten. As the forest shifts and the mountain starts to answer, the unlikely goblin must uncover the truth of the fallen dragon before the first whispers beneath the earth become a roar.

Quest
Survival
Action-Packed
KOSTYA

KOSTYA

Series

by Scott Zimmerman

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Reviewers are raving about KOSTYA... \--A well-written, emotionally intense novel that I couldn’t put down. \--From the very first pages, the writing pulls you into Kostya’s world with vivid, unflinching detail. \--Relentless sense of movement. \--The vivid imagery captured the setting and mood with cinematic precision. \--The ending is extremely beautiful. \--The difference in speaking voices between characters was quite fun to read. \--KOSTYA is a must-read. \--You will instantly form a connection with the characters in this book. The tensions they feel pours off the pages and directly into your heart.  \--The story combines historical depth with the momentum of an adventure novel. Readers become invested not merely in what happens next, but in who Kostya becomes along the way.

Action-Packed
Coming of Age
Survival
Underdog
Sisters bound by survival, surviving eachother, till death do us part, a tale of two sisters and the lessons we had to learn the hard way

Sisters bound by survival, surviving eachother, till death do us part, a tale of two sisters and the lessons we had to learn the hard way

Story

by Tracy Lynn

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Sisters Tracy Hostetter and Cassie Turvey grew up between Kentucky and Ohio, navigating life in different towns with two divorced parents doing their best. Through every move, every shift, and every emotional storm, they leaned on each other — sometimes without even realizing it — and that bond became the foundation of their strength.Tracy is the writer, turning memories into meaning. Cassie is the truth‑keeper, making sure the story is told honestly.Together, they share a memoir built from survival, sisterhood, and the unbreakable bond that carried them through every chapter of their lives.

Haunted House
Survival
Action-Packed
The Inherited Silence

The Inherited Silence

Story

by SummerRuby Provience

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The Inherited Silence follows Summer as she confronts the quiet legacy that shaped her life—an unspoken history passed down through generations, carried in gestures, memories, and the spaces where words should have lived. Growing up inside a silence she didn’t create, she learned early how to read what wasn’t said, how to survive on fragments, and how to hold together a story that never fully belonged to her. As an adult, the weight of that silence becomes impossible to ignore. When a long‑buried truth resurfaces, Summer is forced to examine the emotional architecture of her past: the patterns she repeated without understanding, the loyalties she inherited without choosing, and the questions she avoided because the answers felt too dangerous to touch. What begins as a search for clarity becomes an excavation—of memory, identity, and the hidden forces that shaped her family. Through lyrical honesty and unflinching introspection, The Inherited Silence traces the journey of a woman determined to break a generational pattern by finally naming what was never spoken. It is a memoir about the cost of carrying what isn’t yours, the courage required to confront what you were taught to ignore, and the moment when silence becomes a story you can no longer keep buried. At its heart, this is the story of one truth—carried for years, protected by silence, and finally ready to be told.

Thought-Provoking
Underdog
Survival
Found Family
Self-Discovery
When It All Falls Down

When It All Falls Down

Story

by Ernest Keith Adams

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In December of 1811 and January of 1812, a massive quake known as the New Madrid Earthquake shook the Midwest.  The Quake was centered under the Missouri town of New Madrid, thus the name. It was so strong that it caused church bells to ring in Boston mass, over 1100 miles away. At that time the Mississippi river flowed backwards, and the earth split open swallowing many homes and pioneers. If it were to occur again today many cities would crumble. Very few buildings are built to withstand a quake of that magnitude, and millions of people now live on top of this earthquake zone. Scientists tell us it is not a matter of if, but when. It will happen again. Perhaps this story is an omen of what could happen, When It All Falls Down.

Thought-Provoking
Survival
Action-Packed
Political Intrigue
Small Town
The Great Butterfly Chase

The Great Butterfly Chase

Story

by Traci Lambert

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Barnaby is just a fluffy little puppy who decides to follow a butterfly

Survival
Cozy
The Mirror of Mild Inconvenience

The Mirror of Mild Inconvenience

Story

by Traci Lambert

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The Mirror of Mild Inconvenience Arthur didn't mean to buy a haunted smart-mirror. He had simply wanted something to fill the blank space above his dresser, and the eccentric old man at the garage sale had a very reasonable twenty-dollar price tag on a sleek, brass-bordered glass panel. "It's adaptive," the old man had whispered, tossing in a microfiber cloth for free. "It reflects more than just your face." Arthur had assumed it was just a fancy way of saying it had a built-in ring light. He was wrong. Day 1: The Meet-Cute (With a Piece of Glass) On Tuesday morning, Arthur stood before the mirror, toothbrush in hand, wearing his favorite faded green t-shirt. He blinked. The mirror didn't just blink back; it displayed glowing, elegant text across his chest: &gt; CRITICAL ERROR: Shirt selection is approximately six years past its expiration date. Recommend immediate disposal or transition to "rag status." &gt; Arthur nearly swallowed his toothpaste. He tapped the glass. "Excuse me?" The text dissolved, replaced by a fresh, glowing line: &gt; Sigh. Yes, I can talk. Or write, technically. Also, your left eyebrow is doing something deeply ambitious today. Please tame it. &gt; Day 3: The Negotiation By Thursday, Arthur and the mirror had established a fragile truce. He learned its name was Speculum-9 (or "Specs" for short), a prototype home-assistant that had been discontinued for being "insufficiently sycophantic." "You could just tell me I look nice today," Arthur muttered, trying to tie a tie for a big meeting. &gt; I could also tell you that gravity is optional, but we would both be living a lie. That knot looks like a cry for help. Start over. &gt; "I'm going for 'effortlessly disheveled,'" Arthur argued. &gt; You have achieved "struggling to survive." Try a simple Windsor. And put down the hair gel. You are not a 90s boyband member. &gt; Day 10: The Big Pitch The real test came a week later. Arthur had a major presentation at work. He was pacing his bedroom floor, sweating through his collar, frantically reciting his opening lines. He stopped in front of Specs, his shoulders slumped. "I'm going to ruin this," Arthur said, the anxiety finally breaking through his usual sarcasm. "I'm not cut out for public speaking. I'm just a guy who writes spreadsheets." The glass remained dark for a long moment. Then, the text began to scroll, slower and softer than usual: &gt; Analyzing posture: Rigid. &gt; Heart rate: Elevated. &gt; Self-esteem: Unwarrantedly low. &gt; Correction: You spent three weeks analyzing the Q4 data. You know it better than anyone in that room. Your slides are clean, your logic is sound, and your suit—while slightly snug in the shoulders—makes you look like someone who actually owns a savings account. &gt; Now, go put on your shoes. You're going to crush them. &gt; Arthur stared at the glass. A tiny, glowing smiley face appeared in the bottom right corner. "Thanks, Specs," he murmured, actually smiling. &gt; Don't get mushy. It smudges the glass. And seriously, buy a lint roller on the way home. &gt;

Haunted House
Survival
First Contact
Small Town
Hidden World
Empire of the Void

Empire of the Void

Story

by Andrew Valenza

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It's 1959, and humanity is entering a new age of cosmic exploration. Four ships with crews of two are sent out into the unknown to see firsthand what lies beyond the stars. Over a year into the mission, the crew of the Silent Horizon, Dex Prullen and Lacy Carradine, have joined each other in marriage and are content living out their days just floating through space. But on the day of their anniversary, the Empire finds them. Swiftly pulled apart, Dex and Lacy are thrown headfirst into a new world led by a god-like being and his imperium of theocratic zealots. And it is only a matter of time before one of them is delivered to the Emperor himself, dooming all of humanity with them, unless they can be reunited and escape the Empire of the Void.

Fish Out of Water
Reluctant Hero
Survival
First Contact
Action-Packed
Brother Against Brother Civil War

Brother Against Brother Civil War

Story

by Steven Shepard

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March 1864. The American Civil War is reaching its agonizing twilight, but for the citizens of Shreveport, Louisiana, the horror is just beginning. Captain Douglas Ivey, CSA, starts his morning with a quiet cup of coffee on his mother's front porch, unaware that an unstoppable Union juggernaut—30,000 soldiers of the Army of the Gulf—is marching straight toward his home with devastating intent. Tasked with a high-stakes, borderline-suicidal reconnaissance mission, Douglas is ordered down the Red River Road to locate and count the invading enemy. What begins as a strategic military assignment quickly spirals into an intimate nightmare. The mission thrusts Douglas, his closest friends, and members of his own family directly into the path of an oncoming war machine, fracturing loyalties and putting everything he loves in mortal danger. Spanning the massive, 565-page canvas of a nation tearing itself apart, the narrative follows the explosive fallout of Douglas's discovery. As the Union army advances, the Ivey family is split across ideological and physical battle lines. From the gritty, tactical tension of deep-reconnaissance scouting to the grand, visceral chaos of major military campaigns, the story explores the brutal realities of 19th-century combat through the eyes of those forced to fight it. As General George S. Patton famously observed, "Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance." For Douglas and his kin, this insignificance becomes a tragic reality. They are stripped of their peace, their security, and their innocence, forced to endure the absolute limits of human endurance. Ultimately, the story builds to a gripping climax where survival is just the first step. As the smoke finally clears over the blood-stained soil of Louisiana, the surviving members of the Ivey family face an even greater challenge: how to heal, how to forgive, and how to reconstruct their shattered lives from the ashes of a war that changed them forever.

Thought-Provoking
Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Atmospheric
NSFW
Obey, or Fade Away

Obey, or Fade Away

Series

by Jesse penman

Read

### [**Obey, or Fade Away** **You were always meant for more**](https://open.substack.com/pub/obeyfadeaway/p/3-for-the-ones-who-stayed-and-the?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=73fanv) \ The Arc So Far\ #1 — You Were Never Meant to Disappear opens the series with a confrontation: the reader has spent years learning to shrink, stay quiet, and erase their own edges in the name of safety. It names that erasure for what it is — not peace, but a slow kind of dying — and insists the reader was built with weight and voice, not built to fade into the background of their own life. \ #2 — The Four Possibilities Beyond the Light pushes past the initial awakening into the terrain that opens once someone stops hiding. It maps out the different paths available once the light (the signal, the recognition) has been seen — suggesting that awareness alone isn't the end point, but a fork with several possible directions, each with its own cost and its own truth. \ #3 — For the Ones That Stayed and the Witness Never Blinks shifts focus to endurance. It's written for the people who didn't leave, didn't disappear, didn't fade — the ones who stayed present through the discomfort. It introduces "the witness," an inner presence that tracks everything without judgment, watching to see whether the person will keep showing up for their own life even when nothing dramatic is happening. \ #4 — When the Silence Answers deals with the strange phase where nothing external responds, yet something still communicates. Silence itself becomes the message. This piece explores the discipline of sitting with unanswered questions long enough that the absence of an answer becomes its own kind of confirmation — training the reader to stop needing loud signs and start trusting the quiet ones. \ #5 — The Assignment names the responsibility that follows all that listening. Once someone has stayed, once they've heard the witness, once the silence has answered — they're handed something specific to do. This piece frames spiritual growth not as a feeling to chase but a task to complete: an assignment that requires real-world action, not just internal shifts. \ #6 — The Shape of a Real Response (Time and Time Again) ties the whole arc together. It explicitly revisits the earlier stages — staying present, hearing the silence answer, acting on what's known — and argues that all of those were prelude. The real test is whether the change can survive ordinary life: everyday , errands, people who don't know your mythology. It introduces the phrase "obey or fade away" as the central law of the series — not obedience as submission, but obedience as full listening that produces movement. Coherence, this piece argues, isn't a comfortable alignment; it has teeth. It costs relationships, unmasks false loyalties, and forces the inside and outside of a person to finally tell the same story. The piece closes on the idea that the witness from piece #3 becomes an internal architect, and that the ultimate demand isn't belief — it's response. \ Together, pieces #1–6 trace a single throughline: recognition, endurance, silence, duty, and finally, the demand for coherent action. Each piece raises the stakes on the one before it, moving the reader from "you matter" to "prove it with your life." \ #7 #8 & #9 coming soon !!!!  Obey Your Reasons to Refuse !!!!

Coming of Age
Hidden World
Survival
Thought-Provoking
Self-Discovery
The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon

Story

by H. de Vere Stacpoole

Read

In the late Victorian era, a ship sailing to San Francisco catches fire, forcing two young cousins, Richard and Emmeline, to flee in a lifeboat alongside the ship's cook, Paddy Button. The trio drifts out to sea and washes ashore on a lush, uninhabited tropical island in the South Pacific.

Survival
The Dancing Wolfeman, Volume I

The Dancing Wolfeman, Volume I

Story

by Rick London

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Titus Wolfe - high school music teacher by day, and DJ extraordinaire by night, becomes a wolfman. But not your typical wolfeman. Not the vicious, brutal and savage man-eating killer, but a savior. Titus's love for music is his saving grace, and also for his alter-ego wolfman. Music calms this savage beast, and along the way he meets the woman of his dreams and befriends those he saves. Romance, humor, adventure, music & dancing ensues. The ride is just beginning....

Reluctant Hero
Survival
Action-Packed
Big City
Atmospheric
Thrill of the Hunt

Thrill of the Hunt

Story

by A.S Thomas

Read

YellowJackets meets S.T.A.G.S. The Alpha Society has been an elite presence in YoungBlood, TX for over 100 years. There are two ways you live in this town either be at the top of the food chain and live a life of luxury as an Alpha. Or serve an Alpha at the bottom of the food chain as an Omega. One woman's ambition will leave a whole town on it's knees.

Dark
Survival
Small Town
NSFW
We're All Mad Here

We're All Mad Here

Story

by A.S Thomas

Read

White Rabbit was raised to be a killer. Underland is where she was raised. She was literally made for one thing: to kill. But after a brief encounter with an agent from S.A.T Secret Agent TECS, she begins to question her purpose.

Dark
Survival
Action-Packed
Welcome to the Dollhouse: Book One Porcelain Lies

Welcome to the Dollhouse: Book One Porcelain Lies

Story

by A.S Thomas

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Welcome to the Dome of Dreams aka the Dollhouse In a world where reality has become a twisted form of entertainment, Gia, an orphaned girl, finds solace in the escapist allure of Doll TV. This highly popular program offers a tantalizing glimpse into the lavish lives of the beautiful inhabitants of the Dollhouse – a domed utopian city where perfection reigns supreme. Gia's obsession with the show stems from a deep longing to escape the harsh realities of her own existence. Little does she know, her fervent wish is about to be granted in the most perverse way imaginable.

Survival
Self-Discovery
Back To Life

Back To Life

Story

by Don Wilbert

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[ ](https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ce736aae-7f24-44d6-8e7c-f7b42131d442/artifact/d695ab19-7099-4308-b6ce-42d01e2b5c2d?utm_source=nlmm_share)<https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ce736aae-7f24-44d6-8e7c-f7b42131d442/artifact/d695ab19-7099-4308-b6ce-42d01e2b5c2d?utm_source>=nlmm_share

Forbidden Love
Survival
Self-Discovery
Quest
Hidden World
Briefed in Lies

Briefed in Lies

Story

by Ashti Buttafuco

Read

Kelly and her tactical team are Briefed in Lies and are sent out to hunt and dangerous cryptid but soon discover the suits lied to them. Confused she soon discovers they are being hunted by a Skin Walker. Will Kelly be able to keep herself and her team alive? Find out by reading Briefed in Lies.

Dark
Underdog
Survival
Ancient Secrets
Slow Burn
Patterns of an Underdog Founder

Patterns of an Underdog Founder

Story

by Andrew Carl Vincent Squires

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**Identity isn’t a story—it’s the structure that decides whether you rise or collapse.** When life erodes the floor beneath you, most reach for motivation. Andrew Carl Vincent Squires reached for architecture. Patterns of an Underdog Founder is a stark, unflinching field manual born from eviction notices, hospital rooms, and storage-unit nights—then rebuilt into a rigorous discipline that treats identity as infrastructure. Across four phases—Collapse, Clarity, Construction, and Contribution—Squires shows how underdogs engineer stability from scarcity, reclaim agency from drift, and version themselves with intention instead of inheritance. You won’t find pep talks here. You’ll find the Underdog Operating System, identity versioning, narrative architecture, and founder‑grade standards—practical scaffolding that turns survival into structure and structure into forward motion. Squires writes with the precision of a systems designer and the honesty of someone who had to build a blueprint before he could afford hope. Short chapters move quickly, translating heavy truths into usable frameworks: rebuilding foundations of stability, agency, clarity, and evidence; returning to voice after erosion; forging disciplined systems that carry you when willpower doesn’t; and converting lived experience into a transferable method. By the end, your story stops being personal and becomes structural—you’re not just standing again; you’re standing on something you can pass forward. This is Identity as Infrastructure. For One—and the first volume in a series that advances from self-governance to co-founded systems and beyond. If you’re rebuilding after everything went quiet—if you need more than inspiration—this book gives you architecture you can live inside. For Kindle or print, the promise is the same: clear language, tight pacing, and frameworks that fit on a page yet hold the weight of a life. Read it straight through or enter at the chapter you need most; either way, you’ll leave with a map you design, a system you govern, and a voice that doesn’t fade when pressure returns. **For readers of James Clear, Cal Newport, and Ryan Holiday who want not just better habits or ideas—but a load‑bearing identity they can build on.**

Underdog
Survival
Self-Discovery
The Memory Clinic

The Memory Clinic

Story

by Gina Murdock

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Investigative journalist Mara Reynolds has built her career on uncovering the truth, but she's about to discover that her own life is built on lies. When Mara interviews billionaire tech entrepreneur Elijah Williams about his revolutionary energy project, the Prometheus Initiative, she's drawn to his charisma and vision. As their professional relationship evolves into something more intimate, Mara begins experiencing disturbing fragments of memories she can't explain—nightmares about guns, blood, and a murder she witnessed as a child. But every time Mara gets close to remembering the truth, something pulls her back. Therapy sessions with Dr. Catherine Reeves seem to help at first, but soon Mara realizes she's been manipulated in ways she never imagined. The "random" mugging that traumatized her wasn't random at all. Her mother's early-onset dementia may not be natural. And the gaps in her own memory aren't accidents—they're erasures. As Mara digs deeper, she uncovers a horrifying conspiracy: twelve years ago, she witnessed the murder of Elijah's parents by his younger brother David. To protect his family's reputation and his brother from prosecution, Elijah hired a pioneering neurologist to erase Mara's memories. But this wasn't a one-time intervention—Elijah has been manipulating her memories for over a decade, erasing and rewriting her reality every time she gets too close to the truth. The Prometheus Initiative isn't just about clean energy. It's a cover for something far more sinister: a facility where Elijah has perfected the technology to manipulate human memories on a massive scale. Mara is just one of seventeen victims whose lives have been systematically erased and rewritten. Now, as fragments of her true past surface, Mara must race against time to expose Elijah before he can erase her again—permanently. But with her best friend compromised, her mother's mind destroyed, and powerful forces aligned against her, Mara faces an impossible question: How do you fight someone who can rewrite your reality with the touch of a button?

Dark
Mystery Box
Survival
Big City
Slow Burn
NSFW
Lightning of Feathers and Flesh

Lightning of Feathers and Flesh

Story

by Nicole Price

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Survival
Action-Packed
NSFW
Resonant

Resonant

Story

by L.A. Peña

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Kaelin was bred for control, a subject engineered with a fragile spine augmented by ruthless technology. When the Cradle burns and her world shatters, she escapes into the inhospitable wasteland of Ashkaru with a silent, feverish child whose eyes see too much. The Drifting Truth, an old patched ship, becomes her sanctuary - but the Core reclamation teams are relentless, their reach stretching into the broken edges of space. As alliances shift and secrets emerge, Kaelin must navigate a maze of trust, technology, and survival. Will she protect those she loves, or become the weapon they made her to be?

Dark
Survival
Found Family
Self-Discovery
AI/Robots
The Last Thread

The Last Thread

Story

by M. Buchanan

Read

When Cancer Changes Everything Cancer does not just attack the body it tests the spirit, challenges faith, and changes the lives of everyone it touches. This deeply personal and inspiring book explores the heartbreak of loss, the strength found in survival, and the courage it takes to keep moving forward after watching loved ones battle one of the world's most devastating diseases. Through raw emotion, honest reflection, and unwavering hope, this story speaks to anyone who has faced grief, care giving, fear, or loneliness because of cancer. It is a reminder that even in life's darkest moments, healing, purpose, and faith can still shine through. For those grieving, fighting, surviving, or supporting someone they love, this book offers comfort, understanding, and the powerful truth that no one walks this journey alone. \ By the time he reached the hospital, the smell\ hit him first. That sterile, hollow smell that had\ become too familiar. The kind that doesn’t just\ live in your nose—it settles in your memory.\ His mother lay there, smaller than he\ remembered, her hands resting gently on the\ blanket. Those hands… the same ones that had\ spent years knitting warmth into everything she\ touched.\ Now they were still.\ A nurse said something softly, but Mark didn’t\ hear it. He didn’t need to.\ February 11, 2026.\ The day his mother died.\ The day he became the last one left

Survival
Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Story

by Sarah Bantu

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Before the celebrations and legends, Patrick tells a story of captivity, escape, and faith.   Taken from his home and carried across the sea, a young Patricius must endure enslavement in Ireland and find a way to survive. As he journeys toward freedom and eventually returns to the land where he was held, hardship and faith shape the man he becomes.   Saint Patrick is a first-person creative historical narrative that draws on historical sources, including Patrick’s Confession, and imagines dialogue, emotions, and events to bring his story to life.

Fish Out of Water
Spiritual Awakening
Coming of Age
Survival
Self-Discovery
Un-Seen

Un-Seen

Story

by Elwyne Verahs

Read

Maylene never asked to be dragged into another world where trees walk and objects have souls. She's just the clumsy friend tagging along while her bestie discovers that she's some fated princess with purification powers. Guiding them is a young prince thrust into leadership after his father's death, determined to help the princess save a world that is falling apart. But while everyone is focused on prophecies and duty, May can't stop hearing things. Whispers on the wind. Grumbles in the dirt. And an unidentified voice that won't stop complaining. The princess's older brother is drawn to a weapon that whispers temptations in his ear. A corrupted sorcerer keeps sending his soldiers to destroy or enslave any people they find. And the safe zone keeps shrinking. Will they return home safely, will they be discovered by the enemy, or will they be destroyed by their own powers before they can safely master them?

Coming of Age
Survival
Chosen One
Self-Discovery
Hidden World
Beyond the Silence: A Journey from Trauma to Triumph

Beyond the Silence: A Journey from Trauma to Triumph

Story

by William Charles Larsen

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For forty years, William Larsen ran from pain. Trauma, addiction, mental illness, and hopelessness shaped his life—until he discovered a different path.\ Beyond the Silence: A Journey from Trauma to Triumph is a raw and deeply personal memoir about surviving childhood trauma, decades of alcohol addiction, mental health struggles, chronic illness, and the crushing weight of shame. Told with unflinching honesty, William shares the experiences that shaped him—from abuse and loss to self-destruction and multiple encounters with death.\ For years, alcohol seemed like the only way to escape the memories and emotions he could not face. Yet every attempt to outrun the past only deepened the wounds. Beneath the addiction was a man searching for acceptance, purpose, and a reason to keep going.\ This is not a story of instant transformation or easy answers. It is the story of a long and difficult journey toward healing. Through recovery, faith, the support of others, and the steadfast love of his wife Regina, William began to confront the pain he had spent a lifetime trying to bury.\ More than a memoir, this book is an invitation to those who feel trapped by their past. Through reflection questions, journaling prompts, and practical insights drawn from lived experience, readers are encouraged to examine their own stories and take steps toward healing.\ Whether you are struggling with addiction, carrying the weight of childhood trauma, facing mental health challenges, supporting a loved one, or simply searching for hope, Beyond the Silence offers a powerful reminder that the darkest chapters do not have to define the rest of your life.\ A story of resilience, redemption, faith, and second chances, this memoir demonstrates that healing is possible, hope can be restored, and no life is beyond transformation.

Underdog
Survival
Chosen One
Atmospheric
Quest
NSFW
The Unsinkable

The Unsinkable

Story

by Fred Koehler

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To whoever finds this notebook… This is what really happened to Jim Hobbins, the boy lost out of Cedar Key. I’m drifting somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Out of food. Only a couple sips left of water. And, well… I don't write a lot of stories so I might get my order mixed up.  Still, don’t let nobody tell it different. I just hope that whoever finds this notebook also finds the *Montauk* and figures out how to get it back to my family.  It's a good boat.

Fish Out of Water
Coming of Age
Survival
The Marrow of the Sky

The Marrow of the Sky

Story

by Ember Graves

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The empire of Valdris runs on dragon blood. Every three years, the Conscription comes — and the lower wards of Oakhaven know better than to hope their names won't be called. When Elara Voss watches her younger brother Corvin chosen for the Wyrm Corps, she does the only thing she can: she steps forward in his place. What waits for her at the Rookery is worse than she imagined. The Initiates are not trained — they are broken. The Wyrms are not mounts — they are weapons, half-mad with pain, bonded to soldiers through a process that kills as many as it saves. And the bond Elara forms with a dying Wyrm named Obsidian is unlike anything the Corps has seen before. Obsidian should not have survived. Elara should not have bonded with him. And the things he shows her in the dark — the memories buried in his marrow, the truth about where the empire's power really comes from — should not exist. truth in a world built on beautiful lies. For readers of epic fantasy with horror undertones, morally complex characters, and a bond between woman and dragon that neither of them asked for — and neither of them can survive without.

Reluctant Hero
Survival
Revenge
Ancient Secrets
Atmospheric
Chaos Systems - Supercells

Chaos Systems - Supercells

Story

by Shawna K. Whaley

Read

Kathleen Smith decides it's time for a vacation. After carefully checking the weather for possible storms, she and her daughters fly to California. She was expecting fun and relaxation but Mother Nature had other plans.  Chris thought he was going to spend a weekend with his best friend hanging out playing video games and relaxing at home. He was wrong.  Join Kathy and her daughters, along with Chris and Brian, as they navigate this new world devastated by tornadoes, flooding and earthquakes. Can love blossom in this new world or will survival be their only focus? This story started as a recurring nightmare that I decided to turn into a story to help process my fears.

Dark
Survival
Found Family
Action-Packed
Friends to Lovers
NSFW
THE BALD SHEEP

THE BALD SHEEP

Story

by Terrance Leon Austin

Read

For anyone who has ever raised their hand too fast for God and spent the rest of the journey wondering why. He knew. He always knew.

Survival
Chosen One
Tell No One

Tell No One

Story

by S. J. Malave

Read

Felicity Ponce grew up thinking that she was a clone just like everyone else. However, after a random genetic code test was conducted, she begins to realize that nothing is what it seems and her world changes drastically. Now tasked with keeping this secret, she must find a way to avoid getting caught by government officials, find reliable allies, and understand what it means to be a unique individual. But, hey, what else could go wrong?

Underdog
Forbidden Love
Survival
Self-Discovery
Kade Rourke:  Worst Smuggler in The Verse

Kade Rourke: Worst Smuggler in The Verse

Story

by D. K. Dowdy

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Kade Rourke has a reputation across the Verse as the **worst smuggler alive**. When a job goes sideways, Kade bolts for the farthest place in civilization: **New Eden Station**, a rusted atmo‑outpost clinging to the edge of the Empty. From the moment his shuttle drops out of FTL in a shower of sparks and panic, nothing goes right. The station is a maze of broken systems, predatory officials, and species who’d sell their own lungs for a handful of credits. Worse, the Pinkertons are already hunting him. But trouble finds him first, and unfortunately, the universe hates him.

Heist
Survival
Action-Packed
Chosen One
AI/Robots
NSFW
Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Series

by Sarah Bantu

Read

Forget the green beer. Forget the plastic shamrocks. Forget the myths of little green creatures and fairy tales.\ Long before he became a legend, he was just Patricius an arrogant, wealthy sixteen year old Roman British boy who cared about nothing but his own comfort. But when brutal Irish raiders tear through his home, his world is violently shattered. Dragged across the sea in chains, Patricius is sold into slavery, stripped of his name, and left to survive the freezing winters of a wild, pagan land.\ Forced to herd sheep on a desolate mountain, the terrified boy must either break under the cruelty of his captors or forge himself into something unbreakable.\ *The Confessio* is the raw, cinematic, untold true story of Saint Patrick. From a daring, near-impossible two hundred mile escape to a powerful, miraculous return to the very land that enslaved him, this is an epic tale of survival, grit, and a faith that would forever transform a nation.

Self-Discovery
Survival
Fish Out of Water
Coming of Age
Atmospheric
Unbroken

Unbroken

Story

by Sarah Bantu

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**A breathtaking true story of unimaginable loss, survival, and the fierce resilience of a child's heart.** **In the gritty, contrasting streets of post-Soviet St. Petersburg, nine-year-old girl lived as a "Little Shadow" always running to keep pace with her older brother and undisputed hero, Yuri. To her, the city was a sun-drenched playground of fortresses and boundless adventure.** **Until the fateful morning a catastrophic explosion shattered her world in a single second.** **Left holding nothing but Yuri’s scuffed rubber shoe, she was thrust into a downward spiral of adult tragedy. As grief mutated into fatal addiction and suicide, she lost both of her parents, survived the cold cruelty of an abusive relative, and was violently torn away from her sister by state authorities. Stranded in a sterile Russian orphanage, she had to build a calloused armor just to survive the freezing institutional gray.** **But from clouds of flour in the kitchen to the hot spotlights of the orphanage stage, her spirit refused to bleed out. Clutching her brother's shoe beneath her iron cot, she used her memories as a weapon against the dark.** **UNBROKEN is a profoundly moving, cinematic memoir of a young girl’s journey through the deepest shadows of trauma to the brilliant, twinkling Christmas lights of a new beginning in America. It is a raw, heart wrenching testament to the unbreakable bond of siblings, the cost of survival, and the beautiful, enduring light that can never be extinguished.**

Thought-Provoking
Underdog
Coming of Age
Survival
Self-Discovery
readerful

Beyond Jurisdiction

Series

by LA Stonebear

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A hidden network thrives in the cracks between jurisdictions, and across five books a scattered team uncovers how borders, systems, and power structures weaponise themselves against Indigenous communities until the truth forces a reckoning no one can outrun.\ \ All the books in the series bear the title Beyond Jurisdiction. ### \\ ### Book 1: **Theme:** The hidden crisis \ **Focus:** Missing Indigenous youth, cross‑jurisdictional failures, shell corporations\ **Purpose in series:** - Introduces the investigative team - Exposes the trafficking network’s existence - Reveals the jurisdictional loopholes - Ends with the corporation wounded but not destroyed This book is the “discovery” phase of the series. ### Book 2: **Theme:** Manufactured consent \ **Focus:** Environmental protest, water contamination, corporate lobbying, trafficking hidden in the chaos\  **Purpose in series:** - Shows the corporation scaling up - Introduces national attention and political pressure Reveals that the trafficking is not a side operation — it’s part of the business model\ \ This book is the “expansion” phase. ### \\ ### Book 3: \ **Theme:** Corruption as infrastructure\ **Focus:** - Federal hearings - Lobbyists - PAC money - Politicians pressured to ignore Indigenous sovereignty - Shows how the corporation protects itself through legislation - Introduces whistleblowers, journalists, and federal investigators - Reveals the trafficking network’s interstate logistics This book is the “institutional exposure” phase. ### Book 4: \  **Theme:** Extraction without borders\ **Focus:** - How trafficked youth are moved across state and national lines - International buyers, offshore accounts, foreign shell companies - Shows the global scale of the trafficking network - Reveals the corporation’s true leadership This book is the “global revelation” phase. ### Book 5: **Theme:** Sovereignty reclaimed\ **Focus:** - All four reservations - All protagonists - Tribal coalitions - Federal investigations - Community‑led resistance - The collapse of the corporate empire\ \ **Purpose in series:** - Every thread from Books 1–4 converges - Each reservation contributes unique knowledge and evidence - The investigative team completes its arcs - People exposed the corporation publicly. - The ending is realistic: - Some justice - Some loss - Some healing - No simple answers This book is the “reckoning.”

Dark
Survival
Thought-Provoking
Political Intrigue
NSFW
ALL MONEY AIN'T GOOD MONEY

ALL MONEY AIN'T GOOD MONEY

Story

by ANDRE WILLIS Sr

Read

This story is about being a square and faced with survival and the hard streets living in Atlanta Ga.

Survival
Big City
The Memory Clinic

The Memory Clinic

Story

by Gina Murdock

Read

Investigative journalist Mara Reynolds has spent her career uncovering the truth. However, she never expected the biggest lie to be her own life. \ After interviewing billionaire tech entrepreneur Elijah Williams about his groundbreaking project, the Prometheus Initiative, Mara finds herself drawn to his intelligence, charm, and influence. At first, everything seems normal. But soon, disturbing fragments of memory begin to surface—visions of blood, fear, and a childhood event she cannot fully remember. \ As the nightmares grow stronger, Mara turns to therapy for answers. Instead, she uncovers something far more terrifying. The gaps in her memory are not accidents—they are erasures. \ Someone has been rewriting her past. \ As a result, Mara is forced to question everything: her childhood, her relationships, and even the man she is falling for. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Because someone has been controlling her memories for over a decade. \ And the man she trusts most may be the one behind it all. Perfect for readers who love: - Psychological thrillers with shocking twists - Stories about memory manipulation and identity - Suspenseful books like The Silent Patient and Gone Girl - Fast-paced thrillers with unreliable truths - Dark secrets, conspiracies, and emotional suspense

Thought-Provoking
Forbidden Love
Survival
Self-Discovery
NSFW
Noble Rebel

Noble Rebel

Story

by Melanie Kallai

Read

Beyond the walls, nothing is as they told her.  More than a century after global eruptions plunged the climate-fragile world into chaos, seventeen-year-old Barrett is destined for a Noble life in the coastal stronghold of Nuevo Leben, until Ronan, a dangerously perceptive rogue, shows her evidence that her mother is alive and captive in Old North America. Barrett's perfect future shatters. She must cross a deadly wasteland to find her, guided by the last person she should trust. As they face a forgotten world of hostile tribes, vicious predators, and unexpected allies, Barrett questions everything, including her growing feelings for Ronan and her place in this fractured world. But the further she travels from Nuevo Leben, the more she wonders whether its walls kept the world out, or kept her in.

Coming of Age
Survival
Self-Discovery
Atmospheric
Slow Burn
The Shadow Man

The Shadow Man

Story

by LESLIE ANN HOWARD

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Darcie Reynolds never wants to be picked on again. If she can just get into the Peaks—the most popular group at Silver Pines Middle—no one will dare make fun of her.  So when Amelia Davis, the girl everyone wants to impress, finally notices her, Darcie will do anything to prove she belongs—even follow a mysterious invitation into the woods.  At sundown, Darcie—her little brother Andrew in tow—hikes to an abandoned cabin in the Bitterroot forest, expecting a party. Instead, she walks into a prank that turns deadly when a man covered in animal hides bursts in and disappears with Andrew.  Darcie is convinced it’s the Shadow Man—an urban legend she’s been researching for her civics project, blamed for kidnapping local children. She’d always believed he was innocent.  Clearly, She was wrong.  Now, lost in a snowstorm, Darcie is forced to team up with Amelia to find Andrew. But the deeper they get into the mystery of the Shadow Man, the less the story adds up—and the harder it becomes for Darcie to decide what’s more dangerous: being wrong about the Shadow Man… or being right.

Survival
Quest
Goddess's Blessings

Goddess's Blessings

Story

by M.C. Leavitt

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A devout young woman is chosen as one of seven to usher in their goddess’s blessings at the lunar equinox of new beginnings, only when she returns home, she receives a message: flee, stay hidden, and learn to survive. Only when she finds sanctuary, she’s not alone.    *100% human-created*

Coming of Age
Survival
Chosen One
Self-Discovery
Hidden World
readerful

Jovias and the Exiled Seven

Series

by Jose M Peralta

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In the unseen war between Heaven and Hell, some of the most dangerous warriors are neither angel nor demon—but something in between. **Jovias and the Exiled Seven** is a dark supernatural thriller series that explores the fate of a group of fallen angels exiled to Earth after the ancient rebellion in Heaven. Stripped of their wings and their place in the celestial order, these beings walk among humanity for centuries, hidden in plain sight. Each exile carries the burden of their fall, struggling with pride, guilt, and the lingering pull of darkness. Among them is **Jovias**, once a formidable warrior in Heaven’s ranks. Unlike the others, Jovias believes exile is not merely punishment—it is a test. A chance for redemption. But Hell has not forgotten them. As demonic forces begin manipulating human history from the shadows, the Exiled Seven discover they are pawns in a much larger plan. A hidden hierarchy within Hell is working to weaken the spiritual boundaries protecting Earth. Cults rise, false doctrines spread through influential churches, and ancient demonic entities move closer to breaking through the veil separating realms. To stop it, the exiles must confront both **their enemies and their pasts**. Each member of the Seven faces a personal crossroads: - remain trapped in bitterness and condemnation - or fight for humanity and reclaim their purpose. Along the way they form fragile alliances with humans—detectives, scholars, believers, and skeptics—who slowly uncover the terrifying truth about the spiritual war unfolding around them. The conflict builds toward an apocalyptic confrontation in **Jerusalem**, where the forces of Heaven, Hell, and the exiled must collide. There, the final choice will be made: redemption… or permanent damnation. Some will fall. Some will be restored. And the fate of humanity will hinge on whether the exiles can prove that even those who once rebelled against Heaven can still choose the light.

Action-Packed
Hidden World
Survival
Reluctant Hero
The Girl in the Orange Beret

The Girl in the Orange Beret

Series

by David G McDaniel

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Action heroes are too nice. Saviors, too lame. The girl in the orange beret is neither action hero nor savior. She may, however, be a better version of both. And that may be exactly what we need.

Action-Packed
Coming of Age
Dark
Political Intrigue
Survival
The Phoenix Within

The Phoenix Within

Story

by Tabitha Polenz

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**Phoenix** - *Inner Strength, Resilience, & Renewal* We all have a story, but many choose to tell only the highlights the palatable parts — snippets — accepted by the public. The rest is tucked away in silence. But what if we told the whole truth? Not just the chapters we survived, but the ones that nearly ended us. Not just the memories softened by time, but the moments that seared themselves into our nervous system and shaped who we have become. The path that led here didn’t move in a straight line. Sometimes the past arrives uninvited in the middle of what we think is an ordinary moment. Sometimes , what is happening now only makes sense when you find its origins in the past. And if you pay close enough attention, you’ll see how the present has been echoing the history all along. We will cross continents and class lines, silence and spectacle. We’ll live through poverty and rub elbows with power, dive into spiritual initiation, and survive institutional neglect. Moments where survival felt accidental. Others where it felt deliberate. Motherhood, medicine, money, and myth all played their part. None of it fit neatly. And eventually there will be a place, a moment when timelines converge , and everything changes. This isn’t a story wrapped in inspiration or stitched together with perfect lessons. It’s not a sanitized version of suffering that leaves the hard parts on the cutting room floor. It’s the whole thing shadows, and all — a — the shards, scars, testimony not to tragedy, but to transformation. Because I was never supposed to be here, not like this. According to the statistics, the curve, the therapists, and the odds… I should have disappeared. But I didn’t. I walked through fire until I became it. *And as you travel with me, listen to the songs. They are not background. They are the emotional doorways into everything that foll*

Thought-Provoking
Dark
Survival
Self-Discovery
Atmospheric
NSFW
Stephanie Beroe Chronicles

Stephanie Beroe Chronicles

Series

by J.A. St. Thomas

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***Foray* into this *highly* entertaining and thrilling mystery series where Stephanie Beroe, risks everything to combat the dark side of the one percent.**

Action-Packed
Thought-Provoking
Revenge
Political Intrigue
Survival
NSFW
The Rise of Eden: A Dystopian Romantasy

The Rise of Eden: A Dystopian Romantasy

Story

by Christina Farley

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***What was buried is awakening…*** Do not question the Paladins.\ Do not cross into the Wilds.\ Do not seek the Magic. Tara has spent her life following those rules. On an island where obedience is survival, she’s learned to swallow her doubts, hide her powers, and pretend Eden is the paradise everyone claims it to be. But a secret always has a pulse. And Eden’s secrets are starting to beat louder. When Tara is chosen to train as one of the isle’s revered Paladins, she believes she can make a difference. But the moment she steps inside the Paladin stronghold, her whole world turns upside-down. Tor, the man she confessed her love to, is haunted by secrets he refuses to share. Rune, another trainee, starts to awaken feelings in her that are both thrilling and terrifying. And there are whispers of rebellion and forbidden passageways that lead to dangerous secrets. So when Tara discovers something she wasn’t meant to find, it shatters the foundation of everything she believes. Now she’s trapped between loyalty and truth, two men with different agendas, and an island she swore to protect. Darkness is rising. Magic is awakening. But her people are dying. Tara must become the Paladin she was destined to be or lose everything she loves.

Forbidden Love
Survival
Ancient Secrets
Chosen One
Hidden World