Stories by @penguininja

The Awakening

Three years ago, I woke up in an abandoned cabin in the middle of the forest. I couldn’t even remember my own name. Since then, I’ve been doing my best to stay off the grid. But this week? Well, that’s proving to be a problem. It all began when I was riding my motorcycle down a quiet, one-lane road. From out of nowhere, a semi-truck started careening straight towards me. Just as it was about to kill me, a freak tornado appeared out of thin air and knocked all 50,000 tons of it to the ground, narrowly saving my life. Days later, my wood fireplace shot a massive plume of fire into the living room, nearly setting the couch – and me – on fire. As if all of that wasn’t strange enough, when I sat in the back of an enormous lecture hall for the first time, the assistant professor looked straight at me as though he knew me – and worse, wanted to kill me. The creepiest part? I’m being followed – and I have no idea why.

These Shadows Become Her

Can forbidden love bloom where grief has taken root? In the bustling city of Alderdeen, artistic prodigy Mia has long hoped to apprentice with a world-renowned artist. But when he crushes her dreams, despair drags her into a murky abyss of whiskey and men, with only her sister, Kali, as a light in the darkness. But when Mia stumbles across her sister’s mutilated corpse, she is once again lost and untethered. All she knew crumbles around her with the gruesome sight, awakening a shadowy secret—one that could see her burn. Her first suspect is the man found standing over Kali’s body: Idris Blackwood, a brooding vampyre haunted by his own dark past, complicated by their one night of sizzling passion. That is, until he saves her from the creature’s sharp claws. Bound by a common enemy, Mia and Idris entangle themselves not just in the mystery of the grisly murder, but in a love affair that the gods themselves never weaved. Time is running out, and the creature's hunger grows. With each passing night, more lives are taken. Can Mia and Idris work together to save Alderdeen, before their undeniable desire for each other reveals that fate has bigger plans for this witch?

Skin of a Sinner

No one tells you what to do when the boy who shattered your heart comes back to steal it. Roman Riviera was my everything once upon a time. I found my knight in shining armor in the form of a fellow foster kid. He protected me and promised to stand by my side forever. But Roman Riviera is a liar. He left me with monsters. Three years later, I found him in the middle of the night, soaked in my family’s blood and carving his initials into my foster brother’s skin. He tied me up and dragged me away from the life I had made without him. I tried to run, but he chased me. I wanted to scream, but the sound never came out. He says that I’m never getting away from him. He says he’s back for good. I don’t believe him.

Sea of Roses

Captain Alister Paine has always had his good eye set on treasure, murder, and sinking ships. His fame as a ruthless, blood-thirsty pirate has spread across the Seven Seas. The Howling Death, his precious warship, is the deadliest ship on the ocean waters, striking fear into the hearts of all those who see it. So when a deceitful yet sensual woman steals his bloody ship from him, he wants nothing but revenge! AND REVENGE CAN COME IN MANY FORMS... His anger holds no bounds. He wants to punish her, but there is something about Rosetta Silver that has Alister drowning beneath the waves of his carnal desires. Despite her tricky nature, he foolishly ends up wanting her. SHE’S LIKE THE SEA, AND LIKE THE UNTAMABLE SEA, HE WANTS TO DOMINATE HER. However, Rosetta isn’t what she seems, and Alister must decide if his desire for this captivating woman is strong enough to fight against her dark secrets.

Contender

Throughout history, people have vanished with no explanation. A group of teenagers are about to discover why. Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and stranger still — people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords. But who are these beings and why did they choose these teens? Cade must prepare for battle . . . because hiding is not an option.

Sweetly

As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too. Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion. Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past-- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone-- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen it's next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is. Gretchen is certain of only one a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

White Cat

Cassel is cursed. Cursed by the memory of the fourteen year old girl he murdered. Life at school is a constant trial. Life at home even worse. No-one at home is ever going to forget that Cassel is a killer. No-one at home is ever going to forget that he isn't a magic worker. Cassel's family are one of the big five crime families in America. Ever since magic was prohibited in 1929 magic workers have been driven underground and into crime. And while people still need their touch, their curses, their magical killings, their transformations, times have been hard. His granddad has been driven to drink, his mother is in prison and his brothers detest him as the only one of their family who can't do magic. But there is a secret at the centre of Cassel's family and he's about to inherit it. It's terrfying and that's the truth.

Cat + Gamer

Riko, a twenty-nine-year-old office worker with an obsession for video games, finds her quiet life upended when she takes in a stray cat! Her coworkers can’t quite figure her out—she never talks about her personal life, she never works overtime, and she never joins them for happy hour. Is she antisocial? Nope, she’s rushing home to play video games! One day, a stray cat is found in the office parking lot, and before Riko knows it, the cat has moved in with her! Having no experience with pets, Riko uses lessons drawn from video games to guide her in cat care, while her cute companion tries to understand her behavior through a cat's worldview

Skysong

Oriane is the skylark, and the sun only rises if she wills it. Every morning, she transforms from woman to bird, calling the dawn with her song. Seclusion has kept her safe her whole life – but it has also left her lonely, and craving freedom. When Oriane finally succumbs to the lure of the wild unknown, she is discovered in the gardens of the royal palace, where she is taken in by the king and treated like a goddess – and a prisoner. Embroiled in a battle of faith and politics, Oriane yearns to return to her safe, simple life. A growing danger surrounds the palace, and the skylark and her gift are at its centre. But within the whispers, Oriane learns something she never expected: she may not be as alone as she thought. There may be another like her. The nightingale.

After the Forest

Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their mother and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people starving in the aftermath of a brutal war. Greta has a secret, the witch's grimoire, secreted away and whispering in Greta's ear for the past two decades, and the recipe inside that makes the best gingerbread you've ever tasted. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat. But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her mysteriously addictive gingerbread, not to mention the rumors about her childhood misadventures, is a source of gossip and suspicion. And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta's magic—magic she is still trying to understand—may be the only thing that can save her. If it doesn't kill her first.

Unbreakable

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night. Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Blood Covenant

What should have been a breeze of a bank heist for James Glenn and his crew goes violently wrong, forcing them to flee, blood-stained and angry. They stumble onto a remote lodge that doesn’t open for another month—a perfect place to lie low until the heat’s off. Except it’s occupied. The Moore family, just arrived to prepare for the season, are taken hostage by the criminals, but not without bloodshed. And when blood gets spilled, something ancient notices. Something malevolent. Something ravenous. Their only hope is the youngest Moore, teenager Rueben, outside and unseen when James and his gang arrive. It’s up to Rueben to get help and save his family, but the influence of the ancient evil is taking a toll on him as well…

Fateful

A tragic tale about falling in love on the world's most infamous ill-fated sea voyage as heroine, Tess, discovers darker secrets that lie beneath the doomed crossing. and a hidden brotherhood that threaten to tear her lover from her forever.

Dead is the New Black

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style. Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad.

This Dark Descent

Mikira Rusel’s family has long been famous for breeding enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her ranch, Mikira has only one option: she must win the Illinir, a treacherous horserace whose riders either finish maimed or murdered. Yet each year, competitors return, tempted by its alluring prize money and unparalleled prestige. Mikira’s mission soon unites her with Arielle Kadar, an impressive yet illicit enchanter just beginning to come into her true power, and Damien Adair, a dashing young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle. Both have hidden reasons of their own to help Mikira -- as well as their own blood feuds to avenge…

Gremoryland

You won’t be able to tear your eyes away. It’s too late to turn back now. The only way out is to survive GremoryLand. Six old school friends are invited to be the first visitors to GremoryLand, a new horror theme park that promises an experience as unique as it is frightening. But once they enter the gates the friends realize that this is no ordinary place. Filled with murderous animal mascots, sinister animatronics, and twisted carnival games, the park has become a literal game of life or death. They are trapped, and will have to face their most desperate fears in order to make it out alive. As the six move through the park, the dangerous attractions start to reference chilling details from their own memories, like Jax bullying Rami, and Zoe’s deeply troubled home life. The friends need to stay united, but GremoryLand will do everything in its power to tear them apart. To escape GremoryLand, they have to survive their own worst nightmares, and each other.

Twisted Heathens

Murderer. Unhinged. Remorseless. Insane. I’ve been called it all while rotting away in a maximum security psych ward, imprisoned for my crimes. When I’m given a chance to escape this hell, it’s an offer I can’t refuse. I’m transferred to Blackwood Institute, purgatory for the dangerous and disturbed. The deal is simple. Complete the three-year experimental program and you’re free to leave. I have no such intentions. People like me; we’re born to die. There’s no life for me out there. I’ll do whatever it takes to end my pitiful existence. This time, nobody can stop me. Not even the four fellow patients with dark secrets and damage that rivals my own. A tight lipped cutter. A manic nymphomaniac. A possessive control freak. A shadowy ghost from my past. The clock is ticking. If I’m not careful, the demons that frequent these blood-stained halls will get to me before I can take my own life. Game on.

Wondrous Strange

Seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow thinks that playing the role of the fairy queen Titania in a production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream could be her lucky break—if she can pull it off. But when she meets the handsome Sonny Flannery, Kelley has to face the shocking truth that the world of Faeries is all too real—and that she is an unwitting part of it. Sonny warns Kelley that she is no mere mortal, and that she is being haunted by powerful forces from the Faerie realm. Now, Kelley must come to terms with her heritage—and her growing feelings for Sonny—if she wants to save not only herself, but also the human world that she holds dear.

Pretty Girls Make Graves

Don’t go outside on Devil’s Night. I’m always the good girl. I never stand out. I follow the rules. At Blackfriars University, there’s one whispered rule: Stay inside the night before Halloween. Hide under your blankets and hope the Orpheus Society isn’t the monster outside your window. If they get you, you won’t just be humiliated. They’ll put you six feet under. But I’ve screwed up. I found bones in a shallow grave. Another good girl, just like me. Now I’ll do whatever it takes to get to the truth. I’ll catch the eye of the cruel aristocrat with a haunted gaze. I’ll tempt the dark priest with forbidden tastes. I’ll be their shameful little secret. Their plaything. Their sacrifice. Maybe I don’t want to be a good girl anymore. Maybe it’s time to break all the rules.

Darkness of Light

After Ember Brycin finds her mother brutally murdered, her mind begins to see things that shouldn’t exist, like creatures that belong in scary fairytales. The more she feels her sanity slipping, the more bizarre and inexplicable things start happening around her, even burning down one of her schools, turning Ember into an outcast. When she and her stepfather, Mark, move to Olympia, Washington, they think it will be a new start. However, things only continue to get worse. When the latest school explosion lands her in a facility for troubled youth, she meets Eli Dragen—a hot as hell, darkly mysterious, bad boy from a notorious biker gang. Their connection is full of passion, danger, and secrets. Secrets that lead her down a path she never imagined, exposing her to a world hidden in the shadows... Where she is hunted by deadly beasts that dwell in the dark.