Sweetly Romantic Short Story / 11 pagesHank was late again for dinner, but Ruth didn't mind. His job as a fireman meant life was always a bit chaotic. As long as he came home to her at the end of the day, she was blissfully content.She didn't know that tonight would be a night like no other ...* * *The Proposal - Book 1 NYC is the first book in this romantic short story series.Sweetly Romantic Short Story / 11 pagesHank was late again for dinner, but Ruth didn't mind. His job as a fireman meant life was always a bit chaotic. As long as he came home to her at the end of the day, she was blissfully content.She didn't know that tonight would be a night like no other ...* * *The Proposal - Book 1 NYC is the first book in this romantic short story series. These short stories are about 10 pages each and celebrate the power of true love. Each takes place in a different US state. The Proposal series contains no violence, no swearing, and no intimacy, so they are suitable for teens and up. You can read the books one-by-one as they are released, or you can read the boxed sets. The boxed sets are compiled immediately after reaching each 10-book milestone. It's your choice! Some readers enjoy giving feedback as I write while others would rather binge-read in blocks.A portion of all proceeds benefits battered women's shelters.

Archie was plucked from the obscurity of a chemist shop to lead a life of service in a palace. His noble but immature owner is an orphaned princess with immediate problems she can't manage and a future that holds many surprises including a realisation that objects like Archie have lives and loves of their own.Archie, still an innocent in the ways of humans, was plucked from the obscurity of a chemist shop by a regal hand just out for a little retail therapy, to lead a life of service in a palace. He was chosen to serve a noble but immature owner, Crystal who is an orphaned princess with immediate problems she can't manage and a future that holds many surprises, including a realisation that objects like Archie, a hot water bottle, have lives and loves of their own. Hot water bottles are meant to have a beautiful cover and one is especially chosen and made for Archie. She is Terri who becomes the love of his life and part of the plethora of living objects that populate the palace and know everything that happens, even if the humans who live and work there don't. But before Crystal comes to know that in Archie's world there are rewards for those that know about the wider reality and disappointments for those that don't, she has to make her way through the awkwardness of being an immature nineteen and the dangers of being led astray by a punk servant with advancement on her mind. Jade, one of the Queen's more risky attempts at social interaction, is ambitious and has an agenda in which Crystal is to play a major part. Jade's plots are uncovered and the steps Crystal's Grandmother the Queen subsequently takes to not only keep Crystal safe from Jade and her own immaturity break some rules themselves and lead to some unfortunate consequences for Jade. But Jade never gives up and with some ingenuity creates some surprises for the Palace. Crystal's indiscretions are a potential scandal and grist to the mill of the tabloids so the Queen does what's required as Crystal rails against her Grandmother's plans for her. Crystal also has her first love affair with an apparently suitable young man from a fine family but where Crystal is concerned nothing is as it seems and there are surprises in store as her lover Richard Holland reveals more than he should and causes Crystal and the Palace a great deal of trouble. When Crystal travels to New Zealand on her gap year accidents just seem to befall her at every turn. The shifting dynamic of the object/human relationship leads to changes of attitude on both sides as Crystal grows up and into a role she was not born to. Without Archie and Terri who do their best for their difficult owner and the presence of Jeff, a handsome royal protection officer with a past in under cover work that may come back to haunt him, likes older women and his motor bike. He doesn't care about Crystal one way or the other and will do what it takes to fulfil his duty to be her minder while she resents his very existence. Without Jeff and his ability to deal with the crises Crystal creates, Crystal and the Crown may be lost.

The greatly desired publishing contract eludes a young author with a growing collection of rejection letters and an obsessive belief in the quality of her work. Despising vanity publishing and never daunted she and her stage mother will go to any lengths to see her published and have in place a program of regular, if expensive, events designed to promote her fortunes.The revolution in self-publishing and becoming an indie author is not for everyone. It is often disparaged and disdained as lacking credibility and the prestige of recognition by traditional publishers. There are still true believers so convinced of their own talent and the consequent stupidity of those who continue to reject them, who disdain the indie reality of giving up on traditional publishing after enduring universal rejection. True believers desire, crave and are obsessed with the status and inevitable fortune that must follow obtaining a contract with a traditional print publisher. For them such a contract will lead to best seller status for their work. There is no sacrifice that won't be made or humiliation too great to secure the longed for and just reward for their writing talent. As a consequence, some budding writers still believe in and actively follow the traditional regime of submitting their work to literary agents and publishers which all too often ends in tears when the rejection letter or form email ever so politely declines the latest attempt by an unknown writer. Such blinkered hopefuls fail to appreciate the current obsession of publishers with celebrity and the phenomenon of 'famous for being famous' so graphically demonstrated in reality TV series such as Keeping up with the Kardashians, which forms the backdrop to this firmly tongue in cheek and funny short story with a surprising ending. The unnamed heroine of the story is one such believer. Despising fan fiction authors and vanity publishing and never daunted, she and her stage mother will go to any lengths to see her published. However, to date, the greatly desired recognition and a lucrative publishing contract has eluded our young author who has a growing collection of rejection letters and an obsessive belief in the quality of her work that endures despite her never completed attempts at writing in a number of genre. The talent she feels should be recognised, applauded and is so carefully nurtured by her ambitious mother and long suffering father, eludes the many literary agents and publishers subjected to her constant stream of submissions. The clock is ticking as her frustration grows and a fear that she will be too old to be an acceptable face to the increasingly celebrity obsessed publishing industry. She prepares for the life of fame and fortune that awaits her when her talent is recognised by doing what is necessary and expected by 21st century publishers who encourage the completion of creative writing degrees as the road to success. Our heroine and her mother are so active in the pursuit of the elusive publishing contract they have a program of regular, if expensive, events in place designed to promote the fortunes of the budding JK Rowling. One such event in a shopping mall where our heroine demonstrates her versatility with the written word and no musical talent goes awry leading to a chain of events that not only brings her the attention she has desired for all of her nearly nineteen years but unwelcome consequences and a brush with an unsympathetic authority figure.