ANHorton1227
The Marquess and the Midwife (*On Hold*)

The Marquess and the Midwife (*On Hold*)

5,865 865 14

Norah has done something that precious few women in regency England can claim. She has found a passion. Unfortunately, it isn't childbearing or household chores. It's medicine. And she's far too busy with it to worry about finding a suitable gentleman to marry.Kyrie is drowning in his late father's accounts. Never one with an eye for business, he's worried he might become the reason that his illustrious' family's longstanding titles and privileges come crashing down around him in the form of bankruptcy. He needs someone who can understand the books. Pity that his family's only concern is what woman he chooses to court.Neither of them want to participate in the song and dance of the mating ritual that is Regency England. But they can buy each other time, at least. Pretend to be courting one another, for only a season, and Norah will have the time and privacy to practice medicine while Kyrie gains a co-conspirator with insight into his accounts. It was a perfect plan. But things always seem to go awry when meddling sisters, fallen branches, and wretched feelings enter the mix.…

Broken But Unburnt

Broken But Unburnt

25,856 1,402 52

They say nothing was left of Ravenna Aphelion... nothing but her ancestral amber ring and a scared little girl clinging to it and crying in the ash of her home, broken but unburnt. Season 1 of Broken But Unburnt***Years later, three kingdoms are on the verge of war. Karil seeks to wipe out the magic that Idoria worships and Delos is caught in the middle, taking refugees and making alliances that are raising tensions more than diffusing them. A man in the West calls himself The Chaos and is doing his best to live up to the name, a prophecy has scholars on the edge, and religious zealots are flooding the streets and committing violent acts against those against the belief.This world needs salvation. And it may come from the most unlikely of sources; the bastard of a sullen king, an assassin with a deadly secret, and a monster hunter from an ancient order. They may not save the world but they will give it a choice. Resurrection or ruin? What will humanity choose?…

Eventually Yours

Eventually Yours

562,805 33,344 43

A younger sister cannot wed before an older sister.It's a law of their society, a rule vehemently obeyed by prominent families in the nobility, and it's always been Ella Harrington's buffer. Ella has never been interested in marrying for anything short of love itself. Unfortunately for her, love is a rarity in the marriages of the aristocracy. Fortunately for her, her sister Emily is precisely one year older than her and is the most unpleasant, disagreeable, sulking woman to ever debut in all of England. So Ella may never have to marry at all.A free woman, she enjoys her time on the sidelines and wishes for nothing more. That is, until a tall, dark, and brooding Duke comes to town alongside an old friend of her brother's. Suddenly, Ella finds herself questioning the antiquated marriage order rule as her buffer begins to feel more like a barrier. Not that it matters. The Duke isn't interested in her anyway.Right?…

A Promise Kept (FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS)

A Promise Kept (FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS)

186,487 4,442 8

*Now published as a full ebook and paperback novel. Buy now on www.authoranhorton.com*How far would you go to keep a promise?When twelve-year-old Oliver Ainsworth promised his life to Avery Hastings, she never believed him. After years apart, through war and tragedy, it seems even more likely that he's forgotten her entirely. And she's moved on as well.Haunted by their parents' gruesome murder and the overbearing debt they'd left behind, Avery and her sister both sell themselves into different trades to make their livings, to pay back the murderer before he comes for them too. As for Oliver? The war came for him just like it came for every other young boy in their village. Or so Avery thinks.Until her employment with a wealthy family in France forces their two worlds to collide once more and she learns there's far more to the boy she knew than she could have ever imagined.Bound by a contract neither of them ever signed, they must come together again after years apart, after being worlds away, after becoming different people. A contract which states that they are overdue for their own wedding. But, after a lengthy engagement, when Oliver gives Avery the chance to opt out... will she even want to?…

A is For Arson: A Langley & Porter Mystery (FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS)

A is For Arson: A Langley & Porter Mystery (FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS)

89,001 2,837 5

Alexander Langley wasn't looking for trouble but Charlotte Porter found him anyway. Only, this new partnership has them in over their heads and way before their time.2020 WATTYS WINNER in MYSTERYThe life of a poor merchant's daughter in Victorian Era London is quite boring. Charlotte Porter, it seems, is the exception. Desperate for a source of income once her father's gambling debts have drained their funds and placed them in the sights of some of London's most notorious criminals, Charlotte is in search of salvation. It comes in the form of handsome detective Alexander Langley, a curious gentleman with a strange connection to Scotland Yard and an even stranger connection to the American West. Charlotte soon finds herself swept into his world of investigation and intrigue. When a case of art theft turns into murder and she and Alexander are thrown into the seedy underbelly of the London elite, Charlotte realizes that the work isn't the only thing she's become attached to. But now, her father's powerful creditors are ready to close the books on them, and Charlotte must find a way to keep them out of the red because this time it won't be written in ink.Book 1 of the Langley & Porter Series*Featured on:The Wattpad Stars For Fans of Bridgerton ListWattpad's Strong Female Leads List @HistoricalFiction 's The Gothic ListEDITOR'S PICK April 2021 Content warning: This story contains violence.**This is only the first five chapters. The rest of the book is available on Amazon for purchase and via KU.**…

D is for Deception: A Langley & Porter Mystery

D is for Deception: A Langley & Porter Mystery

26,633 3,663 20

This story will become free on July 5, 2023.They will stop at nothing. So Charlotte won't either.Desperate to save her family from the organized crime syndicate that is the Keene family, our heroine has devised a plan. One which requires shipping all of her new friends halfway across the world and distancing herself from everyone she cares about. Dying her hair and taking on the role of the rich heiress lost in London, she infiltrates the city's most powerful family in an attempt to bring them down from within.Though, despite the knowledge she's gained of the elite from living with the Langley's for months, she soon realizes that nothing could have prepared her for George Keene or, perhaps worse, his deceptively handsome son, Camden. Alone and with only her wits to get her through, will she manage a feat no one has attempted before? Or will she fall prey to the dangerous charms of the Keenes once and for all?This is book four of the Langley & Porter Mystery Series.Content warning: This story contains violence.…

E is for Elena

E is for Elena

9,060 906 17

The much-anticipated prequel to A is for Arson and the entire Langley & Porter series.Elena Langley's brother, Alexander, has come home from school after years away, bringing with him the childhood friend of his who plagued her, Nathaniel Harrison. She is loathe to see Mr. Harrison returned until she sees what a handsome man he's grown into. When Mrs. Langley's vanity pushes Elena's entrance into society back another year, she's forced to endure the season's social engagements with men whose company would be deemed appropriate. Men like her father, her brother, and the infuriating Mr. Harrison who seems intent on accomplishing nothing in London but getting under her skin. Or is it under her dress?…

F is for Fury (Camden's Story) (*On Hold*)

F is for Fury (Camden's Story) (*On Hold*)

3,064 535 19

"I believed you when you told me you wanted to be different. I've given you the chance. Don't prove me wrong."They were his family.Sure they were vile and cruel and spent their time threatening or harming innocent businessmen. They they were his family.She knew that.And yet she expected him to change? She expected him to be different, to be better, even after she'd left him? Where was his motivation?Camden Keene had always known that his family's organized crime syndicate was wrong. Perhaps even part of him had always known it would fall. But he'd always wanted the decision to go against them to come from him. Not some peasant girl with far too high a perception of herself. And yet, she'd never truly given him the choice.But here he was now, standing in the ruins of his family's fortune, beckoned to visiting them in prison, and unable to stop thinking about the girl who had destroyed everything his father had built. All he had left, all that she had left him, was choice. But which one would he make?…

All That Falls

All That Falls

12,229 1,401 45

Someone is dropping ancient mythical beasts through giant rifts in the fabric of the universe and, somehow, it is Ren Belling's job to stop them.Living as an abandoned Half Fae in a world that doesn't even know magic exists, Ren finds herself turning to an unlikely ally to heal her realm and save her people. Lark is a banished Fae with a mighty power that he prefers not to talk about even though Ren can see the very glow of it emanating from him at all times.They strike a deal. He will heal her rift if she will help him back to his side of it. But dangers far worse than the minotaur or the gorgons await them on their journey. Ren knew it from the beginning. Her uncle had always warned her. The Fae are tricky. So what was she thinking?Book One of the Immortal Plane SeriesA Dark Fantasy Romance Novel…

All That Soars (*On Hold*)

All That Soars (*On Hold*)

4,116 533 24

*This is book 2 of the Immortal Plane series*Ren is held captive within the Court of Peace and Pride, forced to endure her mother's abuse while she schemes against her daughter's friends, a prisoner just like her father. Trying desperately to warn Lark about the hell her mother intends to unleash upon him, Ren feels more alone than she ever has. But when her mother finally crosses the line that cleaves Ren's soul in two, she finds a power she never knew she was capable of simmering just below the surface.Weapons in hand and every reason to fight against Ariadne Dawnpaw and her world-ending motivations, Ren and Lark embark upon their most dangerous mission yet: convincing the other courts to side with them and save the mortal realm.Will they be able to manage it or does the evil Queen have even more tricks up her sleeve?…

By Any Other Name

By Any Other Name

96,381 7,380 29

A princess on the run, Briar Aldrich has no choice but to take on the role of scullery maid when Lord Sterling Huntington stumbles upon her in the woods and doesn't recognize her. But how safe is she actually in his home? And how safe is her heart?…

Valiant (*On Hold*)

Valiant (*On Hold*)

2,257 304 19

Princess Adelaide watched the sea raiders kill two-thirds of her family when she was only eight years old. Vowing they would never take anyone from her again, she poses as a man to lead her brother, the king's armies against their enemy. But when their only ally falls, she finds herself turning to a farm boy turned legendary warrior to save their people.Tyne of Vyndoli has made a name for himself by taking vengeance on the sea raiders that have taken over his home. Having amassed some loyal followers of his own, Tyne accidentally stumbles into political upheaval when one of his missions turns up his country's disappeared princess.Fighting against the raiders and the strange chemistry between them, Tyne and Adelaide must stand side by side to face the threat coming from the coast. But when circumstances are not what they seem, will one of them forsake the other in favor of their allegiance to their own country?*Rated mature for violence and sexual content.*…

The Lure of the Lie: A Modern Detective Anthology (*On Hold*)

The Lure of the Lie: A Modern Detective Anthology (*On Hold*)

5,821 914 19

Dr. Madeline McKinnon has just returned from a service trip counseling victims of Child Soldier recruitment in South Sudan to work for the FBI. She's been given a gun, a badge, and a rigid partner.Special Agent Jake Parker has been working for the Federal Bureau of Investigations for a long time and he doesn't appreciate Dr. McKinnon's tendency to doubt him.It's brains versus brawn as these two learn to work together to solve the most brutal homicides under the Bureau's jurisdiction. But, as they solve the case and work to catch the killer, they learn that not everything is what it seems. Even when it comes to your very own partner.Originally submitted during the Open Novella Contest 2021.Trigger Warning: Please be advised that this story contains violence, sexual themes, alcohol and drug use, and casual depictions of violence by characters whose jobs make them susceptible to detachment.…