M_A_Hartman

A merchant's daughter must join the grueling Frostwing Academy and learn to ride the mighty gryphons to save her family from financial ruin.------------Seventeen-year-old Herleva Montrose has lived a life of privilege, but her family is plunged into debt when a business deal goes wrong. Determined to fix her father's errors and erase the stain of shame from her family name, Herleva enlists in Frostwing Academy. The mountain stronghold is renowned throughout the kingdom for training gryphon riders -- the only ones capable of reaching the most remote villages in record time. Herleva doesn't relish pairing with one of the great beasts, but her partner is equally unenthusiastic.Surly and ill-tempered, Pol Roninsson has been pressed into volunteering as a partner for Frostwing Academy by his parents in an effort to instill responsibility in the young gryphon. He wants nothing to do with humans -- never mind a female one who is just as stubborn as he is. But as the pair begins to work together, trust slowly builds between them. A trust that could shatter at a moment's notice when Herleva is put into a precarious position.Will she remain true to her newfound partnership or will temptation triumph?ONC 2024Prompt 60: "Look what you made me do." -- Taylor SwiftCover designed by @claraelisibeth…

M_A_Hartman

There are monsters on the highway and demons in the dark ... but it's the humans you need to watch out for.------------After narrowly escaping the Demon Lord Ehtab, Guild hunter Raine Barlow continues her quest to reach Alaska and free her parents. But to get there, she must travel on the most dangerous road in California: the Highway of Bones. Powerful monsters rule this strip of land and to cross its path invites certain death. It's a challenge unlike anything Raine has faced before.But she's not alone.Although she wishes she was.Joining her is a yellow-eyed demon-hunter who is too handsome for his own good, a ten-year-old nephilim whose sacrifice could spell doom for humanity, an eager enfield, and a peryton with a taste for raw meat. Playing well with others has never been Raine's strong suit, but she'll need all the help she can get, for Ehtab has set a bounty on her head.Demon-worshiping cultists are on her tail and they'll stop at nothing to appease their new gods. Even if it means destroying the world in the process.Sequel to the 2022 Watty-winning novel CITY OF DUST.…

M_A_Hartman

|| ✨ 2022 WATTYS WINNER ✨ || || x8 FEATURED ||Kill the monsters. Claim the bounty. Escape to Alaska.------------Ten years ago, an event known as The Turning upset the balance of Earth's ecosystems. Demons emerged from the depths of Hell, dragging along with them obscure creatures from old myths and legends.In the midst of all this chaos, eighteen-year-old Raine Barlow makes a living by hunting monsters. No price is too high, no monster is too deadly. Her goal is simple: to make enough money to escape to Alaska -- where her parents are rumored to be held.And Raine just might be able to do it: the mayor of Eureka has agreed to pay her $10,000 to escort his young daughter to the City of Dust -- a former metropolis surrounded by walls and secrets. Armed with poison-tipped crossbow bolts, her own brand of small magic, and an aging battle-elk named Winston, Raine and her charge must trek across the dust-covered and desolate stretches of a California highway, all the while trying to avoid the monsters and demons who are trying to take over the world.Cover created by @Shreya_VA…

M_A_Hartman

A mysterious garden. A forgotten prince. A forbidden romance.------------After losing her job at a large garden nursery, Waverly Harris travels across the Atlantic to spend a few months in England with her grandparents. The coastal village of Chepstow-on-the-Sea is as quaint a community as one can possibly find with a single interesting attraction-a cliffside castle surrounded by a massive, overgrown garden. When a runaway dog leads Waverly into the castle grounds, she meets the owner, the tall, enigmatic Jack Francis. While she finds it strange that Jack lives alone except for a handful of staff, she agrees to transform his garden into something beautiful.He has been called the lost prince, as few remember his name. But what if this prince did not die as history records but was reborn as a vampire? His Royal Highness The Prince John, son of King George V and Queen Mary of Teck, has spent the last one hundred years moving from one estate to the next, all under aliases. His newest residence is the isolated Bellbroke Castle, considered the perfect place to study the ocean and build boats. When John hires the very human Waverly to tame his garden, he's initially aloof. Still, her enthusiasm and love for plants reawaken old feelings and memories in the ageless prince-and new feelings.Princes shouldn't fall in love with the staff. Vampires shouldn't fall in love with humans.Waverly and John are about to break both rules.------------Cover designed by -DeeIsDead-ONC2023Prompt 39: On a blind date with a complete mismatch, you're increasingly uncomfortable but too polite to leave. Then an attractive stranger comes over and gives you an out.[PG-13 for swearing, violence, and fade-to-black intimacy.]…

M_A_Hartman

A story of love, power, betrayal, and the corruption of an innocent soul.------------Melusine "Sina" Fisher grows up in the seaside village of Farbarrow, the only daughter of a widower father. Although bright and precocious, the limited curriculum provided by the village school leads Sina to be branded as "difficult" by her teacher and treated accordingly. All that changes when Sina saves a rare black octopus from a group of village boys. As thanks for her help, the octopus promises to grant the child one wish:"I want to learn."And so begins Sina's magical education. As she grows, so do her powers. With her reputation expanding beyond Farbarrow's narrow borders, Sina attracts the attention of Viscount Klaus Zeimet who captures her heart with a dashing smile and kind eyes.But not all noblemen's sons are gentlemen and happily-ever-afters can disappear in a puff of smoke.Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid".[NaNoWriMo 2022]Cover designed by @lavendareyes…

M_A_Hartman

A faerie adopted by werewolves must confront her past when her brother comes looking for her.------------In Hecate City, Oregon, Alpha Owen Stillwater's word is the law. He rules over a city filled with supernaturals, where crime is low but there is little room for prosperity if you happen to be anything but a werewolf.Faerie Sawyer Bloodmoon and Caleb Stillwater, the alpha's grandson, have been in love since they were children. Aware of Alpha Owen's strange hatred of faeries, they manage to keep their relationship secret for years, until an unknown individual rats them out. Violently accosted by the alpha, Sawyer flees to the edge of the city where she spends the next five years eking out a meager existence.When Sawyer's brother Lee manages to track her down, he brings Caleb along. Like two magnets, Sawyer and Caleb are drawn back into each other's arms. But living happily ever after isn't so simple. Old family secrets and haunting personal demons threaten to tear apart their rekindled love.[Rated M for mature content: Swearing, violence, and intimate situations.]Cover designed by Andi J Feron.…

M_A_Hartman

|| WINNER AMBYS 2022 VAMPIRES CATEGORY || || FEATURED: FOODKART ||When single mother and baker Autumn Milford is hired to cater a high-end party in the Berkshires, she discovers the "special ingredient" she is required to use isn't just the quirk of an eccentric millionaire ...------------Autumn Milford has been determined to rely on no one but herself after her parents kicked her out at seventeen. With the money she's due to earn from catering a high-end party in the Berkshires, she'll finally have enough to open up her own storefront bakery. But her employer is not just another eccentric millionaire and his guests aren't your average denizens of high society. Autumn is about to discover that creatures of the night are real ... and they're eating her cinnamon rolls.Corbin Westbrook would rather cut off his own head than host the once-a-decade gathering of the New England Knowing. There have been sightings of a Fallen in the area and it is Corbin's duty to ensure that the creature is disposed of. But to decline such an "honor" is ill-advised. Left with no choice but to throw the party, Corbin stays as far away from the event planning as possible ... until he meets the baker.Hold onto your cinnamon rolls, it's going to be a sweet ride!------------ONC 2022 Prompt20. You manage a catering company. The latest request has a few ... interesting menu items.[Status: Complete][Word Count: 28,000][Content warning: PG-13 for mild swearing, violence, sensuality, and fade-to-black intimacy.][ [ Highest rankings ] ][#1 in Baking 2/26/22][#1 in Singleparent 4/1/22][#1 in Paranormalromance 4/14/22][#8 in Paranormal 4/11/22][#10 in ONC2022 4/14/22][#11 in Supernatural 5/3/22][#16 in Vampireromance 4/20/22][#20 in Romance 4/11/22]Cover by @chessaandersen…

M_A_Hartman

When the goddess anoints a new alpha, he must claim a city. He must also choose a mate. ------------Until recently, beta werewolf Lee Bloodmoon lived a simple life, working as a security guard for the Stillwater Casino in Hecate City, Oregon. But all that changed when he defended his sister from the mad former alpha, Owen Stillwater. Raised to the status of alpha by the goddess Hecate, Lee is told he must leave the only home he's ever known and claim a city to rule over. If that wasn't bad enough, he needs to find a luna before the next full moon. Who wants to marry a stranger? Certainly not a notoriously commitment-phobic man.Born into the lowest caste of werewolves, omegas, Kelsi Kohl is excited about the changes promised by the new Hecate City alpha, Ryan Stillwater. When her family receives an invitation to a ball hosted by Alpha Lee Bloodmoon, Kelsi begrudgingly attends with her older sister. She knows there's no way an alpha will consort with an omega, but the goddess Hecate has other plans. Invisible threads pull Kelsi and Lee together and soon Kelsi finds herself elevated to luna, a position she never imagined herself in.Finding your soulmate is wonderful, but life isn't all sunshine and roses. Especially when facing opposition from the citizens of Silver Rush, Nevada -- none of whom are excited to have a pair of werewolves take over their tiny town.Sequel to "Fall With Me", but may be read as a stand-alone.[Rated M for intimate situations, swearing, and violence.]Cover designed by @myie_laura…

M_A_Hartman

Book Two in Streamfield Shifters.The Convergence -- an event almost two thousand years in the making. Long ago, the High Fae sundered the elven realms of Atlantis and Lemuria from the human plane, but allowed them to remain connected through a series of Gates. Humanity blissfully soldiered on, developing, industrializing and changing without ever knowing that another race lived along side of them, just beyond the veil. Now the barriers are falling and the Gates, once invisible to the human eye, are appearing all over the world -- on top of mountains, in the desert, and in the middle of bustling cities. Great magic, once contained by the Gates, is slowly leaking out into the wider world ...Alina Michaels is finding it hard to return to life as usual after her journey through the elven kingdom of Summer. The days are far too long and dealing with customers is tedious and boring. But all of that is about to change when a woman is found murdered in the nearby hilltowns. Initial reports point to the killer being a shapeshifter. As Clan Michaels is summoned to the crime scene, they make a disturbing discovery-the killer might not be a shapershifter at all, but an elf.With the world reeling from the revelation that elves exist, news that one may be a killer sets the whole city on edge. If the true suspect is indeed an elf, the world might shatter and never recover ...Cover designed by @raizelrose3…

M_A_Hartman

Tarah Mondadori has long accepted a life in the shadows: small, overlooked, and unheard.Annabelle Zhao is everything Tarah is not: tall and athletic, with a voice that can command a shipful of pirates.But that all changes when the universe pulls Tarah from the modern age and plants her firmly into the famed Pirate Queen's body. Now, Tarah has everything she's ever wanted: fame, power, and a voice. The question remains: will she ever want to leave?[Written for @wattpadasianfantasy's Shiver Me Timbers contest.]…

M_A_Hartman

Schoolteacher Fiona is on a mission for grandpa - find a missing Zimbabwean artefact, the precious soapstone "Bird of the Gods". Conrad - dodgy archaeologist contracted to the stunning influencer Amanda aka #mandalove - has the same job. When Fiona and Conrad's paths cross, what was supposed to be a straightforward quest turns into a crazy race around the world. With antagonists popping up at every corner - from mountain tops to underground settings like Serbian caves, frozen Canadian crypts, and the silver mines of the old West, Fiona and Conrad have to work together to catch their bird. Mutual respect grows into something more intimate. But not everything is quite as it seems, and they had better watch their backs lest they too end up underground, this time permanently.…

M_A_Hartman

Autumn Milford is ready to marry her fiance, millionaire Corbin Westbrook. But when the love of your life also happens to be a 250-year-old vampire, nothing about the wedding or honeymoon is normal ...------------Wedding? Check.Honeymoon in Rome? Check.Being surprised by master vampires on your honeymoon? Uh ... [A short-story sequel to the ONC 2022 novella, "The Vampire's Pastry Chef".][PG-13 for mild swearing, sensuality, and fade-to-black intimacy.]Cover by @chessaandersen…

M_A_Hartman

A single prompt can open up a whole new world.Welcome to this collection, where many of my official Wattpad contest short stories will be featured.* "Results May Vary" -- Bottled Mishap Contest | Wattpad Magic | FIRST PLACE WINNERKarli Sands, the non-magical daughter of a witch, crosses paths with a mysterious woman who promises her real magic ... for a price.* "Charge Me" -- Witches 2021 | WattpadWitches | CO-WINNERA day in the life of Maddie de la Fleur, who works in her grandmother's magic emporium.* "Death Will See You Now" -- Key to Magic | Wattpad Magic | FIRST PLACE WINNERAddison Knight's grandmother made her memorize an ancient rhyme when she was a girl. Little did she realize that the rhyme was part of a bargain between her female ancestors and the Lands of the Dead that she was destined to pay.…

M_A_Hartman

|| 2021 WATTYS SHORTLIST ||Welcome to Streamfield, Massachusetts, home to one of the largest populations of witches, sorcerers, and shapeshifters in New England.Little Jimmy Grabowski is missing ... and that's a problem.In a world where a witch or a sorcerer can locate someone with a simple tracking spell, all attempts at recovering the boy have come up empty. Finding themselves at an impasse, the local police department turns to the Michaels Clan, one of the largest shapeshifter clans in the city, for help.Snow leopard shifter Alina Michaels sees the Grabowski case as her chance to discover if there is something more to life than being the receptionist for the family business. When the clan tracks Jimmy's scent to a wooded area marked by two eerie silver stones, it becomes apparent that this isn't a simple case of kidnapping.The stones are a Gateway to the mythical lost continent of Atlantis, home to a race long since regulated to legends-elves. Now, Alina must trek across unfamiliar and fantastical territory in order to find Jimmy and bring him home.For Jimmy's disappearance may herald that something more sinister is afoot and pose dangerous consequences to both worlds ...Cover designed by @xxsoteria…

M_A_Hartman

Halloween Vault 2021--Fantasy Prompt 4: Each year they say someone goes missing on Halloween in your small town. When you and your friends decide to enter the crumbling, abandoned house you know exactly why.--It's Halloween and all twelve-year-old Hannah wants to do is forget the reason why she and her mother moved in with her uncle, aunt and cousin Mark. But when Mark's adventurous friend Sam proposes that the three of them explore the abandoned Newman House -- with its rumored promise of treasure -- the three tweens end up discovering something far more interesting. And sinister.…

M_A_Hartman

**CO-WINNER IN WATTPADVAMPIRES NEWBORN VAMPIRE CONTEST **They offered him the life of an immortal scholar, but only if he can pass the Test.…

M_A_Hartman

** FIRST PLACE WINNER: #OFMONSTERSANDUS CONTEST **The Turning: an event which upset the balance of the world's ecosystems and brought forth deadly creatures from the depths of mythology.In the present day, a lone woman and her battle elk trek across the dust-covered and desolate stretches of a California highway, all the while trying to avoid the monstrous cockatrices which lurk in the shadows.Created for @fantasy 's #ofmonstersandus Contest.…

M_A_Hartman

Jade Halifax is a poor witch, but a powerful psychic medium -- but the land of the dead is a frightening place and she is loathe to cross the veil.Content with never using her powers, Jade's self-imposed ban is tested when her grandmother requests her help. Every night at midnight for the last week, an awful howling has plagued the residents of her sleepy little hilltown. Reluctantly, Jade agrees. What she uncovers will not only leave her surprised, but stretch her abilities to their limit.[Written for Wattpad's Ghost Contest & Challenges: The Ghost at Midnight.]…