Melissa Eskue Ousley

Not all gifts are a blessing. Some are a curse.When Amelia turned 12, she began growing pearls. Every month, a crop of beautiful pearls bursts from the skin on her back. Her mother, Denise, believes her daughter is blessed, and sells the pearls to put food on the table. Amelia sees her condition as a curse. As the pearls form, her body aches and her skin grows feverish. The harvest of pearls brings temporary relief from the pain, but leaves her back marred by scars. Denise hides Amelia away from the world, worried that Amelia's gift will be discovered and she will be abducted for the wealth she can provide. Now a young woman, Amelia realizes she has become her mother's captive, and plans her escape. When she runs away from home, she finds a new family in a troupe of performers at a museum of human oddities. She soon discovers the world is much more dangerous than her mother feared.

Constellations of Scars

S. C. Moore

Laura Meehan

Abby is an ordinary girl haunted by dreams of ivory castles, blood-thirsty monsters, and a striking young man. Working as a babysitter for a family of mythology lovers in wealthy Newcastle Beach, California, she struggles to define herself among the elite class while trying to make sense of her strange visions. Upon meeting David, the doppelganger of the mysterious man in her dreams, Abby's life is changed forever. Encountering the queen of Cai Terenmare, a magical kingdom in a parallel world, Abby learns of an evil lord hell-bent on usurping the throne, the murder of Cai Terenmare's king, the Solas Beir, and the kidnapping of the Solas Beir's infant son. As the kingdom struggles to endure, the queen shows Abby the full extent of her destiny. She must convince her mysterious crush, David, that he is the lost heir. While braving attacks from the dark lord's sadistic minions, David must realize his true identity and return to Cai Terenmare to claim his throne before time runs out, lest the evil that was temporarily locked away be unleashed, threatening to destroy both the kingdom and all of humanity.

Book One in the Solas Beir Trilogy

Sign of the Throne

After meeting Abby Brown, David Corbin was freed from the spell keeping him from the truth and returned to claim his crown as Solas Beir, king of Cai Terenmare. His magical realm is now in a battle against the dark forces of the evil lord, Tynan Tierney, and David and his friends must quest for the knowledge to save his kingdom from certain doom.

Book Two in the Solas Beir Trilogy

The Rabbit and the Raven

Ashley Williams

Deana Birch

K. M. Pohlkamp

Myra Fiacco

Chris Barnham

Tracy Renee Wolfe

Sarah Evans

Salena Casha

Carla Lewis

Cimone Watson

There's a little fire in all of us. And this collection of short stories proves it. Flicker is comprised of carefully crafted tales, designed to ignite our internal flames. Including a variety of genres, each story comes from the imagination or history of a Filles Vertes Publishing team member, intern, or contest winner, showcasing the company's literary strengths. From heartbreak to justice, from the confines of time travel (or lack thereof) to the spark of personal memories, this collection cannot be extinguished. So, grab a match and prepare to light your own fire. For surely, these tales will ignite the fire in you.

Stories of Inner Flame

Flicker

When Tawny Ellis spots a run-down fixer-upper on the Oregon coast, she and her husband jump at the chance to own a cottage near the beach. But as the expensive repairs turn their dream home into a nightmare, their marriage unravels. And worse... something is lurking in the house's dark past.Tawny's daughter has a new imaginary friend that bears a striking resemblance to a little girl who squatted in the house with her drug-addicted mother. These illegal tenants have been missing for years.The house's previous owner is enraged with Tawny, the same way he was with the squatters. As he stalks her family, Tawny suspects that she knows what happened to the last people who slept in the house. Her family might be next.

A Pacific Northwest Suspense

Pitcher Plant

Melissa Eskue Ousley

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