victory lap george saunders

Chosen by a former Olympic swimmer to train for the 2016 Games as a pre-teen, Reed’s journey begins. Along the way, he develops feelings for two childhood friends: neighbor Cal and lifelong rival Mathias. Cal’s struggle with his sexuality brings tragedy. Mathias’s wealth makes Reed feel as if they’re from different worlds.<br><br>As Rio approaches, Mathias becomes a gay sports icon, while Reed must hide his sexuality for a lucrative endorsement deal important to his family’s future. Reed’s unresolved desires for both men remain, and so do the things that have kept them apart. Has Reed grown enough to navigate rougher waters, to find truth, pride, victory, and love?

My Drabble. Posted here from FFN to stop people copying it and reposting it on here without my permission anymore. A more deeper, darker flawed characterisation of Harry, bearing the effects of 11 years of virtual solitude. Subtle AU. There will be romance... eventually.

This is a novel written by George R.R Martin. I only posted it here so you can read for free. (BOOK 1) I DO NOT OWN CPOYRIGHT. {Let me know if there are any other novels you wish to read}

"For him, I was nothing more than the daughter of his mentor, someone he needed to protect." "For me, she was more precious than my life itself." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nariya Patel sought a modest life after losing her mother and witnessing her father's downfall. Independence became her sole desire, avoiding reliance on others and shunning the idea of seeking help. Yet, she found herself without a foothold in this unforgiving world. Alexie Ivanov, a maverick of free will, was adept at obtaining what he desired and taking what eluded him. Commanding others had become second nature, and he soared to the pinnacle of power, wealth, and connections. His life had emerged from the depths of hell when his former mentor, the man who extended a helping hand in his darkest times, appointed him as the protector of his only daughter. In a world where he could bend everyone to his will, there was one exception - her. Amidst trusts and betrayals, hidden rooms and secrets, the seemingly impossible happened - akin to tasting the forbidden fruit of paradise. Their initial animosity toward each other transformed into an enduring love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's not as easy as it seems to be a prince, especially when it seems impossible to meet expectations. As the second prince, young Donavin is expected to someday become the commander of the army like his great uncle who happens to hate him. Maybe it's because he would rather hold a book than a sword or that he's more likely to trip than to land a hit in training. Either way, the ability to protect his jerk of an older brother and an entire country seems utterly impossible. Frustrated, he runs away to be alone, only to be immediately found by a peasant girl who is also having a bad day. It's not easy being a foreigner in a new country especially when you can't talk to anyone. Vera looks a little too much like the enemy, and her father has strange rules, one of which is no talking outside the home. It seems impossible to make friends when you can't talk to anyone. It doesn't help that people think she's stupid because she is still learning the basics of a new language while others are reading and writing. Frustrated that she can't be herself or show her skills she runs away, so she can just be herself for a while when she runs into someone else trying to hide from the world and decides right there and then that they should be friends. Years pass and their friendship has helped both of them grow into stronger people, their situations in life have changed but more changes are on the way, and secrets will get revealed leading to adventures and futures neither could have imagined.

Hi, my name is Nikita Slater and I'm the International Bestselling author of The Queens series, Fire & Vice series, The Sanctuary series, Driven Hearts series and several standalone novels. I've loved the written word my entire life and am an avid reader, as well as a writer. I live, eat and breathe books and I'm always working on something new! ​ I live on the beautiful Canadian prairies with my son and crazy awesome dog. I have an unholy affinity for books (especially dark romance), wine, pets and anything chocolate. Despite some of the darker themes in my books (which are pure fun and fantasy), I am a staunch feminist and advocate of equal rights for all races, genders and non-gender specific persons. When I'm not writing, dreaming about writing or talking about writing, I love to help others discover a love of reading and writing through literacy and social work. Trapped, taken and caged by a cruel captor. Her solitary existence as a world class hacker changes in the blink of an eye when she's kidnapped by an international arms dealer. Everything she knows, everything she understands has shifted. Ivan Vogel insists that she is now his slave. He plays terrible mind games while torturing her senses. He keeps her locked up, away from all her toys. But once she is free, once she can fly again, she will reign hatred down on her enemy. She will use everything she knows against him, everything she has been taught until she is victorious. She will rip out the heart he insists beats only for her. His obsession will be his downfall. His caged bird will make sure of it. This book is standalone. Guaranteed HEA, NO cheating, NO cliffhanger. Sizzling dark mafia romance. Read at your own risk!

Polly Parker has escaped her sleepy and snobby little town to the big city to make her name as a baker of cupcakes. Despite landing a job at the legendary specialty bakery Victory Cupcakes, all is not well. The boutique bakery is in financial trouble and under threat of a buyout by various corporate raiders. At the top of the list of potential buyers is the handsome but aloof billionaire Declan Perry. It is up to Polly, her new best friend Tuesday, and the rest of the Victory Cupcakes crew to save their sweet little world from all who might threaten it. What can go wrong? VICTORY CUPCAKES is created by T.S. MCNEIL, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

While on her way to college, Ruri and her classmates from her secondary school days were summoned to another world by a bright light that shone on the ground. The summon was supposed to call forth a shrine maiden that would bring glory to the country. With ‘a’ being the operative word, It seems that she was just an unfortunate bystander that got mixed up in the summoning. Luckily for her, accommodations and other necessities were provided. Not so luckily, she was made into a criminal by the conspiracy concocted by her so-called ‘friends’ and was exiled to the forest. She was saved by a witch after encountering an unknown being. She then swore vengeance on her former ‘friends’. Studying under the witch, she finally gained enough power to exact her vengeance… or so the story was supposed to go, other than the fact that she turned into a white cat, and was sleeping comfortably on the lap of the Dragon King.

Kamu and Lampa Kingdoms lived to fight all the time. Kamu was a land with no respect for human life and love except, for those with royal blood. Lampa, on the contrary, had a humane King hence was better. After the death of King Guantai of the Kamu Kingdom, the throne was taken over by his cruel son Prince Martin, who was far worse than his father. He challenged King Kang’ethe to take over the rule of Lampa too for its riches and for it having no heir to the throne. He tried but never succeeded until Jasper; a wizard of the first order arrived in the kingdom and warned him of his rule. Later, Prince Martin, now the King, fell in love with a Lampa girl, who happened to be the presumed-dead daughter of King Kang’ethe. She was found by the Kamu warriors in the forest during their patrols searching for an herb for her dying mother. She was accused of trespassing, and was meant to be executed being from the enemy Kingdom. King Martin’s heart was drawn to this girl and did not want her executed. He therefore escaped with her and gave up the throne to his sister, who was also after the power. After King Kang’ethe found out his daughter was still alive and in love with Martin, he passed on his throne to them. His dream had come true and the two Kingdoms found peace. Love became the Silent Weapon that found them peace with no more bloodshed in battle. The two Kingdoms ended up uniting into Kamulampa Kingdom but two territories under the humane rule of; King Martin and his Queen Catherine; King Joseph and his Queen Dorothy.

Embark on an epic journey of godhood with Rico, a god-like being, as he strides across the icy tundra of an infinite world. Surrounded by monsters and gods locked in a brutal struggle for survival, Rico embraces the Stoic philosophy and decides to conquer the ultimate victory by evolving and embracing change. Watch as Rico creates infinite worlds and leaves his mark on all life, facing challenges and obstacles on his quest for ultimate power and wisdom. Join Rico on his journey to godhood, where the ability to adapt and change is key." Keywords: godhood, quest, evolution, Stoic philosophy, infinite worlds, power, wisdom, adaptability, change. Donating to my PayPal will help me continue to provide high-quality content for you to enjoy. Your support will allow me to dedicate more time and resources to researching, writing, and editing my work. By donating, you will be directly contributing to my ability to create valuable and informative content for you and others to learn from. Additionally, your donation will help me to continue to improve my skills as a writer and to expand my reach to a wider audience. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated and will help to ensure that I can continue to produce the best content possible. Check out Patreon for the early bird chapters patreon.com/user?u=58240818 https://www.paypal.me/donatememoneyTT