N.J. Cooke
ABOUT ME
ABOUT ME
STORY BY N.J. Cooke
The General
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In the quiet, mountain-shadowed town of Lower Falls, Briar Smith understood the ingredients of a simple life: flour, sugar, and the steady rhythm of her bakery, Knead To Know. But the one ingredient she thought was foundational- loyalty, turned out to be a lie. After four years of building a future with her fiancé, she is left standing in the wreckage of a shattered engagement, her heart as hollow as a winter morning after his betrayal comes to light. Briar expects to spend her season of grief in isolation, hiding behind her oven and her oversized sweaters. But the universe has other plans. When her brother, Archer, returns from his latest deployment, he doesn't come alone. He brings with him the shadow of the Pentagon itself: General Victor Bennett. To the world, Victor is a legend- a Three-Star General defined by tactical brilliance, stone-cold efficiency, and a silence that can level a room. He is a man of iron and ice, a warrior who has spent twelve years navigating the lethal complexities of global warfare. When he is housed at the Smith household, Briar expects a houseguest who is as cold as the medals on his chest. And to everyone else, that is exactly who he remains. But behind the closed doors of the Smith home, in the low light of the kitchen and the quiet hours before dawn, the General’s silence begins to crack. It starts with a conversation about the nature of loyalty- a word Victor understands with a bone-deep intensity that Briar’s ex-fiancé never could. As the days bleed into weeks, the bridge between the baker and the soldier is built not with grand gestures, but with the weight of spoken truths. Victor talks to Briar in a way he has never talked to his aides, his peers, or even his ex-wife. He shares the burden of his command, and in return, Briar shares the quiet resilience of her spirit. However, their growing bond is anything but simple. The small-town grapevine is a hive of activity, and the arrival of a high-ranking General in a provincial bakery doesn't go unnoticed. The shadows of the past loom large: an ex-fiancé who realizes too late what he threw away, and Victor’s formidable ex-wife, Jessica, a woman who values function over fashion and is determined to reclaim the "investment" she made in Victor’s career. As Victor and Briar navigate a secret relationship that defies rank and expectation, they are forced to confront a ticking clock. Victor’s terminal deployment is looming- a two month countdown to a six-month silence that will span oceans and war zones. In a world of lies and secrecy, Briar is thrust into a life she never asked for. She must transform from a girl who was "just a baker" into the partner of a man whose life is classified. As the General’s partner, she faces the ultimate test of her strength: Can she survive the crushing isolation of a deployment just as her heart has finally found its home? Or will the pressure of Victor’s world- and the secrets they’ve kept, break her before he can make it back to the ridge? In this journey of self-discovery, Briar must learn to survive the quiet of isolation and the loud whispers of a town that doesn't understand her choice. She has to find a voice that doesn't shake, a heart that doesn't break under the weight of a grainy photo and a news report, and a strength that can weather the storm until the General comes home. "You’re not a distraction, Briar. You’re the reason I’m coming back." But words are easy; the silence is hard. And as Victor disappears into the clouds, Briar Smith is left to prove that a girl who smells like lemon and sugar can have the soul of a guardian.
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The Riot
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He’s the undisputed King of Rock. She’s the orphan who set his world on fire. Rayna Lynn was never supposed to make it out of the shadows. An orphan with nothing but a haunting voice and a jagged edge, her rise to stardom was a lightning strike- fast, terrifying, and impossible to ignore. But as her fame reaches a fever pitch, the glittering lights of the stage begin to feel like a hunter’s glare. Touring with Iron Vanguard was supposed to be her big break, but she quickly realizes that a wall of security isn't enough to protect her from the dark obsession of a world that wants to own her. Enter Caspian Void. The lead singer of Obsidian Dirge is everything Rayna was warned about: narcissistic, ego-driven, and a legendary playboy who treats the world like his personal after-party. Rayna wants nothing to do with his brand of help, but after a series of escalating threats, a harrowing kidnapping, and a stalker who refuses to stay in the wings, she is forced into the arms of the one man more dangerous than her enemies. As their tour buses collide and their voices blend, a new kind of music begins to play- one fueled by a raw, magnetic pull that neither can escape. But Caspian is a man built on secrets, and as Rayna peels back the layers of the "King of Rock," she discovers that his past is just as haunted as hers. While Rayna learns to trade her fear for a crown and claim her title as the Riot Queen, something else is shifting. Amidst the deafening bass and the 20,000-watt lights, a new rhythm is forming- a quiet, insistent pulse that threatens to change their lives forever. From the rain-slicked streets of London to the ancient stone of Rome, Rayna must fight to protect the chosen family she's built. But in a world where the "Legacy" is written in blood and betrayal, the past is coming back to collect its due- and it’s coming for the one thing they aren't ready to lose.
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Clipped
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Rhiannon Deeproot was once a daughter of the sky, a noble of the High Fae with the world at her fingertips. Now, she is a clipped fairy in a cage. With her wings brutally cut and her wand stolen, she has been reduced to a prize in the dark corners of the South. But her Master wants more than just her service; he wants what runs through her veins. For a fairy, blood is more than life- it is starlight made liquid, a potent currency that every monster and mercenary in the realm is willing to kill for. Fenris is a man of the Northern peaks, a creature of cold ruthlessness and sharp instincts who knows the weight of a heavy soul. When he pulls Rhiannon from the depths of her nightmare, he doesn't find a helpless damsel- he finds a woman forged in a fire the world tried to extinguish. He does what he can to make her healthy. He becomes the shield between her and the hunters who can scent her celestial blood from miles away. Together, they must cross the lethal Grey Belt to reclaim what was taken from her. But the path to the High Grove is paved with more than just monsters; it is guarded by the echoes of Rhiannon’s own trauma and the secrets of a lineage that might be darker than she remembers. As they face trials that demand blood and absolute trust, Rhiannon must decide: is she returning to the Grove to find the girl she was, or to become the reckoning the Fae never saw coming? In a world where her breath is magic and her blood is a target, the greatest battle isn't fought with steel- it’s fought for the right to be whole again.
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The Evidence Of Love
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The rumors say she jumped. The truth says she was pushed. Annie Combs is back in LakeVille, but she isn’t the same girl who left in the back of a cab three years ago. Haunted by the loss of her mother and gaps in her memory that feel like physical wounds, she finds herself the target of a town that hasn't forgotten her "scandal." But Annie isn't alone this time. Ethan Hawthorne, the boy who watched her grow up through a pane of glass, has stepped out of the shadows and into her life. In a world of hired bullies and family lies, Ethan is the only thing Annie can trust. As the secrets of the past begin to bleed into the present, Annie must decide if she’s brave enough to find the evidence of what really happened that night- and if she's strong enough to survive the answer. *Trigger Warning* *s*icide, de@th, m*rder, a$sault, c*tting and b*llying*
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Her Last 13 Seconds
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What would be on your bucket list if you had a month left to live? 30 days, a 1969 GTO, and a passager who changed everything. Kane Flint is a bad boy. He lives his life in the driver’s seat of a scarred-up ’69 GTO. He doesn't have a home; he has a dashboard. He doesn't have a future; he has an ETA. To Kane, every person is just a passenger, and every city is just a rearview mirror. Harper Brooks is running out of time. At eighteen, the terminal degeneration in her body is winning. She’s tired of the smell of bleach, the hushed whispers of doctors, and the "quiet peace" her mother desperately wants for her. Harper doesn't want to fade away in a hospital bed- she wants to burn out like a meteor. When Harper meets Kane and he takes her on a final, bucket-list induced journey, she isn’t just looking for a driver. She’s looking for the keys to a life she was never supposed to have. From the neon-soaked chapels of Las Vegas to the silent stars of her hometown. Kane and Harper navigate a road paved with bad decisions and cheap tequila. But as the miles add up, the walls Kane has built around his heart begin to crumble. He isn't just driving a "sick girl"; he’s falling for a woman who is teaching him that the point of a car isn't to get away- it's to find a reason to stay. But the clock is ticking. As Harper’s fire begins to fade and the road leads them back to Maryland, Kane is forced to face the one thing he can’t outrun: a goodbye. Her Last 13 Seconds is a visceral, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful exploration of grief, the family we choose, and the beautiful, agonizing fiction of a life lived at full throttle. [WARNING: DRINKING, DRUGS, SEX AND A LOT OF ADRENALINE] [*COMPLETED*]
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Lovely
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Loving him wasn't easy. but loving her was harder. he was a bad boy of the school, just passing through. she was a nerd, bullied, made fun of. they each have their own secrets, what happens when they meet each other? Will he protect her? will she help him?
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N/A
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the vaccine has killed everyone that has taken it, because of the government. With a select few alive and well Stealing, finding traitors and friends. N/A finds out why. ghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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Becoming Frost
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