Paige Dearth

Raven became the shooter’s sister fourteen minutes after her brother entered their high school. Raven Ledger was born two minutes before her twin brother Matthew. The newborns shared the same blood, the same womb, and the same parents. But everything about the siblings was different . . . one was darkness and one was light. Raven was born into poverty to a mother who couldn’t care for her, and a father who would do anything to see his twins thrive. Eventually, Raven becomes a pawn between her parents. Ripped from the world she knows, Raven and Matthew are placed in her mother’s care. Raven’s only friend is a prostitute who works the street in front of the child’s run-down apartment. Then after school one day, her brother goes missing and Raven can’t remain silent about their horrendous living conditions. After the police find the boy, the children are removed from their mother, and Raven is separated from her brother. She is sent to a foster home to live with five other girls, while Matthew is placed in a home for troubled boys. While the twins still attend the same school, they grow apart. Raven loves her brother, but she notices he’s become more detached. Then in their senior year of high school, Matthew is befriended by a mysterious man who teaches the teenager how to deal with his hatred. On a warm spring day, a few months before the twins graduate, Raven’s brother enters Allegheny High School armed with guns. Fourteen minutes later, Raven Ledger became known as The Shooter’s Sister. **WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.

Kidnapped and forced into human sex trafficking, Maggie has only one way out. Eleven-year-old Maggie Clarke is an average suburban girl known for her intelligence and beauty. Suddenly, her life’s path is tragically altered when Maggie is ripped from her family and thrust into the horrific underworld of human sex trafficking. In captivity, Maggie watches over a young boy, who gives her a reason to live. Robbed of her innocence and freedom, Maggie does whatever it takes to survive. With the help of Detective Rae Harker, the Clarkes’ frantically search for their daughter. Haunted by his own demons, Detective Harker vows to find Maggie—dead or alive. Meanwhile on the vile streets of Philadelphia, a strange man approaches Maggie with a dangerous proposition, and she risks everything to break free of the network of unsavory characters that control her. Not even she can know how far she will go to get even with the people who ruined her life. Raw, edgy, and intense, One Among Us ultimately offers hope through Maggie, who grows stronger and more resourceful through her experiences. You’ll be on the edge of your seat, rooting for Maggie as she fights for her life. **WARNING**18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.

Home isn't safe for young Alessa because her uncle lives there...unfortunately neither are the streets. Alessa's uncle is a child predator, and she's one of his victims. At sixteen, after the death of her only friend, Alessa finds herself isolated at home with her uncle. Unable to live there, she runs away. Alone on the streets of North Philadelphia, she encounters more people who hurt her. About to hit rock bottom, Alessa breaks free from her new tormentors and finds refuge in a shelter for homeless and abused women. Wherever she goes, however, trouble keeps seeking her out, until she meets three people who change the course of her life. Though Alessa's bittersweet journey is fraught with challenges, she does, nevertheless, find fleeting moments of joy. Then, as she settles down, a ghost from the past comes to haunt her, threatening to destroy the very foundation of her small world and plunging her back into an abyss of despair, until she makes her final bid for escape . **WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter. (This is a standalone novel)

Rainey Paxton was born addicted to heroin. In the fragile first hours of Rainey’s life, hospital doctors and nurses fight to keep her alive. Several months later she is released into her parents’ custody, where the baby is forced to live on neglect and tainted breast milk. Constrained in her home, infested with drug addicts and drifters, Rainey’s drug-addicted parents leave little hope for her protection. While Rainey is still an infant, her aunt Sophie visits her and finds the baby dirty and hungry. A bond forms between the two until tragedy strikes. Rainey is alone again until her sister, Ivy, is born and the child breathes new life into Rainey’s small, isolated world. But her parents have another plan, and with no one there to intervene on Rainey’s behalf she must make sacrifices to feed her parents’ cravings and to keep her sister safe. Follow Rainey’s journey from a house crawling with junkies to the violent confines of a juvenile detention center where she finds friendship, and learns fearlessness from the most unexpected people. **WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.

Tormented as a child, a boy reaches adulthood with a damaged soul and a seething rage… This provocative tale of human evil is not for the faint of heart. My name is Tony. When I was seven years old the bullies in my class almost killed me; my father was angry that I let it happen but he always hated me. At thirteen I went to prison for a crime I didn’t commit; it was the worst experience of my life. Living on the streets was hard; being part of a gang was harder. Oh, and I did find people to love along the way…and, I would do anything to protect them. Anything. **WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter. (This is a standalone novel) NOTE: Mean Little People was previously titled Born Mobster. The content remains the same.

Emma was unloved from the moment she was born. Her earliest memory is being severely beaten by her father, Pepper Murphy, when she was eight-years-old. Seething with resentment over the sacrifice of his dreams for a woman he cares little about and children he never wanted, Pepper chooses to blame his oldest daughter. Her mother, Valerie, makes matters worse with her verbal abuse, leaving Emma isolated with a man that had no boundaries in punishing his daughter, taking his abuse to unimaginable levels. Emma's father's coldblooded beatings and the ultimate abuse to which he subjects her, lays the foundation of the person she becomes. As she matures into a resourceful teenager, she is unwilling and unable to stifle her desire for revenge. Reaching her breaking point she can no longer control the impulse to fight back and finally takes matters into her own hands. Having learned the art of hatred from her father and the mastery of manipulation from her mother, young Emma now sets out to make a better life for herself, leaving the memory of the abused child she had once been behind her. Hardened by the heartless brutality she encounters and the dangerous situations she must overcome in the course of her journey, she faces every challenge that comes her way in her quest for a normal life for herself and for those she loves. Finally a person emerges from within that guides her toward a better life until she learns of a secret that sets her on the path of ultimate redemption.

A dead girl searching for her killer. Twelve-year-old Molly suddenly wakes up dead in Limbo after spending four years in and out of hospital beds. Fearful of being forgotten by her family, she wants nothing more than to return to Earth, until her guardian exposes the grim truth about her demise. Devastated, Molly learns everything she believed about her life and death was a lie. But the greatest blow arrives when Molly discovers she isn’t the only one who suffers from unexplained ailments. Unable to reach the living, Molly can only hope for an intervention to prevent the same terrible consequence from happening again. My Final Breath is a suspenseful psychological thriller about an intolerable offense ripping a family apart. If you like twisted tales of loyalty, deception, and intentional acts of evil then you will love this gripping story.

A fatal car crash. A young orphan. Can she survive the harsh life of the seedy city streets? Eight-year-old Joon has no time to grieve her parents’ sudden death. Ripped from the security of a loving family, she endures horrific abuse in a system intended to protect her. After four years of torture and her foster brother’s attempt to steal her innocence, she runs away to Philadelphia’s poverty-stricken streets. Coming of age while homeless, Joon must fight just to stay alive. Despite the danger and desperation that surrounds her, she clings to her dream of offering the world something positive. But kind acts don’t put food in her belly as she searches for love and a place to call home. Never Be Alone is a standalone dark psychological thriller. If you are looking for courageous characters, an edgy story, and a heartbreaking true-to-life tale, then you need to read this book. **WARNING**18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.