Midnight Muse: 1 (Vulcan University)

New year. New apartment. New enemy.

Drawing major Quinn Conroy just moved back to town with her best friend for their second year at Vulcan University. She revels in being away from her almost too supportive parents as she searches for inspiration long lost. Her new apartment is supposed to serve as a tranquil space to find the creativity that she's been yearning for, but when she discovers just how thin the walls are that separate her from her new neighbor, all serenity is torn up and crumpled just like her many attempts at her drawing assignments.

Knox Foster is your quiet, stereotypical brooding upperclassman. Unless you're Quinn. Then, you're just an ass. Art student turned tattoo artist, Knox searches for an apprenticeship in the midst of a life-altering motorcycle accident that left his hands in worse shape than he cares to admit. He favors the stillness that the midnight hours have to offer when sleep evades him. It's when he feels the most at peace, with a piece of charcoal and sketchbook in his hands or the wind against his body as he rides into the night. Until Quinn moves next door, that is. She's been ruining that peace since the first day they met.

Quinn and Knox share one very common goal-and a wall-to find the inspiration they've been missing. It seems like since the day she moved in, Quinn can't catch a break-between the asshole neighbor that parks his motorcycle in front of her moving truck and the elevator that she swears is going to break down any day, it's like sophomore year has it out for her. For Knox, it's the constant pestering from the other side of the wall and the forced proximity he has to the neighbor who provides said pestering, now that his roommates have befriended the girls-next-door.

Quinn and Knox have sworn to hate each other for the entirety of their lease-possibly even longer. But when their walls start to crumble and their lines become redrawn, they might just realize that they have more in common than they think.

Lanie Tech is a graphic designer by day and author by night. Her writing stems from many years spent as a fanfiction author and she's sorry if it shows. She is currently in her contemporary romance era but hopes someday to dip into the romantasy world with her novels. Midnight Muse is her first novel. She currently lives in SoCal with her younger sister and enjoys strawberries, traveling, creating delusions during walks or work, and loves anything and everything creative.Connect with her at lanietechauthor.comInstagram: @lanietechTikTok: @lanietechauthor