What if the secret to being charismatic were actually a gene you could inherit, and pass along to your children? What if this “X-factor” could get you chosen over all the other hopefuls? Welcome to the world of Cease de Menich, a sixteen-year-old actress in New York City who gets cast as Joan-of-Arc in a reality-TV drama, and discovers her “acting gift” has been passed down through her bloodline for almost six-hundred-years. Cease & Desist is a dark, contemporary, psychological YA thriller with a supernatural twist. It’s complete at 86,000 words.