Monique and James have just moved to the county, to a house on the border of a wood, a dark wood, filled with magic and mystery. ****** When a mysterious door the size of an apple appears in the back of the garage, 10-year-old Monique and James have to investigate. After freeing a trapped fairy, the small magical creature tries to recruit the kids for a mission to save the dark wood and the fairy folk who live there. Monique jumps at the chance, but James is reticent. What could a couple of kids possibly do to save magical beings? If fairy magic can't save them, how could a couple of city kids? Regardless of his apprehension, James finds himself following his bold step-sister into the wood, the dark wood where magic is real and murderous beasts lurk. #OpenNovellaContest2021 Longlist

[HIATUS] It is one thing to find out that your long-term boyfriend has been cheating on you with your best friend, but it's another to wake up and find yourself in a stranger's bed. After suffering heartbreak and watching the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, 21st-century woman Amanda Brown is transported back to the Elizabethan era. She wakes up in the year 1595 and finds herself in the body of Joan Shakespeare, the younger sister of the one and only William Shakespeare. In the process of figuring out a way to return to the future, she bonds with her newfound brother and finds a place to call home in early modern history, all the while being stuck in a dilemma of choosing between stealing the happy life of the real Joan Shakespeare and returning to her unhappy life. *** [Open Novella Contest 2021] Prompt #46: It's a Saturday night, and you have no plans to go on a date. You're all alone and decided to re-watch the Shakespearean tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet', torturing your already broken heart. The next morning, you find that it's the late 16th century, the time when Shakespeare was still writing the play, and you spot the incomplete manuscript of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Started: 28 February 2021 Completed: Ongoing

When a group of four teenage friends are given a quest in a virtual reality video game to kill a powerful wizard, there's only one thing to do: gather the party and get to slaying. So what if one group member has no idea what they're doing, another has a lawful good god to appease, and the final two are bloodthirsty beyond belief? How hard could banding together and trekking through a monster-filled forest in search of a wizard tower be? ONC 2021 Prompt #59 - "Man I could kill for a good beer," you say. The bartender looks both ways before leaning towards you. "Do you mean that? Because there is someone I would like...disposed of." 1st place (tied) in Pretty in Punk March 2021 Mini Awards 2nd place in the Aeryn Awards 2021 ~ Action/Adventure 3rd place in the Campfire Awards ~ Action/Adventure 3rd place in the Opulence Writer's Awards ~ Action/Adventure Top rankings: 6th in #gamelit 8th in #contestentry 11th in #litrpg 15th in #dnd I don't own any of the images used in the cover, and both were modified. The forest background can be found here: http://www.pngall.com/?p=24469

Three college friends, Darren, Josh and Nelson, pick up a pretty girl at a diner and take her to a private island where the guys spent a summer as teens. Only what they don't tell her is that one of those summers a girl disappeared. There's a mystery here but she soon discovers someone will go to any length to keep it from being solved. The suspects: • Darren, the athlete, used to taking what he wants - even if it means crossing the line • Nelson, loyal friend, who hates the way girls have it so easy • Josh, on the outs with the group, and not willing to rock the boat • The girl, whose name they forgot, but who might just have a trick up her sleeve Stranded in the cottage, in the growing darkness, with no cell service and no way to reach the outside world, the girl finds herself the target of someone's worst intentions. "Claustrophobic much...reading this was like having a noose around my neck and it was getting tighter except I couldn't scream or else whoever was holding the rope would pull it tighter." @LenAiono "The raw realness of the emotions portrayed right here, it's hooking..." @LaFayeJones "Four main characters are at the center of the mystery, but the reader is kept guessing as to who might actually know the truth about what happened. Each chapter ends in a cliffhanger leaving the reader begging to know more." @DennisRoyer "Great descriptions in 'difficult' scenes. I like the way you don't shy away from anything and really get into the characters' feelings" @SheilaDalton "This is so emotional. I really like it but I have to go watch some puppy videos now to calm down!" @Kibika Entered in the Open Novella Contest 2021

When Tara Walters discovers the disturbing truth about a new virtual console called AfterLife™, she must risk everything in order to expose the enslavement of digital Sims. ___ Cover made using CANVA PRO. Status: complete but unedited. Editing begins July 1, 2021. Word count: 20,231/20,000

Formerly the first draft of BRIARHEART

Eliotte Marie Romick is stuck on her first crush, next-door neighbor and best friend, Stevien Daeshim Jones. She has always been able to rely on him; however, as life decides to throw changes at her from multiple directions, Stevien seems further away than ever before. From high school to around the world, there was one thing she always looked up to: the stars. Under the stars, she found peace, she found comfort, she found the feeling of home. Will the stars be enough to keep her grounded as people in her life change and move away? Or will the weight of all the changes in her life, cause her to lose that feeling?

[The Nano Watt 2023 Shortlist] [ONC 2021 Longlist] The world as Evren once knew changed massively from doing homework to fighting for survival in a zombie infested planet. Countries were wiped out within months some even days. Bringing a global impact on food and resources. But the infected wasn't the only thing Evren had to worry about. Her last group encounter had created a major target on her back when they found out what she had been keeping a secret. Surviving on her own after the tragic events that left her scarred, she realized the living was far more wicked then the dead. Which brought out a reluctance to trust anyone ever again.... Until she wakes up in the arms of a boy she thought was dead. ✨Round One Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨ ✨Round Two Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨ ✨Round Three Longlist in Open Novella Contest✨ 🥇Fist Place in Mystery/Thriller:Lucky Charm Awards(May 2021) ✨Longlist in The Nano Watt 2023✨ ✨Shortlist in the Nano Watt 2023✨ #ONC2021 | Prompt 38 | Prompt 2 ‼️Content/Trigger Warning: Contains gore, violence, some strong language. All rights belong to the author and no reproductions are allowed without the permission of @Renaissance1111. Please respect the author's copyright. 😊❤️ ©2021 C.S Marie