In Sorrelmarsh, everything is different...

**ONC SHORTLIST 2024** Heems is an energy vampire, a parasite draining xeir hosts' energy with a single touch. That is until xe meets handsome thief Shiro, the only person immune to Heems's parasitism. ---- Working as a doctor on dwarf planet Eris, Heems drains the energy of xeir unknowing hosts -- Eris's sickly hospital patients -- to survive. Heems's rare parasitic condition doesn't seem to have a cure until xe attempts to make a host out of an injured smuggler. Heems's touch has no draining effect on the handsome vagrant, Shiro, possibly the only person in the Solar System immune to Heems's parasitism. Galvanised by the hope of finding a cure, Heems is lured by Shiro into a world of criminality and obsession, setting them both on a collision course with powerful organisations desperate to keep hidden Eris's biggest secret: that parasites can be hosts too. ☉ Energy vampirism ☉ LGBT+ romance ☉ Non-binary main character ☉ Cyberpunk ~~☉~~ ☆ No sci fi knowledge is needed to understand this story. Basically Eris is cold, has no atmosphere (literally and figuratively), and everyone's broke. I will put some sci fi comments inline for those who are interested, or if you don't understand something, just ask me. I'm happy to help! ☆ Notes on gender: Heems uses xe/xeir/xem pronouns. This book is written in first person so don't worry if you're new to these pronouns since there aren't so many instances of them being used in the book. Content Warning: This book is rated mature. It contains potentially triggering topics such as extreme hunger, chronic debilitating illnesses, suicide ideation, drug misuse, sexual intercourse while under the influence of recreational and medicinal drugs.

**AMBYS 2024 WINNER** The Alliance's top galactic terraformer, Pelin Demir, uses state-of-the-art biotech to transform barren rocky planets into lush habitable ecosystems. Seeking escape from a dying Earth and a tragic past, Pelin has devoted a decade to serving the Alliance in the seemingly endless galactic turf war between post-Earth humans and powerful warrior lifeforms, the Karinja. Pelin's life of quiet order is thrown into chaos when her Alliance leaders inexplicably force her to train Midori, a surly rookie navigator. When a terraforming mission spirals into a catastrophic Karinja ambush, Pelin discovers the dazzling secret that Midori, and the generals of the Alliance, are desperate to keep hidden. Forced to navigate deep space, draconian Alliance protocols, and her own turbulent past, Pelin charts a galactic course to protect Midori at all costs from the Karinja assassins hunting her, and from the sinister Alliance generals aiming to use her as a weapon of war. Yet Pelin can't seem to protect herself from her growing feelings towards her abrasive protégé. As the conflict for galactic control reaches a climax, Pelin struggles to keep Midori, and her own heart, safe. 🥇AMBYS 2024 WINNER - SCIENCE FICTION 🥇First Place, Katana Awards 2023, Science Fiction 🥇First Place, Lovely Valentine Awards 2023, Science Fiction 🥇First Place, Gloria Regali Awards 2023, Science Fiction 🥇First Place, Jamboard Awards 2022, Science Fiction 🥇First Place, Hearts Awards 2022, Science Fiction 🥈 Second Place, Aster Awards 2022, Science Fiction 🥇First Place, Star Awards 2022, Science Fiction 🥇First Place, Misfit Awards 2022, Science Fiction Cover designed by @laylagriffin_

I summoned him to keep me alive. Not to kiss me and make me feel things. Prince Leonard is a paranoid wreck-hated by his court, haunted by his past, and one imagined assassination attempt away from losing the only person still on his side. So when his own guards turn on him, Leo makes the one move no sane person would: he summons a demon. What he expects is a bloodthirsty monster. What he gets is Razvain Nyxbourne-dangerously attractive, infuriatingly flirty, and far more interested in kissing than drinking blood. Leo is unprepared for his sharp smiles or the avalanche of inconvenient emotional intimacy that comes with them. Bound by magic to keep Leo alive, Raz and his disarmingly cute shadows have their work cut out for them, because every member of the court seems to be after the newly crowned king's fragile life. If Leo wants to survive, he'll have to confront the demons of his past to keep the one at his side strong enough to protect him. Mature rated for explicit sexual content

Humanity is struggling to survive in a world that's no longer theirs. Liv, a scavenger leading missions to the edges of the city for food, medicine, and iron, knows things are getting worse. Every trip feels more desperate than the last. Humanity has an expiration date-the forest, and the creatures that dwell there, just have to wait them out. When a mission turns out to be a trap and Liv wakes up on the wrong side of the tree line-alone, disoriented, and for some reason not dead-she learns the forest doesn't just kill people or take their souls. It changes them. She doesn't know what she's becoming. Only that it's something way stronger than what she was. And that killing things never felt this good. Murderbot meets The Cruel Prince-with a whole lot of psychological horror My entry for onc2025, based on prompt 125: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. - Frank Herbert

Nicolás Velez is done with casual sex. Listen, yes, he might've slept with everyone in his flat within the first week of living in halls and had a respectable run on Grindr, but what eighteen-year-old wouldn't? He's almost twenty-four now, though, and hooking up with people who can't pronounce his name is, as his best mate would say, "not cute, baby girl". Problem: Nikki sucks at dating. With only disasters to show for his efforts, he decides to take a break from it all. That is, until he meets Josephine Rawlins. GENRE: romance, pan man x bi woman TROPES: workplace romance, friends with benefits, mutual pining COMP TITLES: Entergalactic, Take A Hint Dani Brown featured in Wattpad: Black Love featured in Wattpad: BHM Contemporary Lit featured in Wattpad: Pride Community Recommendations featured in lgbtq: Pride Shelf Dec 24 featured in lgbtq: Bisexual and Pansexual featured in Ambassador Recommendations BIPOC Mental Health featured in Ambassadors: Rainbow Fiction featured in Romance: Slow Burn featured in Romance: LGBTQAIP+ Romance featured in Romance: Pride Month featured in Romance: New Beginnings FreeTheLGBT Pride Awards winner 2025 Nano Watt Romance shortlister 2025

❛I was scared. Scared of him, scared of myself. Scared of the pictures that wouldn't leave my head. Red blood. Red coats. Red blade. And now a new one. Pretty red curls.❜ °❈° In 17th-century England, the rich bask in luxury while the poor struggle to survive. Auden Murray, the youngest of six brothers, gets by working as a streetwalker in London. After stumbling on an opportunity to work in King Philip III's castle, he leaves home for a whole new life. When the King dies unexpectedly, Auden is faced with new opportunities, rebellious friends, and a dangerous craving that will bring out the darkest side of him.

A year after the traumatising death of his father, Lord Frey Clausson finds holding on to his reputation in high society to be harder than he thought. Whispers about the tragic event and its consequences relentlessly haunt his mind, and when his family name is dragged through the dirt and those who used to support him begin to demand more and more, Frey quickly realises there's no room for him to make mistakes of any kind. As fate would have it though, to Frey's horror, it turns out the man who takes care of his horses may be more enjoyable to be around than can be allowed, and an inner struggle takes root in his heart as he needs to make a decision; The long desired recovery of his high society status, or his growing feelings for a servant.

Levi is a nineteen-year-old asexual wizard with too many problems and not enough friends to help him with them. The magic and the price for using it is taking its toll but he refuses to give up before he has fixed what he broke eight years ago. But when magical beings start disappearing around him he is forced to acknowledge he is in way over his head. He needs help. But the price for that help may be even greater than that of the magic. Placed third in the Triple moon awards (2025) Longlister ONC 2024 Winner Round 2 ONC 2024 ONC 2024 Prompt 48. The curse of magic is that for every reward, there is a great loss. For every spell that goes right, there is something else-in the real, natural world-that goes terribly wrong. Nature loves its balance. Mature rating is due to on-page description of (magical) substance abuse in chapter 13. Cover by Supreme Rat Queen Rai who just said nope to my feeble attempt (as I knew she would :P)

Ziri Meziani does not want friends. Born to an unremarkable town in southern England, Ziri spends most of his time in his head. His parents and his therapist tell him that he "shouldn't spend so much time alone", but to Ziri, other people are an inconvenience at best and a threat at worst. Unfortunately, Miles Hoàng is committed to getting on his nerves. GENRE: coming of age, teen bxb romance TROPES: the boy next door, reluctant lovers, tutoring COMP TITLES: The Perks of Being A Wallflower, The Black Flamingo featured in Wattpad: BxB Pride Spotlight featured in Wattpad: Written With Pride 2023 AMBY AWARDS WINNER in teen fiction featured in Ambassadors: Rainbow Fiction featured in Teen Fiction: LGBTQIAP+ Teens featured in lgbtq: BoyxBoy (YA) featured in FreeTheLGBT: Diverse Literature featured in StoriesUndiscovered: Tales Of The Heart featured in YaRomance: Unforgettable Firsts