|| Wattys 2023 Shortlist || Miles grew up struggling, scorned by his father, and taking care of his ailing mother. After losing everything, he found solace in music and finally entered the entertainment world as DJ Requiem. The world knows his stage name, but because he has always hidden behind a mask, no one knows that the unassuming Miles is the award-winning DJ. He knows what he loves-music and his friends. However, when a soul-sucking conglomerate threatens to take away everything he holds dear, he may have to turn to Aura's CEO, Shawn Pierce, for help. Twelve years had passed since their first encounter, and Miles had tried his best to avoid Shawn and forget him. However, some things in life are unforgettable, and now Miles finds that he cannot tear himself away from Shawn. Can he save his music while finding something more with Shawn? Genre: Contemporary Romance|MxM|Music Release Schedule: Epilogue coming soon

Ethan Wong, an ex-prodigy violinist, thinks it's not meant to be. After his latest mental breakdown at his last violin competition, where he placed tenth out of ten contestants, he's not sure why his music professor appointed him the soloist for their New York concerto. Cameron Langley, the star college baseball athlete, believes it's meant to be. After being completely ghosted and shut out of Ethan's life after high school, he's finally found the man at a chance encounter at an overbooked hotel. More determined than he is to win his college's first championship, Cameron is desperate for answers and another shot at love with the guy who stole his heart. Will they face the music or strike out from each other's lives for good? -An Open Novella Contest 2023 Shortlister-

A grumpy boy Cinderella and a childish prince-what could possibly go wrong?! Cinder is a young shoemaker who just wants to do his job. The only one to support his irresponsible stepmother and stepsisters, the last thing on his mind is the prince's ball. He'd much rather stay home alone and clean...too bad his fairy godmother has other plans and drags him to the ball against his will! It's love at first sight-for Gem, the prince. Cinder just hopes to never see the obnoxious guy again. Too bad Gem is such a hopeless romantic that he searches the entire country for his mysterious guest...and winds up enlisting Cinder's help as a shoemaker to find the owner of the one shoe he kept from his crush? The pay is good, but for how long can Cinder hide his identity while pretending to help the bratty Gem? And what happens when the two start finding common ground after all? At this rate it won't be long until Cinder is hard pressed for his sanity...

A contemporary Scandinavian adaption of the legend of Jack Frost/Jokul Frosti. *** A first kiss changes everything. When Joakim kisses his childhood friend Anton it puts their relationship and also the weather in turmoil. Snow starts to whirl over Stockholm, turning the capital into a chaotic state. Is Joakim's emotional state actually affecting the weather and can his inner turmoil be stilled once he reunites with Anton, who mysteriously has disappeared after their intimate encounter? An ONC novella using prompt #69: "I had a marvellous time ruining everything."

When Dante drinks the blood of a woman with AIDS, his health takes a turn for the worse. His immune system should be infallible, but here he is: every day, he wakes up healthy, only to attract another painful and rare disease during the day that is miraculously cured at night. It is a never-ending cycle and dreams and reality seem to blend into nothing but pain. And unlike Prometheus, there will not be a Heracles to kill the eagle and break the chains. He'll have to save himself, but can he do that when he's his own worst enemy? There's no antidote for life or suffering. *** Trigger warnings: loneliness, mild self-hate (mostly for being a vampire), passive desire to die, mention of past torture, detailed description of flu-like symptoms, symptoms of depression, anxiety Cover by the wonderful @_coffeewithhoney

Topher was a survivor, until he wasn't. After a noble sacrifice, he's become what the scattered remains of humanity fears most: a zombie. But he may not stay that way. Humans are developing a cure, and Topher finds himself one of their unwitting test subjects. Coming back to life is not easy, and he may find things are not how he left them. ***In case you missed it in the title, this is a manxman story, so yes, there will be male humans engaging in relationships, just so that's clear.

Jeffery is sick, sea sick. After a mysterious creature from the depths saved him from drowning, Jeffery just can't seem to keep his head out of the water. Bound in lust and put in a compromising situation, Jeffery makes an astonishing decision to go forth to find this merman. Cover by @coxkora

Every night, Jamie gets a lift home from his co-worker, Will. (Not so) coincidentally, Jamie has been hopelessly, desperately in love with Will for the last eighteen months. Will, on the other hand, has a girlfriend. And so it goes, Will drives Jamie home and talks about his girlfriend. Jamie sits in the passenger seat and bites his tongue. Every night. Until, one night, Will gets a flat tire and suddenly they're teetering on the edge of everything changing. [Wattpad Featured / #1 Diverse Lit / #1 Short Story / #3 Young Adult / #5 New Adult / #7 LGBT]

//If you're reading this anywhere that is not w a t t p a d, you're reading a work stolen from me and posted elsewhere.// When Bryan Ito is pulled into helping the Events & Festivals Team on campus by his best friend, Adam, the last thing he expects is to meet with the lead guitarist of a quickly-rising-in-popularity band, MELODY. Despite Jackson Star's pretty smile and enchanting eyes and deep voice, his grade-A asshole-ish behaviour ruins any and all first impression of him to Bryan when they meet. While Bryan is determined to hate him, thanks to Adam's closeness with the band, they constantly find themselves bumping into each other more and more. And without wanting to, Bryan's hatred threatens to transform into something less spiteful the more he learns about Jackson. Enemies at first sight shifts to a tentative friendship. And once the sparkles of fame settle, maybe into something more. [Cover made purely from CANVA]