2020 Watty Award Winner: Science Fiction In the city of Slatehallow, Eldon begins having strange dreams about a giant mechanical bird attacking the foreign city of Ironport. When his childhood friend, Timothy, arrives at Slatehallow, a strange power is awakened in Eldon, one he doesn't quite understand. Joining forces with the mysterious Marquise of Millingford and her Master, Eldon and Tim will begin training like they did in their youth, uncovering truths from their past and discovering who the real enemy is. #1 in #dystopianfuture: 12/12/20 IMPORTANT: If you are reading this story on any other platform other than Wattpad, you are very likely to be at risk of a malware attack. If you wish to read this story in it's original, safe form, please go to: https://www.wattpad.com/story/218850058-a-timely-knight Thank you.

Ray is low on time, luck, and hope; his only chance is an artifact that may not even exist. But upon meeting Landon, Ray is beginning to believe he might find all four. ***** Cambions are doomed to tragedy. They are weak, sickly creatures that rarely live to see their twentieth year. Ray refuses to resign himself to that fate. Upon learning of the Crimson Sheath-an artifact capable of preserving his life-Ray is prepared to fight, steal, and kill to get his hands on it. He is not prepared for Landon. Landon is an orphan with no memories of his parents, the only inheritance left to him a dagger, sleeping in a crimson sheath. Though he has no love of bloodshed and no use for a dagger, Landon isn't about to let Ray take his only link to his forgotten history, even if that means following the cambion past the edge of the world and into the shadow beyond. Content Warnings: Violence, semi-graphic gore, character deaths, profanity, mild drug and alcohol usage, abuse discussed but not shown, and morally-questionable people doing morally-questionable things.

A secret program in the United States seeks to replace human militaries with artificial intelligence-driven machines, but the machines aren't so willing to play along. *** Picture a world where humans no longer fight wars. No more families missing loved ones. No more veterans with lifelong mental and physical scars. No more conscription. For the super-secret End of War Project inside the United States government, such a reality is already here. The project models out how artificial intelligence can overcome dangerous and morally sensitive war scenarios with algorithms and automation. The centerpieces are "autonomous combat machines," or ACMs, that look like humans but function like supercomputers. After a string of brilliant successes in the field of combat, the End of War Project is preparing to reveal itself to the public, but something unusual stands in the way. Against their programming, the ACMs start exhibiting all-too-human signs of apprehension, guilt and compassion as they're pushed to perform ever more extreme tasks. The human leaders of the End of War Project race to find who "hacked" the ACMs, but what they find is even more startling--and revealing--than they could ever imagine. ***2019 Watty Award Winner - Science Fiction***

A magic-addicted spy trapped in the queen's service must track a princess-turned-assassin in order to earn her freedom, but things get complicated when she falls for the princess she's supposed to capture. ***** Weak. Cursed. That's how seventeen-year-old Kayden Branimir, the realm's deadliest assassin, views herself. Some believe she could save the world with her rare healing magic, but she gave up on her powers long ago after failing to save her best friend. Her life changes when she receives a letter from her supposedly dead twin brother, Alaric, begging to be rescued from rival territory Leodia. For the first time since her friend's accident, Kayden is determined to be the hero, but she must learn to embrace her magic--and herself--along the way. Strange. Unnatural. Those are the words whispered about eighteen-year-old Zara Tait, a Leodian spy addicted to soul-stealing magic. Forced into the queen's service, Zara wants to escape and return home, but she has nothing to offer the queen in exchange for her freedom. When Kayden arrives in Leodia, Zara sees the quiet girl with unique magic as the bargaining chip she needs. But the more she learns of Kayden, the more her feelings grow. Now, Zara must choose between her freedom and the dangerous assassin she hadn't meant to fall for. [2020 Watty Award Winner] Content warning: This story contains mature themes of violence, addiction, abuse, self-harm, and mental illness. Cover by Faera Lane

🌟2020 Watty's Winner🌟 A sixteen-year-old orphan, hoping to find a new family, joins a faction of Rogues and becomes vital in their conflict with a rival faction. *** For as long as she can remember, Valeria Torres has always been the girl no one cared about. Having immigrated to the United States as a child after her parents' deaths, she tried to play by the rules as she navigated orphanages, homelessness, and a juvenile detention center. But her luck is about to change. Valeria discovers the Rogue Faction; a group of outlaws who use real world and mystical talents to steal from the wicked and give to the poor. Things seem to click into place as she joins a new family in New York City, goes back to school, trains as a Rogue, and makes new friends. But when Valeria discovers that two of her new friends are teenagers from a rival faction, she finds herself thrust into the middle of a conflict that could determine the fate of the world. ------------------ A story that combines elements of Harry Potter, Batman, and Robin Hood with a unique female protagonist in a GxBxG love triangle. Winner of a 2020 Watty Award, with the following review: "It's super original, and dang, it's got so much heart. We love all the characters and their relationships. The plot covers difficult topics, but handles everything so well. You can't not fall in love with this story. We love the LGTBQ2+ and Hispanic main character as well!" [Updates] *3rd place in Adventure Category for the 2020 Ocean Pearl Awards! *Selected for the @BootcampMentors program by TeaNHeartache! *1rst place in Fantasy and honorable mention for the 2020 Rose gold awards! *1rst Place in Adventure for the 2020 Diluculum Awards *1rst Place in Adventure for the 2020 Red Cloak Awards *2020 Watty Award Winner for Science Fiction! (Even though I entered it as more of Urban Fantasy ;)

COMPLETED: 2019 Watty Award Winner in Fantasy Every night she plays...and every night they come... Lira is a violinist by nature and a performer by imprisonment. Stolen as a child by a malevolent wraith and trapped in the Spirit World, Lira now spends her days playing the very music that seduced her in the first place. She sees no escape from her existence under the sorceress Bebinn, until one day her music lures Owen who, at age 16, is supposed to be too old to succumb to its spell. Imprisoned alongside Lira and desperate to find a way back home, Owen vows to find a way to free them both. The only problem: no one has ever escaped Bebinn and the Spirit World alive. 1st Place Winner in Fantasy for the Undiscovered Writer Awards! 1st Place in Fantasy for the Hidden Author Awards! 1st Place in Fantasy for the Hot Dog Awards! Winner of @EventualElites "Hypnotized and Hooked" Award! 3rd Place in Fantasy for the Book Center's Summer Awards! Cover by: @Baneen121

[12 Chapter Preview of 2019 Edition-2025 Edition Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble] When an army of darkness falls from the sky, Alex Kingsley enlists the help of her male peers and ventures into spirit-infested lands to save humanity. ***** She's an outcast cursed to consume the memories of anything she touches. A woman fated to repopulate the nation's army. A breeder barred from the sword. And she's desperate for a taste of freedom. So when a tournament is held to recruit the army's best candidates, Alex Kingsley does what she does best: she intervenes. But it's only after dark forces are unleashed upon humanity that Alex finally has the chance to prove herself -- and put her curse to good use. ***** 2020 Watty Award Winner: Fantasy 1st Place Admiration Awards 2020: Fantasy

[Soon by WATTPAD BOOKS] In the prestigious race of stars, Sozo must hide the truth of who she is or pay with her life, but her blossoming relationship with the most talented competitor threatens everything she's worked for. ***** Every ten years, the lucky chosen bond with stars and race to win a wish. Any wish. Sozo is one of the lucky chosen, but she has a secret: as an Omen -- cursed beings that can transform into monsters -- she's forbidden from competing. Discovery would mean her death. Can she hope to keep her identity a secret, let alone win the race, especially as the talented and sunny Naqi enters the picture? When Sozo is given an ultimatum, she has to choose: betray her Omen people, or betray the people who are slowly, surely, becoming like a family to her. --- WATTYS AWARD 2020 "Bar none, this was [Senior Editorial Specialist] Amanda's absolute favourite read from the Wattys this year. It makes you cry, just from pure, uncontainable joy, and the ending kept us reading until nearly 6am. Everything about this story is beautiful. We were astounded that anyone could create something so magnificent and moving and magical. This level of storytelling mastery will never not blow us away." [Word Count: 70,500]

When powerful witch Marithyda Skyelorn becomes a participant of the Royal Exposition, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the Prince--or to be the cause of his death. ***** Every year, the kingdom of Karvoth hosts the Royal Exposition: a corrupt carnival where a race of citizens who possess powerful magic, known as the Touched, are exploited for the enjoyment of nobles. But when Marithyda Skyelorn's grand performance ends in tragedy and pits her against the deranged King, she must make the impossible choice between remaining in exile and participating again in the dangerous competition that ruined her life--to end it once and for all. (Book One of the Skyelorn Chronicles trilogy) [[2020 Watty's winner, Fantasy]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: Some scenes contain violence that may upset sensitive readers [[Word Count: 50,000-60,000]]