Nathan Colt is not on Mars to build a new life. He's come to here for one reason only-to find his cousin Noah and bring him home. Noah travelled to Mars seeking adventure and opportunity. But two years later, he's vanished without a trace. Colt has thirty days before the planetary alignment closes the door home for the next eighteen months. Mars is a dangerous frontier, idealistic settlers mixing uneasily with ruthless opportunists. Following Noah's fading trail north along a route locals grimly call "The Widow's Road," Colt discovers unsettling truths: idealistic colonies disappearing overnight, settlers missing without explanation, and rumours of something hidden deep within the Martian wilderness. When Colt rescues desperate settlers only to be betrayed, he finds himself forced into survival mode, fighting off corporate mercenaries, bandits-and Mars itself. Time is running out. Colt must uncover the truth and find Noah-dead or alive. On Mars, everyone is a potential victim-and Colt might already be too late.

When 16-year-olds Claire Conrad and Ricky Ortega meet in Juvenile Detention, they never imagine that music will transform their animosity into something entirely different. Ricky, a reluctant gang leader, finds himself behind bars after killing his abusive and manipulative father, who forced him into a life of crime. Beneath his tough exterior, Ricky dreams of reviving '80s music and becoming the next pop sensation. Claire is sentenced to detention for attempting to rob a store, driven by desperation to provide for her younger brothers in the absence of their parents. Despite her challenging circumstances, Claire is determined to gain admission to Juilliard and compose music. When Ricky and Claire cross paths, an intense rivalry ignites. After weeks of mean pranks and loud arguments in the cafeteria, their shared passion for music might just bring them together-if aggressive cellmates, power-hungry guards, and their dark pasts don't tear them apart first.

Student Freddie Abbott is living his best life. Popular, healthy, smart, going places. So when he takes his own life, his family want to know why. Was his death simply a tragic consequence of the pressures of modern life, or was something more sinister at work? Freddie's uncle Ben, a recent divorcee and journalist, sets out into the unfamiliar digital world of another generation to find out. Following his only lead, a card that directs him to a new AI life coach app called #Blessed, Ben begins to live Freddie's life, dropped head first into a world of social media obsession, digital overexposure, torrid romance and a possible government conspiracy. Will #Blessed lead him to Freddie's truth? Or is Ben's new perfect digital life just one more dangerous lie?

At GUX, the elite don't just study-they scheme. Agnar wants nothing more than to stay invisible, but when secrets start unraveling and students begin to break, he steps in from the shadows to fix everything-quietly, without credit, and without mercy. But the deeper he goes, the harder it is to stay hidden. Power is shifting. Loyalties are tested. And just as Agnar begins to understand the true game behind GUX... Someone even darker arrives. Meet Agony. And he plays for keeps.

Welcome to Road to The Wattys - an interactive resource for writers and readers designed to prepare and get you excited for this year's awards. Maybe you're new here, or maybe you've submitted to The Wattys in the past. No matter your level of Watty's expertise this community guide is for you! Every week, we'll be releasing a new chapter for you to check out and engage with! Note that the formal rules and regulations won't be released until May 20th, 2025 but we have already released some information about this year's awards which will be re-iterated in chapter one of this guide. Make sure to follow this profile and save this to your reading list to stay updated!

SOMETIMES THE HARDEST DARES LEAD TO THE TRUEST FRIENDSHIPS Sixteen-year-old Slater Wilcox has spent his life chasing one thing---status. As the Bayman Lions' star pitcher and a junior legacy, he is a top contender for the coveted Bayman King, an annual competition where male junior legacies are given unique dares to outperform the other in hopes of winning the lucrative crown and exclusive rights throughout their senior year. Slater knows the rule is simple...complete the dare, no matter the cost. Confident, untouchable, and on track to continue his family's tradition, Slater thinks he has it all figured out. But when he is dared to befriend Abigail "Kooky Abbie" Perez, the school's infamous outcast known for her wild ramblings about space and planets, his perfect world tilts off its axis. What should have been an easy, if humiliating, challenge turns into something far more complicated when Slater realizes there's more to Abigail than her Jupiter-obsessed stargazing. The deeper he gets into her orbit, the harder it becomes to keep up the lies, especially when there are secrets about her that no one knows. With his reputation on the line and his so-called friends watching his every move, Slater has to decide. Either risk losing his perfect life or betray the girl who's opened his eyes to a universe bigger than his own. ************************************************************************************* Think "She's All That meets The Fault in Our Stars meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower". It's a feel-good John Green meets John Hughes story.

After being banned for being too edgy, WE ARE BACK! Feisty, Jenny Banks lives a dystopian nightmare as a robot uprising run by dark AI (Artificial Intelligences) takes over the world. Captured and slave collared by robots, Jenny is sent to slave school and then sold to the notorious but mysterious cyborg called Lord Rockwood. Can she survive being 'up cycled' as a pet, encounters with feral Roombas, moronic human slave owners, fashion-conscious robots, vampire cyborg-etts, dangerously addictive perfumes dealt by rogue members of OneDirection and werewolf marines? With little more than a pair of stiletto heels, a smart ass slave collar, and a sassy wit, sharp enough to give you a paper cut, can Jenny hold on to her humanity long enough to bring out Rockwood's? With the extinction of humanity in the balance no pressure.🤖🤸♀️ Think, Terminator meets 12 years a slave ( @JuliaExplodes ) Warning: a PG13 Science Fiction dystopia including scenes of romance and satire. A sense of humour advised. #1 in SciFi HOT , #6 in Humour HOT. #5 Vampire HOT 71% of the people who read the first chapter finish the book. This book hasn't been stolen and republished on Amazon (come on guys what's wrong with you nearly 2 Million reads not enough?) -------------- Praise 100% genuine ------------- My empty room is the only witness to my laughter.@Birdy1121. I'm hooked. This story is basically word cocaine. @Panicatmychemicaldw I absolutely love this book @Broken_Window OMG I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CHAPTER. @JustZeena I feel like my fingers are compelled to click on the little star icons. @KaranSeraph "Robot apocalypse now"actually earned a genuine guffaw. I love the smell of cyborg in the morning. And it smells disconcertingly like... lavender. @ClipperDown This book is addictive! Every time the book comes to an end for the week, I almost cry! @Sapphiregirl232

Are you interested in writing a Science Fiction story? If you want to start writing a Sci-Fi story, these prompts are perfect! They give you cool ideas to get your imagination going. For example, you could write about a world where robots rule, or a spaceship that's lost in space. Maybe you'll think of a hero who discovers a new planet or a time traveler who changes the past. These prompts are easy to understand and fun to use. They help you think of exciting stories with aliens, future tech, and epic sci-fi adventures. Get ready to write your own awesome sci-fi story!

Azima Rousseau, a demon hunter destined to save her world from the denizens of the Underworld, has to venture through the Seven Levels of Hell in order to face its Prince and close the rift between their worlds once and for all. ***** Ever since her eighteenth birthday, Azima Rousseau knew she would die battling the forces of Hell just as her mother had, and every other Rousseau before her. So when her destiny delivers her to Death's door, it is not the Devil who answers, but the Demon Prince Malecoda. Instead of ending her fated existence as his sworn enemy, he decides to bind her into a pact that challenges not only the intensity of her will to survive but also the integrity of her soul to persevere. Together they soon discover who the monsters truly are- Azima's own people. [[ 2021 WATTYS SHORTLIST ]] ---------- Cover designed by Stefanie Saw

When guarded orphan Samantha wakes up in a strange house with five other teens: charming jock Austin, introverted techie Henry, enigmatic loner Maddie, conspiracy theorist Keith, and aspiring dancer Lynne, none of them know how they got there or why they've been chosen. Trapped together, their unease drastically shifts to horror when one of them is found mysteriously dead. Suspicion brews, trust fractures, and tensions rise as the group struggles to learn the truth about their captivity. However, things change when their captor, Mother, a cunning and manipulative AI, reveals to them that they are unwilling participants in a sinister social experiment broadcast to an eager live audience. Forced to endure grueling challenges designed to expose their fears and secrets, the teens find themselves pitted against each other in a psychological game of wits and survival. With every passing day, Mother's influence tightens, paranoia spreads, the nation controls their fates, and the house itself becomes as much an enemy as the unknown killer among them. As the teens are pushed to their breaking points, Samantha must decide whether to keep her walls up or lead this fractured group to defy Mother's control. But to truly escape and regain control, they must rely on each other to show unity. Yet as alliances are tested and truths are uncovered, the price of rebellion might be their lives.