Lena Harris doesn't do messy. She deals in information and observations, small gaps and mistakes that can be leveraged to make problems go away. She gets her jobs done quickly, cleanly, and efficiently, and then she moves on, never dwelling on the past or worrying about anything beyond the next operation. And that's the way she likes it. Until her boss assigns her to the messiest operation she's ever faced. Now her carefully built up professional distance is collapsing around her, and she doesn't know how to hold it up- or if she even wants to anymore. __________ Open Novella Contest (ONC2026), prompt 33: It doesn't take long before everything in your life spins out of control. One moment you're a secret assassin, and the next you've somehow been hired as a nanny and you're not entirely sure how it happened.

Never stay out past dark. That's the number one rule everyone abides by. The woods are an unfriendly- and deadly- place to be after dark. But to harvest the pitch that society depends on, some crews delve deeper than they should into the forests. And they pay the ultimate price for it. Andria was on one of those crews, and a single night is all it takes to turn tempting fate into a terrible tragedy. Now it's up to Andria to decide if that twist of Karma was a mistake, if she never should have survived, or if she's going to keep trying to scratch a living from the horrors that wait in the dark.

Nox has worked as an assassin for almost his entire life, refining his skills and working up the ladder to be one of the best, being able to do any job in his field. But what if he's required to do a job that's not in his field? Follow the Assassin as he takes on a task most unusual for one of his caliber, making unusual allies, and faces the challenges associated with it. (My submission for ONC 2026, following prompt number 33 where a secret assassin is surprisingly and suddenly hired as a nanny, enjoy!)

The Open Novella Contest is back for 2026! Join fellow storytellers and plant the seed of a tale that will blossom into a 20,000+ word novella within 12 weeks! Your epic quest begins February 1st, 2026, so mark your calendars with this date!

How did Lina meet Nyra? What was Malrick up to before the events of Steel and Scale? How did Aaric save Neptune? In this collection there will be Novellettes featuring the characters of Steel and Scale and a glimmer of their life DISCLAIMER: Reading this is not necessary to understand the main story but it's better that you do because a lot is described and explained here.

This is a makeshift D&D inspired campaign where readers can adventure at their own pace. No need to wrestle with complicated schedules. Each week, a new chapter is posted, giving you the chance to step into the story, make choices, and shape the journey alongside fellow adventurers. Want to join the fun? Hop into The Gemme Community Discord! Under the DnD tab (in the Fandoms section), you'll find everything you need to get started from character creation, instructions, and a welcoming group of storytellers ready to journey with you. The Gemme Community also offers so much more: book clubs, side quests, daily activities, writing spaces, and a place to share ideas with other creatives. So grab your dice, sharpen your blade (or tune your lute), and let's begin our adventure together! We will be posting new chapters every week on Sundays. So please have your responses to the journey posted in the comments by Saturday evening.

After being kidnapped and thrown into a VRMMORPG, 17-year-old Suzuki Mato must find the line between his real and in-game personalities before it kills him. ***** Following the death of his popular online persona, seventeen-year-old Suzuki Mato decides it's time to retire from professional VR gaming. However, his plans are abruptly cut short when he's kidnapped from his high school and forced to be a guinea pig for Genaco Gaming, the world's largest esports and entertainment company. Armed with nothing but his wit and a new online persona, he's thrown headfirst into the virtual reality of "Live No Evil," a VRMMORPG littered with overpowered bosses, secretive NPCs, and backstabbing gods. His mission? Find a way to conquer this new world and get back at the company that took over his life, all while avoiding 'Parallel' -- a condition that would make it impossible to separate his real and virtual personalities. Because in a world obsessed with VR gaming, Parallel means death, and Suzuki just doesn't have time for that... [Parallel Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 out now, Vol. 3 coming soon] Content/Trigger Warning: some transphobic language

Sarah's life changes when Ibrahim moves into town. Both of them are striving to be better versions of themselves every day, by getting closer to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and doing everything they do to please Him. However, not everything goes according to plan and the smooth path gets disrupted by some rocky obstacles. How will Sarah and Ibrahim navigate these obstacles while striving to reach their ultimate goal: Jannah? Or will they perhaps end up following the footsteps of Staytan to their doom?

This is the story of Karlist, the youngest of five elemental warriors sworn to defend the land of Spirits, With a bright personality and supernatural ability of shield, she's the glue holding her found family together even as her haunting visions show them falling apart. But when a mysterious guy crashes into their world and planting something dangerous in the soil. That's when the world falls apart His name is Casper. He was raised in a cold, brutal kingdom where children are taught to kill before they can feel. Bound to a cruel brother who holds his fate in his hands, Casper has one mission: unleash a deadly virus across Spirits in exchange for his freedom. As trust breaks, and power awakens under a full moon, Karlist and Casper are thrown into each other's paths. But when love and war collide, only one thing is certain, Not everyone will make it out alive. this is a story I imagined back in 2023, was bored in class and told my friend abt that story and she recommended me sm to write it, I don't really read books but still I wrote it, despite all the books I've read, some of my friends guided me through it, the story is mine and it's completely fictional, it's a movie inspired, so its very different from the books I've read, I will be really glad and happy if you like it or jus give it a read, love ya sm if u like my yapping